Labonte Outduels Earnhardt Jr. at Long Pond

Bobby Labonte passed Dale Earnhardt Jr. with a little more than two laps remaining Sunday to win the Pennsylvania 500 at Long Pond, Pa., for his first victory of the season.

The cars waged a magnificent battle for two laps until Labonte finally passed Earnhardt nearing the line at the end of the 198th lap at Pocono International Raceway.

Both benefited when Jeff Gordon pitted to change a bad set of tires with 68 laps left. Gordon finished eighth, and took sole possession of the lead in the Winston Cup standings after Dale Jarrett was involved in two crashes and wound up 41st.

It was the third career victory at Pocono for Labonte. He led only four laps, and his Pontiac beat Earnhardt’s Chevrolet by 1.68 seconds.

The winner, who started 11th, averaged 134.590 mph in a race slowed six times by 24 laps of caution. Labonte’s teammate, Tony Stewart, was third.

“This is a great day for us,” said Labonte, who credited his crew with having more faith in him than he had in himself. “These guys just never gave up, and that was the big thing.”

When it was suggested that he never lost confidence, Labonte responded in a sarcastic tone: “Yeah, right.”

But there was no lack of determination after the cars traded the lead before the decisive pass. Earnhardt forced Labonte within a foot of the wall exiting the third turn, but the 37-year-old Texan held his line and outraced him to the end.

“I thought we could hold him off and I tried to block him, but he wouldn’t let me,” Earnhardt said. “He just had a stronger car at the end.”

Earnhardt Jr. couldn’t recall ever losing such a close race, but he wasn’t complaining because with 70 or 80 laps left he didn’t think he had much of a chance for top-three finish. “To finish second now just shows that we’ve got some momentum,” he said. “And it shows that we’re really improving as team.”

Ricky Rudd wound up 11th and moved into second place in the standings, 45 points behind the leader.

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Ralf Schumacher won a wild German Grand Prix on his home track in a Formula One race marked by a crash that involved his brother and forced a restart at Hockenheim, Germany.

Michael Schumacher, the defending series champion and points leader, was not injured. He quit in the 24th lap of a race in which only 10 cars finished.

Ralf Schumacher won for the third time this year, covering the 45 laps on the 4.2-mile circuit in 1 hour 18 minutes 17.873 seconds, averaging 146.370 mph.

Michael Schumacher, winner of six races this year, retained his 37-point lead over David Coulthard. There are five races left in the season and a maximum of 50 points to be gained. Schumacher could clinch the title at the next race, Aug. 19 in Hungary. He’s seeking his fourth title and is one victory short of the record of 51 held by the retired Alain Prost, whose last win came at Hockenheim.

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After two consecutive no-points finishes, driver Kenny Brack gained his third CART victory of the season, winning the Target Grand Prix at Chicago Motor Speedway in Cicero, Ill.

The victory moved Brack from a three-point lead over Dario Franchitti before the race to a 22-point edge over Helio Castroneves.

It was a strategic race for Brack, who made the 225-lap distance with two well-placed pit stops.

Patrick Carpentier, last week’s winner in Michigan, wound up second, 4.48 seconds--a full straightaway--behind Brack.

One gutsy pass made the difference for Brack, who was behind leader Helio Castroneves as the field approached a restart midway through race.

As the green flag waved, the car of Max Papis, Brack’s Team Rahal teammate, slowed Castroneves as Papis tried to regain a lost lap.

Brack slipped his Ford-powered Lola below the leader’s Reynard-Honda and got two tires under the white line at the inside edge of the track and onto the green apron. CART officials had told the drivers prior to the race that only two wheels would be allowed in the painted area.

“It was Max who opened the door for that one,” Brack said. “He got by Helio and Helio moved down, but not all the way to the white line.”

Castroneves, who wound up seventh, bristled after the race.

“On the restart, Max made a ridiculous move and cut in front of me and I had to lift to avoid contact. I couldn’t risk not finishing the race and losing points.”

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Gary Scelzi got to his first victory of the season by beating Kenny Bernstein in the top fuel final of the NHRA Northwest Nationals at Kent, Wash.

Scelzi’s winning effort in his Team Winston dragster was in 4.556 seconds at 319.29 mph. Bernstein, the points leader, experienced mechanical problems near the finish line.

Whit Bazemore and Mark Osborne also won their divisions in the $1.7-million event at Seattle International Raceway. Whit Bazemore claimed his first funny car victory of the season and Mark Osborne beat teammate Darrell Alderman in an all-Dodge pro stock final.