Petty Ends Drought With Decisive Victory At The Monster Mile

Kyle Petty was far enough behind to avoid an early-race accident involving 20 cars, then beat a field resembling a pile of junk to win the Miller Genuine Draft 500 and end a two-year victory drought.

Petty, who started 37th in a field of 42 thinned by the accident near the front, took the lead for good on the 459th of 500 laps at the Monster Mile. The 35-year-old son of retired NASCAR great Richard Petty led 271 laps and beat Bobby Labonte by about three car-lengths (.22 seconds) to collect $69,665 from a purse of $1.32 million.

Petty averaged 119.880 mph in a race that featured 20 lead changes among eight drivers. Coming from 37th on the grid, he eclipsed Ken Schrader’s Dover record of winning from the deepest in the field. Schrader started that race 19th.

It was a day of retribution at the Milwaukee Mile, with Paul Tracy outdueling former teammate Al Unser Jr. to win the Miller Genuine Draft 200.

Tracy, still smarting from going out of the Indianapolis 500 with an electrical problem, gave the Newman-Haas team a big lift with his second win of the season and the 10th of his IndyCar career.