Traveling from NASCAR's longest track to its shortest, the Winston Cup series pulled into Martinsville for the Virginia 500. At just over a half-mile, the flat oval track drew a sell out crowd, come to witness all the bumping and banging of short track racing.
Jeff Gordon started on the pole at a track where he has gone to victory lane three times before, with fan favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. beside him in the second spot. As the green flag waved, Gordon pulled away to a comfortable lead, putting a handful of cars a lap down before the first caution waved after a bump from Tony Stewart sent Jerry Nadeau spinning. The leaders headed down pit road for the first stops. Gordon emerged from pit road still in the lead after a quick, four tire stop. Rusty Wallace was the biggest winner under the yellow, heading into his pit in fifth and coming out on Gordon's back bumper.
The second caution of the day came when Ricky Rudd spun, just ahead of the leaders. Gordon and the second place car of Dale Earnhardt Jr. swerved around him, and Gordon held the lead as they raced back to the caution flag. Again the leaders headed into the pits, and for the first time, pit strategy came into play as Tony Stewart opted for only two tires to take the lead.
On the restart, Rusty Wallace charged to the front to make the first on-track lead change and take the top spot from Stewart. Stewart, unable to hold off cars racing on four fresh tires, slipped back into the pack as Earnhardt and Gordon followed Wallace to the front. Earnhardt closed the gap to the leader and slipped around him to take the lead. Contact with the 16th place car of Mark Martin sent him up the track, fighting to maintain control, and Gordon breezed past him into the lead. Earnhardt slipped back to 6th.
Jeremy Mayfield's spin across turn 2 on lap 244 slowed the field and saved the leaders from a rapidly approaching round of green flag stops. Again, Gordon held the lead through the stop, and again Rusty Wallace climbed from 5th to 2nd after a second remarkable effort by his crew. Just a few laps later, the stalled car of Jerry Nadeau brought out another caution. Only the cars at the end of the lead lap came into the pits, along with Jeremy Mayfield, who had lost the power steering in his car.
Contact between Dale Jarrett and John Andretti looked as if it would bring out another caution, but both drivers recovered and the race stayed green. Jarrett headed to the pits with a cut tire, losing a lap. When the spinning car of Jack Sprague triggered the yellow flag, most of the leaders headed into the pits again. Only the handful of cars that pitted on the pervious caution remained on the track, and though Gordon led the race off of pit road, he was in 6th position on the restart. Sterling Marlin became the fifth race leader of the afternoon.
Another caution, this time for debris on the racetrack, brought the cars that had stayed out through the previous yellow into the pits, leaving Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the lead. Mayfield finally retired his car, as did Jamie McMurray, who blew his engine. Just 30 laps later, Dave Blaney spun across the track after a bump from Steve Park, bringing out the 7th caution. Most of the leaders headed down pit road, but Kevin Harvick and Elliott Sadler remained on track and led the field to the restart. Sterling Marlin, taking only two tires as the rest of the leaders took four, restarted in the third spot. Once the race resumed, though, Earnhardt Jr. charged through the field to take the lead again, opening up a comfortable gap between himself and the second place car of Jeff Gordon over a long, green flag run.
With just 60 laps remaining, Ryan Newman spun, bringing out another caution flag. The leaders headed down pit road for the final stop of the day. Bobby Labonte was the only driver to take just two tires, and led the restart with 57 laps to go. On the restart, Earnhardt made contact with the lapped car of Ricky Craven and slipped back to the 6th position as he fought to maintain control of his car. Craven slowed dramatically, and as Gordon battled Labonte for the lead, the yellow flag waved yet again. On the restart, Gordon bumped Labonte out of the way and went on to win the event under a final caution, when teammate Terry Labonte spun with only two laps left. Earnhardt, who led the most of the 500 lap event, finished third, closing to just 51 points behind leader Matt Kenseth and fueling talk of a rivalry reminiscent of the 2000 rookie of the year battle between the two.
Unofficial Results
- Jeff Gordon
- Bobby Labonte
- Dale Earnhardt Jr.
- Jeff Burton
- Elliott Sadler
- Tony Stewart
- Sterling Marlin
- Rusty Wallace
- Jimmie Johnson
- Ken Schrader
Unofficial Standings
- Matt Kenseth
- Dale Earnhardt Jr. -51
- Jeff Gordon -139
- Jimmie Johnson -179
- Kurt Busch -205
- Kevin Harvick -233
- Tony Stewart -238
- Michael Waltrip -242
- Ricky Craven -248
- Elliott Sadler -275
