Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 31, 1994 TAG: 9408020037
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: BROOKLYN, MICH. LENGTH: Medium
Unser, an Indy-car star who leads the PPG Cup points race, led only the final four laps of the 50-lap race on Michigan's high-banked, two-mile oval.
Unser's record eighth IROC victory, and third at Michigan, was the culmination of an impressive comeback after he tried a low move on the banking and went all the way from second to ninth near the midway point of the race.
``I got caught making a low move, and the low line just wasn't the place to be today,'' Unser said. ``I had to come from the back, and I just tried to start picking them off one by one on the outside.''
He was back among the top five by lap 34, and he stayed with the leaders the rest of the way, moving past Martin to take the lead on lap 47.
That's the way it finished, with Martin, satisfied to protect second place from fellow NASCAR Winston Cup stars Rusty Wallace and Dale Earnhardt, finishing 0.347-seconds - about 11/2 car-lengths - behind in the race among 12 identically prepared Dodge Avengers.
``There at the end, I knew if I pushed him to the finish and stayed second I'd win the championship,'' said Martin, who won $200,000 and a new Avenger passenger car. ``I just wanted to stay second and count those points. I really, really wanted to win this thing.''
Unser, a two-time IROC series champion and a four-time runner-up, said he didn't even know who was second at the end, adding, ``It didn't make any difference. I was trying to win the race. I just was hoping whoever was second would stay in line because I wanted to stay out front in the clean air.''
Wallace, who led twice for 27 laps, wound up third, followed by Earnhardt, road racers Tommy Kendall, Jack Baldwin and Geoff Brabham, who had won the previous two Michigan IROC races, NASCAR's Kyle Petty, former Indy-car star Danny Sullivan and sprint car champion Steve Kinser.
NASCAR's Dale Jarrett crashed out of the race after being hit from behind by Kendall on lap 12, and former Trans-Am champion and current Indy-car rookie Scott Sharp hit the wall after a spinout involving Sullivan on lap 20. Baldwin brought out the third and final caution flag when he slid broadside on lap 21 after bumping Earnhardt. Baldwin had to pit for new tires but was able to continue.
Caution laps do not count in IROC, and it was shortly after the restart following the Baldwin incident that Unser fell to the rear of the field.
``The high line was the way around the track,'' Unser said. ``Once I figured that out, the rest was pretty easy.''
Martin finished the series with 66 points. Unser, Wallace and Earnhardt tied for second with 56 each, but Unser was awarded the runner-up spot, Wallace third and Earnhardt fourth based on the finishing positions of Saturday's race.
Baldwin was fifth in the points, followed by Kinser, Petty, Jarrett, Kendall, Sullivan, Brabham and Sharp.
The drivers shared $735,000 in prize money, with second place worth $100,000. None took home less than $40,000.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB