ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, September 16, 1996 TAG: 9609170066
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: DOVER, DEL.
SOURCE: Associated Press
JEFF GORDON assumes the Winston Cup points lead by winning the MBNA 500.
Jeff Gordon said his latest landmark victory wasn't as easy as it looked. For a while, he had little reason to think he'd win at all.
``I'm surprised that I'm here, really,'' he said Sunday after winning the MBNA 500. ``I did not expect to win this one today.
``At one point, I was a little worried about being lapped. For most of the race, I was thinking maybe we'll get a top-10 out of this.''
He got much more.
The defending Winston Cup champion moved into the lead in the series standings and put his name in the record book with his victory in the crash-filled race.
Gordon moved 76 points ahead of Hendrick Motorsports teammate Terry Labonte, occupying the top spot in the chase for a $1.5 million payoff for only the second time this year. But Gordon said his lead is of little consequence at this point.
``There's still far too many races left to say we're well on our way to the championship,'' he explained. ``But after the poor start we got this year, it's nice to even be in the championship race.
``The only time it matters though is after the last race. But to me the most comfortable place is at the top.''
By successfully defending his title in the race, Gordon joined David Pearson and Rusty Wallace as the only drivers to win three straight races at Dover Downs International Speedway.
``It's a great thrill,'' Gordon said. ``But we just have to keep going.''
His series-leading eighth victory of the season was worth $153,630 to Gordon, who got $83,630 from a purse of $1.4 million and a bonus of $70,000 for taking the points lead. The victory gave him one more than his leading figure of last season, and was the 17th in his four years on the circuit.
The 25-year-old achieved a milestone for the second time in three weeks on one of the most difficult tracks on the NASCAR tour. On Sept.1, Gordon joined seven-time Winston Cup champion Dale Earnhardt as a winner of three straight races at treacherous Darlington.
After starting third in a Chevrolet, Gordon took the lead for the first time on the 42nd of 500 laps at the Monster Mile. He moved to the front for the final time with 52 laps remaining, and held off Wallace to win by .441 seconds.
``I missed a shift with seven to go,'' Wallace said of the critical restarts that helped a front-running Gordon near the end of the race. ``He snaked me there a little bit at the end, but he really had a little better car than I had.''
Despite leading seven times for 203 laps, Gordon was forced to overcome a bad set of tires and the changing characteristics of the track. Once crew chief Ray Evernham and his team got the car dialed in, Gordon had only to hold off the Fords of Wallace and third-place finisher Dale Jarrett over the final laps.
``I was searching for a place to run,'' Gordon said. ``But I never gave up, and eventually the track came to us.''
Labonte, who started outside his teammate, had problems for most of the race, and wound up 22nd. He trails Gordon 3,723-3,647 with six of 31 events still to be contested.
Although he had led the points only after winning July 28 at Talladega, Gordon continued a run of dominance in which he has six straight top-five finishes. He has 13 top-10 finishes in his past 15 races.
The winner's average speed was held to 105.646 mph because of a season-high 14 cautions that slowed the race for 91 laps. There were 28 lead changes among 12 drivers.
The rash of accidents resulted in several arguments among drivers. Foremost among the combatants were Jimmy Spencer and Wally Dallenbach. They had to be separated after crashing on lap 456. Michael Waltrip and Kyle Petty nearly came to blows immediately after the race.
LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines KEYWORDS: AUTO RACINGby CNB