Earnhardt Bumps Junior in IROC

Dale Earnhardt won his third consecutive International Race of Champions event Friday, bumping his son, Dale Jr., through the final turn to win by .007 seconds at Michigan Speedway in Brooklyn, Mich.

“That was a unique deal,� said Earnhardt, a seven-time Winston Cup champion who has won 10 IROC races over the years. “That was something you hope for. To race Mark Martin for points and have your kid right up there with you most of the way was pretty special.�

With one race remaining--at Indianapolis in July--Earnhardt has a chance to become the only driver in the 23-year history of the series to win all four races in a season. Rusty Wallace, who won the final three races in 1991, is the only other driver to win three consecutive IROC races.

Earnhardt, who started last, took the lead from Martin, whom he leads by 20 points in the series chase, on the 27th lap and Earnhardt Jr. pulled in behind him four laps later.

It was pure racing--father and son--from there until the end of the 50-lap, 100-mile race in evenly matched Pontiac Firebirds.

“That was a pretty cool way to win,� Earnhardt said.

But wouldn’t it have been nice to let the kid win?

“He’s going to have to earn everything like his dad did,� Earnhardt said. “Besides, he wouldn’t want anybody to say, ‘Your dad let you win.’ �

Not much chance of that.

“Today was really special. I can’t tell you what it was like to be racing with my dad,� Junior said.

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Jeff Gordon won the pole for Sunday’s Kmart 400, his fourth pole of the season, pushing his Chevrolet to a one-lap speed of 186.945 mph at Michigan Speedway. That broke his track record of 186.611 set in June 1995.

Ernie Irvan, who won the June race at Michigan in 1997, qualified at 186.712 in a Pontiac for the right to line up next to Gordon.

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Dennis Setzer withstood final-lap pressure from pole starter Jay Sauter to win the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Pronto Auto Part 400 race at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth.

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Mike Dunn (top fuel), Tony Pedregon (funny car) and Warren Johnson (pro stock) led their fields after the first round of qualifying in the 35th annual NHRA Pontiac Excitement Nationals at Kirkersville, Ohio.