Dale Jarrett showed Mark Martin that on NASCAR's superspeedways it's good to be smart, but it's better to be fast by Bruce Newman Mark Martin can't seem to buy a win this year: He led 135 of 200 laps, but with eight to go, Dale Jarrett caught him and took the win. (Margin of victory: .168 of a second) Dale Jarrett, Ford, 200 laps, 139.792 mph Mark Martin, Ford, 200 laps Terry Labonte, Chevrolet, 200 laps Ernie Irvan, Ford, 200 laps Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 200 laps 2 hours, 51 minutes, 41 seconds; 8 flags, 36 laps run under caution Jeff Burton 185.395 mph with point totals (and points earned this weekend) 1 Terry Labonte 3,137 (170) 2 Jeff Gordon 3,003 (155) 3 Dale Earnhardt 3,003 (112) 4 Dale Jarrett 3,000 (180) 5 Mark Martin 2,702 (180) He is among the wiliest of NASCAR's veteran drivers, which is how Mark Martin has managed to win at least one race every season since 1989—four in 1995—even though he hasn't always had the best equipment. But if the GM Goodwrench Dealer 400 at Michigan International Speedway proved anything, it was that, at least in Winston Cup racing, brainpower is ultimately no match for horsepower. Martin's Ford Thunderbird spent 135 of the race's 200 laps at the front of the field, mostly by gambling on shorter pit stops, often taking on only two fresh tires when all the other usual front-runners were getting four. But with eight laps remaining, Dale Jarrett, who started 11th, finally made Martin pay for having a strategy that was better than his car. He ran side by side with Martin, who started third, for half a lap, then blew by him coming out of Turn 2 on Lap 193. "I was able to keep him pinched down where he couldn't use the whole track," said Jarrett, who had chosen to keep his car stable by getting four fresh tires at each pit stop in the middle of the race. "That put us in better shape handlingwise at the end," he said. "Obviously, to make a move like we did on the outside there, you've got to have some good rubber." Martin uttered a single word as Jarrett passed him on the front straight: "Damn." His voice conveyed only that he knew he had lost the race to a better car, and that there was nothing he could do about it.