Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 9, 1993 TAG: 9305090088
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: E1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: MARTINSVILLE LENGTH: Medium
The 31-year-old driver won the 300-lap Busch Grand National Series race of the Miller Genuine Draft 500 at Martinsville Speedway - his second straight victory and third in his career.
"I'm starting to prove myself a little more," said Burton, whose Hardee's Buick led 227 laps, including the last 85, in front of a few thousand spectators.
Burton won $25,300 in the first 300-lap Grand National event run at Martinsville and became the 15th driver to win back-to-back races on the Busch circuit. It's been done 28 times since the series started in 1982.
Burton has won $40,120 in the past two weeks. In eight races this year, he's earned almost half as much ($79,873) as in his best year, $184,233 in 1992 - and it took him 31 races to do that.
"I'm in dreamland right now," he said.
Bobby Labonte, who never led, finished second in his MW Windows Chevrolet and won $9,175. Labonte's "other" car in the race - he owns David Green's Slim Jim Chevrolet - finished sixth. The two cars ran 1-2 for much of the middle portion of the race.
Ricky Craven (Chevrolet) was third, Hermie Sadler (Oldsmobile) fourth and Chuck Bown (Pontiac) fifth. Steve Grissom (Chevrolet) finished eighth and kept a five-point lead in the points standings, ahead of Green. Burton moved from ninth to sixth, and Craven leaped from 13th to seventh after the eighth of 28 Busch series races.
In the All Pro race, Mike Garvey of Norcross, Ga., (Ford) beat Jody Ridley of Chatsworth, Ga., (Ford) by 25/100ths of a second. It was Garvey's first win this year, and fifth in his career, in the first All Pro race held at Martinsville.
Garvey won $11,100.
Burton can thank a timely caution flag for his victory. He led the first 142 laps before plummeting back in the pack when his tires faded.
He lost the lead to his brother, Jeff, on lap 143, and he was out of the top five when David Bonnett and Tom Peck spun together through turn 1.
The five-lap caution allowed Burton to pit and get new tires.
"We needed a caution bad," said Burton, from South Boston. "If it had gone another 30-40 laps [under green], the field probably would've lapped me."
When racing resumed on lap 169, Green led Labonte with Bown, Jeff Burton and Todd Bodine.
By lap 207, Ward Burton had edged back into third place behind Green and Labonte. Four laps later he passed Labonte and five laps after that, Burton was back in the lead. He never trailed again.
"That makes the last five races in a row, the car stayed under me real well," said Burton, who qualified second on Friday. "I thought we could run well. I didn't have any idea we could lead the field the last [85] laps."
It was Burton's third top-10 finish this year, including a fourth-place finish March 27 in the Mark III Vans 200 in Darlington, S.C. He won the Rose's Stores 300 in Rougemont, N.C., last week. "It's almost scary," Burton said. "You take your glory right now, but forget about it next week. The guys in the shop need to keep doing the basics and me keep trying to drive one lap at a time, not get myself into anything I can't get out of, and listen to [veteran crew chief] Freddy [Fryar]."
Roger Sawyer of Chesapeake was a factor in his first Busch series race, spinning on turn 1 on lap 49 and causing a bump-and-grind that involved Rodney Combs, Ed Berrier, Richard Lasater, Grissom and Shawna Robinson. Sawyer already had been lapped by then, and he finished in 14th place and running, completing 294 laps. He won $1,900.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB