THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 4, 1996 TAG: 9608070468
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BOB ZELLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SPEEDWAY, IND. LENGTH: 110 lines
Dale Jarrett has won NASCAR's premier race twice, but his victory in the Brickyard 400 on Saturday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway has added a luster to his career that even two Daytona 500 victories couldn't provide.
Jarrett passed teammate Ernie Irvan with seven laps to go and held on from there to win NASCAR's richest race on a warm Indiana summer afternoon.
Jarrett's share of the NASCAR-record $4.7 millon purse was $564,035. It was his seventh career victory and his third of 1996.
Terry Labonte was third, followed by Mark Martin and Morgan Shepherd. Ricky Rudd finished sixth.
The race ended under yellow when Robert Pressley crashed with two laps to go, but Jarrett had matters well in hand when the race was slowed for the final lap.
``On the last lap, riding around there, it was hard to keep myself composed just because of what this is and what it means,'' Jarrett said. ``Probably just reflecting back on everything, just knowing where I came from to get to this point, it's very, very gratifying.
``It's something I'll always remember and something I'll always have. I'll cherish this the rest of my life.''
The 1-2 finish by Jarrett and Irvan was the second in three weeks by the Robert Yates Racing Fords. On July 14 at New Hampshire, Irvan led Jarrett to the finish line.
And as Irvan wryly noted, it would have been better for him had the finishes been reversed. New Hampshire was a great victory. It was his first since his near-fatal accident in Michigan in 1994. But there is nothing like Indy.
The Daytona 500, of course, will always be NASCAR's most important race, if only because of its history and tradition. But even though the Winston Cup series has only been coming to Indy for three years, this place already has a fierce hold on the collective imagination of NASCAR's best drivers.
``I can remember my Dad taking me to watch the Indianapolis 500 on closed-circuit TV in Charlotte,'' Jarrett said. ``I thought back to 1971, when I raced at Hickory Speedway. I didn't know if I would make it in racing, but I knew that it was what I wanted to do. I finished ninth that night and made $25. I actually didn't get any of that $25. I raced for a long time before I I got anything from racing, I'll assure you.''
While Jarrett was joyfully reflecting back on his earliest days in racing, Irvan was at the other end of the emotional spectrum, sucking up the disappointment of coming so close here once again.
Two years ago, Irvan lost the lead to winner Jeff Gordon in the inaugural Brickyard 400 with five laps to go when a tire went down.
``I tell ya, this is a lot more heartbreaking than the flat tire we had two years ago,'' Irvan said. ``We just fell short again. It was a great battle.''
Jarrett, who started 24th after tapping the wall during his qualifying run Thursday, did not take the lead for the first time until only 25 laps were left in the 160-lap race.
On lap 135, Jarrett passed Terry Labonte in turn 4. Irvan also went past Labonte, and the stage was set for the final showdown.
On lap 139, Irvan got past Jarrett on the backstretch. Now Irvan was the rabbit, and Jarrett was relentless in his pursuit.
Irvan would say after the race that his car was better in turns 1 and 2 and Jarrett's was better in turns 3 and 4. But it boiled down to the tiniest slip-up, and that happened to Irvan on lap 153.
``I got a little high in turn 2. I got up in the marbles, it (the car) washed up and I just about hit the fence and Dale got by me,'' Irvan said. ``It was my race to win and my race to lose. I ended up losing it.''
Said Jarrett: ``I was really concerned about (racing) Ernie. Obviously I needed to be when he got by me. My car was a little too tight then. But I could see his car starting to push a little more.
``I didn't know if I was going to get any opportunity. Even passing a car that is not as fast as you is difficult. I was just looking for that one opportunity, and trying to figure each and every lap where his car was losing a little bit.
``He got into (turn) one a little bit hard, got up on the track and his car wouldn't turn. My car slid, too. I almost hit Ernie because it slid, and I really had to cut it left to keep from getting into him.''
When Jarrett made the pass, it didn't particularly bother Irvan. He certainly didn't panic. After all, in the inaugural race, he and Gordon traded the lead several times in the final laps.
``I felt like I could get it back,'' Irvan said.
But Jarrett's car, like just about all the cars here, worked better when no one was in front of him.
``Once I got out front and got in the clean air, my car was a lot better,'' Jarrett said. ``It didn't push as much.''
Irvan couldn't do anything with his teammate. And even though the duel was cut short by a lap because of the final yellow flag, Jarrett by then appeared unpassable.
Only five years ago, the 39-year-old Jarrett won his first Winston Cup race. This is the first year he's won more than a single race in a season. And all three of his victories - the Daytona 500, the Coca-Cola 600 and the Brickyard 400 - have been huge wins.
Now his next goal will be to win the Southern 500 at Darlington on Sept. 1 and capture the Winston Million bonus.
``To win Daytona, Charlotte and here in one year is just incredible,'' Jarrett said. ``I don't know why God said this is Dale Jarrett's year, but we might as well go ahead and win the million. I'm sure they're tired of it sitting there collecting interest.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photos
ASSOCIATED PRESS
``It's something I'll always remember. . . . I'll cherish this the
rest of my life,'' Dale Jarrett said of his victory Saturday in the
Brickyard 400. His third win of the year was worth $564,035.
Dale Earnhardt, left, is consoled after exiting his car after six
laps. Mike Skinner brought the car home 15th./NASCAR Notes, C7
Dale Jarrett, right, and his crew chief, Todd Parrott, kiss the
bricks at Indy's start-finish line. by CNB