Ricky Rudd of Chesapeake, Va., grimaces as he is pulled from his car in victory lane at the Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Va., after he won the NAPA AutoCare 500 on Sunday, Sept. 27, 1998. The temperature was in the 90s for the race which took its toll on the drivers and their cars. ASSOCIATED PRESS

Rudd overcomes heat to extend record winning streak

Web posted September 28, 1998

By Hank Kurz
Associated Press

MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- Ricky Rudd overcame sizzling heat that left him woozy to win the crash-filled NAPA AutoCare 500 on Sunday, extending his record streak of consecutive seasons with a victory to 16.

With temperatures in the mid-90s outside and near 150 degrees in the race cars, Rudd drove the last 300 or so laps with a relief driver standing by, but said, ``the car was so good, I just couldn't give it up.''

After being helped from his Ford after the race, Rudd lay prone for several minutes before he was able to celebrate his record-setting victory.

``I'll take it any way I can get it,'' an exhausted Rudd said.

Several drivers were relieved because of exhaustion during the race, and most who finished immediately sought refuge in their air-conditioned trailers or the infield care center, where they were pumped with fluids and oxygen.

It was the Chespeake, Va., native's 20th career victory and broke a tie with Dale Earnhardt and Darrell Waltrip for the longest winning streak.

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It also was his third at Martinsville Speedway, but first since 1986.

Series points leader Jeff Gordon followed Rudd into turn one out of the 11th and final caution with 51 laps remaining, but never made a serious bid for the lead and wound up second. Points runner-up Mark Martin was third.

Rich Bickle finished fourth, the best showing of his career, followed by defending champion Jeff Burton, Terry Labonte and Bill Elliott.

The top seven were the only cars left on the lead lap.

Rudd took the lead for good with 96 laps remaining when he ducked under the wiggling cars of Burton and Bobby Labonte in turn four. Burton was leading at the time, and Labonte was fighting to stay on the lead lap.

Two more cautions gave Gordon another crack at overtaking the leader, but each time Rudd beat the field into the first turn and pulled comfortably ahead. He led four time in all for a total of 198 laps around the .526-mile oval, the oldest, shortest and, on Sunday, the hottest, in Winston Cup.

``He did it, man,'' Gordon said of Rudd. ``He did what he set out to do. A great effort, great desire from him and the entire team.''

Sterling Marlin led 231 laps to earn the five bonus points for leading the most, but he finished a hard-luck 18th because of electrical problems.

Gordon, bidding for his third championship in four years, gained five points on Martin to take a 199-point advantage to next week's race at Charlotte, N.C., with only six races remaining on the Winston Cup season.

The race marked the first time all season that neither Gordon, a 10-time winner, nor Martin, who has six wins, led a lap. It was the first time since the race at Phoenix last October that neither Gordon nor Martin led.