ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, March 2, 1997 TAG: 9703040010
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-9 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
When Jeff Burton's crew pushed his car out of Victory Lane on Saturday at Richmond International Raceway, it was not as the winner.
But the car and the crew received the winner's share of the applause from a rain-soaked crowd that was rewarded for its perseverance with one of the wildest, most entertaining finishes in recent NASCAR history.
Burton dominated the Grand National race, but Mark Martin won the Hardee's Fried Chicken Challenge 250 after a fender-banging duel between Burton and Jason Keller that extended through the final two laps and ended with Burton sliding sideways into Victory Lane.
``Those last few laps were pretty intense,'' Martin said. ``It was hard racing. The cars were sliding all over the place.''
Burton, who led 180 of the 250 laps, was in front as he came through turns 3 and 4 before taking the white flag.
But Burton's car slipped and Keller banged into his rear bumper. The impact knocked Burton out of the groove and allowed Keller and Martin to pass, but there was plenty of action to come.
``I had the race won,'' Keller said. ``I just lost it getting into [turn] 3. I just lost my concentration and messed up.''
Keller slid out of the groove, allowing Martin to make the winning pass a few hundred feet from the checkered flag. Then, Burton tried to follow Martin.
``I saw a hole and I thought maybe I could beat Mark to the line, so I stabbed the throttle and took off and ran all over'' Keller, Burton said.
Keller and Burton spun, with Burton ending up in Victory Lane - not as the winner, but as the second-place finisher.
Steve Park was third, followed by Phil Parsons and Keller.
``I expected to come in behind Jason and just put a little pressure on him,'' Martin said. ``I thought he probably had the race won, and his car started sliding entering [turn] 3 and it just wouldn't quit.''
Although Martin often dominates the GN races he runs, he only led two laps Saturday. Keller led 26.
There were seven yellow flags, including five during the final 100 laps. One was for a nine-car crash in turn 4. No injuries were reported. The start of the race was delayed almost an hour because of rain and a wet track.
LENGTH: Short : 49 lines KEYWORDS: AUTO RACINGby CNB