Waltrip took the checkered flag in the EA Sports 500, a typically thrilling Talladega race that resembled a night at the short track. There was all sorts of banging and bumping before it came down to a four-lap sprint to the finish.

After pole-sitter Elliott Sadler was taken out in a spectacular crash on lap 182, his car flipping several times on the backstretch, NASCAR officials red-flagged the cars to give the rescue crew time to clean up.

A couple of laps under yellow followed, then Waltrip led the pack as the green flag dropped. He never relinquished the lead, though Earnhardt was on his bumper the whole way. More