| | Associated Press
DOVER, Del. -- Getting around Dover Downs International Speedway faster than anyone else doesn't guarantee success. No driver knows that better than Bobby Labonte.
Despite five qualifying records in two different series, Labonte has but one victory in 14 Winston Cup starts on The Monster Mile. That came last June, after he set the track standard with a run at 159.320 mph.
Even when he won, Labonte didn't outrace everybody, winning the MBNA Platinum 400 because teammate Tony Stewart and three-time Dover winner Jeff Gordon had to make late fuel stops.
"We definitely weren't the fastest car," said Labonte, who defends both his race title and the series points lead Sunday. "The race really belonged to Tony and Jeff."
Labonte says his Pontiac was no better than a third- or fourth-place car all day a year ago. But that wasn't bad, because he was in hot pursuit of the lead in the points race, and would wind up second on the season to Dale Jarrett.
Now, leading Ward Burton by 54 points, the 36-year-old Texan knows good fortune can make up for a car that doesn't go as fast as expected. Last year, when he realized he was being outrun, Labonte showed a newfound patience that was to pay an unexpected dividend.
"Everything went our way when the race ended up," he said. "Joe Gibbs Racing has an engine shop that not only works hard to make great horsepower, but also makes sure we aren't getting beat on fuel mileage."
After a run of three straight victories in 1995-96 at Dover, including two in the September race, Gordon has struggled the last few years with fuel, and has been deserted by history.
In each of the last two June races, caution flags that help racers fuel up without a considerable loss of track position failed to materialize in the final 100 miles. Both times, Gordon had to give up the lead to get gas under green in the final 10 laps.
"We keep getting beat on gas mileage at this place," said the three-time series champion, who lost the race to Jarrett in 1998.
Dover was not among the victories by Stewart when he set a rookie record by winning three times last year. But with finishes of fourth in June and second when he came from three laps down after a handling problem to close within 1.1 seconds of Mark Martin last September, Stewart has established his Dover credentials.
He says one of most important factors in contending on the narrow, high-banked concrete track is physical conditioning.
"It just keeps putting a load on your body all day long," said Stewart, the only major contender without a victory this season, as 11 different drivers have won in the first 12 races. "Dover is such a physically demanding race."
Martin, who has won the fall event three years in a row, and teammate Matt Kenseth, who drives the car co-owned by Martin and boss Jack Roush, are at the top of the list of contenders. Rookie Kenseth, who has won in the Busch series and raced well in two Winston Cup starts, is coming off his breakthrough victory in the elite series last Sunday night in the Coca-Cola 600.
Fellow rookie Dale Earnhardt Jr., twice a Busch winner at Dover, also has a shot. He is the only Winston Cup driver with two victories this year, and two weeks ago added a win in a non-points all-star event.
Rusty Wallace, who broke Labonte's qualifying record last September at 159.964, is a three-time Dover winner. Jarrett, only sixth in the standings in defense of his series title, usually runs well at Dover.
Jarrett's teammate, Ricky Rudd, has four Dover victories, the last in a crash-filled contest three years ago. After that, races at The Monster Mile were reduced from 500 to 400 miles.
Rudd and Bill Elliott -- who also has four victories at Dover, but none since 1990 -- will be trying to win for the first time this year. In fact, Elliott hasn't won a points-paying race anywhere since 1994. | |
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