The 1991 Spark Plug 400

LONG POND, Pa. (June 16, 1991)

Darrell Waltrip slipped past Dale Earnhardt with 18 laps remaining and galloped to his second win of the season in the Champion Spark Plug 500 at Pocono International Raceway.

Waltrip finished 1.92 seconds in front of Earnhardt to notch his 81st career Winston Cup victory. "Winning races at this point in my career with my own team, and coming back from the injury to put this whole thing together, has been special," said Waltrip.

Waltrip and Earnhardt treated the estimated sell-out audience of over 100,000 to a late race showdown. They led all but 16 of the final 57 laps after the race was interrupted for an hour and 42 minutes by rain. Nearly six hours after the race got underway, flagman Doyle Ford flashed Waltrip the checkered flag.

Earnhardt blamed tire problems for fading late in the race. "It started vibrating, and that's when Darrell got by me," said Earnhardt. "I think I could have held Darrell off if we hadn't had the problem."

Waltrip admitted he was concerned about Earnhardt in the final stretch, but he didn't think his rival's car was affected by tire problems. "It appeared to me that the longer he ran, the handle kind of came off his car," said the winner. "He didn't seem to stay as good and I was able to.

"He went into turn one and actually went up on the curve down there," added Waltrip. "It made his car jump off the track a little bit and it gave me a chance to get beside him. He was a gentleman about that whole thing. I passed him and checked on out."

Mark Martin finished third on Earnhardt's bumper, while Harry Gant and Geoff Bodine finished fourth and fifth, respectively.