Earnhardt Jr beats Gordon in Busch spectacular

'He's making being a car owner fun, but I plan to race a couple of more years,' joked his legendary father Dale Earnhardt.

He was followed home by Jeff Gordon, poleman Dave Blaney, Winston Cup series race polesitter Ward Burton and Mark Martin.

'This car was a handful a couple of times, but the crew was
able to figure
it out,' explained Earnhardt Jr.

The result gives Earnhardt an 89-point series lead, helped when challenger Matt Kenseth retired with engine problems. This was no inherited victory however, 'Dale Jr' was never lower than 4th throughout the contest.

The race was infiltrated by a large number of Winston Cup drivers, who wanted to get in some extra practice before tomorrow's Pepsi 400. At one stage the top 15 comprised two Busch drivers and twelve Winston Cup stars...

Polesitter Dave Blaney led for nine laps but soon had to give way to Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon, who then proceeded to have a private fight for the lead.

Meanwhile, Kenseth, who came to Michigan just one point behind Earnhardt, had moved up from 30th to 9th but dropped out in the closing stages. Jeff Green, the other major contender for the Busch title, was never really in contention and finished off the lead lap.

The Earnhardt and Gordon battle continued, the duo pulling out an even greater margin over their pursuers with superior pit stops. However, in the last few laps Gordon had no answer for Earnhardt's pace, allowing the latter to pull away for a memorable victory over an unusually star-studded field.

Blaney stayed close to the leaders all day but lost a lot of time in his final pit stop. He finished 3rd.

Result from the NAPA 200 at Michigan: