Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 26, 1995 TAG: 9503280019
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: DARLINGTON, S.C. LENGTH: Medium
Larry Pearson, son of Darlington legend David Pearson, crossed the finish line about two car-lengths ahead of Johnny Benson to win the Mark III Vans 200.
Mark Martin was third, followed by Chad Little and Phil Parsons.
Earlier, in the second round of the International Race of Champions, Mark Martin led 57 of 60 laps for an easy victory as Dale Earnhardt triggered a four-car crash.
In the Busch race, the 42-year-old Pearson won for the first time in almost seven years. He undoubtedly was thinking more about his own career than his father's unparalleled 10 Winston Cup victories at this 1.366-mile oval.
Larry Pearson had not won a Grand National race since Bristol in the fall of 1988, and he was moved to tears at the Grand National banquet in January as he promised his team he would win this season. Pearson never had won on a superspeedway, and he never had won at his father's favorite track, despite much coaching.
``He's drilled enough crap into my head about getting around this place,'' Larry said.
David, who last won here in 1980, was not on hand to witness his son's victory, although he had been around Friday and earlier Saturday.
``He don't like to get caught in race traffic,'' Larry said.
``I'll probably have a message on my answering machine when I get home. As most of you know, he's really not much for words. But he's not the only one who can win here at Darlington.''
Pit strategy was the key to Pearson's victory. He started 36th and did not take the lead until 18 laps to go, when he passed Parsons on the front straight.
Pearson's young crew chief, 25-year-old Ryan Pemberton, had determined that Pearson was faster on used tires than new ones, and that his greatest disadvantage was poor track position because of his starting spot.
So Pemberton and his crew changed Pearson's tires on lap 101 during a caution period. When the other leaders, including Mark Martin, who led 37 laps, changed tires during the next caution period on lap 108, Pearson stayed out and gained nearly all the ground he needed.
On lap 100, Pearson was 15th. On lap 110, he was second, trailing only Parsons.
Pemberton ``made that call,'' Pearson said. ``He's only about 25, but he's got a lot of knowledge about racing.
``The last two times I've been here, we've actually run very well,'' Pearson said. ``We ran good enough to win the race but things happened - mainly Mark Martin. He was a little stronger than we were. But I don't think this is going to be the only [win] this year. I think we can kick some butt.''
Pearson has never been particularly fond of Darlington and was irritated with last year's repaving because it took away his groove in turns 3 and 4. But his attitude is changing. ``It's become one of my favorite places,'' he said.
Benson, meanwhile, retained his lead in the championship by 112 points over Terry Labonte, who was taken out in a four-car crash on lap 112, the biggest of seven crashes Saturday.
In the IROC race, Martin took the lead from Jeff Gordon on the third lap and was never seriously challenged after that, even though he only won by a few car-lengths. Gordon was second, followed by Ken Schrader, Tom Kendall and Scott Pruett.
The wildest moment of an otherwise uneventful event came on lap 17, when Earnhardt tried to pass Steve Millen in turn 2 and clipped him, sending Millen into a spin that collected Earnhardt, Rusty Wallace and Ricky Rudd.
``I wasn't going to hold him up intentionally, but I wasn't just going to pull over either,'' Millen said. ``We touched and we spun. It was racing.''
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB