Ernie Irvan Wins NASCAR Winston Cup Miller 400
16 June 1997
BROOKLYN, MI - In August of 1994, Ernie Irvan almost lost his life at Michigan Speedway. But a short three short years later Ernie Irvan was standing proud, along with car owner Robert Yates, in Michigan's victory lane celebrating his win in the Miller 400.Irvan, talking about the swirl of controversy that has followed him the past few months said, "Everything that has been going on, all the kind of rumors and all, Robert (Yates) has told me that this is where I'm going to be at. All I had to do is win races. They gave me opportunities to do that and we've had some great races. You know, this race means a lot to our sponsors; Texaco/Havoline and Raybestos and Ford Motor Company, it's an important win for them."
The Texaco Havoline Ford rolled off in the 20th position and was in the top-five by the 42nd lap. Irvan then made a stop for four tires and fuel, while some of the others that were running in the top spots opted for two tires only.
Irvan's march back towards the front was slow going as a driver had to rely on the draft to advance and any missed opportunity could leave a driver moving backwards in a hurry. The race was so competitive that you could look at any spot on the track and see a race for position underway.
The caution flew on lap 61 after Terry Labonte hit the wall in turn two. Labonte's problems had started some 20 laps earlier when he hit a tire that the #33 car, driven by Ken Schrader, had lost in turn four. When Labonte hit the tire carcass it mashed the right, front fender in on the Kellogg's Frosted Flakes Chevrolet and that eventually lead to a cut tire. Labonte's problems didn't stop there as he was not able to slow his Monte Carlo down and get on pit road the first time by and was forced to limp around the track another lap at a crawl. Labonte got his car back to the garage and his team made repairs as best they could but Labonte finished in the 39th position some 65 laps off the 200 that make up the Miller 400.
When the green flag flew on lap 67 it was Rusty Wallace on the point followed by Bobby Labonte and Mark Martin. Immediately the three diced it up trying to get the top spot. Lap after lap the trio took measured steps trying to get any advantage they could to get the lead but the draft would not allow any one car to break away cleanly. Martin and Wallace had to drop to the pits for tires after contact between the two caused problems.
From there it was Irvan and Earnhardt mixing it up for the positions that Martin and Wallace gave up when they came to pit road. The lead and position changes in the top five were staggering as no one car could get a decided advantage and drive away.
The caution flag flew again on lap 123 after Geoff Bodine lost a motor and oiled down the track. This was the break that Martin and Wallace had been waiting for in order to get back in a regular pit cycle with the rest of the field. During this round of pit stops, most teams opted for four tires and fuel. The only exceptions were Ted Musgrave, Jeremy Mayfield and Hut Stricklin. When the green flew on lap 139 they were the drivers that started in the top-three spots.
It didn't take long for the cars of Mayfield and Stricklin to fade back and the drivers that replaced them were the dominant Fords of Martin and Elliott. On lap 158 Bill Elliott was able to get the lead but again no real comfort came with the position as a very few laps later Ernie Irvan was up doing everything he could to get around Elliott. The two swapped the lead several times during this period.
Lap 170 saw the beginning of the last pit stops of the day. For most it was two tires and fuel with the majority of the stops during this time in the sub-10 second range. Irvan picked up the lead on lap 180 when Musgrave came to the pits for a fuel-only stop.
From that point on Irvan went unchallenged as his car was dialed in perfectly. Irvan, at times during the last 20 laps, held a close to 4-second lead over second place runner Bill Elliott.
When the checkers fell it was Ernie Irvan across the line 2.964 seconds ahead of Bill Elliott. Elliott was followed by Mark Martin, Ted Musgrave and Jeff Gordon.
Irvan, speaking from victory lane said, "I told the crew twice during the race that this car was as good as it could be. Goodyear brought a remarkable tire. I was debating over not even changing tires that last stop just because the car handled so good. I was worrying about putting two on and not having it good but the tires were real consistent. That's what it's all about -- get it where the competitors can race it at.
"It was really hard to pass. Bill (Elliott) ran a remarkable race. Mark Martin did. There were a lot of good cars. It was real hard to pass just because if they got up on the outside you couldn't pass 'em. It's a great win for us."
Bill Elliott drove the lion's share of the race with a tin aero "band-aid" pop-riveted to the nose of the McDonald's Ford after an early race mishap. Elliott commenting on his second place run said, "The McDonald's Ford ran well. The bad thing is we got behind at the first but we overcame that. We ran well. I was just a little bit tight at the end. I knew Ernie was good and I knew he'd be the car to beat. I felt like I could get Mark (Martin) a little loose especially if he led. I was pretty good leading but I wasn't as good as the #28 car."
Third place finisher Mark Martin, who has eight consecutive top-five finishes under his belt, saw the race this way, "We were pretty good in the middle of the race and we never slowed down. Those guys just got a lot faster. The #94 (Bill Elliott) and Ernie (Irvan) just turned it on when it was time to go. We'd been turning it on all day."
Dale Earnhardt set a personal career record today; one that he probably won't be bragging to his grandchildren about. Earnhardt, by not winning, has extended to 41 the number of races he's run without a win. His previous 'record' of 40 starts without a win spanned the time period from April of '82 to July of '93.
The points swung decidedly in Jeff Gordon's favor after Terry Labonte had his problems today. The two were tied coming into the event but the provisional points leader following the Miller 400 is Jeff Gordon at 2110 points. Mark Martin sits 46 points behind Gordon and Terry Labonte slides to third some 109 markers behind Gordon.
The Miller 400 took 2 hours 36 minutes 31 seconds to complete and maintained an average speed of 153.21 miles per hour. There were 26 lead changes among 13 drivers. The yellow flew only three times for 18 laps.
The next race will be the inaugural California 500 presented by NAPA to be run at the new Penske-owned speedway in Fontana California on June 22nd.
Mike Snow -- The Auto Channel
