| | Associated Press
DARLINGTON, S.C. -- Winston Cup star Mark Martin, driving in
his final Busch Series event at Darlington Raceway, beat NASCAR's
toughest track for the third time in a row.
Martin, who competes Sunday in the Southern 500, got the best of Darlington Raceway on Saturday for the eighth time in Busch competition. He won the Dura Lube 200 for the second year in a row, giving him a sweep of the races this year on the 1.366-mile track.
But Martin's crew won him the race, getting him out ahead of
Jeff Burton, who had the lead when their Fords pitted for the final
time on the 130th of 147 laps.
"That was the real key," Martin said of the decisive stop.
"Jeff Burton was really strong today. I don't know if I could have
passed him or not."
Burton outran Martin for most of the race, leading three times for 75 laps. Martin showed the way four times for 39 laps, and got a big break when the race was red-flagged to clean up debris from a crash with four laps left.
Martin got a fast restart when the green came out on lap 146,
and Burton never got closer than the five-car-length deficit at the
end.
He also said the pit stop was crucial.
"The pit stop hurt us some, but you have some good days and
some bad days," Burton said. "We didn't have a bad pit stop, but
they had a great one."
Martin, who started on the pole, said his car didn't handle as
well as he hoped through the middle segment of the race, but was at
it's best after the final pit stop.
"But it had to be because we knew Jeff Burton was going to be
awful tough to beat," Martin said.
Burton conceded his car did was not as powerful over the closing laps.
"I didn't handle as well from behind," he said. "When the 60
car (Martin) is in front, it never seems to handle as well."
The victory was the fifth this year and 45th overall for Martin,
extending his Busch series record. Schedule commitments are forcing
the 41-year-old driver to concentrate solely on his Winston Cup
program. He plans to race four more times before stepping out of
his Busch car.
"I'm going to miss it, that's for sure," Martin said.
Elton Sawyer was strong throughout the race, and made it a 1-2-3
finish by Fords for the first time in five years. There were only
seven Fords in a field dominated by 33 Chevrolets.
Sawyer was satisfied with his finish.
"We just got beat by two of the best," he said. "Mark Martin
is a great champion, and he's the man at Darlington."
Martin and Burton ran at or near the lead throughout the hot and
humid afternoon, and the last 50 laps were a virtual match race.
Martin got alongside Burton at the beginning of that final segment,
but was unable to make the pass and rode along in second place
until the final pit stop.
Runaway series leader Jeff Green was fourth in his Chevy, and
now leads teammate Jason Keller by 604 points with seven races
remaining.
Ward Burton, subbing for Mike McLaughlin, whose father died
Friday night, was fifth in a Chevy.
Martin earned $40,675 from a purse of $658,089.
He averaged 118.215 in a race slowed for 20 laps by six caution
flags. There were 13 lead changes among seven drivers.
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ALSO SEE
Dura-Lube 200 results
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Mark Martin wins his eighth Busch Series race at Darlington Raceway.
avi: 2330 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
 Mark Martin talks about beating Jeff Burton out of the pits in Saturday's Dura-Lube 200.
wav: 161 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Mark Martin comments on ending his career in the Busch Series.
wav: 110 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Jeff Burton talks about his second-place finish in the Dura-Lube 200.
wav: 185 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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