MOTOR RACING ROUNDUP : Top-Fuel Title Goes to McCulloch in Texas

Ed McCulloch beat the fastest field in National Hot Rod Assn. history Sunday, but his victory was something of an anticlimax.

McCulloch, of Hemet, drove a 4.795-second trip down the Texas Metroplex strip at Ennis, with a top speed of 297.81 m.p.h., to win top-fuel honors at the Chief Auto Parts Nationals. It became a one-car race when Eddie Hill overpowered the track and smoked his tires at the starting line, running the quarter mile in 12.230 seconds at 72.99 m.p.h.

Fifteen of the 16-car top-fuel field qualified at elapsed times below five seconds.

Cruz Pedregon of Moorpark drove his Oldsmobile Cutlass to a funny car championship, running 202.97 m.p.h. at 7.760 seconds to beat John Force, who drove 128.27 miles in 7.856 seconds in a race in which both drivers smoked tires at the starting line and Force went out of control, hitting the lane wall before righting himself and driving to the finish line.

Bob Glidden was the pro-stock winner, driving his Ford Probe 7.155 seconds and 192.47 m.p.h. to beat Scott Geoffrion, 8.467, 111.64.

Bobby Labonte continued his late-season bid for his second consecutive Busch Grand National title by overtaking Mike Wallace late in the race and pulling away to win the Winston Classic at Martinsville, Va.

Mike Stefanik won the 200-lap Winston Modified portion of the tripleheader at Martinsville Speedway. Joe Gaita of Yorktown, Va., won the 100-lap NASCAR Late Model Stock event.

Labonte made up 25 points on series leader Joe Nemechek to trail by 60 points with only two races left in the 31-event season.

Bill Sedgwick survived an accident and charged through the field in his Chevrolet Lumina to win the NASCAR Winston October Classic 300 at Mesa Marin Raceway in Bakersfield.

The victory was worth $9,630 and moved him to within four points of series leader Bill Schmitt, with only the Winston Cup race at Phoenix to run, on Nov. 1

Winston Cup driver Davey Allison’s Ford Thunderbird went out in an accident on the 197th lap.