News and Media Releases

Dale Earnhardt, jr. Finishes 2nd in Wild Race

29/04/2009

Gordon and Martin get caught up in the "Big One" with Johnson having Trouble in the Closing Laps.

The Hendrick Motorsports teams of Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin had mixed results in what was a dramatic race at the 2.66-mile track of Talladega Superspeedway. Earnhardt scored a second-place finish with Johnson, Gordon and Martin all finishing in the back of the pack after experiencing trouble.

Earnhardt led a total of 20 laps seven different times and put himself in position to make a run for the lead in the closing laps before finishing second in what turned out to be a wild finish.

Three-time and defending champion Jimmie Johnson kept himself in contention for most of the 188-lap event. It wasn't until late in the race with just several laps remaining that Johnson found himself in an accident that ended his day early. Johnson was running in the top 10 at the time of the incident but was relegated to a 30th-place finish after falling out of the race with just nine laps left in competition.

Four-time champion Jeff Gordon was also involved along with eight other cars, was involved in a multi-car accident on lap seven of the 188-lap event that sent him behind the wall and to the garage. After many laps the No. 24 team made the appropriate repairs and got Gordon back on track where he continued to run laps and gain as many positions as possible. Gordon finished in the 37th position, 60 laps down to the leaders.

Coming off of last week's win in Phoenix, Mark Martin was hoping for a better finish in Talladega but was also involved in the "Big One". The damage to the No. 5 machine was too significant for Martin to continue ending his day early and relegating him to a 43rd-place finish.

Brad Keselowski took the win in a dramatic finish followed by Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Ryan Newman, Marcos Ambrose and Scott Speed rounded out the top-five.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will return to action next weekend for the running of the Crown Royal present Russ Friedman 400 at Richmond International Raceway. Live television coverage begins on Saturday, May 2, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on FOX.  The event will also be broadcast live on MRN (Motor Racing Network) and Sirius XM Satellite Radio with coverage beginning at 6:45 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT).