Earnhardt wins first 125

The field held station for the opening five laps, until Jamie McMurray forced his way through to second behind pole sitter Greg Biffle. Earnhardt, who was demoted from second, then ran as low as sixth, but was back up to fourth by the time that Scott Riggs hit the Turn 2 wall on lap 22 thanks to a right-front puncture. Tyres were the talking point of the day, as the new Goodyear rubber felt the strain of warm ambient temperatures, forcing many drivers to run the high line due to understeer.

Biffle led until that opening yellow, but blew his chances when he overshot his pit. That handed the lead to two-time 500 winner Michael Waltrip, who had DEI team-mate Earnhardt right behind him.

Further back, Bud Shoot-Out winner Dale Jarrett hit trouble when his car began misfiring early on, while Jeff Gordon was forced to make a green flag pitstop due to an overheating problem.

Gordon unwittingly decided the lead when Waltrip stumbled over lapping him, and Earnhardt took full advantage to hit the front. Tony Stewart made great headway from a low starting position to grab second from McMurray with four laps to go. McMurray only just held off Waltrip for third, ahead of Jeff Burton, Bobby Labonte and Kurt Busch.

Earnhardt said of his car: "It was real tight. After four or five laps, the tyres were junk. I knew I had to get past Michael real quick when we came up on the 24 [Gordon]. We were always going for the win. We've got a great car for the 500, but we need to run at the front."

Waltrip played down a drafting feud with Earnhardt Jr, and said he would take criticism from his Little E's team "with a pinch of salt".