With a little help from his Rainbow Warriors—and from a timely crash—Jeff Gordon smoothed the bumps at demanding Dover by Bruce Newman The concrete mixer of a track at Dover Downs isn't a favorite of Winston Cup drivers, but Jeff Gordon found a fast line around it and took his fourth victory of the year. (Margin of victory: 3.9 seconds) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 500 laps at 122.741 mph Terry Labonte, Chevrolet, 500 laps Dale Earnhardt, Chevrolet, 500 laps Ernie Irvan, Ford, 500 laps Bobby Labonte, Chevrolet, 499 laps 4 hours, 4 minutes, 25 seconds; 5 flags, 38 laps run under caution Jeff Gordon 154.785 mph* with point totals (and points earned this weekend) 1 Dale Earnhardt 1,901 (170) 2 Terry Labonte 1,765 (170) 3 Jeff Gordon 1,719 (185) 4 Dale Jarrett 1,686 (60) 5 Ricky Rudd 1,549 (142) *Record (previous record: Jeff Gordon, 153.669 mph, 1995) During a record-breaking qualifying run, Jeff Gordon found the smooth way around the banked concrete that usually rattles drivers' teeth—and nerves—at Dover Downs International Speedway, then stayed in it like a slot car as he led 307 of the 500 laps of the Miller 500. "This is one track where being up front and having good track position can really pay off," Gordon said, understating matters considerably. He had passed Dale Earnhardt for the final time on Lap 372 and marched home from there. "We had a good run," Earnhardt said, expressing the prevailing sentiment among drivers toward the concrete mixer, "but it was just one of those long days at Dover driving on sidewalks." The only thing that prevented Gordon—who won his fourth race of the season—from dominating from start to finish was a miscalculation on Lap 196, when he elected to make a pit stop from the lead. Instead of setting off the customary stampede into pit row, he was joined by only one other car. "We were surprised those guys didn't come in," Gordon said. He dropped to 14th position and for the next 175 laps remained stuck in the pack as Dale Jarrett and Earnhardt traded the lead. "I got a little nervous back there," Gordon admitted. He needn't have been. Jarrett slammed into the backstraight wall, finished 36th and dropped from second to fourth in the series point standings. The mishap brought out the yellow and sent Gordon to the pits, where fast work by his Rainbow Warriors got him back in the lead. Gordon had Labonte (top) and Irvan fenced in. photograph by Don Grassmann/CIA "We were real fortunate to have that caution," Gordon said. "We came in fourth and came back out first. That did it."