|| *Comments on the 1994 Mello Yello 500:* View the most recent comment <#40> | Post a comment <#post> Tweet 1. Josh posted: 05.02.2005 - 10:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Four laps into the race, Bobby Labonte and Todd Bodine spun in turn three, starting a multi-car accident. Labonte's car went up in flames slid down the track and knocked the back bumper off Bill Elliott's car. 2. Josh posted: 05.02.2005 - 10:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ricky Rudd intentionally wrecked Jeff Gordon (unintentionally taking himself out in the process) in turn one with ten laps to go. The two were racing in the top ten when Gordon ran Rudd up the track after taking the position. Rudd responded by pushing Gordon's car out of four and down the frontstretch, until Gordon's car turned sideways into one where they both slammed into the wall. This set up a sprint to the finish in which Jarrett came from nowhere to win. Ended under caution after an accident involving (among others) Darrell and Michael Waltrip. 3. Matthew Sullivan posted: 12.14.2005 - 3:10 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Perhaps the last time in NASCAR that a driver has missed the field in the previous race but gone on to win the next, as Jarrett did. 4. Matthew Sullivan posted: 12.15.2005 - 3:22 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) This was Ernie Irvan's first race back at the track, as a spectator of course. 5. Darrell posted: 03.13.2006 - 11:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Actually MS, Andy Santerre won at Pikes Peak in 99 after missing DNQ-ing at Myrtle Beach the previous race. 6. brandon posted: 03.23.2006 - 7:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) also jarrett was driving with a broken arm after a hard crash at dover 7. MOST posted: 05.07.2006 - 3:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Robby Gordon won Loudon in 2001 after a DNQ at Atlanta the prevoius week. 8. Matthew Sullivan posted: 01.15.2007 - 5:06 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) To add, this was an awesome race. Some awesome side-by-side lap after lap racing. You'd have to see it to understand. 9. Thomas posted: 02.06.2007 - 7:31 am Rate this comment: (0) (2) This really was an awesome race. Lots of wrecks, too. The only thing I hated about the race was the Rudd/Gordon incident. It would have been so great if Ricky could have taken out Rainbow Boy without wrecking himself. A race like this would never take place in the "new" NA$CAR. 10. Anonymous posted: 02.07.2007 - 1:46 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) The Robby win after DQing the week before is wrong, I Believe. If I recall Robby skipped the race before New Hampshire to race Baja. 11. Anonymous posted: 03.12.2007 - 7:45 pm Rate this comment: (3) (1) Seriously Thomas, what kind of a sick "fan" are you? You aren't a race fan, you're a Ford/crash fan. I'll bet whenever a Chevy driver gets injured you cheer and yell like a 16 year old cheerleader. Too bad Jeff didn't break his neck in the crash, huh Thomas? Then he'd never get to live his dream, that would've been great! 12. Nascar Man posted: 03.25.2007 - 4:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ouch 13. kenneywallace posted: 06.12.2007 - 11:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Good run for Ward Burton with his first career pole-led 29 laps, completed 29 laps, finished 41st of 42. Nice way to end a race-crash early while leading. Well, he did lead every lap he completed... Big crash for Bobby Labonte! 14. Anonymous posted: 06.22.2007 - 7:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think Geoff Bodine should have won, but, typical, he blew up again for his 13th DNF. How come whenever he started to build a dominating lead in '94, he blew up or crashed? 15. The Real Thomas posted: 08.03.2007 - 9:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Anonymous, you are a radical excuse for a human being. You exaggerate everything to the 10th power to make me sound evil just because of my opinions. Grow up, you loser. 16. JarrettFan44 posted: 08.22.2007 - 5:21 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Geoff Bodine's 1994 DNF count number 13 & What and awsome finish great job D.J. 17. Anonymous posted: 09.03.2007 - 9:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ward Burton's 11th DNF (he ties John Andretti for 2nd in DNFs) Greg Sacks' 8th DNF 18. bill chill posted: 03.18.2008 - 12:05 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) my favorite driver won on my 14th birthday way 2 go jarrett 19. JCS posted: 10.13.2008 - 7:31 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) In his first return to Charlotte since winning his first race there in the spring, Jeff Gordon crashes hard into the will after he and Ricky Rudd get together. Both are penalized for rough driving. Gordon hit the wall really hard. 20. Anonymous posted: 01.12.2009 - 9:20 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Why don't people jump on Rudd for his wreckless driving in this race? Had Earnhardt pulled a stunt like that, everyone would STILL be all over him for it. 21. Ryan posted: 02.01.2009 - 11:57 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Earnhardt was coming at the end... lucky for Jarrett and Shephard the caution came out. 22. Russ Shurtliff posted: 09.21.2009 - 9:36 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Rudd And Gordon wreck http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=770Cc8ReGSY 23. 18fan posted: 10.03.2009 - 2:50 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Earnhardt was on fresh tires and would have won if the Waltrip brothers didn't wreck. 24. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 01.15.2010 - 9:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ward crashes on lap 30 after starting from the pole and leading every lap up to that point. Damn, damn, damn! 25. Josh C posted: 07.01.2010 - 11:26 pm Rate this comment: (1) (2) rudd proving what a loser he is again! oh well we know how their career went Jeff Gordon 82 wins 271 top 5's 370 top 10's 68 poles and 4 championships (6 if the chase didn't exist) Ricky Fudd 23 wins 194 top 5's and 374 top 10's and 0 championships, with about twice as many starts. 26. Ryan posted: 11.05.2010 - 10:44 pm Rate this comment: (2) (1) yep, what a douche bag manuever by Rudd. No one can tell me he was a great guy and clean racer after this. This was just uncalled for. 27. 18fan posted: 12.26.2010 - 3:25 am Rate this comment: (1) (1) Rudd had a history of overreacting to a lot of things. 28. Ryan posted: 07.30.2011 - 12:28 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) They made a die cast car out of Dale's 4 tire stop at the end of this race... Wow! From the movie... DALE Although it was impressive what he did coming up through the field, and I'm a HUGE Earnhardt fan, I can't believe they are making cars out of the third places finishes. But I guess they did make his car from his '97 Daytona crash and 31st place car. 29. Talon64 posted: 10.12.2011 - 5:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The 202 laps Geoffrey Bodine led in this race were the 2nd most he ever led at a non-short track. This came after the last race when G. Bodine led a career-high 334 laps on the way to winning at North Wilkesboro. They were the last 2 of the 8 times that G. Bodine led 200+ laps in his 572-race career. Lake Speed finished 5th for the 2nd-last top 5 of his career, his 16th and last coming in the 1994 season finale at Atlanta. 30. Mike posted: 11.03.2011 - 11:11 am Rate this comment: (2) (2) That was a chicken shit move by little Ricky. 31. Ryan W posted: 07.24.2013 - 11:04 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Earnhardt got collected in the Labonte (22) wreck early in this race and rebounded to finish 3rd. He came very close to winning this after starting 38th AND getting collected in the wreck. Very impressive 32. 23andJoe posted: 06.19.2014 - 11:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #44 crew chief: Tony Gibson 33. Anonymous posted: 10.10.2015 - 12:03 pm Rate this comment: (1) (2) @30 Jeff Gordon is the definition of chicken shit. I could bring up about 30 times Jeff has done something similar to what Ricky did. 34. Bramblegrunt posted: 10.20.2016 - 2:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Rudd by his own admission is an extremely intense driver once he puts on his helmet and then he is super mellow once he takes it off. He had some occasions of retaliation/fights/word wars with other drivers due to intensity, and yet he was exceptionally level headed immediately afterwards. He said its that intensity that helps him win and he wouldnt change that. He is essentially the Matt Kenseth of that era without a title. Ward Burton as stated led every lap he was in this race but the crash was not his doing, his tire went straight flat in the middle of 2 and he crashed right out. The race as a whole was rather unpredictable and entertaining for that. But again savage accidents in 1994 were a common place and had everyone on pins and needles hoping everyone was alright. Ward was sent to the hospital in this race for observation and he was fine, thankfully 35. Jimnsimforever posted: 02.24.2019 - 8:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'm shocked that Jeff didn't show more emotion after that happened than he did. Ricky literally wrecked him on purpose on a track where they go fast enough where it could've seriously injured or even killed Gordon, or Rudd himself since he got himself caught up in it too. He just smiled and stated the facts of what happened when he got interviewed right after it. And I found it actually a little funny in Rudd's interview right before Gordon. He blamed the entire incident on Gordon. You could tell by his facial expression right before he got ready to talk that he realized he got way too hot and made a big mistake that was going to cost him potentially with disciplinary action of some kind and came up with that story off the cuff real quick to stick with. @20 I too when watching how many times stuff like this happened with other drivers am amazed that Earnhardt gets the flack he does when he never did anything like this. The time he wrecked DW (and himself) at Richmond in 86 was on the old 1/2 mile configuration going into turn 3 on the final lap of the race with them in 1st and 2nd was the worst incident where you would have a hard time explaining away for him. His incident with Terry Labonte at Bristol I honestly think he was telling the truth, he barely tapped him to try and pass and ended up wrecking him. I think it's mostly folklore from stories early in his career where the races weren't even televised most of the time and the fact that he has 7 championships lend to his bad reputation. This is not a knock on Ricky Rudd because he had a nice career, but if Earnhardt had the career #'s Rudd did, 23 wins 0 titles, you don't hear any of the talk about dirty driving. 36. TooSmartForThis posted: 02.25.2019 - 7:45 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) Earnhardt fans continue to be the most delusional people on the planet which is saying something these days. 37. Wil posted: 05.08.2019 - 10:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Always thought Ricky Rudd was a solid racer, but this race changed my mind. Gordon pulled a slide job, and Rudd intentionally wrecked him in the tri oval immediately after, taking them both out. It was a cowardly, d-baggy move. Cue Landon Cassill explaining the number one rule of stock care racing... 38. FoMoCo posted: 08.14.2019 - 1:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Gordon's inability to control his car when Rudd was drafting cost the Wood Brothers a win. 39. SweetRich posted: 02.14.2020 - 11:56 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) The Commentators For This Event Consisted Of Ken Squier, Chuck Bown And Cale Yarborough. Anchoring The STP Pit Communication Center Is Rick Benjamin. The Pit Road Reporter Was Dick Berggren. Ricky Craven Was The Garage Area Reporter. 40. CanterburySoup1983 posted: 09.17.2020 - 10:34 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) This is one of NASCAR's underrated best races ever! This sorta odd. Nobody in the top 20 finish order led more than 15 laps. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: