QUALIFYING: Ken Schrader won the Bud Pole with a speed of 196.153mph and a time of 00:48.819sec. Rusty Wallace started 12th with a speed of 193.760mph and a time of 00:49.422sec. Top Ten Qualifiers: 1st-Ken Schrader, 2nd-Bobby Labonte, 3rd-Dale Jarrett, 4th-Terry Labonte, 5th-Mike Skinner, 6th-Jeff Gordon, 7th-Kenny Irwin, 8th-Mark Martin, 9th-Jeff Burton, 10th-Sterling Marlin. Notables in field: 12th-Rusty Wallace, 14th-Dale Earnhardt, 24th-Jeremy Mayfield, 34th-Michael Waltrip. Starting Grid
RACE: Any thoughts of winning his first championship died weeks ago. Still, Dale Jarrett can take consolation in his 3rd victory of the season and a $1 million bonus Sunday in the Winston 500. Jarrett held off a pack of challengers over the last 13 laps at Talladega. While an eight-car pack was dicing and exchanging positions behind him, Jarrett somehow kept his Ford Taurus out front winning his 3rd race of the season and the 18th of his NASCAR career. He beat Gordon to the finish line by about three car-lengths. Jarrett won a total of $1,110,125, thanks to the No Bull 5 bonus. Jarrett was one of five drivers -- the top finishers in the Southern 500 on Labor Day Weekend -- eligible to win the money. Martin saw his chances of winning his first championship virtually disappear when he was caught up in an 11-car melee on the 136th of 188 laps. He wound up 22 laps off the pace and was relegated to a 34th-place finish by the accident that sent Ernie Irvan to a Birmingham hospital. Irvan awake and talking when taken from his battered car on Sunday. A CAT Scan was negative and no broken bones were found, but Irvan was being kept overnight at Carraway Methodist Medical Center for observation. Gordon led 49 laps early but fell as far back as 24th in the 43-car field midway through the race before working his way back to contention. Gordon now has finished in the top five in 16 consecutive races. Top Ten Finishers: 1st-Dale Jarrett, 2nd-Jeff Gordon, 3rd-Terry Labonte, 4th-Jimmy Spencer, 5th-Jeremy Mayfield, 6th-Bobby Labonte, 7th-Mike Skinner, 8th-Chad Little, 9th-Michael Waltrip, 10th-Jeff Burton. Notables in the field: 24th-Dale Earnhardt, 27th-Rusty Wallace, 32nd-Dale Earnhardt, 34th-Mark Martin. Race Results
RACE RECAP:
After 188 Laps
Leaders: 12
Lead Changes: 20
4 Cautions for 20 Laps
Cars Out of Race: 11
Average Speed: 159.317mph
Winner: Dale Jarrett
Margin of Victory: 0.14sec
Time of Race: 3:08.20
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