Victory Keeps Earnhardt In The Hunt Veteran Driver Holds Off Wallace For First Money In Brickyard 400
On Saturday at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Dale Earnhardt showed the world he’s still a force to be reckoned with.
After the seven-time Winston Cup champion won the second Brickyard 400 in a pressure-packed duel with Rusty Wallace, he bristled when asked if his second victory of the season and 66th of his illustrious career “re-established” his reputation.
“You’re not going to beat us by talking about us,” Earnhardt said, his dark eyes flashing. “This team isn’t under any more pressure than it’s ever been just because there’s a Jeff Gordon or a Sterling Marlin ahead of us in the points. We’re not dead, yet.”
The 44-year-old Earnhardt has heard the talk about 24-year-old Gordon, the newest Winston Cup star and leading series winner this season with five, and Marlin, who has won the last two Daytona 500s - the race Earnhardt most covets and can’t seem to win.
But it was Earnhardt, whose only other win this season came on May 7 on the road course at Sonoma, Calif., who regained the spotlight Saturday with a nearly flawless race.
Mired in a midseason slump that has seen him fall from first to third in the season points, Earnhardt, who drives a Chevrolet Monte Carlo for Richard Childress, charged from the middle of the pack to the hard-earned victory.
He also regained a little ground in the points, with Gordon leading Marlin by 82 and Earnhardt by 121 with 12 races remaining.
“This was a brand new car,” he said. “We had about 40 laps of practice with it. To go out and win this race is great. We even made some changes this morning, but this car and crew are hard to beat when they’re right.
“I basically just ran a consistent race all day and just stayed in the hunt,” he explained. “The last pit stop was the key. The guys did a great job, got us off pit road in front and that was the race.”
On a day when it appeared rain would mean no race at all, close to 300,000 spectators hung around through a near 4-1/2-hour delay and got a full 160 laps and a terrific show on the historic 2-1/2-mile oval.
In the end, it was Earnhardt fighting to hold off longtime rival Wallace, who in turn barely held onto second place in a late duel with Dale Jarrett in the $4.5 million race, the richest in NASCAR history.
Earnhardt held off Wallace by 0.37-seconds, about four car lengths. The winner averaged 155.218 mph, easily breaking the mark of 131.977 set in the inaugural event by Gordon. That race was slowed by six caution flags.
MEMO: Changed from the Regional edition.