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15th NASCAR Busch Win!
Richmond Int'l Raceway - Sept. 6th, 2002
Dale Jr. and the #8 Jr Motorsports Team win the Funai 250!
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Richmond, VA - Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s latest win at Richmond International Speedway was a dominant one.
Earnhardt claimed his third career Busch series win at Richmond on Friday night, avoiding trouble and leading 190 of 250 laps on the short track to capture the Funai 250.
Making just his third Busch series start of the season, Earnhardt won from the pole in a race that featured a record-tying 11 caution flags and a fiery crash involving Ashton Lewis Jr.
"Man, this is awesome," Earnhardt said. "The car was doing absolutely anything I wanted it to. I honestly don't know how they built such a great race car. It really ripped the track up off the corners."
Jamie McMurray was second for his best career Busch series finish, with Jeff Burton, Tony Raines and Jason Keller rounding out the top five.
"I didn't think that anybody could run with the No. 8 car (Earnhardt) all night," said McMurray, who was in front for 42 laps. "They were fast off the track. He just did a great job."
A Winston Cup regular, Earnhardt has made the most of three Busch series starts this season. He won the season-opening race at Daytona for owner Richard Childress and drove to victory lane Friday as an owner.
"This is my and Teresa's kind of partnership," Earnhardt said, referring to his mother, the widow of racing legend Dale Earnhardt. "It's about a 50-50 partnership owning this team, so congratulations to her."
Only eight cars finished on the lead lap. Greg Biffle took four new tires on a late pit stop and placed sixth, maintaining a 78-point lead in the Busch series standings over Keller, who finished fifth.
"Tonight was just good, hard racing," Keller said. "I love Richmond. We battled hard all night and I came home fifth. It was typical short-track racing."
It marked the fifth time in track history that a Busch series race featured 11 cautions. Lewis' wreck occurred on the 128th lap when his Chevrolet made contact with the Monte Carlo of Jack Sprague and burst into flames.
Sixty laps earlier, Derrike Cope slammed into the wall and also caught fire. He was taken to a local hospital for X-rays on his right shoulder.
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