Plate racing reared it’s ugly head again today, and we had a “Big One” that was almost as big a one as we’ve ever seen. 25 cars in a tussle going into turn one on lap 133 brought out the red flag and that (combined with a lap 187 accident that put us into green/white/checker) gave us only 13 cars on the lead lap at the finish. But it may have mattered little as Jeff Gordon seemed to have ’em covered all day. As the only car able to pass without help today, he powered around Michael Waltrip on lap 185 and held off the advancing crowd to win the Aaron’s 516 at Talladega Superspeedway for his second plate win of the season, and third overall. Gordon’s domination resulted in leading the event 12 times for 139 laps….no one else led more than 12 circuits. This is Jeff’s 72nd career win (he’s seventh on the all-time list, four wins behind a guy who knew his way around the plate tracks a little, Dale Earnhardt) and his 4th in the last 5 plate races. His 4th win at Talladega was worth $365,116 from the over $5.8M in posted awards. This is win #134 for Hendrick Motorsports, and coming on Randy Dorton’s birthday just makes it that much sweeter.
Tony Stewart (2nd) had his best finish since he won at Watkins Glen last August.
Jeremy Mayfield (4th) had his best finish since he won at Richmond last September. His Top-5 finish makes 23 drivers to score a T-5 this season, last year’s number was 31.
Ken Schrader (8th) had his best finish since he was 6th at Bristol last March. Schrader & Mayfield’s Top-10’s give us 33 drivers to score a T-10 this year, last year’s number was 39.
Kerry Earnhardt (17th) had his career-best finish today. His previous best was 24th when we were here last October.
Martin Truex Jr (21st) had his career-best finish today. His previous best was 32nd at Homestead last November.
STREAKIN….Michael Waltrip has 3 Top-10’s in a row.
Kurt Busch has 3 Top-10’s in a row.
This Week’s Elevator….UP: Operator of the week is Michael Waltrip (+35), followed by Ken Schrader (+34), Dale Earnhardt Jr (+21), and Johnny Sauter (+21). DOWN: The Big Dropper was Ryan Newman (-34), followed by Scott Riggs (-23), Ricky Rudd (-23), Boris Said (-23), and Scott Wimmer (-21). This is Op #3 for Mikey….he leads the pack.
Kurt Busch snips 43 points off Jimmie Johnson’s lead…..it’s now 130. Our “Stayin’ Alive” line stays at 18, however.
Tony Stewart gained the most spots today (14th to 6th) while Ryan Newman (7th to 15th) and Sterling Marlin (9th to 17th) fell the most.
Mike Wallace and the #4 team move back into the 35th and final exempt qualifying spot for next weekend….by two points! Now you know why he stayed out to lead a lap today under yellow on lap 21, huh? Scott Wimmer will have to make the next race on time.(Stockcarfans.com)(5-1-2005)
