|| *Comments on the 2002 Carolina Dodge Dealers 400:* View the most recent comment <#29> | Post a comment <#post> Tweet 1. tquievryn posted: 01.02.2005 - 6:42 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Sterling Marlin easily won his 2nd race of the year, after a multi-car crash, which started when Buckshot Jones wrecked, sweeping up then-leader Tony Stewart and the race's dominator Jeff Gordon. Comments: Brett Bodine finally picked up full backing from Hooter's before the race. He had had some backing from them at Atlanta and Vegas. Meanwhile, Steve Park made his first race since he was injured in a BUSCH race in Sept. 2001 at Darlington. He was in the lead when he wrecked with Stacy Compton 2. Miller4Prez6 posted: 04.23.2006 - 9:33 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Sterling Marlin's last win to date and probably ever 3. Darrell posted: 06.13.2006 - 3:31 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) It always seems like that when a driver is injured seriously, they qualify well in their first race back. 4. KK3869 posted: 07.17.2006 - 2:16 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ricky Craven drove a Ford not a Chevy in this race. 5. Lawrence posted: 02.21.2007 - 8:56 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Good to see a guy like Sterling Marlin get the win... He never won much, but he has been consistant... A good driver... Not always having the best of teams behind him as evidenced by the previous year, and of course 1993 when he left Junior Johnson and the #22 Maxwell House Ford which was his best ride until he won Daytona, and traded it for Stavola Bros Racing... 6. Mark O. posted: 11.20.2007 - 6:07 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I don't know if he left by choice. I seem to recall reading in either Ernie or Darrell's autobiography that he was fired. 7. Mr. Big posted: 05.04.2008 - 8:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Great win for Sterling and unfortunately probably the final win of his career. Jeff Gordon basically dominated from Lap 38 to Lap 218 and I don't quite remember what happened to him because he had the best car but faded out. 8. Rob posted: 05.15.2008 - 4:20 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) During that big wreck they had Tony Stewart took a nasty hit. Darrel Waltrip said something like "I hope Tony's okay" and you could tell all of the Fox crew were remembering what happened last time he said that. Thankfully Tony raced the next week at Bristol. 9. RaceFanX posted: 09.14.2008 - 5:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Did BAM really field a #49 Ford for Shawna Robinson in this event? I could have sworn they also fielded her in Dodges. 10. joey2448 posted: 08.17.2010 - 3:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) how come ricky craven drove a chevy in one race??? he drove fords the entire 2002 season, except this race.....and he won the pole with it. 11. Andre posted: 09.28.2010 - 10:27 am Rate this comment: (1) (1) Jeff did indeed have the dominant car that day - when the big wreck happened, however, both Gordon and Marlin sneaked through the carnage. The 40 followed the 24 into it all, while Gordon got damage (his car was never the same afterwards) and Marlin came through unscathed. 12. Anonymous posted: 10.23.2010 - 5:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Gordon BARELY clipped Stewart's car as he passed the crash, which crushed the left front fender of his car and ruined the handling. He was never able to work his way back through the field after restarting at the back of the lead lap. It's true that Craven was in a Ford instead of a Chevy in this race. Must be a typo. Strangely the thing I remember most about this race watching it live is not the huge crash on the backstretch, but a crash earlier in the race. It was Steve Park's first race back and he and Ricky Craven pulled far ahead of everyone else; they were by far the class of the field. Park miraculously took the lead, but Craven stayed right with him, it really was a great race. Then they caught the tail end of the field and began to lap cars. Park was being extremely aggressive, and when he caught the #14 of Stacy Compton in turns 3 & 4, he made an attempt to go underneath, but the two made contact. Park, Compton, and Craven all crashed, which opened the door for Gordon to dominate until the big wreck. It was the last time that Park seemed like his old self, and it's a shame that he crashed. It would have been incredible to see him win in his first race back. 13. Doc posted: 12.28.2011 - 5:29 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I remember this like it was yesterday... Alas, my last happy moment in Nascar viewing. 14. David posted: 02.11.2012 - 11:28 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) #9 and #12 are both correct, Ricky Craven drove a Ford in this race, and Shawna Robinson drove a Dodge. 15. CBASS posted: 05.12.2012 - 11:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsor correction #11 Hooters Restaurants 16. Aldo posted: 01.09.2013 - 4:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I remember that Sterling started from the rear of the field because he changed the engine. 17. JL70fan posted: 03.22.2013 - 7:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) sponsor correction: #71 ProMotorsports.org/RealTree Camouflage 18. StenhouseFan17 posted: 01.01.2014 - 5:23 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) It was a tough day to be a leader and a lapped car. After taking the lead from polesitter Ricky Craven early in the day, Steve Park made contact with the lapped car of Stacy Compton, which collected 2nd place man Craven as well. This ended both of drivers' chances at the win. The next man up was Jeff Gordon, who was really the dominant car of the day. He led well over 100 laps before getting caught in the pits when Kurt Busch spun during a round of green flag pit stops. After that, Tony Stewart assumed control of the lead, but soon was part of a huge crash triggered by the lapped car of Buckshot Jones. The wreck took out multiple lead lap cars, including damage to Gordon's right front fender, which effectively ended his chances at the win. After that, Sterling Marlin was mostly untouchable, only losing the lead briefly to Dale Earnhardt, Jr. The win marked Sterling's second of the season and his fifth straight top 10 to begin the season. Surprisingly, this would be the final win of Sterling's stellar season (before his injury) and the last of his career. Also of note in this race was the fact that Sterling changed engines before the race and started at the rear of the field. Also of note was Elliott Sadler capitalizing on a fine run to take 2nd place, equalizing his season best at Daytona. 19. sk posted: 03.07.2014 - 2:21 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Though Stewart turned out to be all right, it was harrowing to see Ken Schrader run to the scene of the crash first and gesticulate urgently to the safety workers, just as he had done after witnessing the fatal injuries of Dale Earnhardt. Stewart had been briefly knocked out by the impact, making Kenny's concern understandable, but with the wounds of 2000-01 still so fresh, having to speculate how bad Tony might have been hurt left a sick and sobering feeling. 20. 2002 Sponsor Updates posted: 08.30.2015 - 6:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #4 Kodak MAX Film #11 Hooters #44 Georgia-Pacific/Brawny #43 Cheerios/Chex #71 Team Realtree #41 Target/Energizer #55 Schneider Electric/Square D #10 Valvoline Maxlife #97 Rubbermaid/Sharpie #45 Sprint PCS 21. NASCARLover22 posted: 09.06.2015 - 8:16 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Withdrew #85 Carl Long Sponsor: Mansion Motorsports Owner: Thee Dixon Manufacturer: Dodge http://www.jayski.com/next/2002/2002darlington1.htm 22. Taylor posted: 11.28.2015 - 3:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) To the back: Ryan Newman: back-up car Sterling Marlin: engine change Dave Blaney: engine change 23. Minnowfur posted: 03.07.2016 - 12:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The 21 car came out of nowhere to finish second in this race 24. Minnowfur posted: 01.25.2018 - 6:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Arca brakes on the 41 car lol 25. Mile501 posted: 04.27.2020 - 2:45 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I wondered if Steve Park lost confidence after this race. In his first race back after his injury, he started 6th, raced up to the lead, and led 19 laps before crashing with a lapped car. Ultimately, he would only lead like that once more in his Winston Cup career. If Park hadn't crashed in this race and had won instead (or even just remained in contention all day long), might it have changed the course of his career? We'll never know the answer to that, but it's an interesting question to ponder. On another note, at the time, no one would have thought this would be Marlin's last win. He was contending for wins every week early in 2002. It's really hard to believe that this was his last win. 26. Foote posted: 04.27.2020 - 4:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @25 It's funny you bring that up, I've long been puzzled by Park. In his first race back he drives up to the lead before crashing (which in theory would imply he's mostly healed from his brain injury), and then he drives poorly pretty much every race in the rest of his career. 27. Mile501 posted: 04.27.2020 - 7:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @26 - I know, it's weird. I just re-watched this race today and didn't remember how impressive Park was at the beginning of his first race back. But why didn't he run like that anymore? It's strange. 28. Bodyblower posted: 10.02.2020 - 3:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The 85 of Carl Long withdrew. 29. Rich posted: 12.29.2020 - 10:42 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Mike Joy, Larry McReynolds and Darrell Waltrip were the commentators. Dr. Dick Berggren, Steve Byrnes and Matt Yocum were the pit road reporters. Chris Myers and Jeff Hammond were in the Hollywood hotel. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: