Auto Racing : Earnhardt Holds Off Rudd, Wins

Dale Earnhardt roared out of a pit stop with 45 laps to go and held off a challenge by Ricky Rudd to win the First Union 400 NASCAR Grand National stock car race Sunday at North Wilkesboro Speedway.

Earnhardt drove his Chevrolet an average of 88.417 m.p.h. for his second victory in a row and his first ever at the 5/8-mile track. He won the TranSouth 500 last week at Darlington, S.C.

Earnhardt, 33, of Kannapolis, N.C., credited his win in the 250-mile race to the weather and a quick pit stop after Dave Marcis crashed into the wall on lap 353.

“Thank the good Lord the rain held off and we got this one in,” he said. “We got a good set of tires on in the last pit stop. They really put me in the lead by pitting. . . . If I had to race Ricky from behind, I don’t know if I could do it.”

Rudd was second in a Ford, followed by polesitter Geoff Bodine and Darrell Waltrip, both in Chevrolets and Joe Ruttman in a Buick.

“I did my best to try to run him down hard . . . but he just got in there deep,” Rudd said of Earnhardt, who took home $38,550 for the victory.

Rounding out the finishers in the first lap were Bobby Allison, Kyle Petty, Harry Gant and Bill Elliott. Down one lap and finishing 10th was Rusty Wallace.

Bodine, who had qualified for the pole with a two-day average speed of 112.419, said he did everything he could to catch up after he lost the lead for the second and final time on lap 126.

“We ran away at the start, but we got a mismatched set of tires and we fell way back,” he said. “We got them off, then we ran well, but we were always behind. We couldn’t get caught up till the end.”

Richard Petty, who had qualified second with an average speed of 112.273, had his engine blow up and had to drop out on lap 131.

“We were running real good at the start,” he said. “I was able to go to the front and was looking forward to having a fun afternoon.”

The yellow flag came out eight times for a total of 69 laps, including twice for rain for 42 laps.

Earnhardt’s crew changed four tires on the last pit stop in 17 seconds, getting him out ahead of Rudd at 27 seconds.

“I’ll tell you what--that pit crew did a hell of a job all day long,” Earnhardt said. “Those guys got me out of the pits ahead of everyone and put me in the lead. All I did was run the car smooth and stay in front.”

He said it “would have been a heck of a race” if he hadn’t beat Rudd out of the pits.

“If he had been in front, I don’t think I could have beat him because the cars were so equal,” he said. “If you try to rush the car in front of you, you spin your tires and get your tires hot. The guy in front who keeps his tires straight is going to beat you.”

And he said he hadn’t changed his driving style since he was fined $5,000 for reckless driving Feb. 23 at the Milller 400 in Richmond. He finished third in that race and the fine was later reduced to $3,000.

“I’m still the hard-racing driver I was then,” he said. “I’m still going to try to make the car go and stick the car in places where I think it will go.”

Warren Johnson took the pro stock championship Sunday in the only event completed in the rain-plagued Southern National drag races at Commerce, Ga..

Johnson, of Duluth, Ga., picked up $17,500 without having to run in the final. Bob Glidden wrecked his car after winning the other semi-final heat and was unable to return for the final. He was not injured.