Terry Labonte’s record-setting race was overshadowed Sunday by Rusty Wallace, who won the Goody’s Headache Powders 500 for the fourth straight year.
Labonte, breaking a tie he forged a week earlier with longtime stock car king Richard Petty, drove in his 514th consecutive Winston Cup event, a streak dating to the opening race of 1979.
Although he led as late as Lap 414 in the 500-lap event on Martinsville Speedway’s .526-mile oval, Labonte had to make a series of pit stops because of a brake-fluid leak and wound up 24th.
Wallace, who is NASCAR’s leading driver on tracks shorter than one mile, came back from a midrace problem of his own and chased down defending Winston Cup champion Jeff Gordon. Wallace passed Gordon with 12 laps to go and raced to his 42nd career victory, sixth at Martinsville and first of the season.
It was also the first win for Ford since Dale Jarrett took the season-opening Daytona 500. Ernie Irvan, also in a Ford, finished second.
Wallace set a track record of 81.396 m.p.h., breaking the mark of 79.336 set by Cale Yarborough in 1978.
