THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, November 14, 1994 TAG: 9411140165
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BOB ZELLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: HAMPTON, GA. LENGTH: Medium: 92 lines
After shouting, ``We win!, we win!'' as he crossed the finish line Sunday to capture the Hooters 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Mark Martin thought he'd better double-check that.
``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 you can't blame him for being gun-shy about finishing races.
At Bristol in April, he was cruising to victory in a Grand National race when the yellow flag came out. But he pulled off the track with one lap to go and lost.
And at Dover in September, Martin was winning the Winston Cup race with six laps left when a tire blew and he crashed.
``I can't tell you how bad I wanted to win this race and how bad it feels to get one snatched out from under you at the end,'' Martin said.
``We didn't turn it loose until, really, the second half of the race, and then I was just waiting for something to go wrong,'' he said. ``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 to make sure they weren't mistaken about how many laps we'd run.''
Dale Earnhardt capped his seventh championship season by finishing second, 3.42 seconds behind Martin, while Todd Bodine had a career-best third-place finish. Lake Speed was fourth and Mike Wallace fifth. Morgan Shepherd was sixth, the only other driver on the lead lap.
Martin led 119 of the 328 laps, including the final 27, for his 14th career victory. He also overtook Rusty Wallace to finish second in the Winston Cup points standings.
Martin ended the season 43 points ahead of Wallace, who blew a front tire, pieces of which broke the oil tank. After going behind the wall for repairs, Wallace returned to finish 32nd.
Wallace won the most races this year - eight - but he slumped at the end of the season, finishing 37th, 35th, 17th and 32nd in the final four events.
The first half of the race was quite competitive, and a number of drivers who usually don't lead Winston Cup races took 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. In order to do that, we couldn't afford to cut a tire and crash the car or whatever. . . .
``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.''
Because Hoosier had the sturdier tire - able to last 50 laps to 40 for Goodyear's - it was expected the winner would be on Hoosiers. But Hoosier driver Geoff Bodine, who led 34 laps, blew a tire and hit the wall in turn four, as did Loy Allen Jr. Sacks, another Hoosier driver, 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.''
All year, Martin has been one of the most vocal opponents of the tire war and of Hoosier's participation in the series, which is expected to continue next season. And he didn't waste his opportunity on Sunday to speak out one more time.
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 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.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color ASSOCIATED PRESS photo
Mark Martin holds son Matt, 3 and the Hooters 500 trophy after his
victory Sunday.
B&W AP photo
Dale Earnhardt, who won his seventh Winston Cup title in 1994, waved
to the crowd before Sunday's race.
by CNB