Autos notebook

By Compiled from Times wires

© St. Petersburg Times, published August 14, 2000

Martin's finish snaps bad string

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. -- Mark Martin finally could smile.

Martin, one of the best drivers never to win the Winston Cup championship, finished second to Steve Park in Sunday's Global Crossing at the Glen. Considering what Martin has been through lately, that was a triumph.

"We've had a very tough summer," said Martin, who has been second three times and third four times in the standings.

But after taking the points lead with a sixth-place finish at Talladega in mid-April, Martin fall off the pace. Last week, he crashed on Lap 15 of the Brickyard 400 and finished last for the second straight race.

"It's just been one of those years where the things we couldn't control were really bad," Martin said.

He's ninth in points, 469 behind leader Bobby Labonte and 20 ahead of Jeff Gordon.

Martin challenged Park over the final two laps at the 11-turn Watkins Glen International course, once pulling up to Park's rear bumper.

FELLOWS FALLS OUT: Canadian road-race star Ron Fellows, second to Gordon last year at Watkins Glen, was making a run through the field, up to 13th on Lap 17 after starting 40th. But he lost two cylinders on Lap 20 and dropped out.

"It's just a shame," said Fellows, whose 16-year-old daughter, Lindsay, sang the Canadian and American national anthems. "It kind of makes last year look a lot more difficult than we thought."

KUDOS FOR KENSETH: Matt Kenseth had a good day in the race for rookie of the year. He finished 10th and increased his lead over Dale Earnhardt Jr. to 245-222. Earnhardt crashed early, had trouble with third gear later and finished 40th.

"That's how a rookie year goes," said Kenseth, who won the Coca-Cola 600 in May. "No matter how good you are, you're gonna have things happen, especially a rookie year when you're learning along with your team."

© St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.

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