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The Callahan Report: Irvan Wins Miller 400

16 June 1997

BROOKLYN, MI: Not so long ago, Ernie Irvan left Michigan International Speedway fighting for his life. He won that battle. Today his fight was with NASCAR's best teams and drivers. He won again.

In a race that saw twenty-six lead changes, Irvan and the Havoline team outlasted them all. The Yates crew changed two tires and gave Irvan enough fuel to go the distance late in the race. They did it in a little over eight seconds. Irvan took the lead for good with 20 laps remaining. He started twentieth.

Irvan received life threatening injuries in 1994 at this track. Today he received lifelong memories. It was an exciting show of courage. ``The last five laps, my mind was going in all kind of circles,'' said Irvan, "I kept going through turn two and was like, `Man, this is where the wreck happened.'" It seems that Irvan has never let the crash in turn two effect his performance. He has never finished worse than fifth since returning to the famed two mile oval.

Bill Elliot gave the McDonald's car a fine ride finishing second. Mark Martin and Ted Musgrave put two more Fords up front finishing third and fourth respectively.

The first driver to cross the finish line in a Chevrolet was Jeff Gordon. The 1995 Winston Cup champion was forced to start at the back of the field. He was using his backup car in the race because his primary car was destroyed in practice Saturday. "This team is just awesome right now. I think today we really showed what we're all about."

Irvan's teammate, Dale Jarrett finished sixth. He was the polesitter for the race. Jarrett said the team just couldn't quite get the right setup in the car all day. "It was close, but not good enough to stay in contention", said Jarrett.

Gordon is now the sole owner of first place in the Winston Cup points. Gordon and his teammate, Terry Labonte, came into the race in a tie. Labonte had a tire blow on lap sixty, sending him into the wall. He later returned, but finished the race in thirty-ninth spot.

Mike Skinner was in the hot seat on lap eight. Skinner was driving under Geoff Bodine when he lost control. He went into the wall and the car erupted in flames. Skinner jumped from the flaming car after in came to a stop. He was uninjured.

Dale Earnhardt's losing streak continues. The seven time champion finished seventh today. His winless streak now stands at forty-one, the longest of his career. The "intimidating" driver remains sixth is the series points.

Terry Callahan -- The Auto Channel