Mark Martin figured some people would doubt whether he really was back after winning on a road course last week.

The questions should have ended Saturday after Martin held off Dale Earnhardt down the stretch and set a NASCAR speed record by averaging 188.354 mph in the Winston 500. The previous record of 186.288 mph was by Bill Elliott in winning the Winston 500 in 1985.The victory on NASCAR's fastest track over one of its best racers came on the heels of a win at Sonoma, Calif., that snapped Martin's 42-race winless streak.

It was Martin's second Winston 500 victory in three years and, he hopes, a sure sign that he is back in top form.

"This means that last week wasn't a fluke," Martin said. "It had been a long, long time since I'd won one and there were times we didn't think we'd win another one. I don't know if I'll win another one now, but the car sure is running great."

The Roush Racing Ford held out by 0.146 seconds over Earnhardt's Chevrolet. They were followed by Bobby Labonte, John Andretti and Jeff Gordon, who combined for an exciting five-car dash to the finish line over the final nine laps.

With a sixth-place finish, defending series points champion Terry Labonte took the lead in the driver standings by 39 points over Gordon. Dale Jarrett fell from first to third after finishing 35th.

The race was run two weeks late, but the wait appeared to be worth it. With the sun shining and temperatures in the 70s, a crowd of about 140,000 saw the Winston series' first caution-free race since 1992.

Some racers credited the lack of accidents to a more relaxed feel because of the delay and the fact they were racing on Mother's Day weekend, traditionally a dark weekend in NASCAR.

Whatever the case, it made for a good race and reminded people that Talladega Superspeedway is known as stock car racing's fastest track as well as its most dangerous.

"Apparently, all the drivers didn't want this to be their last race," Martin said. "There are many more for us out here, and only one of us can win this thing."

Martin set himself up to do it when he took the lead after a group of drivers made pit stops with 34 laps left.

Earnhardt came out seventh after the stop, but slowly moved to second with four laps to go. But once he was lined up behind Martin, he had nowhere to go.

"I had my eye on him," Martin said. "He made a couple of good runs at me. But after a while, I saw he was going to have trouble. By the end, I thought it would be a surprise if he could muster up a pass."

Earnhardt drafted just behind Martin, leaving everyone expecting one of his trademark aggressive moves. But lap after lap passed and Earnhardt had no chance as he fell short of his eighth victory at the Talladega track.

"If there would have been a time to do it, I would have," Earnhardt said. "All the cars were running good. We're happy with a second after all the things that have happened to us."

Earnhardt's winless streak extended to 37 races, but he did take his first lead since the Daytona 500 and refuted theories that his best days are behind him.

Twenty laps into the race, Earnhardt muscled past the polesitting Ford of Andretti. Earnhardt led for 76 laps, but couldn't regain the top spot after falling behind Martin during a multi-car battle in lap 140.

Martin, meanwhile, completed an odd sweep at Talladega. He tied the record for Busch Grand National victories with his 31st on that circuit April 26, the day before the Winston 500 was originally scheduled.

He traveled west to end the winless streak, then came to Talladega with increased confidence.

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"The part that was good about today is that if we would have gotten passed anywhere in those last 10 or 15 laps, it wouldn't have ripped our guts out like it would have otherwise," Martin said. "We didn't have to win to feel successful."

Andretti likely lost his chance to race in the Indianapolis 500 so he could run from the pole position.

He acquitted himself well by holding off Earnhardt over the first 18 laps and staying in the running all the way despite racing for long periods without much drafting help.

"We had to have a really good race car to finish as high up as we did with as little help as we had," Andretti said.

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