THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, May 29, 1995 TAG: 9505290137
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BOB ZELLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CONCORD, N.C. LENGTH: Medium: 92 lines
New faces appeared in the victory lanes of America's great Memorial Day weekend races Sunday as Bobby Labonte followed Jacques Villeneuve's Indianapolis 500 victory with his own first career win in the Coca-Cola 600.
Labonte took the checkered flag 6.27 seconds ahead of his older brother, Terry, after Ken Schrader, who had dominated the race, fell out with a blown engine after 358 of the 400 laps.
``To come in here and win at Charlotte feels awful great,'' said Labonte, 31. ``Charlotte is just a really tough place.''
Michael Waltrip came in third, posting Pontiac's best finish of the season. He was the only other driver on the lead lap.
Sterling Marlin was fourth, followed by Ricky Rudd and Dale Earnhardt. All three were a lap down after making fuel-only pit stops with fewer than 10 laps remaining.
Hut Stricklin finished seventh, also a lap down, followed by Lake Speed and Bobby Hamilton, who were two laps down.
Labonte's first victory came in his third year in the Winston Cup series. And it was another big victory for car owner Joe Gibbs, the former Washington Redskins coach, who signed Labonte this year after Dale Jarrett bolted to Robert Yates' No. 28 Ford Thunderbird. Gibbs now has won two in a row at Charlotte; Jarrett won the Mello Yello 500 last October.
There were 32 lead changes among 12 drivers as Labonte averaged 151.952 mph over the 600-mile haul. At at one point, Labonte's wry sense of humor became apparent even at 170 mph.
As Rudd and Schrader battled in front of him, Labonte provided running commentary on the action.
``I did that while I was running third,'' he said. ``I gave a play-by-play through the corners.''
It was the final 100 miles that proved too much for the cars of several drivers, most notably Schrader. It looked as if it might finally be his night. Schrader hasn't won on the Winston Cup circuit since 1991, and just two weeks ago he lost the top of his left thumb in a garage accident.
As the race entered the final 50 laps, Labonte was slowly closing on Schrader, whose red Chevy had been dominant through the middle portion of the race.
Schrader suddenly slowed through the first and second turns on lap 358, and by the time he reached the third turn, he had lowered his window net. His engine was cooked. He drove straight to the garage.
``We came up short,'' Schrader said. ``We had a good car. It was a good car all day. But we didn't make it.''
Jeff Gordon, the pole winner, saw his worst fear realized - the jinx of being everyone's pick to win. And it didn't take long for trouble to arrive.
Gordon looked strong early, leading laps 8 to 44, but an ominous orange glow began to develop in his right front wheel.
When the leaders pitted after Todd Bodine's wreck on lap 72, Gordon's crew members were slowed in their efforts to change the right front tire because of flames coming from the wheel. Several blasts from a fire extinguisher only temporarily doused the flames, which could be seen lapping at the inside of the wheel well again as Gordon drove back on the track.
On lap 79, as Gordon entered the second turn, the wheel snapped free and rolled up the banking. Twenty minutes and some furious repairs later, he returned to the race - 35 laps down. He wound up 33rd, 116 laps back.
``Tonight was a reality check,'' Gordon said. ``It just wasn't our time to win, but there's a lot of racing left.''
In hindsight, Labonte had to be the dark-horse favorite. He won the pole for The Winston Select and was having a good race until he was caught up when Earnhardt crashed. Labonte then won the outside pole for the 600. And, earlier this year, he finished second to Gordon at Rockingham and Atlanta.
Gordon's car ``was really good at the beginning of the race,'' Labonte said. ``I thought, `Here we go again.' But he had a problem.''
And when Schrader finally dropped out, Labonte had a clear path to Victory Lane, distracted only by thoughts of success dancing through his mind.
``With 10 laps to go, I kept seeing flash bulbs going off in the grandstands,'' Labonte said. ``I said, `Man, I gotta keep thinking about this race.'
``To win here at Charlotte is big. To win your first race is big. To win the Coca-Cola 600 - it seems like it's all happening at the right time.''
And when it comes to auto racing, there's no better time to win than Sunday on Memorial Day weekend - the biggest race day of the year. ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Bobby Lamonte celebrates his victory in the Coca-Cola 600 at
Charlotte Motor Speedway with a bottle of the sponsor's finest.
THE TOP 10 COCA-COLA FINISHERS
[For a copy of the list, see microfilm for this date.]
by CNB