Monday, March 24, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
"All I could think about was keeping my foot down and staying ahead," he said. "All I could see in my mirror was Ted Musgrave's car."
Musgrave, like a shadow in the South Carolina sun, clung close to Jarrett's Ford the final 58 laps at the TranSouth 400 on Sunday. He got as close as Jarrett's window on the final lap, but could not pass.
Jarrett earned $142,860 and increased his series points lead to 87 over Jeff Gordon.
Gordon's Chevrolet was third, almost 15 seconds behind. The 25-year-old was trying for history of his own after winning the past three races at the historic 1.366-mile oval. But Gordon glanced the wall early while leading on lap 38 and could not catch up to the Fords.
archive
