BROOKLYN, Mich. - Mark Martin had the fastest car and a big lead. What he didn't have was enough gas.
Ten laps from the finish of yesterday's NASCAR 400, the engine on Martin's Ford Thunderbird, which had powered him to the lead for 141 of the 200 laps at Michigan International Speedway, sputtered and died as he drove onto the backstretch.
As Martin coasted into the pits for the needed splash of gas to finish the race, he saw Ricky Rudd's Chevrolet Lumina glide smoothly past and into the lead on the front straightaway.
"It don't matter how strong your car is if you don't win," Martin said.
Rudd, who announced Saturday that he will start his own NASCAR Winston Cup team in 1994, gave his employer of four years, Hendrick Motorsports, an early going-away present with his first victory since last September at Dover, Del.
"It's hard to believe we won it that way," Rudd said. "We won on gas mileage at Dover."
1 Ricky Rudd
2 Jeff Gordon
3 Ernie Irvan
4 Dale Jarrett
5 Rusty Wallace
6 Mark Martin
7 Morgan Shepherd
8 Sterling Marlin
9 Bill Elliot
10 Harry Gant
11 Rick Mast
12 Kyle Petty
13 Phil Parsons
14 Dale Earnhardt
15 Ted Musgrave
16 Ken Schrader
17 Geoff Bodine
18 Jimmy Spencer
19 Darrell Waltrip
20 Terry Labonte
21 Hut Stricklin
22 Greg Sacks
23 Jimmy Hensley
24 Dave Marcis
25 Wally Dallenbach
26 Jim Sauter
27 Derrick Cope
28 jimmy Means
29 Kenny Wallace
30 Lake Speed
31 Dick Trickle
32 H.B. Bailey
33 Bobby Hillin
34 Rick Wilson
35 Davey Allison
36 Bobby Labonte
37 Michael Waltrip
38 P.J. Jones
39 Brett Bodine
40 Clay Young
41 Jimmy Horton
Time Of Race: 2 hours, 41 minutes, 38 seconds
Average Speed : 148.484 mph
Margin Of Victory: 1.74 seconds
