Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, November 14, 1994 TAG: 9411150073
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: HAMPTON, GA. LENGTH: Medium
``We're sure the race is over?'' he asked. ``I don't need to make another lap, do I? I just don't want to give it up.''
To which car owner Jack Roush responded: ``Take an extra one to make up for the one we missed at Bristol.''
So Martin did. And he really can't be blamed for being gun-shy about finishing races.
In April at Bristol, he was cruising to victory in Grand National race when the yellow flag came out. But Martin pulled off the track with one lap to go and lost the race.
In September at Dover, Martin was winning the Winston Cup race with six laps left when a tire blew and he crashed.
``We didn't turn it loose until the second half of the race, and then I was just waiting for something to go wrong,'' Martin said after the NASCAR Winston Cup series finale. ``It's so hard to win. And you never think you're going to win one of these things until you do it. So I thought I'd just take an extra lap just to make sure they weren't mistaken about how many laps we'd run.''
Dale Earnhardt capped his championship season by finishing second, 3.42 seconds behind Martin, while Todd Bodine had a career-best third. Lake Speed was fourth and Mike Wallace's fifth-place finish also was a career best. Sixth-place Morgan Shepherd was the only other driver on the lead lap.
Derrike Cope was seventh, one lap down, followed by Terry Labonte, Dale Jarrett, Michael Waltrip and Ken Schrader, all two laps back.
Martin led 119 of the 328 laps, including the final 27, for his 14th career victory. More importantly, he overtook Rusty Wallace to finish second in the Winston Cup championship standings.
Martin ended the season 43 points ahead of Wallace, who on Sunday blew a front tire, pieces of which broke the oil tank and other parts. After going behind the wall for repairs, Wallace returned to finish 32nd. Wallace won the most races this year (eight), but slumped in the final four events, finishing 37th, 35th, 17th and 32nd.
The first half of the race saw a number of drivers who usually don't lead Winston Cup races take turns in front, including Todd Bodine, pole winner Greg Sacks, Cope, John Andretti, Ward Burton, and Wallace.
``I didn't run hard during the first half. I was just being cautious,'' Martin said. ``We wanted to win the race and we wanted to get the points thing [from Wallace]. In order to do that, we couldn't afford to cut a tire and crash the car or whatever. We had a couple of close calls, but all in all, it was really good.
``But about halfway through the race, it was time to get after it. The car handled so good, we made very few adjustments. It feels real good to get this one here because it kinda gives you bragging rights until February.''
Earnhardt, of course, shares those bragging rights, having clinched his record-tying seventh title two races ago at Rockingham.
``I think it's all starting to sink in now,'' he said. ``Me and Richard Petty have been talking a lot about winning seven championships, and I'm starting to really understand what it means.''
As for the race, Earnhardt said: ``We came from 30th and finished second, so that wasn't too bad, but it would have been really nice to win today. The car worked good, but Mark just had a little more than we did today.''
One of the cars using Hoosier tires was expected to win this race, because the Hoosiers would last more than 50 laps, while the Goodyears wore out after about 40 laps. But top Hoosier driver Geoff Bodine, who led 34 laps, blew one of his tires and hit the wall in turn four, as did Loy Allen. And Sacks also hit the turn four wall.
``I thought [Hoosier] had the tire today, but I didn't count on them blowing out,'' Martin said. ``As it turned out, our Ford was just handling good and was easier on tires than most.''
Martin has been one of the most vocal opponents of the tire war, and Hoosier's participation in the series, which is expected to continue next season.
And he spoke out again Sunday.
The tire war, he said, ``can't be totally solved, but it can be a whole, whole lot better than it was this year. We can't afford to sideline our top attractions [drivers] or anybody, for that matter.
``The things that make tires go fast also make them a bad risk. But drivers don't have that much say in this deal. If we squeak too hard, we get put in our place. We can be replaced. We don't swing a lot of weight around this place''
by CNB