QUALIFYING: Mark Martin won the Bud Pole with a speed of 155.966mph and a time of 00:23.082sec. Rusty Wallace started 2nd with a speed of 155.723mph and a time of 00:23.118sec. Top Ten Qualifiers: 1st-Mark Martin, 2nd-Rusty Wallace, 3rd-Derrike Cope, 4th-Kevin Lepage, 5th-Bobby Labonte, 6th-Jeff Gordon, 7th-John Andretti, 8th-Jerry Nadeau, 9th-Dick Trickle, 10th-Dale Jarrett. Notables in field: 27th-Jeff Burton, 28th-Jeremy Mayfield, 29th-Ken Schrader, 32nd-Michael Waltrip, 43rd-Dale Earnhardt. Starting Grid
RACE: Mark Martin completed a record run that included some precision driving when it mattered most, but he wanted to talk about the crewmen who helped him overcome a personal tragedy. He was amazed by the work they did this weekend that led to a devastation of the field Sunday in the MBNA Gold 400. Martin won by backing up a record qualifying lap with a shockingly easy victory. But the 28th win of his career did little to help Martin close the gap in the Winston Cup standings because leader Jeff Gordon finished second. Martin had not beaten Gordon in their four previous 1-2 finishes this year, making the victory particularly sweet. At one point, it looked like Gordon would make a contest out of
it. He halved the lead with about 30 laps remaining, but didn't
negotiate lapped traffic as well and fell back. Martin didn't back off when he reached a gaggle of cars, saying he wasn't about to become cautious after dominating so much of the race. Gordon agreed that was the key moment of the race, and that his car just wasn't equal to the task. Martin established a career high with his 6th victory of the season. It was his 2nd career victory on the track where his breakthrough a year ago ended an 0-for-22 Dover drought. **Gordon had held the mark for leading the most laps at The Monster Mile when he led for 375 in losing May 31. (Martin led 380)** Top Ten Finishers: 1st-Mark Martin, 2nd-Jeff Gordon, 3rd-Jeremy Mayfield, 4th-Bobby Labonte, 5th-Rusty Wallace, 6th-Matt Kenseth, 7th-Dale Jarrett, 8th-Ernie Irvan, 9th-John Andretti, 10th-Bobby Hamilton. Notables in the field: 20th-Michael Waltrip, 23rd-Dale Earnhardt, 38th-Jeff Burton, 39th-Ken Schrader. Race Results
RACE RECAP:
After 400 Laps
Leaders: 4
Lead Changes: 9
7 Cautions for 47 Laps
Cars Out of Race: 11
Average Speed: 113.834mph
Winner: Mark Martin
Margin of Victory: 2.036
Time of Race: 3:30:50
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