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2003 Aaron's 499

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2003 Aaron's 499
Race details[1][2]
Race 8 of 36 in the 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
Layout of Talladega Superspeedway
Layout of Talladega Superspeedway
Date April 6, 2003 (2003-April-06)
Location Talladega Superspeedway, Talladega, Alabama
Course Permanent racing facility
2.66 mi (4.28 km)
Distance 188 laps, 500.08 mi (804.8 km)
Weather Mild with temperatures approaching 78.1 °F (25.6 °C); wind speeds reaching up to 12 miles per hour (19 km/h)
Average speed 144.625 miles per hour (232.751 km/h)[2]
Pole position
Driver Evernham Motorsports
Time 51.349
Most laps led
Driver Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports
Laps 65
Winner
No. 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dale Earnhardt, Inc.
Television in the United States
Network Fox Broadcasting Company
Announcers Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds

The 2003 Aaron's 499 was held on April 6, 2003, at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama. It was the eighth race of 36 in the 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season. Jeremy Mayfield was the polesitter.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the race, his first win of the season and fourth consecutive at Talladega, becoming the 8th different winner in the first 8 races, while Kevin Harvick finished second[2] and Elliott Sadler finished third.[2] This was also the fifth consecutive restrictor plate race win for Dale Earnhardt, Inc. stretching back to the previous year's spring Talladega race. There were six cautions,[2] 16 different leaders, and 43 lead changes.[2] The Big One did not take long, collecting 27 cars on the fourth lap — the second largest crash in a Cup race in the modern era, behind the 2024 YellaWood 500.

Race Summary

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The "Big One"

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On lap 4, as the field entered turn 1, Ryan Newman (who already had a violent blowover at the rain shortened Daytona 500 in February) blew a tire and smashed hard into the turn 1 wall, almost turning over on his side and spinning across the middle of the track, collecting an additional 26 cars. Mayhem ensued as cars behind him checked up trying to avoid Newman, whose car suddenly burst into flames. One of Newman's tires came off and got struck by Ricky Rudd's hood, causing it to bounce right over the catch fence and land in a restricted access area.

A total of 27 cars were involved, making it the largest recorded crash in the history of the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. It was also the second largest-crash overall in modern NASCAR, behind a 30 car crash on the back straightaway in Talladega's Busch race the year before. Damage to the cars involved ranged from no damage to severe damage; Hermie Sadler, Casey Mears, Johnny Benson, and some others were out immediately. Rusty Wallace and Jerry Nadeau returned but retired after making a limited number of laps following repairs. Matt Kenseth and race winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. also had minor damage. Kenseth finished inside the Top 10 on the lead lap. After the wreck, there were only 16 cars that did not have damage. Coincidentally, during the Busch race the day prior, the "Big One" occurred in turn 4 on lap 10 when Johnny Sauter blew a tire in the middle of the pack, collecting 22 cars.

Cars involved in the crash

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  1. 0- Jack Sprague
  2. 01- Jerry Nadeau
  3. 02- Hermie Sadler
  4. 09- Mike Wallace
  5. 1- Steve Park
  6. 2- Rusty Wallace
  7. 4- Mike Skinner
  8. 6- Mark Martin
  9. 7- Jimmy Spencer
  10. 8- Dale Earnhardt Jr. (eventual winner)
  11. 10- Johnny Benson
  12. 12- Ryan Newman
  13. 16- Greg Biffle
  14. 17- Matt Kenseth (championship points leader)
  15. 18- Bobby Labonte
  16. 20- Tony Stewart
  17. 21- Ricky Rudd
  18. 25- Joe Nemechek
  19. 30- Jeff Green
  20. 41- Casey Mears
  21. 42- Jamie McMurray
  22. 43- John Andretti
  23. 45- Kyle Petty
  24. 49- Ken Schrader
  25. 54- Todd Bodine
  26. 77- Dave Blaney
  27. 99- Jeff Burton

Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s comeback

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Perhaps the most well noted one involved in the Big One was Dale Earnhardt Jr., who started in 43rd place because of an engine change after qualifying. In the crash, Earnhardt Jr. went off the banking and down into the grass, making contact with Jeff Green's car that damaged his fender. He struggled for most of the race, at times going close to a half-lap down, until late in the race when he took the lead away from Matt Kenseth, who was also involved earlier, and won his fourth straight race at Talladega. Earnhardt Jr. swept the weekend, having won the Busch Series race the previous day. Jimmie Johnson led the most laps of the race, but had a 15th-place finish when he spun out right before the white flag. By coincidence, the Big Ones that unfolded in both the weekend's Cup and Busch races at Talladega were the result of a car blowing a tire in the middle of the track (Ryan Newman in turn 1 in the Cup race, and Johnny Sauter in turn 4 in the Busch race the day prior).

Double yellow line controversy

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Earnhardt Jr. was involved in a controversial decision at the end of the race where it appeared he went below the yellow line in an attempt to improve position. As the cars were racing down the back straightaway, leader Matt Kenseth made a lane change, going to the outside to block Jimmie Johnson. Earnhardt Jr. was on the inside and was drafting with Elliott Sadler when Kenseth started moving low in an attempt to block Earnhardt; Earnhardt stormed well below the line entering the turn three apron as he passed Kenseth. NASCAR ruled that Earnhardt was forced below the line as his car's nose had already passed Kenseth's nose by the time Kenseth made the block, making it a clean pass in their opinion, this even though Earnhardt was nowhere close to clearing Kenseth when he hit the apron — what the rule was ostensibly intended to prevent. Some sanctioning bodies, such as the Indy Racing League, would have called Kenseth for violating the blocking rule — a driver is not allowed to make two lane changes on a straightaway, which is a penalty; the ethic against blocking, however, holds no weight in NASCAR given the fendered nature of the cars. The yellow line rule's absurdity belatedly led to discussion in the sanctioning body in January 2010 to possibly rescind it, though it was decided to maintain the rule "for the time being," according to NASCAR official Robin Pemberton.

In the years to come, the yellow lines would provide several controversial moments, such as Regan Smith being penalized by passing Tony Stewart below the yellow line in the fall race in 2008, as well as a confusing finish in 2020. NASCAR decided to put another yellow line for the next year, in both Daytona and Talladega.

Race results

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Pos. Car # Driver Make Team Sponsor
1 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet Dale Earnhardt Inc. Budweiser
2 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Richard Childress Racing GM Goodwrench
3 38 Elliott Sadler Ford Robert Yates Racing M&M’s
4 32 Ricky Craven Pontiac PPI Motorsports Tide with Bleach
5 5 Terry Labonte Chevrolet Hendrick Motorsports Kellogg’s / got milk?
6 40 Sterling Marlin Dodge Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Coors Light
7 22 Ward Burton Dodge Bill Davis Racing Caterpillar
8 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet Hendrick Motorsports DuPont / Pepsi
9 17 Matt Kenseth Ford Roush Racing DeWalt Power Tools
10 31 Robby Gordon Chevrolet Richard Childress Racing Cingular Wireless / Special Olympics
11 45 Kyle Petty Dodge Petty Enterprises Georgia-Pacific
12 88 Dale Jarrett Ford Robert Yates Racing UPS New Fast Logo
13 9 Bill Elliott Dodge Evernham Motorsports Dodge Dealers / United Auto Workers
14 43 John Andretti Dodge Petty Enterprises Cheerios
15 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Hendrick Motorsports Lowe’s
16 74 Tony Raines Chevrolet BACE Motorsports BACE Motorsports
17 23 Kenny Wallace Dodge Bill Davis Racing Stacker 2
18 19 Jeremy Mayfield Dodge Evernham Motorsports Dodge Dealers / United Auto Workers
19 97 Kurt Busch Ford Roush Fenway Rubbermaid
20 1 Steve Park Chevy Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Pennzoil
21 25 Joe Nemechek Chevy Hendrick Motorsports UAW-Delphi
22 16 Greg Biffle Ford Roush Fenway Grainger
23 77 Dave Blaney Ford Jasper Motorsports Jasper Engines and Transmissions
24 15 Michael Waltrip Chevy Dale Earnhardt, Inc. NAPA Auto Parts
25 20 Tony Stewart Chevy Joe Gibbs Racing The Home Depot
26 6 Mark Martin Ford Roush Racing Viagra
27 42 Jamie McMurray Dodge Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Havoline
28 54 Todd Bodine Ford BelCar Racing National Guard
29 30 Jeff Green Chevrolet Richard Childress Racing American Online
30 09 Mike Wallace Dodge Phoenix Racing Miccosukee Resort & Gaming
31 4 Mike Skinner Pontiac Morgan–McClure Motorsports Kodak
32 18 Bobby Labonte Chevrolet Joe Gibbs Racing Interstate Batteries
33 49 Ken Schrader Dodge BAM Racing 1-800-CALL-ATT
34 0 Jack Sprague Pontiac Haas CNC Racing NetZero
35 99 Jeff Burton Ford Roush Racing Citgo
36 01 Jerry Nadeau Pontiac MB2 Motorsports U.S. Army
37 2 Rusty Wallace Dodge Penske Racing Miller Lite
38 7 Jimmy Spencer Dodge Ultra Motorsports Sirius Satellite Radio
39 12 Ryan Newman Dodge Penske Racing Alltel
40 41 Casey Mears Dodge Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Target
41 10 Johnny Benson Pontiac MB2 Motorsports Valvoline
42 21 Ricky Rudd Ford Wood Brothers Racing Motorcraft
43 02 Hermie Sadler Chevrolet SCORE Motorsports Aaron's Dream Machine / 1-800-4-AUTISM
Source:[2]

Failed to qualify

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Race facts

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  • Average speed: 144.625 mph[2]
  • Margin of victory: .125 seconds[2]
  • Time of race: 03:27:28[2]
  • Lead changes: 43[2] among 16 different drivers
  • Cautions: 6 for 32 laps[2]
  1. Laps 5-13: The "Big One" in turn 2
  2. Laps 37-40: Debris
  3. Laps 64-67: Debris
  4. Laps 84-89: Michael Waltrip, Elliott Sadler, and Jeremy Mayfield crash in turn 3
  5. Laps 91-94: Greg Biffle, Kurt Busch, and Tony Stewart crash in turn 4
  6. Laps 133-137: Debris
  • Percent of race run under caution: 17.0%[2]
  • Average green flag run: 22.3 laps[2]

Points standings after race

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See also

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References

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Previous race:
2003 Samsung/Radio Shack 500
Winston Cup Series
2003 season
Next race:
2003 Virginia 500