2002 EA Sports 500

30th race of 2002 NASCAR Winston Cup Series February 2025 NASWINSTON EA Sports 500 http://www.almanac.com/weather/history/AL/Talladega/2002-10-06 2002 EA Sports 500 weather information The Old Farmers' Almanac 2013-05-22 2002 10 06 2002 30 36 Talladega Superspeedway.png Layout of Talladega Superspeedway Talladega Superspeedway, Lincoln, Alabama 2.66 4.2829 188 500.1 804.83 Hot with temperatures approaching 89.1 F C; wind speeds up to 6 mph km/h 183.665 mi/h Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports No time trials Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dale Earnhardt, Inc. 56 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dale Earnhardt, Inc. NBC Allen Bestwick, Benny Parsons, Wally Dallenbach Jr. The 2002 EA Sports 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series stock car race held on October 6, 2002, at the Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama. Summary The race was the 30th in the 2002 Winston Cup season, and was broadcast by NBC. Jimmie Johnson of Hendrick Motorsports was awarded the pole position after qualifying was canceled, while Dale Earnhardt Jr. of Dale Earnhardt, Inc., who won the previous race, led the most laps and won his second consecutive EA Sports 500. The race was also the first Winston Cup race at Talladega after the track had installed SAFER barriers. Vocal group Little Big Town performed the national anthem, while former National Football League quarterback Ken Stabler was the grand marshal. To spread out the tightly grouped packs, NASCAR officials reduced the size of the fuel cells from 22 USgal litre to 13 USgal litre. The race also featured a record $250,000 leader bonus if the winner of the race becomes the Cup points leader, with Johnson, Mark Martin, Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon and Rusty Wallace being the eligible drivers.Korth Joanne http://www.sptimes.com/2002/10/06/news_pf/Sports/Drivers__chiefs_like_.shtml Drivers, chiefs like the small gas tanks as attempt at safety St. Petersburg Times 2002-10-06 2013-06-22 Race On the warm-up lap, Mark Martin's steering box locked, causing him to crash into pole-sitter Jimmie Johnson.http://blog.al.com/bn/2008/10/40_years_of_talladega.html 40 years of Talladega -- Birmingham News special report The Birmingham News 2008-10-02 2013-04-03 As a result of the incident, Martin was black-flagged, while Johnson's crew chief Chad Knaus requested NASCAR to inspect the car and repair the damaged right front fender. Johnson made a pit stop on lap one.http://www.jayski.com/next/2002/2002talla2.htm EA Sports 500 Jayski's Silly Season Site 2013-04-03 https://web.archive.org/web/20131002143011/http://www.jayski.com/next/2002/2002talla2.htm 2013-10-02 dead Jeff Gordon led the first three laps, but on lap 125, he was forced to move the car to the garage after his crew found smoke under the hood, ending his race. Gordon was not the only Hendrick Motorsports to fail to finish; the other Hendrick drivers, Johnson, Terry Labonte and Joe Nemechek, and the MB2 Motorsports cars of Johnny Benson Jr. and Ken Schrader, who were also using Hendrick powered engines, also had their engines fail during the race. In the end, Dale Earnhardt Jr. won his third consecutive Talladega race after leading the last 39 laps,https://www.racing-reference.info/race-results/2002_EA_Sports_500/W 2002 EA Sports 500 Racing-Reference making him the first driver to win both Talladega races (EA Sports 500 and the Aaron's 499) since his father accomplished the feat in 1999. Though Talladega has been known for featuring crashes known as "The Big One",Caraviello David http://www.nascar.com/en_us/news-media/articles/2012/10/08/dcaraviello-talladega-another-big-one.html Caraviello: Talladega's Big One is just around the corner NASCAR 2012-10-08 2013-04-03 no cautions occurred during the race. It would be the last incident-free race in NASCAR's premiership until the 2012 Auto Club 400, which raced 125 laps of 200 before the caution took place for rain that ended the race on Lap 129, and the 2019 Pennzoil 400, which only was stopped twice for end-of-segment breaks. Results Source: 22em Dale Earnhardt Jr. Tony Stewart Ricky Rudd Kurt Busch Jeff Green Steve Park Ryan Newman Michael Waltrip Dale Jarrett Ward Burton Jeff Burton Robby Gordon Rusty Wallace Matt Kenseth Ricky Craven Kyle Petty Scott Wimmer John Andretti Bill Elliott Jeremy Mayfield Jimmy Spencer Stacy Compton Todd Bodine Jerry Nadeau Bobby Labonte Jamie McMurray Kevin Harvick Mike Skinner Brett Bodine Mark Martin Dave Blaney Ron Hornaday Jr. Kenny Wallace Casey Atwood Mike Wallace Elliott Sadler Jimmie Johnson* Terry Labonte* Joe Nemechek* Johnny Benson Jr.* Ken Schrader* Jeff Gordon* Jay Sauter* * Driver failed to finish race Standings after the race Pos Driver Points Differential 1 Tony Stewart 3958 0 2 Mark Martin 3901 -72 3 Jimmie Johnson 3886 -82 4 Ryan Newman 3821 -137 5 Rusty Wallace 3811 -172 6 Matt Kenseth 3757 -201 6 Jeff Gordon 3757 -201 8 Bill Elliott 3729 -229 9 Ricky Rudd 3712 -246 10 Sterling Marlin 3703 -255 References Winston Cup Series 2002 2002 Protection One 400 2002 UAW-GM Quality 500 EA Sports 500 EA Sports 500 Category:NASCAR races at Talladega Superspeedway