MOTOR RACING ROUNDUP : Earnhardt Holds Off Allison and Elliott

Dale Earnhardt held off challenges by Davey Allison and Bill Elliott in the final four laps to win the DieHard 500 at Talladega, Ala.

Earnhardt, who won both races at Talladega in 1990 and finished third in May, was at or near the front throughout the 188-lap race on the 2.66-mile oval, leading seven times for 101 laps. He held off Elliott by a car-length to become the track’s career victory leader with five.

There were 32 lead changes among 12 drivers, 15 cars finished on the lead lap and a blanket could almost be thrown over the huge lead packs throughout the race. Earnhardt took control with 28 laps to go and averaged 147.383 m.p.h. and winning $88,670..

Allison, with drafting help from pole-starter and fellow Ford Thunderbird driver Sterling Marlin, made a run at Earnhardt’s Chevrolet Lumina on lap 185. Allison, a two-time winner at Talladega, was able to get alongside the leader on the main straightaway, but couldn’t get past.

After that, Allison faded into the pack, but Elliott, in another Thunderbird, suddenly was right on Earnhardt’s rear bumper. He tried moving up the banked oval, then to the low side, but Earnhardt was able to block every move and went on to his third victory of the season and first in nine races.

Earnhardt padded his season point lead with his 51st career victory, leaving the four-time Winston Cup champion alone in seventh on the career victory list.

Mark Martin wound up third, Ricky Rudd fourth and Marlin fifth.

Even with three victories in a row, Nigel Mansell of Britain knows he’s a bit short of his chief rival.

Mansell, who won his previous races in Britain and France, dominated the German Grand Prix Sunday at Hockenheim, Germany, moving to within eight points of Formula One leader Ayrton Senna of Brazil.

“Eight points is still an awful lot,” Mansell said. “We still have not emulated the four wins that Ayrton had in the beginning of the season.

“It’s the first time I’ve ever done three on a trot, and I’m delighted. All of a sudden it’s all coming right.”

Mansell defeated teammate Ricardo Patrese of Italy by 13.779 seconds.

Senna, defending series champion, did not score after abandoning the race on the final lap. He has 51 points to 43 for Mansell, who picked up 10 with the victory. Patrese stands third with 28 points.

Mansell covered 45 laps at the 4.227-mile Hockenheimring in 1 hour 19 minutes 29.661 seconds. He averaged 143.554 m.p.h. while breaking Senna’s three-year winning streak in the race.

Ferrari driver Jean Alesi of France finished third, ahead of Senna’s McLaren-Honda teammate, Austrian Gerhard Berger. Jordan-Ford drivers Andrea De Cesaris of Italy and France’s Bertrand Gachot were fifth and sixth.

Mansell was in front for all but two laps, losing the lead only when he stopped for tires.

“The tire change was planned and it went to plan,” said Mansell, who got four new tires in fewer than seven seconds.

Joe Amato outran Lori Johns for his third top-fuel victory of the year in the NHRA Autolite California Nationals at Sonoma.

John Force won his third funny-car title of the season, and Darrell Alderman won the pro-stock title, his seventh of 1991.

Force, the reigning funny-car champion, defeated Ed McCulloch his second consecutive California Nationals title. Force left the line a fraction of a second behind McCulloch, but caught up with a run of 5.566 seconds at 269.21 m.p.h. McCulloch smoked his tires in turning 10.732 at 79.63.

Amato drove his dragster to four consecutive runs under five seconds over the Sears Point Raceway quarter-mile strip. His time of 4.968 seconds at 277.34 m.p.h. outdistanced Johns’ 5.086 at 269.38. Johns was seeking her second victory of the year.

Juan Manuel Fangio II of Argentina squeezed by Geoff Brabham of Australia on the 86th lap and went on to win the G.I. Joe’s Camel Grand Prix at Portland, Ore.

Fangio recorded his second victory of the season for Dan Gurney’s Toyota team, averaging 116.214 m.p.h. at Portland International Raceway. He finished 2.672 seconds ahead of Brabham’s Nissan NPT-91 prototoype.

Rocky Moran finished third in an older Toyota Eagle and Chip Robinson was fourth in another Nissan. Davy Jones was fifth in a Jaguar XJR-16.

Brabham padded his points lead to 163-150 over Robinson.