Terry Labonte drove to his first International Race of Champions victory, outdueling fellow NASCAR stock car stars Dale Earnhardt and Rusty Wallace to the finish at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Mich.
Labonte, who was coming off a victory last Sunday in a Winston Cup race at Talladega, Ala., started 11th in the 12-car field, but moved all the way to the front by the eighth lap on the 2-mile, high-banked oval.He wound up leading 33 of the 50 laps, including the final seven, holding off Earnhardt to win by 0.47-seconds. Wallace, who started last, was a close third in the race for identically prepared IROC-Z Chevrolet Camaros.
The 21 points for the victory, combined with five bonus points for leading the most laps, gave Labonte the IROC points leads with only next Saturday's race on the road course at Watkins Glen, N.Y., remaining in the four-race series.
The winner of the series will earn $200,000, with $90,000 for second and decreasing amounts down to $40,000 for the 12th-place driver.
Labonte, who averaged 158.343 mph, holds a 55-51 lead over Wallace, who came into the Michigan race leading the points.
The starting field at Watkins Glen will be based on the point standings, with Labonte and Waltrip starting from the front row.
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Emerson Fittipaldi, who has four victories this season already, earned his third straight pole position, claiming the top spot for today's Marlboro 500.
Fittipaldi had the fastest time on the two-mile track Friday at 219.827 mph. That marked the best qualfying speed since Rick Mears clocked 219.445 before the Michigan 250 in 1986.
The circuit record is 223.401 mph, chalked up by Mears that same year in qualifying for the Michigan 500. Mears will hold down the No. 2 spot in Sunday's grid based on his speed of 218.155 mph Friday.