May 20, 1997
Gordon Wins The Winston
The Winston represents NASCAR's equivalent to major league baseball and football's all-star games. It has its own weekend, qualifying procedure, and race format. It is certainly one of the more entertaining races of the year. The Winston is an invitational non-points event only, so drivers must first meet certain criteria before they can even run in the event. The first teams chosen are those that have won a race since the last Winston. Next, past winners of the event are included. If there are not nineteen drivers selected yet, the most recent winners are then invited until the field is full. The twentieth and last spot goes to the winner of the last-chance race run before The Winston, The Winston Open.
Once invited, all the drivers must go through a special form o f qualifying. Instead the normal one or two lap run, the driver must make a three lap run, including a pit stop for two tires. Dale Earnhardt lead the qualifying for most of the day until Bill Elliott bested the Intimidator's run. Jeff Gordon spun while qualifying, so he started shotgun on the field.
The running of The Winston is actually three races in one. The field runs thirty laps, with the winner taking home $50,000. There is a brief intermission so the crews can make any needed adjustments to the cars. The field is then inverted from the finishing line-up for another thirty laps and another $50,000. After the second break, the cars take to the track for the final ten lap shoot-out and $200,000. Since this is a non-points race, the drivers run very hard for the money.
The first segment was won by Dale Jarrett, followed by Earnhardt. After the break, Bobby Labonte and Terry Labonte led the field to the second segment finish. The last ten laps proved to be a cakewalk for Jeff Gordon. Soon after the start, Bobby Labonte passed his brother Terry for the lead. With just a few laps remaining, Gordon took the lead and never looked back.
Coca-Cola 600 On The Horizon
The Coca-Cola 600 is the next race on the Winston Cup tour. It, too, is in Charlotte, so the teams should have a decent break after The Winston. Qualifying begins on Wednesday and ends on Thursday. The race will begin approximately two hours after the Indianapolis 500. Since the race will finish under the lights, most cars will use special glowing decals on the cars. It should prove to be one of the best races of the year.
Having won at Sears Point and Talladega, Mark Martin goes into Charlotte with a two race win streak. He will run in both the Busch Grand National race on Saturday as well as the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday.
|
NASCAR Online
It doesn't get much better for NASCAR fans than this. At the very least, you'll get current statistics and standings on the major three series. Yes, the Trucks and Busch Series are here as well as the Winston Cup guys.
ESPNET SportsZone: Auto Racing
Probably one of the best sites for all types of auto racing. Here you'll find not only news stories, but video and audio clips of the past week-ends action.
SpeedNet
Award winning auto racing news from the Indianapolis Star and News. This is THE place to be in August for Brickyard 400 coverage. (If you're an Indycar fan, you may want to be here in May as well!)
SpeedWorld
A very nice site with current news stories and statistics on nothing but Winston Cup. (Is there any other news?) Definitely worth the trip.
Nando Sports Server: Auto Racing
This is the place for getting the inside scoop on Winston Cup racing. Based in North Carolina, they are knee deep in stock car's racing grandest series. They also have a nice archive of AP racing images.
|
Stock Car Racing
