Ten years and one day removed from the tragic Hendrick Motorsports plane crash that claimed the lives of 10 people, including owner Rick Hendrick’s son Ricky, Earnhardt took the checkered flag for the first time at the .526-mile short track, earning for the first time the grandfather clock trophy he has coveted throughout his career.
In fifth position for a restart on Lap 495, Earnhardt made short work of Clint Bowyer (restarting fourth on the outside) and three drivers who had stayed out on old tires, including Stewart, and arrived at the finish line .344 seconds ahead of teammate Jeff Gordon, who took second place and the lead in the Eliminator Round of the Chase.
"Oh, man, we’ve been trying to win here for so many years," said Earnhardt, who collected his 23rd victory in his 538th start. "And this place is so special to me. I’ve wanted to win here so bad. We brought the good cars. I’m out of breath from celebrating more than driving. It’s a real emotional win.
"This team on pit road was great, and (crew chief) Steve (Letarte) and the guys did a real good job all day. They gave me a great shot at it there with the call at the end to take tires (under the 15th caution on Lap 492 of 500). I can’t believe we won here. This means so much to all of us."
Adding to the intense emotion of the moment were thoughts of the tragedy of a decade earlier.
"I lost my daddy (seven-time Cup champion Dale Earnhardt Sr.) a long time ago, and I know how hard that is," said Earnhardt, who was eliminated from the Chase a week earlier at Talladega. "I can’t imagine losing the magnitude of people that Rick lost. My heart goes out to him during this weekend.
"I love that his cars are good (enough) here to get the victory. So this honors them. I’m just real proud to be able to win at Martinsville in a Hendrick car. They always win here."
Behind Hendrick teammates Earnhardt and Gordon, Chase driver Ryan Newman came home third, posting his fifth straight top 10 in the Chase and climbing to second in the standings, three points behind Gordon.
Stewart held fourth place, and Joey Logano ran fifth, his sixth top-five result in seven Chase races this year.
Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski weren’t as fortunate. On Lap 228, Matt Kenseth wheel-hopped into Turn 1, spun and knocked Kevin Harvick’s Chevrolet hard into the outside wall near the apex of Turns 1 and 2.
After extensive time in the garage for repairs, Harvick finished 33rd, 43 laps off the pace, and fell to eighth in the Chase standings, 33 points behind Gordon, who led the most laps on Sunday (130). After the next two races, at Texas and Phoenix, the Chase field will be cut from eight drivers to four.(NASCAR Media)
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