Terry Labonte

Drivers to watch: Chevy drivers Sterling Martin, Dale Earnhardt, Terry Labonte and Jeff Gordon; Pontiac drivers Bobby Labonte, John Andretti and Ernie Irvan. And Ford drivers Dale Jarrett, Rusty Wallace and Mark Martin.Best bets: Dale Earnhardt or Terry Labonte will break his 20-year Daytona 500 winless streak.Dark horses: Keep an eye out for Michael Waltrip, in his 13th full season without one Winston Cup win. He is looking strong in his Wood Brothers Ford; And 1990 Daytona 500 winner Derrike Cope, driving for a first-year team owned by Chuck Rider, has been impressing with strong practice sessions.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Retired Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino never won a Super Bowl, but no one doubts his greatness. NASCAR driver Mark Martin should be so lucky. Now, sitting in his team's transporter, he is listening to remarks made by Fox television analysts Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds, and Martin's blood pressure is rising. Speaking during a conference call a few days ago, Waltrip and McReynolds had a conversation that went like this: "Over the past couple months, Mark Martin has been the most consistent of the whole group [of drivers]

NEW YORK -- A year ago, car owner Rick Hendrick sat at the podium in the Waldorf Astoria Hotel with driver Jeff Gordon and soaked up the delights that come with winning a first Winston Cup championship.It was supposed to be even better the second time around. This year's champion, driver Terry Labonte, and teammate Gordon dominated the 31-race season.Tonight, Hendrick was supposed to celebrate with Labonte at the annual NASCAR Awards Banquet.But that was before a federal grand jury indicted Hendrick on charges of conspiring to bribe Honda executives.

INDIANAPOLIS - As Winston Cup driver Jeremy Mayfield was carried from his car on a stretcher yesterday morning, nearly everyone here for today's Brickyard 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway held his breath. NASCAR already has had two drivers killed in racing accidents this season, and the sight of another hard crash into a speedway wall sent chills down the spine. It didn't help that two-time Winston Cup champion Terry Labonte was forced to not race today because of post-concussion syndrome dizziness he is experiencing - the result of being knocked unconscious when he hit the wall at Daytona International Speedway last month.

HAMPTON, Ga. -- A Winston Cup car owner is well-served if he gets to run for a title once in his lifetime. Thus, Rick Hendrick, the man who owns the cars of points leader Terry Labonte and defending champion Jeff Gordon, should be doubly delighted that his teams are battling each other and Dale Jarrett for the Winston Cup Championship."

LineupPos., Car, No., Driver, Hometown, Car, Qualifying time31, Mike Skinner , Susanville, Calif., Chevrolet, 189.8132. 41, Steve Grissom, Gadsden, Ala., Chevrolet, 188.31888, Dale Jarrett, Hickory, N.C., Ford4. 3, Dale Earnhardt, Kannapolis, N.C., Chevrolet5. 28, Ernie Irvan, Modesto, Calif., Ford6. 24, Jeff Gordon, Pittsboro, Ind., Chevrolet7. 23, Jimmy Spencer, Berwick, Pa., Ford8. 94, Bill Elliott, Dawsonville, Ga., Ford9. 4, Sterling Marlin, Columbia, Tenn., Chevrolet10. 33, Ken Schrader, Fenton, Mo., ChevroletvTC 11. 6, Mark Martin, Batesville, Ark., Ford12.

Ah, well, former Winston Cup champions can't be right all the time.Terry Labonte, who won the national title in 1984, thought he had taken a "realistic step" toward the future last season, when he started his own team. But as Winston Cup teams gear up for Sunday's (1:15 p.m.) Pontiac Excitement 400 in Richmond, Labonte admitted, "I've seen the light."The 34-year-old native of Corpus Christi, Texas, is out of the car owner business and back in the seat of Billy Hagan's Sunoco Oldsmobile. It was with Hagan that Labonte won the 1984 title.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Every time Jeff Gordon stops to think about the Winston Cup season that begins today, he finds himself puzzling over the same question: How can he possibly improve on a season that included a victory in the Daytona 500 and nine other races and his second Winston Cup championship?He gets no help from his crew chief, Ray Evernham. in this pursuit, because Evernham is coping with the pressure within Team Hendrick to do it all over again.And John Hendrick, who is stepping in this season for his brother, team owner Rick Hendrick, is looking for answers to a different set of questions.

RICHMOND, Va. -- The answer to the biggest question of the night was waiting at the end of the night was waiting at the end of the Pontiac Excitement 400. Would the Winston Cup series have its 11th different winner of the season? With 10 different winners in the first 10 races, the series already had a record. Could it be lengthened? Ten previously victorious men hoped not, and through the evening, as a crowd of 97,000 enjoyed a warm and hazy night, it seemed nearly all of them took a shot at stopping it. And the rookie among them did. Dale Earnhardt Jr. became the first two-time winner of the Winston Cup season and moved within one victory of the modern era rookie record of three set last season by Tony Stewart.

Need to regain your short-track edge and reach a Winston Cup milestone? For Rusty Wallace, there's no better place than Bristol, Tenn. "I really put a big bull's-eye on this place, it's one of my favorites," said Wallace, who defended his Food City 500 title yesterday and became only the 10th driver in NASCAR with at least 50 victories. "I worked hard to get this one and pointed here." And Wallace won't make the same mistake he did a year ago. He left here thinking he would win "five or six more times."

RICHMOND, Va. -- The answer to the biggest question of the night was waiting at the end of the night was waiting at the end of the Pontiac Excitement 400. Would the Winston Cup series have its 11th different winner of the season? With 10 different winners in the first 10 races, the series already had a record. Could it be lengthened? Ten previously victorious men hoped not, and through the evening, as a crowd of 97,000 enjoyed a warm and hazy night, it seemed nearly all of them took a shot at stopping it. And the rookie among them did. Dale Earnhardt Jr. became the first two-time winner of the Winston Cup season and moved within one victory of the modern era rookie record of three set last season by Tony Stewart.

Need to regain your short-track edge and reach a Winston Cup milestone? For Rusty Wallace, there's no better place than Bristol, Tenn. "I really put a big bull's-eye on this place, it's one of my favorites," said Wallace, who defended his Food City 500 title yesterday and became only the 10th driver in NASCAR with at least 50 victories. "I worked hard to get this one and pointed here." And Wallace won't make the same mistake he did a year ago. He left here thinking he would win "five or six more times."

Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison stood toe-to-toe swinging their fists at each other's heads.Bobby Allison pulled up and started swinging at Yarborough's head.Track workers and officials blew across the infield and toward the fracas, with purposes unclear. A procession of stock cars roared past the scene.It was 1979, and chaos had a firm grip on the backstretch at Daytona International Speedway. All of it in front of the cameras of CBS, which was televising the 500 live for the first time.

Drivers to watch: Chevy drivers Sterling Martin, Dale Earnhardt, Terry Labonte and Jeff Gordon; Pontiac drivers Bobby Labonte, John Andretti and Ernie Irvan. And Ford drivers Dale Jarrett, Rusty Wallace and Mark Martin.Best bets: Dale Earnhardt or Terry Labonte will break his 20-year Daytona 500 winless streak.Dark horses: Keep an eye out for Michael Waltrip, in his 13th full season without one Winston Cup win. He is looking strong in his Wood Brothers Ford; And 1990 Daytona 500 winner Derrike Cope, driving for a first-year team owned by Chuck Rider, has been impressing with strong practice sessions.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Every time Jeff Gordon stops to think about the Winston Cup season that begins today, he finds himself puzzling over the same question: How can he possibly improve on a season that included a victory in the Daytona 500 and nine other races and his second Winston Cup championship?He gets no help from his crew chief, Ray Evernham. in this pursuit, because Evernham is coping with the pressure within Team Hendrick to do it all over again.And John Hendrick, who is stepping in this season for his brother, team owner Rick Hendrick, is looking for answers to a different set of questions.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Dale Earnhardt seemed to swagger just a little as he arrived for a post-race interview after winning his share of the Gatorade Twin 125-mile qualifying races for a record ninth straight time."

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Jeff Gordon Express is set to check out of the Charlotte Motor Speedway "station" today at 1: 10 p.m.Forty-two other NASCAR Winston Cup Series drivers will be trying to derail the run in the UAW-GM Quality 500.With Gordon as the engineer and crew chief Ray Evernham serving as the conductor/fireman, the Hendrick Motorsports team's Chevrolet has been running as smooth and fast as a bullet train the past six weeks.Gordon, 25, has won three Winston Cup races in a row and four of the past five.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Dale Earnhardt seemed to swagger just a little as he arrived for a post-race interview after winning his share of the Gatorade Twin 125-mile qualifying races for a record ninth straight time."

LineupPos., Car, No., Driver, Hometown, Car, Qualifying time31, Mike Skinner , Susanville, Calif., Chevrolet, 189.8132. 41, Steve Grissom, Gadsden, Ala., Chevrolet, 188.31888, Dale Jarrett, Hickory, N.C., Ford4. 3, Dale Earnhardt, Kannapolis, N.C., Chevrolet5. 28, Ernie Irvan, Modesto, Calif., Ford6. 24, Jeff Gordon, Pittsboro, Ind., Chevrolet7. 23, Jimmy Spencer, Berwick, Pa., Ford8. 94, Bill Elliott, Dawsonville, Ga., Ford9. 4, Sterling Marlin, Columbia, Tenn., Chevrolet10. 33, Ken Schrader, Fenton, Mo., ChevroletvTC 11. 6, Mark Martin, Batesville, Ark., Ford12.

NEW YORK -- A year ago, car owner Rick Hendrick sat at the podium in the Waldorf Astoria Hotel with driver Jeff Gordon and soaked up the delights that come with winning a first Winston Cup championship.It was supposed to be even better the second time around. This year's champion, driver Terry Labonte, and teammate Gordon dominated the 31-race season.Tonight, Hendrick was supposed to celebrate with Labonte at the annual NASCAR Awards Banquet.But that was before a federal grand jury indicted Hendrick on charges of conspiring to bribe Honda executives.