Jarrett Goes With New Tires, Races Past Rudd for Victory

Dale Jarrett figured he had the choice between a decent finish and possibly a victory. It was an easy call.

Jarrett disregarded the supertire strategy with five laps to go Sunday, using a set of tires 50 laps fresher than those of teammate Ricky Rudd to pass Rudd with five laps left and win the Virginia 500 Winston Cup race at Martinsville, Va.

Jarrett, who never led until sneaking his Ford inside Rudd’s car entering the first turn, won for the third time this season and for the first time in 30 starts at Martinsville Speedway.

“[Crew chief] Todd Parrott made a great call to come in and get tires to adjust the car,” Jarrett said. “We weren’t good enough to win the way we were.

“The car just wasn’t sticking very good. It was pushing in the center and I knew it wasn’t going to come in and do any better, so we knew that we could come in and make the car better. It had been better than that.”

Jarrett lost only five spots on the stop and gradually worked his way back into contention. He passed Jeff Gordon for fourth with 41 laps to go, got by Marlin several laps later, then set his sites on Rudd.

One day after Scott Riggs drove the final 151 laps on the same tires to victory in the Craftsman Truck Series race, Jarrett proved the thinking that Goodyear’s harder new tires don’t made changing optional.

“Tires won the race,” Jeff Burton said. “There was a lot said about not needing tires today, but any time I can get them, I want them.”

Rudd, who had led for 50 laps, finished second, followed by Burton’s Ford, Bobby Hamilton’s Chevrolet and Sterling Marlin’s Dodge.

The victory enabled Jarrett to increase his championship points lead to 123 over Gordon, who faded in the final laps and finished 12th.

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The Indy Racing League might have found its young stars.

Sam Hornish Jr., 21, led the majority of the inaugural Infiniti Grand Prix at Homestead, Fla., and edged 20-year-old Sarah Fisher for his second victory in two races this season. They also became the youngest 1-2 finishers in Indy racing history.

Hornish also won the season opener at Phoenix International Raceway last month, becoming the youngest winner in IRL history.

Fisher also is making history. Her second-place finish was the highest by any female driver in a major racing series, besting her third-place finish at Kentucky Speedway last year.

“I certainly think that the more young talent that we get here, the better the series is going to be,” Fisher said. “Especially if the young talent is able to stay here.”

If Sunday’s race is any indication, the youngsters are here to stay. Three other rising stars-- Felipe Giaffone, 26, Didier Andre, 26, and Casey Mears, 23--finished 11th or better in the 26-car field.

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Dale Earnhardt’s wife appealed again to keep her husband’s autopsy photos private, fearing they will wind up on the Internet for everyone to see.

“I want to let the NASCAR community and the people of Florida know just how much pain this ordeal is causing my family,” Teresa Earnhardt said in a statement released at Martinsville Speedway.

Earnhardt was killed Feb. 18 when he crashed during the final lap of the season-opening Daytona 500. Several newspapers and a Web site have sought access to the autopsy photos, saying they wanted a medical expert to review them.

NASCAR President Mike Helton said he was disappointed by the efforts of news organizations to gain access to the photos. He referred questions about the statement to Teresa Earnhardt and Dale Earnhardt, Inc.

Ty Norris, spokesman for Dale Earnhardt, Inc., said Earnhardt and DEI have taken issue only with the Orlando Sentinel and its sister paper, the Fort Lauderdale-based South Florida Sun-Sentinel, the Independent Florida Alligator newspaper at the university of Florida and Michael Uribe of DeLand, Fla., operator of the Web site also involved in efforts to gain access to the photos.

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The International Race of Champions series will honor Earnhardt by running one car short for the remaining three races of the season.

Earnhardt, a four-time IROC champion, was among the 12-driver field in the first race of the annual four-race all-star series.

“The decision to start only 11 cars in honor of Dale is a first for us, but one we believe is well deserved,” IROC President Jay Signore said. “With the support of all the competitors and Dale’s family, we will keep the 12th car parked as a tribute to honor and remember Dale as the champion’s champion.”

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Kenny Bernstein raced to his 54th NHRA victory, beating Andrew Cowin in the top fuel final in the SummitRacing.com Nationals at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Bernstein, also the 2000 winner, had a quarter-mile run of 4.533 seconds at a top speed of 325.53 mph. Cowin finished in 4.615 seconds at 322.73 mph.

Tommy Johnson Jr. win the funny car division and Jeg Coughlin won the pro stock division for the second consecutive season.