Aarons 499
The Aaron's 499 was held at Talladega Superspeedway on April 6, 2003. Jeremy Mayfield was the polewinner for this race while Dale Earnhardt Jr. became the first driver to win four consecutive races at Talladega. The "Big One" did not take long; collecting 27 cars on the fourth lap – the largest crash in a Cup race in the modern era. The crash barely included Earnhardt Jr, who started in the back of the field and managed to race his way to victory lane anyway. Earnhardt was involved in a controversial decision at the end of the race where it appeared he went below the yellow line in an attempt to improve position. NASCAR ruled Earnhardt was forced down making it a clean pass.
Top Ten Results
- Dale Earnhardt Jr.
- Kevin Harvick
- Elliott Sadler
- Ricky Craven
- Terry Labonte
- Sterling Marlin
- Ward Burton
- Jeff Gordon
- Matt Kenseth
- Robby Gordon
Failed to qualify: Brett Bodine (#11), Larry Foyt (#14), David Green (#60) (Note: Phoenix Racing's Mike Wallace had originally failed to qualify, but Green's car was found too low and his time was disallowed.)
Read more about this topic: 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Series