Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, June 21, 1993 TAG: 9306210109
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: BROOKLYN, MICH. LENGTH: Medium
"We couldn't outrun him, so we outlasted him," Rudd said of Mark Martin, who ran out of gas with nine laps to go in the NASCAR Winston Cup race at Michigan International Speedway.
Martin led 141 of the 200 laps but knew he was in trouble after making a green-flag pit stop with 55 laps to go. He came out of that pit-stop shuffle in first place, but knowing his Ford Thunderbird, despite being easily the fastest car on the track, could not make it to the end without one last splash of gas.
Meanwhile, Rudd, who announced Saturday that he will field his own Winston Cup team next season, was able to stretch his final stop to lap 150 and was nearly certain he could go the distance.
Steve Hmiel, Martin's crew chief, told his driver by radio to pit on lap 190, but changed his mind, Points standings in Scoreboard. B4 telling him to take one more lap. It turned out to be a mistake as Martin ran out of gas on the backstretch and had to coast to the pits.
"We wouldn't have won anyway," Martin said. "Those guys [Rudd's team] didn't pit and we didn't have a big enough lead. The only way we were going to win was if we got a yellow [flag] or if they all had to stop."
Asked how tough it was to be so dominant and lose, Martin shrugged and said, "The only thing worse than that would be to run as sorry as junk."
"It's hard to believe we won it that way," Rudd said. "We won on Rudd gas mileage last September at Dover [Del.]."
Martin actually led lap 191, crossing the finish line in the pits. But Rudd zoomed past on the track moments later.
Rudd, who has 14 NASCAR Winston Cup victories and has won at least once for 11 consecutive years, said: "Mark was definitely the class out there. We had nothing for him at all. It was the tortoise and the hare. . . . But we haven't had a victory since September, so I'll take it."
Rookie Jeff Gordon, Rudd's Hendrick Motorsports teammate, finished second, following the Chesapeake, Va., driver's Chevrolet Lumina across the finish line by 1.1 seconds. Ernie Irvan was third, followed by Daytona 500 winner Dale Jarrett. Rusty Wallace was fifth, finishing for the first time in five races, and Martin finished sixth.
Martin had the fastest car in practice despite qualifying seventh and damaging his Thunderbird in a crash Saturday. He grabbed the lead for the first time on the 13th lap and held the top spot until everyone in the field pitted during the second of a series of early caution periods.
Davey Allison, who began the day second to Dale Earnhardt in the Winston Cap standings, tangled with Rick Wilson and crashed hard on lap 27. He lost 65 laps before repairs were completed, allowing him to get back on the track to run for points.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB