Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, July 17, 1995 TAG: 9507180055
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LONG POND, PA. LENGTH: Medium
Dale Jarrett gave his team a badly needed victory Sunday in the Miller Genuine Draft 500, then spoke of a future that may not include them.
Jarrett is trying to form his own Winston Cup team and will know within the next month if it can be arranged in time for next season.
``It would be a continuation of the Busch deal,'' said Jarrett, who drives his own car for selected events in the NASCAR Busch Grand National series. ``I am negotiating with two sponsors at the moment.''
Minutes earlier, Jarrett used every drop of fuel, then coasted around the final turn and held on to beat Jeff Gordon.
``This one is for the team, after everything they've been through,'' Jarrett said after winning for the first time this year and giving car owner Robert Yates his first victory since May 15, 1994.
``I have to pinch myself,'' Yates said. ``This one is real.''
The team has been beset by tragedy the past two seasons. Two years ago this week, driver Davey Allison was killed in a helicopter crash in Talladega, Ala. In August 1994, Ernie Irvan nearly lost his life when he crashed during practice in Brooklyn, Mich. Irvan suffered an eye injury and has not driven in a race since.
Irvan's future is uncertain, but that may not have any bearing on Jarrett. Asked if he would return to the Yates team if a deal to form his own team could not be consummated, Jarrett could not say.
``That's a question Robert Yates will have to answer,'' he said.
Although Yates had no answer, he was happy for Jarrett, who has been criticized for his driving this year.
``I just was beginning to wonder if it would ever happen,'' Yates said. ``We haven't put a car back on the trailer that was running right or not wrecked since Martinsville.''
That race was April 23. Since then, criticism of Jarrett has grown.
``If I was looking for praise, I probably wouldn't have come into this situation,'' he said. ``If I go out and win 10 races, it's because I've got a great car. If I don't, it's because I can't drive.''
Jarrett disproved that by the slimmest of margins. He needed a push to Victory Lane after his car stopped less than a mile beyond the start-finish line.
He beat series leader Gordon by about five car-lengths (nineteen-hundredths of a second) to win for the first time in 17 races for Yates. The victory was only the third this year for a Ford Thunderbird, and the fourth for the 38-year-old driver.
``It ran out in the third turn,'' said Jarrett, who led by 10 car-lengths entering the final half of the decisive lap at 2.5-mile Pocono International Raceway.
``We weren't handling at the end; we were out of tires,'' said Gordon, who extended his lead in the Winston Cup standings to season-high 106 points over fellow Chevrolet driver Sterling Marlin. Gordon held a 40-point margin entering the $1 million event, but Marlin was never a factor and finished 18th.
Rick Mast of Rockbridge Baths, Va., starting in the top 10 for the second consecutive race, ran in the top five late in the race but slipped to finish 13th. Jimmy Hensley of Horsepasture, Va., started 20th, but finished six laps down in 32nd position.
Jarrett emerged from a battle that featured a season-high 37 lead changes among 13 drivers. Jarrett collected $72,970 for beating Gordon, who was seeking his third consecutive victory and sixth this season.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB