Sunday, March 7, 1999 | 3:45 a.m.
Jeff Burton batttled his older brother, Ward, and pulled away over the final 10 laps to capture Sunday's NASCAR Winston Cup Las Vegas 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Jeff Burton took the lead from Ward on lap 258 of the 267-lap race after the two raced side-by-side around the 1.5-tri-oval for three laps. Jeff Burton pulled away in the closing laps and posted a 1.074-second margin of victory over his brother for his sixth Winston Cup win.
"That's awfully stressful," Jeff Burton said of his duel with his brother. "I'm a big fan of Ward Burton's. I want Ward to do well and to sit there and try to have to beat him is really hard.
"We were door to door and all but rubbed a couple of times."
Jeff Burton, who started 19th, led six times for 111 laps. Ward Burton started the race in the 30th position and led seven times for 71 laps.
Jeff Gordon finished third, Mike Skinner fourth and Bobby Labonte fifth in the second running of the Winston Cup Series in Las Vegas. Gordon and Skinner were two of the five drivers eligible for the Winston "No Bull 5" $1 million bonus.
Ernie Irvan turned in one of the most impressive runs of the day, piloting the No. 36 M&Ms Pontiac from the 40th starting position to a sixth-place finish.
The average speed of the race was 137.535 mph, well off Mark Martin's winning speed of 146.554 in last year's inaugural race. There were 25 lead changes among 10 drivers and the race was slowed by five caution periods for 22 laps.
Jeff Burton earned $336,590 for the win.
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