|| *Comments on the 2003 Aaron's 499:* View the most recent comment <#64> | Post a comment <#post> Tweet 1. Jake posted: 10.06.2004 - 11:37 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) History was made in this race. Dale Earnhardt Jr. became the 1st driver to win 4 straight Cup races at Talladega!!! That's incredible. It shows that DEI is defintely the best at the restrictor plate races. I'll never forget in this race when Dale Jr. had to start at the back because of an engine change, was involved the Big One, lost the pack at one point and came back to win the race. What an awesome race!!! 2. Anonymous posted: 02.05.2005 - 7:23 pm Rate this comment: (5) (2) There could've been two cars on the lead lap, only ten cars running at the finish and only four actually up to race speed, and Earnhardt could've won by fourty seconds and it would've been an awesome race if you listen to Earnhardt fans. 3. Heather posted: 02.08.2005 - 6:49 pm Rate this comment: (1) (2) LOL at Anonymous, ain't that the truth. I attended this race. It was pretty exciting until NASCAR blew it with that infamous call 5 or so laps from the end. 4. Chicago posted: 03.16.2005 - 11:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The most amazing part of this race was how well a lot of the banged up cars handled after the lap four crash that has become the norm at the superspeedways -- Greg Biffle had tape flying and parts shredding, yet even he managed to run in the top ten for most of the race, and Steve Park led for some of it despite having serious damage to the back of his car. Park would later be parked and not allowed to leave the pits, come back to work on his spoiler, then leave, etc. to stay on the lead lap and lost laps, and then lost more time when he was black flagged for passing under the yellow line when it looked like the Pennzoil car was going to have it's best run in several years. 5. CBCMikeyfan posted: 07.30.2005 - 5:50 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) When the big wreck happened in the first few laps, I thought it would be a snoozer, but all those guys thankfully proved me wrong. 6. HomeDepotKid posted: 08.05.2005 - 7:19 am Rate this comment: (3) (3) The call with 5 to go go was bullhonkey. But the next year, IMO, after seeing the godawful behavior by the fans, I guess I see why NASCAR did it. They didn't want a riot. 7. myself posted: 02.21.2007 - 7:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Check out "The Squeal!" Nabbing a pole @ a restrictor plate race! 8. biffle16 posted: 05.19.2007 - 8:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jimmy Spencer should be in the list of drivers in "the big one", not Kyle Petty. Kyle got through clean. 9. Douche Bagolow posted: 07.30.2007 - 2:48 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) 8 for 8. 10. SK posted: 03.24.2008 - 1:23 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ricky Craven's last top-5 finish, solidly placing him 6th in the points...man, did PPI's fortunes ever tank in a hurry. 11. Biffrey posted: 10.26.2008 - 7:45 am Rate this comment: (2) (1) I remember trying to watch this race with a horrible hangover/possible alcohol poisoning ;) I woke up and there was like half a field running, and Tony Raines was running 6th. I said "I'm too drunk to comprehend this $#!t", and passed back out. Horrible day for me. The smell of alcohol made me sick for months after. I was a horrible 19 year old. 12. Anonymous posted: 12.15.2008 - 2:05 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) This was the only one of Dale Jr.'s 5 Talladega wins in which he didn't lead the most laps. 13. jp posted: 11.11.2009 - 9:57 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Man, what a wreck. Heres what should have happened: Junior, winning by 2+ laps, with only 2 cars running at race pace. And only 10 cars running. I can imagine those cars with no front ends nor back ends... And no one leading Exept Junior, leading 175+. plus, every time they threw the caution, Junior getting a 15+ car length lead every time. Im a Stewart fan, i am just pointing out what might have happened 14. Anonymous posted: 12.09.2009 - 6:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) "13. jp posted: 11.11.09 - 9:57 am Man, what a wreck. Heres what should have happened: Junior, winning by 2+ laps, with only 2 cars running at race pace. And only 10 cars running. I can imagine those cars with no front ends nor back ends... And no one leading Exept Junior, leading 175+. plus, every time they threw the caution, Junior getting a 15+ car length lead every time. Im a Stewart fan, i am just pointing out what might have happened " Whatever you're on, I want some. 15. L'Ville Bryan posted: 01.23.2010 - 6:39 pm Rate this comment: (2) (3) I didn't get to see the first half of this race because of an April Snow storm knocking mout my satelite. I was very mad and the last 80 laps weren't exciting anyways. Jr. definitely should not have won this race either. 16. Hugo Stiglitz posted: 04.01.2010 - 9:24 pm Rate this comment: (2) (5) Jr. is a no-talent ass-clown who didn't deserve that win 17. Anonymous posted: 04.17.2010 - 7:10 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) look dale jr doiing 185+ going into turn 3 when matt kenseth comes down the track towards him, dont you think he'd want to try to avoid matt? look this was SEVEN years ago just let it go 18. AutoRockinRacing94 posted: 05.11.2010 - 6:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) After years of frustration, somebody brough up a video, a good one of the wreck and here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMTy7K0qrUw 19. Ryan posted: 07.05.2010 - 2:00 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) 14. Anonymous posted: 12.09.09 - 6:20 pm "13. jp posted: 11.11.09 - 9:57 am Man, what a wreck. Heres what should have happened: Junior, winning by 2+ laps, with only 2 cars running at race pace. And only 10 cars running. I can imagine those cars with no front ends nor back ends... And no one leading Exept Junior, leading 175+. plus, every time they threw the caution, Junior getting a 15+ car length lead every time. Im a Stewart fan, i am just pointing out what might have happened " "Whatever you're on, I want some." lmfao!!! 20. Rocky Lore posted: 07.24.2010 - 1:12 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Larry Foyt and David Green were disqualified after their cars failed inspection. 21. awesomegordonfan posted: 10.28.2010 - 3:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Whow was involved in the Lap 4 wreck besides Newman, Mears, Benson, Rudd, and Hermie? 22. 18fan posted: 11.06.2010 - 12:25 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) NASCAR did not realize that Jimmie Johnson was actually ahead of Kenseth, and the rule does not state that you may pass as many cars as you wish below the yellow line if you are forced down, which I am not totally convinced that he was, and that is what Jr. did to pass Jimmie Johnson. 23. kevin posted: 10.29.2011 - 10:53 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) HUH? Tony Raines in 16th??? This race must have been messed up!!! 24. joey2448 posted: 05.01.2012 - 10:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Post #11: Hahaha!!! Post #23: Raines finished sixth at Rockingham later in the season... 25. RaceFanX posted: 05.04.2012 - 4:07 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Sponsors: #31 Robby Gordon- Cingular Wireless / Special Olympics #32 Ricky Craven- Tide with Bleach Ryan Newman triggered the Big One when he got loose in turn 1 and got into Mark Martin. Newman got the worst of the wreck as he hit the outside wall hard and almost flipped, one of the wheels came off his car and after being hit by a couple cars ended up bouncing high enough it cleared the catch fench and left the track ala Jimmy Horton. IIRC the tire ended up striking and damaging a car in a parking lot but thankfully no one was hurt by it. Newman had a violent roll in the Daytona 500 earlier in 2003 but while he didn't go over here a second roll was in the cards later in the year. His #12 rolled on its side in a practice crash at Watkins Glen in August. This was Hermie Sadler's first plate race in Cup. He had a sponsor, qualified well and even had an on-board camera for the race but was taken out in the Big One. 26. Daniel posted: 05.24.2012 - 9:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) In using fastest 43: #11 Brett Bodine Out using fastest 43: #77 Dave Blaney 27. CBASS posted: 01.14.2013 - 5:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsor updates #45 Georgia-Pacific/ Brawny #02 Aaron's #60 Haas CNC Machine Tools http://archives.ciastockphoto.com/cgi/images.php?group=w0308 28. Evan W. posted: 04.27.2014 - 6:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsor updates: #02 Hermie Sadler Aaron's Dream Machine/1-800-3-Autism #88 Dale Jarrett UPS New Fast Logo Sources:Jarrett's car appears in NASCAR Thunder 2004 and is unlockable in NASCAR 2005 Chase for the Cup as an alternate. Sources:I watched the race, Hermie Sadler crashed in the lap 4 Big One. 29. Jared DiCarlo posted: 11.10.2014 - 9:25 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wait, Tony Raines finished sixth at Rockingham? Are we in The Twilight Zone? 30. ii posted: 11.30.2014 - 9:27 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) The #45 was not involved in the first caution, and the #7 was. 31. mister83 posted: 07.21.2015 - 12:54 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) First time Terry Labonte had led since the 2002 Daytona 500. 32. mister83 posted: 07.21.2015 - 12:57 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) My bad, I meant the 2002 Martinsville spring race. Still over a year though. I think Schrader was the driver who hadn't led since the 2002 Daytona 500, might be wrong though. 33. NASCARLover22 posted: 09.06.2015 - 7:40 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Withdrew #83 Kerry Earnhardt Sponsor: Aaron's Dream Machine Owner: Fitz Bradshaw Manufacturer: Chevrolet http://www.jayski.com/next/2003/2003talladega1.htm 34. 52 posted: 01.23.2016 - 10:38 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) For real, this race should destroy any credibility the sport had. Passing below the line was OK this day!! 35. Anonymous posted: 01.23.2016 - 1:01 pm Rate this comment: (4) (2) The yellow line rule is awful anyway. More wrecks have been caused because of the line than were ever caused by driving on the apron. 36. Windows Millennium Edition posted: 03.30.2016 - 4:13 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Withdrew: WD|Kerry Earnhardt|83|Aaron's Dream Machine|Armando Fitz|Chevrolet 37. Mannoroth posted: 04.27.2016 - 1:51 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) Dale Earnhardt's Jr. first and so far only weekend sweep. He also won the 2003 Aaron's 312 in Busch Series. 38. Braindead Zombie posted: 04.27.2016 - 9:26 am Rate this comment: (1) (1) And also the 2004 Bristol Night race. 39. Braindead Zombie posted: 04.27.2016 - 9:26 am Rate this comment: (1) (1) ^2004 Daytona 500??? 40. Mannoroth posted: 04.27.2016 - 1:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) No, he didn't win the Truck Series race at Daytona, only Busch Series and Cup Series races. The same for Kevin Harvick, who also didn't sweep the weekend in 2007, when he won the Busch race and Daytona 500. And by the way, you're wrong. He didn't win the Truck Series race at Bristol. So no sweep. Only 2 out of 3. 41. Braindead Zombie posted: 04.27.2016 - 1:40 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Sorry, thought you meant only the Busch and cup races. 42. Mannoroth posted: 04.27.2016 - 3:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (3) No. The definition of the weekend sweep is simply to win all the races at the same track or rarely all the weekend races on different tracks (when Erik Jones won at Iowa and then at Chicagoland last year). 43. BMan0213 posted: 04.27.2016 - 6:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Pretty sure the sport still considers it a sweep if a driver only runs 2 of the 3 series that are there on a weekend but wins the 2 races they run. I heard multiple times Sunday announcers saying Dale was looking to sweep the weekend for the 4th time in his career. That means they would also be counting Daytona and Bristol from 04 even though he did not run the Truck races there. 44. Mannoroth posted: 04.27.2016 - 11:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Well, in that case, Kyle Busch doesn't have 9 weekend sweeps, but much more... 45. Maverick posted: 10.15.2016 - 12:58 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jeremy Mayfield was involved in the 4th caution. 46. Maverick19 posted: 12.18.2016 - 11:12 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) In the closing laps, Kenseth and Johnson were the only cars that could challenge Jr, but Kenseth got shuffled back with 2 to go and Johnson got spun out coming to the white flag. 47. Jack Johnson posted: 05.17.2017 - 6:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) Joe Nemechek & Robby Gordon were not involved in that big pile up. Dale Jarrett & Kyle Petty need to be added to the list of those involved. 48. Jack Johnson posted: 05.17.2017 - 6:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) Joe Nemechek did not get a piece of that big pile up. He went all the way down low to avoid getting involved. 49. Jack Johnson posted: 05.17.2017 - 7:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) Were there any appeals filed regarding the call that Dale Earnhardt Jr. legally made that pass? 50. Jack Johnson posted: 05.17.2017 - 7:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) For the list of drivers involved in that big pile up,the list should read #0,01,02,09,1,2,4,6,7,8,10,12,16,17,18,20,21,30,41,42,43,45,49,54,77,88,99. 51. Seibaru posted: 05.17.2017 - 8:05 pm Rate this comment: (2) (3) @50 Why does this concern you so much? 52. RaceFanX posted: 06.30.2017 - 12:16 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s winning #8 Budweiser Chevrolet from this race, once repaired, would go on to be the car he'd win the 2004 Daytona 500 driving the following February. 53. Greg24ChaseFan posted: 11.24.2017 - 12:02 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I am pretty sure Rusty Wallace has been involved in every big one at every plate track. 54. TeamDCR fan posted: 12.24.2017 - 8:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Larry Foyt had already been locked out so it didn't make a difference whether his time was disallowed or not 55. jp posted: 02.02.2018 - 12:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wonder why David Green's time was disallowed? He had the 6th fastest time in qualifying IIRC 56. TeamDCR fan posted: 02.02.2018 - 12:28 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Back end of the car measured to low 57. Anonymous posted: 02.27.2019 - 9:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Don't understand how Johnson was turned off Wallace's nose coming to the white, and still finishes two spots ahead of him 58. Stonex posted: 11.25.2019 - 10:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @55 David Green's time was disallowed because he failed post-qualifying inspection, specifically his quarter-panel was too low. 59. Jimmie4life posted: 03.23.2020 - 10:23 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) A very early form of bump drafting happened... but only a few times. In a return to commercial break on lap's 51 & 52, in the frontstretch, Michael Waltrip could be seen locking up with Jimmie Johnson, and Johnson shot out to more than a quarter second lead. 60. JSPorts posted: 03.23.2020 - 11:03 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) You probably mean tandem drafting. Bump drafting has been happening for a long time. 61. possum posted: 03.23.2020 - 6:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @60 - I think he means "bump drafting in NASCAR". You're right that bump drafting in the sports car world goes back at least to the 80's, if not before; it was quite common in some SCCA classes. Tandem drafting wouldn't show up for tbe better part of a decade after this race. 62. Fish posted: 04.10.2020 - 10:30 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Don't understand how Johnson was turned off Wallace's nose coming to the white, and still finishes two spots ahead of him" Think Kenny Wallace cut a tire down. He slowed off the pace immediately after that. 63. rm posted: 06.04.2020 - 1:43 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) An interesting note here, to show just how serious DEI took plate racing in this era: the #1 team with driver Steve Park spent over $100k researching, developing and testing an improved ducting system in the two months between the Daytona 500 and this race. The result was Park improving his qualifying lap from 17th-quickest at Daytona to 12th-quickest here and it led to DEI configuring the #8 & #15 cars with the same ductwork for Daytona in July and beyond that. I would say it paid off, but the six-figure development cost cited in the broadcast is more than Park's winnings from this race, so at least on this day it didn't technically pay off. Park was gone by the time the July Daytona race rolled around and replacement Jeff Green had a pretty lousy qualifying effort for that race...so maybe it didn't pay off for the driver or the #1 team after all. 64. SweetRich posted: 07.15.2020 - 1:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The commentators were Mike Joy, Larry McReynolds and Darrell Waltrip. The pit road reporters were Dr. Dick Berggren, Steve Byrnes, Matt Yocum and Jeanne Zelasko. and in the Hollywood hotel were Chris Myers and Jeff Hammond. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: