
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, July 16, 1990                   TAG: 9007160148
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LOUDON, N.H.                                LENGTH: Medium

ELLIS LABELS N.H. VICTORY HIS `GREATEST'

Tommy Ellis held on to beat hard-charging Harry Gant by three car-lengths Sunday, ending a year of frustration with a victory in the inaugural NASCAR Grand National Budweiser 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway.

Ellis, driving a Buick, averaged 85.797 mph for the caution-marred race, slowed 17 times by yellow flags and halted for nearly 15 minutes by a red flag after an eight-car pileup.

One of 12 drivers to lead in the first feature race on the mile oval, Ellis took the lead from Mike McLaughlin on the 244th lap and wasn't challenged until the last lap. Gant, also in a Buick, cut Ellis' lead from 10 car-lengths to three by the third turn of the final lap, but could get no closer.

"It's the greatest win I've ever had," said Ellis, a two-time Grand National champion from Richmond, Va.

Chuck Bown of Ridgeway, Va., the points leader this season with five victories, finished third. Morgan Shepherd was fourth, followed by Rick Mast of Rockbridge Baths, Va., and McLaughlin.

Pole-sitter Jimmy Hensley, also of Ridgeway, finished 15th.

Ellis said he felt confident after practicing last week at the new track.

"I really, really liked the track," he said. "It's similar to smaller tracks that I've been successful on in the past."

Ellis, 42, started on the outside of the second row, but said he felt he had the best car for the track.

"I had the fastest practice time," he said. "I was disappointed I didn't sit on the pole."

Ellis has 23 GN victories, but hadn't won since a 1989 race in Hickory, N.C., although he has come close. He led on the final lap last month in Myrtle Beach, S.C., but ran out of gas and lost to Mark Martin, the points leader in NASCAR's Winston Cup series.

Bobby Labonte, second in GN points going into the race, was involved in the eight-car accident and didn't finish. His car rolled several times before landing upright.

Labonte walked away from the accident, but did complain of a sore right leg.

He dropped to third in the points standings after the race, and Ellis moved from seventh to sixth. Bown maintained his lead, with Hensley moving up a spot to second.

Several drivers had expressed concern that the track was too slippery and might cause problems. Apparently, it did; only 25 of 46 starters were running at the end.

Ellis thought the track was too crowded.

"I never like to see more than 36 cars on any track," he said.

Keywords:
AUTO RACING

by CNB