2003 Aaron's 499

The 2003 Aaron's 499 was held on April 6, 2003 at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama. It was the 8th race of 36 in the 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season. Jeremy Mayfield was the pole winner 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 second largest crash in a Cup race in the modern era.

The Big One

While leader and pole sitter Jeremy Mayfield was on the fourth lap heading into turn two, Ryan Newman (who already had a huge accident at the 2003 Daytona 500 in February) crashed into the Turn 1 wall and almost went upside down. Then mayhem ensued, as several others were involved in the crash. One of Newman's tires was torn off and, after being hit Ricky Rudd, went through the catch fence. There was a total of 27 cars involved, which was the second largest crash in the modern era of NASCAR. There were some cars which had severe damage and some that had slight damage. Hermie Sadler, Casey Mears, Johnny Benson and some others did not return to the race after the crash. Rusty Wallace and Jerry Nadeau returned but did not run at the finish. After the wreck, there were only 16 cars that had no damage. The previous day, the Big One also occurred during the Busch Series race, collecting several cars, entering in turn four.

Drivers Involved in The Big One (27)

• 0- Jack Sprague
• 01- Jerry Nadeau
• 02- Hermie Sadler
• 09- Mike Wallace
• 1- Steve Park
• 2- Rusty Wallace
• 4- Mike Skinner
• 6- Mark Martin
• 8- Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Eventual Winner)
• 10- Johnny Benson
• 12- Ryan Newman
• 16- Greg Biffle
• 17- Matt Kenseth (Championship Leader)
• 18- Bobby Labonte
• 20- Tony Stewart
• 21- Ricky Rudd
• 25- Joe Nemechek
• 30- Jeff Green
• 41- Casey Mears
• 42- Jamie McMurray
• 43- John Andretti
• 45- Kyle Petty
• 49- Ken Schrader
• 54- Todd Bodine
• 77- Dave Blaney
• 88- Dale Jarrett
• 99- Jeff Burton

Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s comeback

Perhaps the most well noted one involved was Dale Earnhardt Jr., who started from the rear after an engine change and hit the rear bumper of Jeff Green, which caused his front bumper to have damage. He struggled for most of the race, until late in the race when he took the lead away from Matt Kenseth, who was also involved earlier and won his fourth straight race at Talladega. Also sweeping the weekend at Talladega, he won the Aaron's 312 the previous day. Jimmie Johnson led the most laps of the race, but had a 15th-place finish.

Controversy

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. According to Jim Hunter, he mentioned that Earnhardt was forced below the line and so the win stood still. NASCAR ruled Earnhardt was forced down making it a clean pass. In the years to come, it became an issue, including Regan Smith being penalized by passing Tony Stewart below the yellow line in 2008. NASCAR decided to put another yellow line for the next year, in both Daytona and Talladega.

Race results

Top Ten Finishers
Pos.	Car #	Driver	Make	Team
1	8	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevrolet	Dale Earnhardt Inc.
2	29	Kevin Harvick	Chevrolet	Richard Childress Racing
3	38	Elliott Sadler	Ford	Robert Yates Racing
4	32	Ricky Craven	Pontiac	PPI Motorsports
5	5	Terry Labonte	Chevrolet	Hendrick Motorsports
6	40	Sterling Marlin	Dodge	Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates
7	22	Ward Burton	Dodge	Bill Davis Racing
8	24	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet	Hendrick Motorsports
9	17	Matt Kenseth	Ford	Roush Racing
10	31	Robby Gordon	Chevrolet	Richard Childress Racing

Failed to Qualify

• Brett Bodine (#11)
• Larry Foyt (#14)
• David Green (#60), time disallowed

Race Facts

• Average Speed: 144.625 mph
• Margin of Victory: .125 seconds
• Time of Race: 03:27:28
• Lead Changes: 43
• Cautions: (6) 5-13, 37-40, 64-67, 84-89, 91-94, 133-137

Points Standings after Race

• 1. Matt Kenseth 1233 Leader
• 2. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 1104 (-129)
• 3. Kurt Busch 1046 (-187)
• 4. Jimmie Johnson 1013 (-220)
• 5. Jeff Gordon 1011 (-222)
• 6. Ricky Craven 1000 (-223)
• 7. Michael Waltrip 994 (-239)
• 8. Kevin Harvick 977 (-256)
• 9. Tony Stewart 937 (-296)
• 10. Elliott Sadler 895 (-338)

See also

• The Big One (NASCAR)