Gentlemen, Hold Your Horsepower

INDIANAPOLIS — The Brickyard 400 wasn’t exactly a motorized version of the Tortoise and the Hare, but no one among the estimated 350,000 in attendance felt that Ricky Rudd had as fast a car as Dale Jarrett or Jeff Gordon.

Not even Rudd.

But it was Rudd, a quiet man from Chesapeake, Va., with a light foot and infinite patience--and a touch of luck--who took the checkered flag and a check for $571,000 on a warm, humid Saturday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

“It was unbelievable,” the 40-year-old driver and team owner said. “We had a fourth- or fifth-place car today, but our pit strategy got us to the front and those two late yellow [caution] flags played into our hands.”

Rudd’s Tide Ford went the last 46 laps without running out of fuel, while Jarrett, Gordon and the fast-closing Mark Martin had to make desperation stops for a splash of methanol 13 laps from the end of the 160-lap race. That gave Rudd the lead and no one could catch him.

Bobby Labonte, who also made one fewer pit stop than the faster cars, followed Rudd home for a $242,275 second-place finish.

“We didn’t have a fast car; I figured we’d finish maybe 12th to 18th,” Labonte said. “The race came to us, like it did for Ricky. On that last lap, they told me on the radio, ‘Don’t worry about anyone behind you because they’re all over the place.’ ”

Rudd and Labonte were assisted in their fuel conservation after their final stops by seven laps run under the caution flag at speeds around 60 mph.

“When you run during a caution you use two to three times less fuel than when you’re on the green flag,” Rudd said.

A three-lap shootout after the race’s sixth caution flag created perhaps the wildest finish venerable old Indy has ever seen. Behind Rudd and Labonte, who broke free, eight cars banged and battered their way--four abreast at times on the final lap--before Jarrett and Gordon finished third and fourth, followed by Jeremy Mayfield, Martin, Johnny Benson Jr., Bill Elliott and Ernie Irvan.

Mayfield made the biggest move, going from 10th to fifth on the last lap.

With the Brickyard 400 paying the richest purse in NASCAR Winston Cup history, finishing fourth, fifth or sixth was like winning an ordinary race.

“Everybody was beating and banging and slamming,” Elliott said. “I tell you what, they made you earn your dadgum money today. It’s a narrow race track and it’s hard to pass one-on-one. The problem is if two cars get boxed up and it gives a third car a run, it puts somebody in a bad position and it’s just hard to do anything. You’re kind of a victim of where you end up.”

Martin was the victim. After he passed Benson on the inside for third place, he couldn’t hold his momentum and got sideways. Benson went high and this let Jarrett, Gordon and Mayfield through.

“Man, I was getting hit from behind and hit from the side, it was pretty wild,” Mayfield said of the last lap. “Nobody knew who was going to be there at the end. A lot of guys were trying to mirror-drive everybody, and I was doing the same.

“When that hole opened up, everybody was going for the same hole. We were kinda getting sideways and rough, but so was everyone else. It was just good hard-nosed racing.”

Martin, who had charged from 31st to challenge the leaders, was disconsolate at the final result.

“I blew it there,” he said. “We had a chance to win it, but I fumbled. I dropped the ball and cost us three spots at the end.”

Irvan, the pole-sitter, had an impressive start by leading the first 39 laps but after that was not a factor.

Although there were 19 lead changes among 11 drivers, Jarrett’s Ford and Gordon’s Chevrolet displayed the most horsepower--but it wasn’t a day for horsepower.

“I think Jeff and I had the best cars, we just weren’t able to show it at the end,” Jarrett said. “We weren’t even close on fuel. I don’t know how they went that far. We felt we had the best car. Sometimes the best car doesn’t win, and I take my hat off to Ricky. He did what he had to do.”

Rudd, who has won at least one Winston Cup race for 15 consecutive seasons, averaged 130.828 mph to win by .183 of a second. A Brickyard 400-record 23 cars finished on the lead lap and 35 were running at the finish.

That included Michael Waltrip, who crashed early in the race, lost 65 laps while his crew taped the car together, making it look more like a dirt track supermodified, with no hood, than a Winston Cup stock car.

The crowd gave him a standing ovation when he returned to the race, his No. 21 painted on the side of the sheet metal.

“It was a Band-Aid job, that’s for sure, but we wanted to get back to running,” Waltrip said. He finished 71 laps behind Rudd, but still collected $62,755.

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BRICKYARD 400: The Finish

1. Ricky Rudd: Ford

2. Bobby Labonte: Pontiac

3. Dale Jarrett: Ford

4. Jeff Gordon: Chevrolet

5. Jeremy Mayfield: Ford

* COMPLETE RESULTS C12

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Other Facts

RACE STATISTICS

* Time of race:

3 hours 3 minutes 26.841 seconds.

* Margin of victory: 0.18 of a second.

* Winner’s speed: 130.828 mph.

* Caution flags:

6 for 25 laps.

* Lead changes: 20 among 11 drivers.

LAP LEADERS

* Irvan1-39

* J.Gordon40-40

* Benson41-41

* Dallenbach42-54

* Spencer55-55

* T. Labonte56-56

* Craven57-57

* Jarrett58-77

* Gordon78-80

* Benson81-81

* Spencer82-83

* Dallenbach84-84

* Gordon85-88

* J.Burton89-109

* Gordon110-113

* Rudd114-114

* Skinner115-122

* Gordon123-135

* Jarrett136-146

* Rudd147-160

400 WINNERS

* 1994: Jeff Gordon

* 1995: D. Earnhardt

* 1996: Dale Jarrett

* 1997: Ricky Rudd

LEADING DRIVERS

Series points leaders:

1. J.Gordon: 2,834

2. Martin: 2,755

3. Jarrett: 2,687

4. T. Labonte: 2,603

5. J. Burton: 2,591

6. Earnhardt: 2,491

7. B. Labonte: 2,411

8. Rudd: 2,309

9. Mayfield: 2,255

10. Elliott: 2,179

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BRICKYARD 500 RACE AT A GLANCE

The Results

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Driver Car Laps Reason Money 1. Ricky Rudd Ford 160 $571,000 2. Bobby Labonte Pontiac 160 $242,275 3. Dale Jarrett Ford 160 $223,900 4. Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 160 $223,675 5. Jeremy Mayfield Ford 160 $142,445 6. Mark Martin Ford 160 $123,960 7. Johnny Benson Pontiac 160 $121,760 8. Bill Elliott Ford 160 $110,460 9. Mike Skinner Chevrolet 160 $132,560 10. Ernie Irvan Ford 160 $143,560 11. Ken Schrader Chevrolet 160 $95,235 12. Lake Speed Ford 160 $83,135 13. Kyle Petty Pontiac 160 $78,035 14. Darrell Waltrip Chevrolet 160 $85,085 15. Jeff Burton Ford 160 $96,885 16. Ricky Craven Chevrolet 160 $82,135 17. John Andretti Ford 160 $80,095 18. Brett Bodine Ford 160 $79,535 19. Ward Burton Pontiac 160 $78,435 20. Bobby Hamilton Pontiac 160 $82,935 21. Rick Wilson Ford 160 $65,935 22. Ron Barfield Ford 160 $64,935 23. Rick Mast Ford 160 $74,335 24. Jimmy Spencer Ford 159 $74,435 25. Jeff Green Chevrolet 159 $67,735 26. Steve Grissom Chevrolet 159 $71,010 27. Ed Berrier Chevrolet 159 $59,910 28. Robby Gordon Chevrolet 159 $68,910 29. Dale Earnhardt Chevrolet 158 $76,310 30. Kenny Wallace Ford 158 $67,910 31. Greg Sacks Chevrolet 158 $57,410 32. Joe Nemechek Chevrolet 156 $67,910 33. Ted Musgrave Ford 155 $63,660 34. Rich Bickle Chevrolet 153 crash $56,410 35. David Green Chevrolet 137 engine failure $56,160 36. Wally Dallenbach Chevrolet 120 engine failure $61,510 37. Jeff Purvis Chevrolet 112 $55,876 38. Rusty Wallace Ford 91 engine failure $72,755 39. Michael Waltrip Ford 89 $62,755 40. Terry Labonte Chevrolet 83 engine failure $77,755 41. Derrike Cope Pontiac 12 crash $55,755 42. Chad Little Pontiac 2 crash $55,755 43. Sterling Marlin Chevrolet 2 engine failure $71,755

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