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INSIDE TRACK
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HOW MAYFIELD WON
A quick flip of the switch? No, career victory No. 2 was earned on pure guts! Sure, Mayfield's ability to switch ignition boxes on that final restart, in the heat of battle, and then hold off Bobby Labonte was crucial. But feeling the heat was something Mayfield endured all afternoon, sitting on a 320-degree oil can for nearly 500 miles. There was talk of a replacement driver midway through the race. His crew knew he was in pain. But plenty of ice at each pit stop, and determination to end a 62-race drought, kept Mayfield in the car -- and eventually led him to Victory Lane.
THE RECORD
Ten in a row is a record for one season. But will the Winston Cup record for non-repeat winners be matched next weekend in Richmond? If an 11th winner does emerge under the lights, 2000 will match the streak set from Sept. 22, 1985 to April 13, 1986 by these drivers:
Dale Earnhardt (Martinsville)
Harry Gant (N. Wilkesboro)
Cale Yarborough (Charlotte)
Darrell Waltrip (Rockingham)
Bill Elliott (Atlanta)
Ricky Rudd (Riverside)
Geoff Bodine (Daytona)
Kyle Petty (Richmond)
Terry Labonte (Rockingham)
Morgan Shepherd (Atlanta)
Rusty Wallace (Bristol)
TOUGH LUCK
Darrell Waltrip could win this award each week, but after qualifying seventh it was particularly tough to watch the 66 car be quickly swallowed up by the field. By the fifth lap, DW was fading fast and by the senventh circuit he was 42nd and leading only rookie Mike Bliss. Waltrip wound up 30th.
ROOKIE REPORT
For a long while, it appeared as though Matt Kenseth would join Dale Earnhardt Jr., in reach Victory Lane. Kenseth led the most laps and Jimmy Spencer's brush with the wall might have cost him his first career Winston Cup win. For the record, the last time two rookies won in the same season was 1981, when Morgan Shepherd and Ron Bouchard each won once. Kenseth finished a career-best third to extend his points lead over Little E, who finished 12th. Stacy Compton was 28th, while Scott Pruett and Bliss come home 34th and 35th. Dave Blaney was 38th.
-- ESPN.com
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Results
FONTANA, Calif. -- Jeremy Mayfield, overcoming a burning hot cockpit and a lost lap, made it 10 different winners in as many
Winston Cup races Sunday with a victory in the NAPA Auto Parts 500.
Mayfield, racing under the cloud of a NASCAR investigation into alleged illegal fuel use in the previous race, came away with the
second victory of his Winston Cup career and his first in 22 months
and 62 races.
Apparently referring to the ongoing probe by NASCAR into the fuel used by the Kranefuss-Penske Racing team in the April 16 race in Talladega, Ala., the elated Mayfield said, "We ain't running
nothing. We don't need nothing."
"We've been close and been close and been close," he said. "I knew we could do it."
NASCAR officials refused to discuss the allegations or possible sanctions against Mayfield's team, but did say on Friday an
investigation was under way and would not be concluded until sometime in the upcoming week.
Mayfield beat Bobby Labonte by 0.300 seconds -- about eight car-lengths -- and averaged 149.377 mph. Rookie Matt Kenseth was
third.
Mayfield had a problem early in the race when the oil cooler in his Ford began leaking into the cockpit, making an already hot day
even hotter. At one point late in the race, crew chief Peter Sopenzo had a crewmen hand the driver two bags of ice during a pit
stop to slip behind his back.
"It was real hot and I'm probably all blistered up, but you've got to suck it up sometimes," Mayfield said.
Following the celebration in victory circle, Mayfield was taken to the infield medical center for examination and treatment for
dehydration.
The winner, whose only previous victory came in Pocono on June 12, 1998, started 24th in the 43-car field and got off to a good
start. But, with the oil tank problem, Mayfield was forced to make two quick pit stops and found himself 37th on the restart after the
first of six caution flags in the race.
He quickly moved back into contention, slicing through traffic with what was obviously one of the fastest cars on the California
Speedway's 2-mile oval.
Still, it didn't appear Mayfield would be a factor up front until Jimmy Spencer spun and hit the wall on lap 219 of the 250-lap
event.
Kenseth, who dominated the race, leading four times for 129 laps, was in front of second-place Labonte by more than three
seconds when Spencer brought out the caution.
All the leaders pitted and several, including Mayfield, changed only two tires while Kenseth and Labonte both took the time to
change all four.
Mayfield, who also took no gas, came out first and stayed there the rest of the way, although he very nearly lost it.
|  | | Jeremy Mayfield celebrates with his pit crew in Victory Lane after winning the NAPA Auto Parts 500. |
Labonte charged back to regain second place on lap 234, but trailed the leader by just over two seconds. The series points
leader -- replacing Mark Martin, who finished 14th Sunday -- steadily cut into the lead and was trailing by only 1.016 seconds when Dick Trickle hit the wall on lap 243.
On the ensuing restart on lap 247, Mayfield's ignition failed and Labonte's Pontiac pulled alongside on the inside of the Ford.
But Mayfield quickly switched to his backup ignition and set sail, pulling back into the lead.
"On that restart, (Mayfield) kind of scared me," Labonte said. "I was going to try to get by him on the outside and he let off
the gas and I thought he might be trying to block me and I hesitated a little. It messed up my momentum and my plans."
Labonte, one of the 10 drivers who have set a record for the most different winners at the start of a season, added, "Matt
Kenseth would have won and I might have finished second if that
yellow hadn't come out. He had the best car all day."
Kenseth, who fell all the way to seventh after the final pit
stops, wound up third.
"I just planned on losing all day," said Kenseth, who drove in
only his 16th Winston Cup race. "I knew something would happen.
Then, just when I thought we might have it won, that's when it
happened.
Kenseth was followed by Ricky Rudd, Jeff Burton, Ward Burton and
pole-winner Mike Skinner. Jeff Gordon, who won two of the first
three California races and finished fourth in the other, was never
in contention and wound up 11th Sunday.
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ALSO SEE
Notebook: Kenseth has bittersweet day
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Jeremy Mayfield takes the checkered flag.
avi: 973 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Mayfield holds off Bobby Labonte on the restart despite having to switch ignition boxes on the fly.
avi: 918 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
 Jeremy Mayfield ignored the heat to win the race.
wav: 199 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Matt Kenseth had the car to win the race.
wav: 142 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Bobby Labonte says that he was fortunate to get second.
wav: 130 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Jeremy Mayfield talks about his ignition problem at the end of the race.
wav: 101 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Kenseth wasn't surprised to see the yellow flag.
wav: 189 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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