Matt Kenseth lost a five-second lead with six laps to go when Elliott Sadler spun out in the second turn, then waited through a short red-flag condition and had just enough to hold off Jarrett to become the first three-time winner this season on the NASCAR Winston Cup Series.

Kenseth had 100-mile-old tires on his Ford, but he decided lost traction was a good trade for the lead in a final three-lap dash at the two-mile raceway.

"I thought we'd lose it for sure," Kenseth said of the three-lap shoot-out. "At the end there, I was trying to block (Jarrett) all the way."

What helped Kenseth in the final six miles was the logjam created by a restart with three laps to go. Rookies Jimmie Johnson and Ryan Newman were second and third, respectively, during the red flag, while Ricky Rudd and Kurt Busch were fourth and fifth. None of the top-five drivers stopped for new tires for the stretch drive.

Lead-lap drivers out of the top-five, however, made a quick dash to pit road for tires. That group included Jarrett, Michael Waltrip, Jeff Gordon and Johnny Benson.

Johnson, Rudd and Busch all quickly fell off the pace once the green flag waved, while Jarrett, Waltrip, Gordon and Benson made furious charges.

"We've been fortunate in the last couple weeks," Jarrett said after posting his third consecutive top-five finish. "The car was perfect in the first half of the race, then it started getting tight (when the front wheels won't turn). At the end, it was really plowing.

"The four tires, that was an awesome call. That helped me run down at the bottom and nobody else could run down there (with worn tires). I needed one more corner (to pass Kenseth), but I feel good about what we've been able to do."

Jarrett said if the race was another 50 yards, he probably would have ended up in Victory Lane for the second consecutive week.

"I'm not just being cocky or a smart-aleck in saying that, but my car was much faster through the turns then these guys who had no tires," Jarrett said.

Reach Don Coble at doncoble@bellsouth.net.