ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, August 18, 1996 TAG: 9608190149
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-6 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: BROOKLYN, MICH.
THE WINSTON CUP star gains valuable ground on the way to winning the IROC series for the second time in his career.
Mark Martin rallied from near the rear of the field Saturday to win the International Race Of Champions season finale at Michigan International Speedway and claim the series title for a second time.
Martin started 10th among the 12 drivers in identically prepared Pontiac Firebirds. He moved up during the first half of the 50-lap, 100-mile event and swept past Johnny Benson on lap 31 to take the lead for good.
The victory earned Martin 21 points, and he got three more for leading the second-most laps. That enabled Martin to finish the four-race series with 61 points and brought him a championship purse of $225,000 from a total purse of $760,000.
Martin began the race third in the standings with 37 points, five behind leader Robby Gordon and four back of Al Unser Jr., both from the Indy-car circuit.
Gordon was fourth in the race and took second in the final standings with 54 points. Benson's runner-up showing, .757 seconds behind Martin, vaulted him from ninth to third overall.
Gordon earned $100,000 and Benson, in IROC as the 1995 NASCAR Grand National champion, collected $60,000.
NASCAR's Terry Labonte was third in the race and fourth in points. Unser was fifth in both.
Gordon was scheduled to take part in a postrace press conference to announce his hiring as successor to Kyle Petty on Felix Sabates' Team SABCO Winston Cup team. The announcement was called off because of ``time constraints,'' said Sabates spokesman Jon Sands.
Sands said no announcement will be made today, but Gordon's IndyCar crewmen were telling reporters at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis., site of today's Texaco 200, that Gordon has ``a done deal'' with Sabates.
Finishing in positions sixth through 12th in the race were Sterling Marlin, Rusty Wallace, Scott Pruett, Dale Jarrett, Ricky Rudd, Geoff Bodine and Jeff Gordon. Jeff Gordon had to park after 39 laps because of a mechanical problem.
Jarrett, Rudd and Bodine substituted, respectively, for Steve Kinser, Dale Earnhardt and Tom Kendall. Schedule conflicts kept Kinser and Kendall out of the race; Earnhardt was replaced by Rudd because of injuries.
Martin is only the fourth two-time IROC title-winner in the series' 20-year history, joining retired A.J. Foyt, Earnhardt and Unser.
Martin, who averaged 167.910 mph, splits his IROC earnings with his crew members, shop personnel ``and others who work hands-on with the Winston Cup and Grand National cars,'' because, he says, ``they're the ones who get me invited to IROC.''
LENGTH: Medium: 62 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. 1. Mark Martin (right ries to get around Johhnyby CNBBenson Jr. on Saturday on his way to winning the International Race
of Champions at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Mich.
2. Mark Martin climbs on top of his car fater an IROC victory
Saturday in Brooklyn, Mich., gave him the series championship. KEYWORDS: AUTO RACING