AutoRacing1.com - NASCAR News Page

Amid an amazing display of American patriotism by racing fans, Dale Earnhardt Jr. took his Budweiser Chevrolet to Victory Lane at Dover's Monster Mile today at the MBNA-Cal Ripken Jr. 400. With less than 50 laps to go, Earnhardt made his move to the lead and never relinquished it, despite pressure from numerous other drivers. Rounding out the top ten were Jerry Nadeau, Ricky Rudd, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick, Joe Nemechek, Sterling Marlin, Casey Atwood, and Bobby Hamilton.

Pre-Race Patriotism
Photo By Doug Belliveau

Pre-race festivities began as Lee Greenwood sang "Proud to be an American", which resulted in loud chants of U-S-A by the sold out crowd. Each fan was given an American flag when they entered the track and they weren't shy about waving them. Cal Ripken Jr. was the honorary Grand Marshall, and Tanya Tucker sang God Bless America.

As soon as the race began, Bobby Labonte jumped to the lead over pole winner Dale Jarrett, but his lead did not last long. On lap 3, Dale Earnhardt Jr. took over the lead, followed by Dale Jarrett and Ricky Rudd. Ten laps later, Kyle Petty's afternoon quickly came to an end with a trip to the garage. Lap 20 altered Bobby Labonte and Bill Elliott's chances of having good performances. The two got tangled up; Labonte's crew spent about an hour trying to repair his car and Elliott took about 10 additional trips down pit road to try and fix his damaged car.

On the lap 26 restart, Ricky Craven took over the lead, but within 15 laps, Junior had wrestled it back from him. Junior, Craven and Rudd represented the top three for most of the next 20 laps. The second caution was issued when Jeremy Mayfield, who was running well, hit the wall hard in turn 1. He was eventually taken to the hospital for cautionary measures, and was diagnosed with a chipped tooth and several bruises. On the lap 64 restart, it was Junior up front, followed by Rudd and Dale Jarrett. A couple of laps later, Tony Stewart made his way up to third place.

Not a good day for the #22
Photo By Doug Belliveau

This trio led the pack for 35 laps, until Kurt Busch's engine let go on lap 115, bringing out the fourth caution of the day. On the following restart, Stewart managed to push his way to second place, but green flag racing only lasted four laps. On lap 129, Ron Hornaday spun on the front stretch, collecting Mark Martin, Ward Burton and Johnny Benson in the melee.

Junior continued to stay out front for the next 65 laps. In the meantime, Andy Houston made contact with the outside wall in turn 2, bringing out another caution. On lap 190, Ricky Rudd managed to move under Dale Jr.'s car and into the lead. Soon after, it was Michael Waltrip's turn to visit the outside wall, and he was done for the day. The restart on lap 207 revealed Rudd, Junior and Jarrett at the front of the pack.

Six laps later, Buckshot Jones' car was out of the race with a blown engine. The 8th caution of the day was issued on lap 226, when Robert Pressley, who had been in the top ten all day, spun and crashed his no. 77 car. The restart again had Rudd, Junior and Jarrett in the lead, until Dave Blaney crashed on lap 255. On the restart, Junior fell back to seventh place, and Rudd was now followed by Ricky Craven and Jarrett. Soon Jeff Gordon worked his way through the field to take over the third spot. These three drivers stayed up front for the next 30 laps, but both Junior and Jerry Nadeau were making their way up through the pack.

On lap 320, Junior passed Gordon and moved into third place behind Rudd and Jarrett. But on lap 345, Rudd's luck ran out. He was tapped and spun out, but managed not to hit the wall. Subsequently, Jarrett took over the lead, followed by Nadeau and hard-charging Junior. Over the next 10 laps, Junior passed both Nadeau and Jarrett to resume the lead. With only 12 laps to go, Jarrett himself spun out on the concrete track, taking himself out of contention for a win. No one could touch Junior for the remainder of the race. His car burst away from the pack and he won easily over Jerry Nadeau. For Nadeau, second place was an amazing accomplishment considering he qualified in 41st position.

Driver	Car	Status
1) Dale Earnhardt Jr.	No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet	400 laps
2) Jerry Nadeau	No. 25 UAW/Delphi Chevrolet	-1.418sec
3) Ricky Rudd	No. 28 Texaco-Havoline Ford	-1.806
4) Jeff Gordon	No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet	-1.956
5) Tony Stewart	No. 20 Home Depot Pontiac	-2.625
6) Kevin Harvick	No. 29 GM Goodwrench Chevrolet	-2.982
7) Joe Nemechek	No. 33 Oakwood Homes Chevrolet	-3.696
8) Sterling Marlin	No. 40 Target/Coors Light Dodge	-4.425
9) Casey Atwood	No. 19 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge	-4.685
10) Bobby Hamilton	No. 55 Square D Chevrolet	-5.901
11) Rusty Wallace	No. 2 Miller Lite Ford	-5.964
12) Dale Jarrett	No. 88 UPS Ford	-6.241
13) Jimmy Spencer	No. 26 Kmart Ford	-6.329
14) Elliott Sadler	No. 21 Motorcraft Ford	-6.683
15) Todd Bodine	No. 66 Route 66/Kmart Ford	-1 lap
16) Kevin Lepage	No. 4 Kodak Chevrolet	-1 lap
17) Terry Labonte	No. 5 Kellogg's Chevrolet	-2 laps
18) Ken Schrader	No. 36 M&Ms Pontiac	-2 laps
19) John Andretti	No. 43 Cheerios Dodge	-2 laps
20) Mike Skinner	No. 31 Lowe's Chevrolet	-2 laps
21) Jeff Burton	No. 99 Citgo Supergard Ford	-2 laps
22) Kenny Wallace	No. 1 Pennzoil Chevrolet	-3 laps
23) Mike Wallace	No. 7 NationsRent Ford	-4 laps
24) Stacy Compton	No. 92 Kodiak Dodge	-4 laps
25) Hut Stricklin	No. 90 Hills Brothers Coffee Ford	-4 laps
26) Ricky Craven	No. 32 Tide Ford	-5 laps
27) Hermie Sadler	No. 13 Virginia Lottery Chevrolet	-6 laps
28) Brett Bodine	No. 11 Ralph’s Supermarkets Ford	-9 laps (DNF)
29) Matt Kenseth	No. 17 DeWalt Ford	-10 laps
30) Bill Elliott	No. 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge	-17 laps
31) Johnny Benson	No. 10 Valvoline Pontiac	-83 laps (DNF)
32) Mark Martin	No. 6 Viagra Ford	-86 laps
33) Ward Burton	No. 22 Caterpillar Dodge	-96 laps (DNF)
34) Ron Hornaday Jr.	No. 14 Conseco Pontiac	-132 laps (DNF)
35) Dave Blaney	No. 93 Amoco Ultimate Dodge	-133 laps (DNF)
36) Bobby Labonte	No. 18 Interstate Batteries Pontiac	-142 laps
37) Robert Pressley	No. 77 Jasper Engines Ford	-172 laps (DNF)
38) Buckshot Jones	No. 44 Georgia-Pacific Dodge	-197 laps (DNF)
39) Michael Waltrip	No. 15 NAPA Chevrolet	-201 laps (DNF)
40) Andy Houston	No. 96 McDonald's Ford	-235 laps (DNF)
41) Kurt Busch	No. 97 Rubbermaid/Sharpie Ford	-285 laps (DNF)
42) Jeremy Mayfield	No. 12 Mobil 1 Ford	-346 laps (DNF)
43) Kyle Petty	No. 45 Sprint Dodge	-387 laps (DNF)