Earnhardt Wins to Break Drought

Dale Earnhardt inherited the lead with 52 laps to go and held off Ernie Irvan in a battle of Chevrolets to win the Coca Cola 600 on Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Earnhardt broke Ford’s domination of Winston Cup racing, which had extended 13 races, into last fall.

It looked as if Kyle Petty would run away with NASCAR’s longest race when he took command on Lap 291 in the 27th lead change. But on Lap 345, Petty and his closest challenger, Irvan, went into the pits for a final change of tires and some gasoline. Earnhardt went into the pits three laps later and emerged as the leader.

Irvan chased Earnhardt from there. With his last chance on the final lap, Irvan swung high into Turn 4, giving Earnhardt sufficient cushion to win by 0.39 seconds and earn $125,100.

Petty finished third in a Pontiac, followed by Davey Allison in a Ford. Allison, the Daytona 500 and Winston 500 winner, missed a chance to collect a $1-million bonus for winning three of NASCAR’s top four races. He must win the Southern 500 at Darlington, S.C., on Labor Day weekend to collect it.