The Monster Mile II - Page 2© Thomas M. Sampson
Page 2
Sep 27, 1999
MBNA Gold 400... Dover Downs International Speedway
The 27th race of the season is in the books, and Mark Martin took the checkers. All of the major contenders were quick to state that he had the car to beat. This was his second victory of the '99 season, and his third consecutive win on this touchy concrete track. Mark stated that he needed this win for a confidence booster, he felt that he had been in a slump lately, the victim of circumstances and bad luck. If he had been running as good this year as he did in the '97 and '98 seasons when he was constantly finishing second to Jeff Gordon, he would be way ahead of Dale Jarrett in the championship points battle. But, both he and Jeff Gordon have not had a spectacular season, as they have had in the past couple of years. This was Marks' 31st Cup win. Jack Rousch was ecstatic, having four of his cars finish in the top ten.
As I watched the Busch race yesterday, and witnessed the wrecking of Adam Petty, a mishap that was totally uncalled for, I wondered what kind of race the Cup drivers would put on for the Sunday afternoon show. They certainly showed a lot more class than the Busch drivers did. Kyle Petty made some serious remarks about the quality of the driving in the Busch race, as he was lamenting the misfortunes of his son. As it turned out, It appears that he was right, but as we've all seen, the Cup drivers can also get rather sloppy. This wasn't one of those races, there was only one or two questionable moves, the worst being the bump from Chad Little that send Dave Marcus into the wall and took him out of the race. Dave was really irate about the quality of Little's driving, and didn't care who knew it.
Tony Stewart, the rookie that isn't really a rookie, finished second. He was followed across the line by Dale Jarrett, Matt Kenseth, and Bobby Labonte. Martins' win put him back in second in the points battle, just 257 points behind Jarrett, moving Bobby Labonte back to third. With only seven races left, the battle is getting tight, and time is running out. In the next couple of races, mathematics will rule out the chances of a lot of hopefuls, and if Bobby Labonte isn't within the graces of some good luck, he'll be one of the ones that will be ruled out.
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