After Field Gets a Head Start, Irvan Wins : Auto racing: Penalty at beginning of race sends him to rear of 43-car pack. Modesto driver works his way up for fourth victory.

Ernie Irvan was forced to move to the back of the 43-car field for jumping past pole-sitter Ricky Rudd at the start of the Save Mart 300 Sunday, and for the record 83,000 spectators it was probably a blessing.

Irvan and his Chevrolet Lumina were so dominating that, if he had stayed in front from the start, it might have been just another boring road race with a wire-to-wire winner.

As it was, the sight of Irvan threading his way up through the pack and then slipping past leader Terry Labonte eight laps from the finish in a 180-degree turn at the top of Sears Point Raceway’s 2.52-mile course made the race one of the best of the Winston Cup season.

In an remarkably accident-free race, Irvan averaged a record 81.412 m.p.h. for the 300 kilometers (187 miles). There were only three caution flags for eight of the 74 laps, despite the twisting nature of the course on which speeds ranged from 30 to 130 m.p.h. in negotiating 12 turns.

Irvan won $61,810 from the purse of $689,386.

Sears Point, located at the entrance to Jack London’s legendary Valley of the Moon, is one of only two road circuits on the 29-race schedule. Watkins Glen, N.Y., is the other, and Irvan won there last year.

Labonte, who never challenged Irvan after losing the lead, finished 3.19 seconds behind, closely followed by Mark Martin, Rudd and Bill Elliott. Twenty drivers finished on the lead lap, and 38 of the 43 starters were still running when Irvan took the checkered flag.

“I didn’t know I did anything wrong at the start of the race, but evidently I did,” Irvan said. “When I saw (starter) Doyle Ford throw the green flag, I took off. I thought that’s the way we race. I never looked for Rudd. If they thought I was out of line, why did they throw the green flag?”

Irvan led the first lap, but when he saw the black flag, it meant he had to come into the pits and wait until the last car had gone by before he could rejoin the race.

“I was surprised how calm I was when I found I had to drop to the back,” Irvan said. “I owe a lot of thanks to (crew chief) Tony Glover. He told me over the radio to keep calm, and if I picked off only one car a lap I had plenty of time. Without his coaching, I’d probably have run off the course or done something wrong. He kept me patient.

“That was what did it for us, patience and having a real strong race car. The other teams kept having little problems while we just kept pushing on.

“If there was a downer to the day, it was hearing about Bill France Sr. (the founder of NASCAR who died Sunday). We all know that we wouldn’t be here doing what we’re doing if not for him. There’s a lot sorrow in the racing community today.”

Even though Irvan lives in Rockwell, N. C., he grew up in Modesto and still considers himself a California driver.

“This was real special for me, winning so close to home,” he said. “I’ve won four races, and it seems each one has been special. My first was at Bristol (Tenn.), and that’s where my team is located. Then I won Daytona, and that’s special for everyone. Last year I won at Watkins Glen, and that’s near the home of Kodak, my sponsor. Now I won in front of all my hometown friends. I don’t know where I can win next to be special.”

Seven drivers led, but once a leader was passed, he never regained the front position. Elliott led the most laps, 22, but it was Labonte, with a substantial lead for 15 laps, who appeared to be on his way to victory lane before Irvan’s late rush. Labonte was slowed trying to get past Davey Allison--although Allison was a lap down--and this allowed Irvan to close up behind Labonte with 10 laps to go.

“I knew he was back there, and I knew how hard he was running because he kept sticking his nose in the corners alongside me,” Labonte said. “Ernie had me beat in some corners and I had him beat in some others, but he really out-accelerated me off that slowest corner and that was it.”

In a race within a race, defending champion Bill Sedgwick finished 19th to lead the Winston West contingent. Hershel McGriff, who became the oldest driver to start a Winston Cup race at 64 years 6 months, lasted only 19 laps before a transmission failure sidelined him.