Pruett Earns First Victory

Scott Pruett refused to be intimidated by two-time series champion Al Unser Jr., losing the lead at the start of the last lap and coming back to beat Unser by less than a car-length in the Marlboro 500 for his first Indy-car victory.

Those two battled through the last half of the 250-lap race on the 2-mile, highbanked Michigan International Speedway oval, with Pruett holding a lead of nearly a full lap after Unser was forced to pit to replace a blistered tire on lap 230.

A fourth-turn crash by rookie Alessandro Zampedri on lap 238, the sixth and final caution period of the race, gave Unser another opportunity and he almost pulled it off.