QUALIFYING: Ward Burton won the Bud Pole at Michigan with a speed of 125.558mph and a time of 00:21.504sec. Rusty Wallace started 22nd with a speed of 123.406mph and a time of 00:21.879sec. Top Ten Qualifiers: 1st-Ward Burton, 2nd-Dale Jarrett, 3rd-Rusty Wallace, 4th-Jeff Gordon, 5th-Kevin Lepage, 6th-Bill Elliott, 7th-Mark Martin, 8th-Wally Dallenbach, 9th-Ricky Rudd, 10th-Jeff Burton.
Notables in field: 15th-Jeremy Mayfield, 25th-Dale Earnhardt. Starting Grid
RACE: Mark Martin waited for the race to come to him Sunday before pulling away to an easy victory. Jeff Gordon dominated the first three-quarters of the 200-lap race. He led 132 of the first 149 laps before Martin and Dale Jarrett both came on to challenge. The key to Martin's victory was the first of only two caution periods. Gordon was nearly 10 seconds -- a full straightaway -- ahead of Martin and Jarrett when NASCAR waved the yellow flag on lap 118 after spotting a piece of debris. Gordon remained in the lead after pitting during the caution and again after a four-car crash on lap 125 brought out the second and final yellow flag of the race. Martin challenged Gordon for the lead several times before finally taking the lead on lap 150. Jarrett then moved past Gordon into second on lap 157. All of the leaders had to make one more stop under the green flag to take two right-side tires and enough gas to finish. When the flurry of pit activity was over on lap 182, Martin was just ahead of Gordon and Jarrett was third. On lap 192, Jarrett caught Gordon and pulled alongside. They battled side-by-side for most of the next two laps before Jarrett moved into second place. Top Ten Finishers: 1st-Mark Martin, 2nd-Dale Jarrett, 3rd-Jeff Gordon, 4th-Jeff Burton, 5th-Jeremy Mayfield, 6th-Bill Elliott, 7th-Bobby Labonte, 8th-Ward Burton, 9th-Joe Nemechek, 10th-Wally Dallenbach. Notables in the field: 15th-Dale Earnhardt, 17th-Rusty Wallace. Race Results
RACE RECAP:
After 200 Laps
Leaders: 9
Lead Changes: 15
2 Cautions for 11 Laps
Cars Out of Race: 2
Average Speed: 158.695mph
Winner: Mark Martin
Margin of Victory: 2.03sec
Time of Race: 2:31:14
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