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Aaron's 499 - Talladega Superspeedway
Jimmie Johnson Wins Second Straight Plate Race
Of the 155,000 people who attended Sunday’s race, 135,000 of them called in sick to work in able to show up today for the rain-delayed Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway. And they were treated to one exciting race, just what NASCAR fans have come to expect at the fast, 2.66-mile superspeedway. The lead changed hands 56 times, while more than half of the field led at least one lap. In the end, it was Jimmie Johnson who took the win in a thrilling run to the checkered flag, securing his second consecutive restrictor-plate win. He won the season-opener at Daytona, where the horsepower-sapping restrictor plates are also used. Johnson took the lead on the very last lap and held off all challengers to score his 21st NASCAR NEXTEL Cup victory in his 156th career start. This is Johnson’s third win in the nine races of the 2006 season, his last victory came at Las Vegas in March, six races ago. As an added bonus, Johnson recaptured the point lead and won the $60,000 NEXTEL Leader Bonus for winning the race and leading the points. Johnson had never won at Talladega and now becomes the 34th different race winner in 74 races at the Alabama track. Johnson led only two times for three laps, including the final one, on the day, while Jeff Gordon and Elliott Sadler led a combined 20 times for at total of 85 laps. Gordon and Sadler, who arguably had the strongest cars in the event, had no drafting friends at the end and finished 15th and 16th respectively. Tony Stewart crossed the finish line 0.120 seconds behind Johnson in the second position, finishing in the runner-up spot for the third straight time and for the sixth time in his career at Talladega. Johnson’s teammate Brian Vickers came home in third, his second top-10 finish in five races at Talladega Superspeedway. Jeff Burton finished fourth, his 10th top-10 finish in 25 races at Talladega and his second-best best finish here. Jamie McMurray rounded out the top five, scoring his third top-10 finish in eight races at Talladega and his third top-10 finish in 2006. Today's event was also a streak-buster, as Mark Martin ended a streak of 12 straight top-15 finishes and Joe Nemechek ended a 40-race streak of running at the finish, which was the longest current streak.
Sadler Speeds to Talladega Pole Position
Elliott Sadler won the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Bud Pole for the Aaron’s 499 at the Talladega Superspeedway. Sadler qualified in 50.798 seconds, at an average speed of 188.511 mph to win his seventh career pole position in 258 NEXTEL Cup Series starts. This is Sadler’s first pole and third top-10 start of the 2006 season. He becomes the seventh different Bud Pole winner this season. Tony Stewart posted the second-quickest qualifying lap of 51.029 seconds, at an average speed of 187.658 mph, and will join Sadler on the front row for Sunday’s race. It is Stewart’s fifth start of third or better this season and his career-best Talladega start. Carl Edwards qualified in the third position, his fourth top-five start in 2006, and he has qualified in the top-10 in two of his four Talladega races. Sadler’s teammate Dale Jarrett qualified fourth, posting his first start of better than 15th this season. Kurt Busch rounded out the top five starting spots, making his eighth straight top-10 start of the season.
Rain Delays Aaron's 499 Until Monday
The Aaron's 499 at Talladega Superspeedway has been postponed due to rain and will be run at 12:00 ET on Monday. The broadcast will be on FX and some FOX affilliates.
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