in a crash early on, and would be forced to sit out the next two races. MBNA Gold 400 The MBNA Gold 400 was run on September 20 in Dover, Delaware. Mark Martin won the pole. The race was broadcast on TNN. Top Ten Results 6-Mark Martin 24-Jeff Gordon 12-Jeremy Mayfield 18-Bobby Labonte 2-Rusty Wallace 94-Matt Kenseth* 88-Dale Jarrett 28-Ernie Irvan 43-John Andretti 4-Bobby Hamilton 1 lap down Failed to qualify: 41-Steve Grissom, 71-Dave Marcis, 96-Morgan Shepherd Matt Kenseth made his Winston Cup debut in relief of Bill Elliott. Elliott decided to skip the race to mourn the death of his father, George. Matt Kenseth became the 3rd highest finisher in his Winston Cup debut, finishing 6th. Only 2 drivers have finished in the top 5 in their Cup Series debuts, and that was Terry Labonte, who finished 4th in the 1978 Southern 500 at Darlington, and Rusty Wallace, who finished 2nd in the fall Atlanta race in 1980. Dale Earnhardt and Terry Labonte both made their 600th career Winston Cup starts in this race. NAPA Autocare 500 The NAPA Autocare 500 was run on September 27 in Martinsville, Virginia. Ernie Irvan won the pole. The race was broadcast on ESPN. Top Ten Results 10-Ricky Rudd* 24-Jeff Gordon 6-Mark Martin 98-Rich Bickle* 99-Jeff Burton 5-Terry Labonte 94-Bill Elliott 36-Ernie Irvan 1 lap down 26-Johnny Benson 1 lap down 18-Bobby Labonte 1 lap down Failed to qualify: 41-David Green, 78-Gary Bradberry, 79-Ken Bouchard, 85-Randy MacDonald This race was run in oppressive heat and humidity. Multiple drivers required relief during the event. Jerry Nadeau was actually forced to pull off the track at one point because he needed relief, and there was no one available that could relieve him. Ricky Rudd's cooler box broke literally on lap one of the race. This resulted in Rudd being broiled inside of the car. Hut Stricklin was on standby to relieve Rudd, but Rudd never got out of the car. In Victory Lane, Rudd had to be pulled out of the car and given first aid by paramedics. Dr. Jerry Punch, who conducted the Victory Lane interview, helped out the paramedics. 20th career win for Ricky Rudd. With this win, Ricky Rudd's winning streak would stay alive, making this the 16th straight season that he has won at least one race, 3rd all-time. Richard Petty leads the category by winning at least one race in