Michael Waltrip scores fourth career triumph
Dave Blaney of Hartford placed 17th in the EA Sports 500 at Talladega.
TALLADEGA, Ala. (AP) -- Go ahead, call Michael Waltrip a one-dimensional driver.
Go ahead, say he can't win a race unless there's a restrictor plate under the hood.
Waltrip doesn't mind.
Darrell's little brother claimed his fourth career victory Sunday, holding off teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. to win a thrilling EA Sports 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
Dave Blaney of Hartford finished 17th.
Waltrip's other three wins came at Daytona, the only other track where NASCAR mandates horsepower-sapping restrictor plates to reduce speeds.
But let's not forget, this is the guy who raced 462 times before he made it to victory lane. No use getting picky now.
"For a long time, I was told that I couldn't do anything right," Waltrip said. "I guess I can do restrictor-plate races right. At least I've got that going for me."
Brilliant move
He certainly earned this victory, using a brilliant move off the final turn to keep Jeff Gordon from getting by on the outside and cutting off Earnhardt on the inside.
No one can accuse Waltrip of being one-dimensional in his celebrations, either.
After parking the No. 15 Chevrolet in front of the main grandstand, he popped through the new escape hatch in his roof with arms raised, sending the crowd of more than 100,000 into a frenzy.
"I thought that was cool," said Waltrip, the only driver to put the device on his car after NASCAR approved it beginning with this race. "Hey, I'm a redneck. You've got to get out through your sun roof every now and then."
The race was typical Talladega in the restrictor-plate era, often resembling a night at the short track as the cars banged and bumped even as speeds approached 200 mph.
"You ought to see my bumper," Waltrip said. "I think Junior tore it off."
Earnhardt already was the first driver to win four straight Winston Cup races at Talladega, and he overcame all sorts of problems -- a disallowed qualifying time, a hole in his grill -- to make a bid for No. 5.
At the end, he fell 0.095 seconds short -- about a car length.
"I don't know if I could take too many more of these," he said. "It was too crazy for me, and I'm about the craziest one out here."
It came down to a four-lap sprint to the finish after a spectacular crash sent pole-sitter Elliott Sadler's car flipping down the backstretch.
Coming off the fourth turn for the final time, Waltrip went high to block Gordon along the wall. Earnhardt got a peek to the inside, but Waltrip swept to the bottom of the track like a motorist who missed a turn, blocking his DEI teammate.
Second win
Waltrip won for the second time this year, following up his rain-shortened victory in the season-opening Daytona 500.
"I firmly believe if I had stayed on the bottom of the track and tried to ride to the checkered flag, Gordon would have passed me," he said.
Gordon slipped to fifth after Waltrip's block. The DEI duo was followed across the line by Tony Stewart, who skipped practice Saturday because of a severe headache, and Ryan Newman.
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