Fort Worth Star-Telegram from Fort Worth, Texas • 45

wwwstar-tclegrancom Monday March 29 I999 90 1pti tit) Oita ig) 1 I iwyw A LEBRETON LEBRETON From Page ID From -77 r-It'LL4 aeS' g7'TifId I0A ----ktatiktgA pi)- 2w- tv 4 2 771r73 tity -7711 0 jg7 4 Pmyr 4-: poo g7L'orAlLew ---tzzrOP4(1G3 I 1 1 Lb --r7 ty 4:) 10 It's-rk it e'' 4 401- 4 to e''' )4'41)gle) 11 Scar-TelegramDAHRIil BYERS Jimmy Spencer in No 23 and Robert Pressley In No 77 crash against the wall during the final laps of yesterday's Primestar 500 1 And suddenly it was Jarrett and the two Texas Labontes Terry and Bobby Among them there were a combined 45 Winston Cup first-place trophies and 23 top-10 series finishes In the No 18 Interstate Batteries Pontiac pit a mini-drama played itself out Bobby Labonte who broke his right shoulder in practice at Darlington (SC) Raceway a little more than a week ago didn't know how long he was going to be able to drive Designated driver Matt Kenseth was ready to take over at any time But the younger Labonte never relinquished the wheel "I've got this big or coconut shell a cast on my back and it's pretty sore right now" Bobby Labonte said "It just didn't lay right with me for the most part of the day "I was more or less giving out at the end My neck was hurting because we had changed some stuff in the seat and it wasn't normal I've never been this uncomfortable before" Yet the threesome rolled on to the end weaving and darting past lapped cars ignoring the gray clouds not worried about the track or who sang the Anthem but focused only on the checkered flag It made for an engaging finish It reminded us in this third try that a NASCAR Winston Cup race is more than a week-long gripe-fest and a four-hour traffic jam Clearly there have been better stock car races But not here The change was more than refreshing Lapped cars add obstacles Pit stops under a green flag add drama Gordon's misfortune hinted at the early indecision that was taking place in the pits The sport's biggest name had a right front tire cut down and veered into the Turn 4 wall with a molar-jarring thud The intermittent tire problems prompted Goodyear people to remind pit crews of the tires' recommended air pressure Clearly in other words this baby is growing up Two years ago one of its larger "problems" was that the delivery men picked up the grand piano but not the world-class pianist Yesterday with Gordon suddenly whisked from the spectacle we were reminded that the show goes on There was Burton whose No 22 Caterpillar Pontiac looked like a winner for 56 of the day's laps His crew made the costly decision to pit on Lap 214 under a green flag the yellow flag brought things to a crawl just three laps later Burton never could make up the missing lap "We were as good as anybody out there" he said later "Were we good enough to win the race? Shoot yeah We were racing winning material "People are going to pick up the paper in the morning and think we had a bad day But we know that except for one break we had a heck of a run Give us one more shot think we'd win this thing" The show went on There was Martin who had laid down his own personal driving groove into the TMS winner's circle A tire problem sent him too into the wall IMCLIEllilP the day could muster made for an afternoon at Texas Motor Speedway unlike any other And when it was over the winner Labonte did a most amazing thing He praised the day instead of calling for the bulldozers "It was a great day for us" said the Corpus Christi native after his 21st career Winston Cup victory "To me this is the biggest race I've ever won To be able to come down here to Texas and win I was just thankful I was just happy" Oh they complained about Turn 2 Too tight And they bemoaned the lack of a second groove to race in Few drivers ever traveled two abreast And passing opponents is still somewhat of an Indiana Jones adventure But it didn't spoil the show Rather let me suggest the track's contrariness enhanced it "The changes they've made here were a big improvement" Labonte said "You saw people race real good today compared to what we saw the first two years" The layout of the TMS track pre-S3-million facelift had invited caution But yesterday the field raced at 180 mph through an incident-free first 30 laps and the NASCAR equivalent of a TV timeout had to be called a mandatory caution flag The next 200 miles produced mostly a long single-file conga line but so be it the day could muster made for an at Texas Motor Speedway unlike a And when it was over the winn Labonte did a most amazing thing praised the day instead of calling i bulldozers "It was a great day for us" said PUS Christi native after his 21st ca Winston Cup victory "To me this biggest race I've ever won To be I come down here to Texas and win just thankful I was just happy" Oh they complained about Tur tight And they bemoaned the lack ond groove to race in Few drivers ever traveled two a And passing opponents is still son an Indiana Jones adventure But it didn't spoil the show Rath suggest the track's contrariness eith "The changes they've made hei big improvement" Labonte said' people race real good today comp what we saw the first two years" The layout of the TMS track pr lion facelift had invited caution day the field raced at 180 mph thrc incident-free first 30 laps and the equivalent of a TV timeout had to a mandatory caution flag The next 200 miles produced IT long single-file conga line but so Po le-bp 25 lops118 287 Average speed: 134948 Leaders (Lap 200): Ward Burton Mark Martin Dale Jarrett Terry Labonte Bobby Labonte Key moments: Tony Stewart continues to move up After starling 19th he passes surprising front-runner Rich Bickle to move into the No 7 spot Average speed: 180535 Leaders (Lap 25): Kenny Irwin Jr Terry Labonte Ward Burton Jeff Gordon Wally Dallenbach Key moments: Proof of the one-groove theory: Jeff Burton starts 20th but gets hung up on the outside lane and drops back 18 spots Pole-sitter Kenny Irwin keeps the lead lips201 225 Laps28 GI! Laketon (817) 390-7760 lebret on itar-teiegrancom A Primate 50117e8lltts Average speed: 155105 Leaders (Lap 50): Mark Martin Ward Burton Jeff Gordon Terry Labonte Kenny Irwin Jr Key moments: A mandatory caution flag comes out on Lap 32 because Saturdays "Happy Hour final practice was washed out Ken Schrader wins the race off pit road but Mark Martin and Ward Burton trade the lead Average speed: 134849 Leaders (Lap 225): Terry Labonte Bobby Labonte Dale Jarrett Tony Stewart Rusty Wallace Key moments: On Lap 209 Bobby Hamilton suffering from the flu bails out of his Chevy and is replaced by Kenny Wallace whose car was overheating Three laps later Jeff Gordon's trailer beats the post-race traffic by leaving early Mark Martin tags the Turn 1 wall on Lap 216 destroying the chances of Ward Burton who picked the wrong time to pit Car laps Completed No 5 Kellogg's Chevrolet 334 No 88 Quality CareFord Credit Ford 334 No 18 Interstate Batteries Pontiac 334 From Page ID los51 15 Iftps226 25g LABONTE 1 rt 1 i 1 i 't 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 I i I i LABONTE i 1 i i i i 1 i1 i 1' 1 11 I 1 4 Average speed: 147112 Leaders (Lap 75): Mark Martin Terry Labonte Bobby Labonte Kenny kWh Jr Dale Jarrett Key moments: A cut right front tire sends Jeff Gordon hard into the Turn 4 wall to bring out the yellow flag on Lap 71 "That's the first time I've ever seen him wreck that hard" crew chief Ray Evernham said Ricky Craven who has more than just passing familiarity with that wall stays out long enough to pick up five bonus points for leading a lap Average speed: 138405 Leaders (Lap 250): Terry Labonte Bobby Labonte Dale Jarrett Rusty Wallace Tony Stewart Key moments: NASCAR sends John Andretti behind the wall on Lap 247 Andrettes Pontiac suffering after the earlier wreck isn't up to speed The car Is officially retired because of handling problems completing only 202 laps Fin Start Driver 1 4 Terry Labonte 2 12 Dale Jarrett 3 2 Bobby Labonte 4 11 Rusty Wallace 5 27 Jeremy Mayfield 6 19 Tony Stewart 7 20 Jett Burton 8 38 Dale Earnhardt 9 39 Sterling Marlin 10 13 Elliott Sadler 11 24 Johnny Benson 12 30 Rich Bickle 13 37 Chad Little 14 29 Michael Waltrip 15 1 Kenny Irwin 16 5 Ward Burton 17 7 Ken Schrader 18 17 Brett Bodine 19 34 Ricky Rudd 20 16 Robert Pressley 21 9 Bill Elliott 22 36 Derrike Cope 23 10 Wally Dallenbach 24 21 Jerry Nadeau 25 32 Darrell Waltrip 26 43 David Green 27 35 Ricky Craven 28 41 Jimmy Spencer 29 33 Bobby Hamilton 30 18 Rick Mast 31 25 Ted Musgrave 32 3 Steve Park 33 28 Joe Nemechek 34 6 Mark Martin 35 31 Buckshot Jones 36 26 Geoffrey Bodine 37 22 Ernie Irvan 38 15 John Andrettl 39 42 Kenny Wallace 40 14 Randy LaJoie 41 40 Kevin Lepage 42 23 Mike Skinner 43 8 Jeff Gordon Money $376840 250100 181650 151675 119925 107315 107675 97775 95150 96490 91150 76300 85100 83400 94640 90800 75900 74900 73400 68065 66575 58075 63975 56475 51775 54075 49775 58775 62775 49500 45275 50975 49975 58975 40975 41450 45950 44950 38450 37950 44850 45000 60000 No 2 Miller Lite Ford No 12 Mobil 1 Ford No 20 Home Depot Pontiac No 99 Exide Batteries Ford No 3 GM Goodwrench Chevrolet No 40 Coors Light Chevrolet No 21 Citgo Ford No 26 Cheerios Ford No 45 10-10-345 Pontiac No 97 John Deere Ford No 7 Philips Chevrolet No 28 TexacoHavoline Ford No 22 Caterpillar Pontiac No 33 Skoal Chevrolet No 11 Paychex Ford No 10 Tide Ford No 77 Jasper Engines Ford No 94 McDonald's Ford No 30 Jimmy Dean Pontiac No 25 Budwesier Chevrolet No 9 Cartoon Network Ford No 66 Big Kmart Ford No 41 Kodiak Chevrolet No 58 Hollywood Video Ford No 23 Winston Ford No 4 Kodak Chevrolet No 98 YarboroughBurdette Ford No 75 Remington Ford No 1 Pennzoil Chevrolet No 42 BellSouth Chevrolet No 6 Valvoline Ford No 00 Crown Fiber Comm Pontiac No 11 Power Team Chevrolet No 36 Pontiac No 43 SIP Pontiac No 55 Square Chevrolet No 14 Federated Auto Parts Ford 334 334 334 334 334 334 334 334 333 333 333 333 333 333 333 333 333 332 331 331 331 330 330 330 329 324 307 306 289 272 253 252 244 241 202 174 152 lops251115 bps7g-160 Average speed: 154564 Leaders (Lap 100): Terry Labonte Mark Martin Bobby Labonte Kenny Irwin Jr Dale Jarrett Key moments: Terry Labonte swings around Mark Martin on the back straightaway to take the lead on Lap 90 He shows just how strong his Monte Carlo will be by leading the next 35 laps Average speed: 141356 Leaders (Lap 275): Terry Labonte Bobby Labonte Rusty Wallace Dale Jarrett Jeremy Mayfield Key moments: Ward Burton who got his lap back on the restart on Lap 221 has his hands full fighting off Terry Labonte Labonte finally puts Burton down again by passing him on Lap 266 Rusty Wallace moves around Dale Jarrett three laps later for the No 3 position Lys101175 llys215 rill No 16 PrImestar Ford 132 No 31 Lowe's Chevrolet 123 No24 DuPont Automotive Finishes Chevrolet 68 Jarrett and Labonte thrilled a TMS-record crowd of 221861 over the final 47 of 334 laps around the revamped 15-mile quadoval Jarrett had the point from Lap 285 to Lap 322 when Labonte ran him down exiting Turn 4 Running to the outside of Jarrett down the front stretch Labonte completed the pass at the startfinish line then tucked in front of Jarrett as the lapped car of Chad Little loomed ahead With the crowd up and cheering Labonte had stretched his lead to eight car lengths when Jimmy Spencer's crash into the front-stretch wall brought out the day's final caution flag on Lap 332 That gave Labonte three laps to strut before the home folk acknowledge congratulations from Jarrett and brother and third-place finisher Bobby Labonte and reflect upon the ironies that had produced his 2Ist career victory "When we went home and thought about it Andy suggested we bring this other car back" said Labonte whose most recent victory had been in Richmond Va on June 6 That was 26 races ago "That's the car that won Charlotte in 1996 and propelled us to the championship" said Graves referring to Labonte's most recent Cup title season "We tore it up in Michigan in 1997 and never got it back to where it was comfortable Terry and I decided last week to bring it We felt we had a couple of other good cars but this was the best one" This car was good enough for Labonte to lead five times for a race-high 124 laps including the final 12 Labonte began to fill up Jarrett's rearview mirror on Lap 320 when he drew to within one car length through turns 1 and 2 Labonte put a yellow quarter panel on the outside of Jarrett's car exiting Turn 2 on Lap 320 and snuck a little bit more of Chevy fender there on Lap 321 Those moves convinced Labonte there was enough of a second groove worked up high that he could take Jarrett on the outside "I really thought I was going to pass him in Turn 2 on the outside" said Labonte who led the most laps for the first time in 1999 "I was up to his quarter panel and I was hoping his spotter was going to say 'There's somebody on your outside' I could tell he didn't see me so I had to get out of the gas and try again" Labonte did so exiting the revamped Turn 4 The pass was executed high and along the wall placing Labonte ahead ofJarrett and below Little Just in time "We were running out of laps" said Labonte who has three top-10 finishes in the Cup races at -rms "And it's always easier when you're in second place and running in traffic and you can see what's happening" Jarrett had played his hand on Lap 276 when he pitted for four tires and fuel and gambled on winning the race via track position But he could not account for late-race lapped traffic "When I could go on my fresh tires I had some lapped cars that wanted to go too" said Jarrett driver of the No 88 Quality CareFord Credit Taurus "So I couldn't stretch out my lead like I wanted to But I still thought that maybe if I could use up enough racetrack I could keep Terry behind me As I caught one of them in turns 3 and 4 my car pushed up as I tried to get back in the throttle and that hurt me "Terry just got up high and got a run to the outside and there was nothing I could do after that" Especially after the final caution flew and Jarrett became the first car in Labonte's extended victory parade "I saw the crowd and they were all standing and cheering" Labonte said "All the other drivers pulled up beside me and congratulated me That's a good feeling To me this is the biggest race I've ever won to come down here to Texas and win" Spoken like a true Texan Jarrett and Labonte thrilled a of 221861 over the final 47 of 3 revamped 15-mile quadoval Ja from Lap 285 to Lap 322 whet down exiting Turn 4 Running to rett down the front stretch Lab( pass at the startfinish line then Jarrett as the lapped car of Chad With the crowd up and chee stretched his lead to eight car le Spencer's crash into the front-st out the day's final caution flag on That gave Labonte three laps home folk acknowledge congratt and brother and third-place finis and reflect upon the ironies th 2Ist career victory 'When we went home and the suggested we bring this other cart whose most recent victory had 1 Va on June 6 That was 26 races "That's the car that won Cha propelled us to the championship' ring to Labonte's most recent Cu tore it up in Michigan in 1997 and where it was comfortable Terry week to bring it We felt we ha( good cars but this was the best on This car was good enough for times for a race-high 124 laps in Labonte began to fill up Jarrett's Lap 320 when he drew to wit through turns 1 and 2 Labonte panel on the outside of Jarrett's Lap 320 and snuck a little bit mt there on Lap 321 Those moves there was enough of a second gro that he could take Jarrett on the ot "I really thought I was going tc on the outside" said Labonte wf for the first time in 1999 "I was ur and I was hoping his spotter was somebody on your outside' I cot me so I had to get out of the gas at Labonte did so exiting the rev pass was executed high and atm Labonte ahead of Jarrett and belov "We were running out of laps' has three top-10 finishes in the Cur it's always easier when you're in si fling in traffic and you can see what Jarrett had played his hand or pitted for four tires and fuel and i the race via track position But for late-race lapped traffic "When I could go on my fre lapped cars that wanted to go too of the No 88 Quality CareFord couldn't stretch out my lead like still thought that maybe if I could track I could keep Terry behind i of them in turns 3 and 4 my car to get back in the throttle and that "Terry just got tip high and side and there was nothing I coul Especially after the final cauti became the first car in Labonte parade "I saw the crowd and they cheering" Labonte said "All the up beside me and congratulated feeling To me this is the biggest to come down here to Texas and Spoken like a true Texan Average speed: 157059 Leaders (Lap 125): Mark Martin Bobby Labonte Kenny Irwin Jr Dale Jarrett Ward Burton Key moments: Mike Skinner who broke his right shoulder in a crash last year at Texas Motor Speedway hits the Turn 2 wall and suffers a hairline fracture of his right shoulder This brings out the third caution flag on Lap 125 Texas brothers Terry and Bobby Labonte come out of pit road racing side by side Average Leaders (Lap 300): Dale Jarrett Terry Labonte Bobby Laborite Rusty Wallace Jeremy Mayfield Key moments: A series of green-flag pit stops leave Dale Jarrett in first place Jarrett running fourth pits on Lap 276 and pulls out of his pit stall in 175 seconds Rusty Wallace comes in two laps later and makes an air-pressure adjustment Terry Labonte pits on Lap 261 Mark Martin returns from behind the wall on Lap 295 70 laps down Race statistics Time of Race: 3 hours 28 minutes 21 seconds Margin of Victory: under caution Average Speed: 144276 mph Lead Changes: 24 among 11 drivers Caution laps: 8 for 39 laps Reason out laps completed: Spencer crash 329 Jones vibration 252 lrvan engine failure 241 Andretti handling 202 Wallace overheating 174 LaJoie engine failure 152 LePage crash 132 Skinner crash 123 Gordon crash 68 bps128-1511 I lips7171-325 leg NAZAR letlers (Through Yesterday) Driver Name Points Starts 1 Jeff Burton 909 6 2 Bobby labonte 907 6 3 Dale Jarrett 847 6 4 Jeff Gordon 790 6 5 Terry Labonte 786 6 6 Mark Martin 780 6 7 Jeremy Mayfield 770 6 8 Ward Burton 749 6 9 Mike Skinner 734 6 10 Michael Waltrip 710 6 Starts 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 Top 5 Top 10 Money Won 4 5 $854611 4 5 713921 4 4 679874 4 4 2679361 1 3 695501 3 4 593136 3 3 508619 1 3 570414 2 4 735079 1 2 558186 Wins 2 0 0 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 Average speed: 137519 Leaders (Lap 150): Terry Labonte Bobby Labonte Mark Martin Dale Jarrett Kenny Irwin Jr Key moments: The biggest wreck of the day starts on Turn 2 on Lap 133 Kevin Lepage's Ford turns sideways and Rick Mast's Ford spins trying to avoid hitting causing a chain reaction that sweeps up Geoffrey Bodine's Chevy Ken Schrader's Chevy and John Andretties Pontiac "Damn wreck" Bodine says "Damn it we're in the wrong place at the wrong time" Average speed: 145718 Leaders (Lap 325): Terry Labonte Dale Jarrett Bobby Labonte Rusty Wallace Jeremy Mayfield Key moments: Its a duel between Terry Laborite and Jarrett as the Fords of Robert Pressley and Kenny Irwin Jr slow down the leaders and make things Interesting Jarrett manages to block Labonte until the Texan swings around for the lead on Lap 323 lag NASCARI'Lna Cup Sckelle lops151-115 laps126 334 Oats July 3 July 11 July 25 Aug 7 Aug 15 Aug 22 Aug 28 Sept 5 Sept 11 Sept 19 Sept 26 Oct 3 Oct 10 Oct 17 Oct 24 Nov 7 Nov 14 Nov 21 Race Pepsi 400 Jiffy Ube 300 Pennsylvania 500 Brickyard 400 Frontier at the Glen Pepsi 400 Goody's 500 Pepsi Southern 500 bide Batteries 400 New Hampshire 300 MBNA Gold 400 NAPA Auto Care 500 UAW-GM Quality 500 Winston 500 Rockingham 400 Dula -Lube 500k Jiffy Luba 400 NAPA 500 Location Daytona Roach Fla Loudon NH Long Pond Indianapolis Watkins Glen NY Brooklyn Mich Bristol Tenn Darlington SC Richmond Va Loudon Dover Del Martinsville Va Concord NC Talladega Ala Rockingham NC Phoenix Homestead Fla Hampton Ga Date Race Winner Feb 7 x-Bud Shootout Mark Martin Feb 14 Daytona 500 Jell Gordon Feb 21 Ova-LubaBig 400 Mark Martin March 7 as Vegas 400 Jett Burton March 14 Cracker Barrel 500 Jett Gordon March 21 TranSouth 400 Jett Burton Yesterday PrimeStar 500 Terry Labonte Date Race Location April 11 Food City 500 Bristol Tenn April 18 Goody's 500 Martinsville Va April 25 DieHard 500 Talladega Ala May 2 California 500 Fontana May 15 Pontiac Excitement 400 Richmond Va May 22 x-The Winston Charlotte NC May 30 Coca-Cola 600 Concord NC June 6 MBNA Platinum 400 Dover Del June 13 Michigan 400 Brooklyn Mich June 20 Pocono 500 Long Pond Pa June 27 Save Mart 350k Sonoma Calif Average speed: 130215 Leaders (Lap 175): Ward Burton Mark Martin Dale Jarrett Jeff Burton Rich Bickle Key moments: Randy LaJoie's Taurus blows an engine on the front straight to bring out Caution Flag No 5 on Lap 154 Twenty-eight cars remain on the lead lap on the restart on Lap 159 Ward Burton's fuel-only pit stop moves him up Joe Nemechek spins out his Chevy to bring out the caution flag on Lap 163 Average speed: 144286 Leaders (end of race): Terry Labonte Dale Jarrett Bobby Labonte Rusty Wallace Jeremy Mayfield Key moments: Jimmy Spencer's crash on the front straight brings out the caution on Lap 332 ensuring Terry Labonte's crowd-pleasing victory Could Jarrett have run him down? Probably not John Morino (817) 3904408 sturb (111 starscirgruntcom John Morino (817) 39 sturb (IP starscirgrunt non-points race A.