MOTOR RACING : Crash Bends Bodine Into a Victory

Wrecking with nearly 200 laps left turned out to be all the incentive Geoff Bodine needed to win the Goody’s 500 on Sunday at Martinsville, Va.

He shook off the effects of a tangle with Terry Labonte and charged back in a caution- and penalty-filled Winston Cup event, taking the lead to stay on lap 459 and pulling to a 4.53-second victory over Dale Earnhardt.

“(The wreck) actually made the car handle better,” Bodine said. “We thought it might hurt it, but it sure felt better after that.”

The victory, worth $53,850, was his third this year. He averaged 76.386 m.p.h. on Martinsville’s .526-mile, low-banked oval.

Nigel Mansell of Britain won the shortened Portuguese Grand Prix at Estoril when an accident stopped the race with nine laps remaining.

Mansell was leading Ayrton Senna of Brazil by nearly three seconds, with Alain Prost of France third, when the race was halted. Alex Caffi of Italy was involved in the accident and trapped in his car near the track.

Stewards stopped the race and the results reverted to the standings after the 61st lap.

Miss Circus Circus and driver Chip Hanauer won all four heats at Las Vegas to capture the Silver Cup unlimited hydroplane title and the national boat and driver championships.

Circus Circus and Hanauer accumulated 1600 points and finished with a total of 13,652.

Miss Budweiser and Tom D’Eath finished fifth in the Silver Cup on Lake Mead and second nationally with 13,152 points.

Dorsey Schroeder took a big step toward the 1990 IMSA-GTO championship when he won the New York 500 for production-based sports cars at wet Watkins Glen International race course.

Schroeder’s Mercury Cougar XR7 GTO car averaged 99.669 m.p.h. for 92 laps of the 3.377-mile circuit, finishing four laps ahead of Michel Ferte and Hurley Haywood.