Motor Racing Roundup : Rudd Holds Off Wallace’s Bid to Win at Watkins Glen

Ricky Rudd held off Rusty Wallace over the last two laps to win the caution-filled NASCAR stock car race Sunday at Watkins Glen, N.Y.

After nearly three hours of start and stop racing because of the seemingly continuous cautions, it came down to a four-lap sprint to the checkered flag, with Wallace chasing down Rudd.

On the final turn, the two cars came together and, for a moment, it appeared both would wind up against the guardrail that lines most of the twisting road course.

“I had Rusty outrun on three-quarters of the track, but he was a lot stronger than we were in that one area,” Rudd said. “I simply took his (racing) line away from him by moving to the outside (of the final corner). I knew he wasn’t going to get by me unless he went out in the grass. He knew that too.”

The cars bumped together and it appeared both were going to spin. But they regained control and got across the finish line, with Rudd less than a car length ahead. He earned $49,625 for his ninth career victory and third on a road course, averaging just 74.088 m.p.h. in the slow race.

Rudd, 31, gave car-owner Kenny Bernstein, a drag racing star, his first NASCAR victory in 77 starts. The victory was Rudd’s first of the season and made him the 12th different winner in 18 races this season.

The Chesapeake, Va., driver started fifth in the 40-car lineup and hung near the front throughout the 90-lap, 219-mile event on the 2.428-mile, seven-turn road course.

There were a eight full-course caution flags for 38 laps--both track records--keeping the field bunched all the way. In all, 22 cars finished on the lead lap, breaking the Winston Cup record of 19 set two weeks ago on the superspeedway at Talladega, Ala.

There was a multicar crash after Rudd took the checkered flag, with Terry Labonte, Bobby Hillin Jr., Rick Wilson, Ernie Irvan and Davey Allison all tangling in turn six. No injuries were reported.

The dramatic finish was set up when Hershel McGriff went off course and slammed into a guardrail on lap 83, bringing out the final caution flag. McGriff, who was not injured, was able to drive the car back to the pits.

The field was slowed for four laps before the green flag came back out with four laps remaining and Rudd just behind leader Darrell Waltrip.

At the end of lap 87, Rudd slipped past Waltrip, whose car was smoking badly. That was the 13th and final lead change of the race among 10 drivers--two more race records.

Geoff Brabham, driving solo in his Nissan GTP VX-Turbo, won his eighth straight Camel GT sports car race at Sears Point International Raceway in Sonona, Calif.

Brabham led all but 10 of the 75 laps, averaging 102.624 m.p.h. He won by 2.83 seconds over the Jaguar co-driven by Martin Brundle and John Nielsen. In third place, a full lap behind, was another Jaguar, co-driven by Jan Lammers and Davy Jones.

Brabham tied the American record for consecutive auto racing wins held by two others. Mark Donohue won 8 Sports Car Club of America trans-am races in 1968, and Glen Fitzcharles won 8 URC sprint car races last year.