2002 NASCAR Winston Cup Series - EA Sports 500

EA Sports 500

The EA Sports 500 was held at Talladega Superspeedway on October 6. Qualifying was rained out, so points leader Jimmie Johnson started on the pole. The race was caution-free for the third time in five years at Talladega.

Top Ten Results

1. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
2. Tony Stewart
3. Ricky Rudd
4. Kurt Busch
5. Jeff Green
6. Steve Park
7. Ryan Newman
8. Michael Waltrip
9. Dale Jarrett
10. Ward Burton

Failed to qualify: Morgan Shepherd (#51), Geoffrey Bodine (#09), Robert Pressley (#92), Kerry Earnhardt (#83)

• In a bizarre event, during the pace laps, Mark Martin had a steering problem and crashed into Jimmie Johnson. Martin was black-flagged prior to the race start so NASCAR could verify his steering was working properly, while Johnson did not pit until the conclusion of the first green flag lap. Due to the caution free race, neither driver was able to recover from the incident.
• Jamie McMurray began driving duties for Sterling Marlin in this race.
• All Hendrick Motorsports engines failed during the race (Jeff Gordon, Joe Nemecheck, Jimmie Johnson, Terry Labonte, as well as Johnny Benson and Kenny Schrader)