Two Races Into the Season, Labonte in Familiar Position

Bobby Labonte, picking up where he left off at the end of the Winston Cup series last year, won the Dura-Lube/Kmart 400 Sunday at North Carolina Speedway in Rockingham, N.C.

Labonte, the series runner-up in 1999, finished the year with 10 consecutive finishes of eighth or better, including a victory in the final race in Atlanta.

That added up to big championship hopes this year.

“I kept asking [crew chief] Jimmy [Makar], ‘Can we get back on track? Can we get back on track?’ You never know what competition is going to have for you,” Labonte said after beating Dale Earnhardt in Sunday’s race.

After the first two races of the season, Labonte finds himself in a familiar position, running second to 1999 champion Dale Jarrett in the standings, trailing by five points.

“To win this early is exciting,” said Labonte, who started the season with a sixth-place finish in the Daytona 500, despite some problems in the pits. “I’m not going to sleep tonight, to be honest with you.”

Labonte stayed with the leaders throughout the 393-lap race and finally began to show the power in his Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac when he took the lead on lap 242.

Pontiacs and Chevrolets took the top four positions one week after the top Ford Tauruses caused an uproar about a supposed aerodynamic advantage by taking the first five spots at Daytona.

There were 22 lead changes among 10 drivers. With the final 196 laps on the 1.017-mile oval run without a caution flag, Labonte’s Grand Prix took control. He came out of the final round of pit stops by the leaders with a slight lead over Earnhardt’s Chevrolet and steadily pulled away.

By the 364th lap, Labonte’s lead was more than six seconds. At that point, Earnhardt began to close in. They broke free of traffic four laps from the end, but it was too late. Earnhardt came across the finish line 1.068-seconds--about 10 car-lengths--behind Labonte.

Ward Burton’s Pontiac was third, followed closely by the Grand Prix of Tony Stewart, last year’s top rookie and Labonte’s teammate.

In getting his 13th Winston Cup victory, Labonte averaged 127.875 mph. That broke the event record of 125.927, set by Jeff Gordon in February 1997.

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Nine-time NHRA funny car champion John Force moved closer to Bob Glidden’s career victory record by winning the Checker Schucks Kragen Nationals at Chandler, Ariz.

He beat Ron Capps in the final with a quarter-mile run of 4.933 seconds at 195.90 mph. Capps, who lost traction, finished in 8.196 seconds.

Force has 82 career victories, three behind Glidden’s mark.

Tony Schumacher, the defending Winston top fuel champion, lost traction early and sped to a 5.095-second pass at 289.57 mph. It was enough to hold off Bob Vandergriff, who lost power in a run of 5.421 seconds at 243.77 mph.

Jeg Coughlin beat Mark Pawuk in the pro stock final. Coughlin finished in 6.961 seconds at 198.44 mph. Pawuk had a pass of 7.081 seconds at 195.90 mph.

Winter Sports

Renate Goetschl of Austria moved closer to her first World Cup overall title, winning a super-G race to complete a productive weekend at Igls, Austria.

With six races left in the season, she leads Austrian teammate Michaela Dorfmeister by 222 points. She won a downhill Friday and finished second in another super-G on Saturday.

Goetschl was timed in 1 minute, 33.62 seconds to avenge her defeat Saturday by Melanie Turgeon of Canada. Turgeon was second, .16 seconds behind. Slovenia’s Mojca Suhadolc, who won the season-opening super-G, finished third, .20 seconds behind.

Martin Schmitt of Germany tied the World Cup record for victories in a season with his 10th after winning a 120-meter ski jumping event at Iron Mountain, Mich.

Finland’s Matti Nykanen, who holds the career record with 46 World Cup victories, also won 10 meets during the 1983 and ’88 seasons, while Austria’s Andreas Goldberger accomplished the feat in 1995.

Andreas Widhoelzl of Austria, second to Schmitt in World Cup points, had the longest jump of the day at 130 meters. However, judges gave Schmitt better style points on his 129-meter jump, so he received 131.2 points to 131 for Widhoelzl. Goldberger finished third with 124 points.

Samppa Lajunen of Finland earned his seventh World Cup victory this season by winning a men’s Nordic combined event at Vallee De Joux, France. Lajunen, third after the ski jumping portion of the event Saturday, made up a 54-second deficit in the 15-kilometer cross-country to finish with a time of 35 minutes 52.7 seconds.

Miscellany

The NCAA has suspended Miami linebacker Nate Webster, a second-team All-American, for the first three games of the 2000 season.

Miami officials have appealed the NCAA’s ruling, asking that the penalty be reduced to one game, the Palm Beach Post reported Sunday.

Webster decided to skip his senior season and applied for the NFL draft on Jan. 10. That same day, Webster changed his mind, and the NFL agreed to take his name off a list of players requesting early entry into the draft.

But according to NCAA rules, Webster became ineligible simply by applying. Miami still asked that Webster’s complete eligibility be restored.

Wide receiver Troy Brown has agreed to a five-year contract with the New England Patriots. Brown, 28, the team’s third-down receiver in recent seasons, will compete for a starting job now that Shawn Jefferson has gone to Atlanta. The contract is estimated at $13 million, with a signing bonus of around $3 million.

Dennis Horan of Temecula won the PBA’s Touring Players Championship at Akron, Ohio, beating Pete Weber, 266-189, for his second major title.