Mark Martin drove away from every challenge Sunday and won theNASCAR Champion Spark Plug 400 in Brooklyn Mich.
It was a sweet victory for the 31-year-old Martin, who boostedhis Winston Cup points lead over three-time champion Dale Earnhardt.
Martin, who was driving a Ford, was solidly in the battlethroughout the 400-mile race on Michigan International Speedway'stwo-mile, high-banked oval. He led 70 of the last 76 laps anddefeated Chevy driver Greg Sacks by 1.7 seconds.
Defending Winston Cup champion Rusty Wallace finished third,followed by Bill Elliott and Ricky Rudd, who made a great chargeafter starting 39th in the 41-car field.
Earnhardt appeared to be the driver to beat in the first half ofthe race, but he faded and wound up eighth. He now trails Martin by48 points with just 10 races left.
It was the second victory of the season and the third of hiscareer for Martin, whose victory early this season in Richmond, Va.,was spoiled when he was hit with a $40,000, 47-point penalty forusing an illegal carburetor.
IMSA: Geoff Brabham took a big step toward his third consecutiveIMSA-GT driving championship by winning the Nissan Grand Prix of RoadAmerica in Elkhart Lake, Wis.
Brabham, who was driving a Nissan GTP ZX-Turbo, averaged 113.111mph m.p.h.for 39 laps on the four-mile road course. He defeatedJaguar driver Davy Jones by 22 seconds. Juan Fangio finished thirdin a Toyota Eagle.
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