MOTOR RACING ROUNDUP : Earnhardt Honors Two After Victory

NASCAR leader Dale Earnhardt held off Rusty Wallace for his fifth victory of the season, then honored fallen competitors Davey Allison and Alan Kulwicki with a prayer and a memorial victory lap after the Miller Genuine Draft 500 at Long Pond, Pa., on Sunday.

Earnhardt scored a 0.72-second victory over Wallace in their first race since Allison’s death last week from a helicopter accident in Alabama. Kulwicki died in a plane crash April 1.

Wallace, waving a black flag with Allison’s No. 28, then pulled his Pontiac alongside Earnhardt’s winning Chevrolet and Earnhardt pointed approvingly toward it as he drove. Earnhardt returned to his crew, which knelt in prayer beside the car, and then he pulled out waving his own 28 flag for a clockwise victory lap, a Kulwicki trademark.

“It’s been a tough year losing good friends and good racers like that,” Earnhardt said.

Earnhardt scored his fourth victory in his last seven races as he tied Wallace for the season lead in victories and extended his point lead to 209 over Dale Jarrett, who finished eighth.

It was Earnhardt’s first victory on Pocono’s 2 1/2-mile track since he edged Kulwicki by one second in July of 1987. He averaged 133.343 m.p.h. on Sunday.

Ford drivers Bill Elliott, Morgan Shepherd and Brett Bodine followed Earnhardt and Wallace. Pole winner Ken Schrader was sixth in a Chevrolet.

Allison died Tuesday of injuries from the accident the day before at Talladega Superspeedway, his home track, where the circuit returns next weekend. He was remembered by teams with No. 28 decals on cars and the No. 28 pit space was left open. The flag flew at half staff and “Taps” was played before the race.

Hut Stricklin, who is married to Davey Allison’s cousin Pam, finished 28th. Jimmy Spencer, driving a Ford owned by Allison’s father, Bobby, finished 24th.

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Paul Tracy became the first Canadian to win an Indy car race in Canada, the Molson Indy Toronto.

Tracy also won the week before at Cleveland. His three victories this season are the most by any Indy car driver.

Penske teammate Emerson Fittipaldi was 13 seconds behind in second place but moved to the top of the drivers’ standings because Nigel Mansell failed to finish.

Fittipaldi has 105 points, Mansell 102, Raul Boesel 86 and Tracy 80. Seven races remain in the season. Mansell quit on lap 55 of the 103-lap race while in 12th place when his turbocharger burned out.

Danny Sullivan finished third, followed by Bobby Rahal and Al Unser Jr. The three were separated by less than a second.