6B = THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN SPORTS TUESDAY. OCT. 16, 2001 Craven emotional after first Winston Cup victory The Associated Press MARTINSVILLE. Va. — Ricky Craven lingered in Victory Lane, talking to anyone in sight and reveling in the moment — his first Winston Cup victory. When he crossed the finish line yesterday and crew chief Mike Beam told him he won, Craven was overwhelmed. "It's never happened in my life," said Craven, who began regularly racing in the Winston Cup in 1995. "But time stopped and I thought, 'That's what I've worked 20 years for.'" Craven won the Old Dominion 500 at Martinsville Speedway by holding off Dale Jarrett in a door-to-door, last-lap duel. It was his first triumph in 174 career starts and one that erased a lot of bad memories. There was his resignation from Hendrick Motorsports in 1998 after eight races sandwiched around a bout with postconcussion syndrome. There were the past two seasons in which he was without a full-time ride and talk in the garage area that his career might be finished. And then, suddenly, there was victory. "I began racing in 1982 with the idea of getting to Winston Cup and winning a Winston Cup race, and I've got to admit, the last couple of years, I wasn't sure I'd ever get the chance," he said. "But here we are." In a race postponed a day because of rain, Craven pulled away from Jarrett on a restart with 13 laps to go, opening a wide lead. Then Jarrett began reeling him in, pulling up close to his bumper with about two laps to go on the .526-mile oval. "I found comfort in knowing he was in my mirror because the guy is a gentleman," Craven said. "I knew he would race me hard, but I knew he wouldn't rough me up." On the final lap, Jarrett went outside Craven heading into the first turn. The cars were door-to-door down the backstretch, with Craven hanging onto the inside position that eventually helped him hold off Jarrett. "I ran the last 10 laps as hard as I could possibly run, but I went into turn one with a lap to go and said, 'I've got this thing,'" he said. Jarrett was disappointed but thrilled for Craven. "He did what he's supposed to do," said Jarrett, who was among the first to congratulate Craven. Craven's Ford beat Jarrett's across the line by .141 seconds, giving owner Cal Wells his first victory in NASCAR's premier series. The race proved a bonanza for points leader Jeff Gordon, who cruised home in ninth place and added 97 points to his lead over Ricky Rudd. Gordon leads Rudd by 334 points with six races remaining. continuing "It's just a nail-biter until this thing is over with anyway," Gordon said. "What happened to Ricky Rudd today can happen to me next week or the week after that. You just never know." Bobby Hamilton, who won on this track in the spring of 1998 while driving for Richard Petty, seemed to have the car to beat until he and rookie Kevin Harvick got caught up in a bumping battle neither won. Hamilton caught Harvick with 28 laps left and bumped him in the second turn to take the lead. But Harvick got him back in turns three and four, spinning him out and allowing Craven to slide underneath for the lead. "I'm not sure I could have beat Bobby straight up because we were so even," said Craven, who led 94 laps to Hamilton's 92. One more caution brought everyone together for a dash to the finish, and Craven had just enough to hold off Jarrett for the last 13 laps. Ward Burton finished third in a Dodge, followed by defending series champion Bobby Labonte's Pontiac and Jeff Burton, also in a Ford. The rest of the top 10 included Benson in a Pontiac, Mark Martin in a Ford, Mike Wallace in a Ford, Gordon in a Chevrolet and Sterling Marlin in a Dodge. Marlin moved into third place in the points race. Gordon started the race with a 237-point lead over Rudd. Gordon needs to finish 11th or better in the last six races to clinch his fourth series title. Only Petty and Dale Earnhardt, each with seven, have won more. The race was typical of Martinsville, with drivers fighting for position and getting knocked around. The yellow flag flew 13 times. Before 400 laps had been run, Gordon knew Rudd and Tony Stewart were both parked in the garage, their days over early and their engines blowing plumes of smoke. Stewart, third in points, went out after 124 laps while running third. Rudd's engine gave way with 104 laps to go while chasing Hamilton for the lead. McGwire hints at retirement after Arizona eliminates St. Louis Injury-riddled season prompts 'Big Mac' to consider future The Associated Press ST. LOUIS — Mark McGwire's future is the biggest question facing the St. Louis Cardinals in the offseason. And, really, it's not that big of a question anymore. McGwire, who said he was "fried and embarrassed" about his performance the last week of the regular season and again hinted of retirement after the Cardinals were eliminated in five games by the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday, devolved into a member of the supporting cast during one of his most difficult seasons. McGwire, 38, is fifth on the career home run list and needs only 17 for 600. McGwire: The 38-year-old slugger is 17 home runs shy of 600. But he often complained he was playing on one leg this year after coming back too quickly from surgery to correct patella tendinitis in his right knee and batted on!1 187, striking out every 2.5 atbats. In the playoffs he was again a non-factor, going 1-for-11 — a single — and struck out three times in Game 5. In the ninth inning, manager Tony La Russa sent in a pinch hitter for Big Mac. "Believe me, if this guy doesn't play anymore, it would be my lowest moment as a manager, unless we had won the game," La Russa said. "My heart was pure. I thought I owe that to our club. I was just trying to win a game." McGwire is signed for two more seasons at $30 million, and doctors have told him it took a full year to recover from the surgery he underwent last October. He told reporters after the loss Sunday that he didn't play for money or numbers. "Your body can only go so far," McGwire said. "I'll probably let you guys know through fax or e-mail." McGwire had little to do with the second-half surge that put the Cardinals, a .500 team at the All-Star break, in the playoffs with a 93-69 record. Rookie Albert Pujols and J.D. Drew became the focal points of the offense, not McGwire. The Cardinals were an NL- best 54-28 at home. But they hurt themselves the final weekend of the regular season, losing two of three at Busch Stadium to the Houston Astros and losing the NL Central title and home-field advantage in the postseason. That meant they faced the daunting prospect of getting past the Diamondbacks' big two of Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson, and Schilling beat them twice. Pujols and Drew both disappointed at the plate in the postseason. Pujols, likely the NL rookie of the year after hitting .329 with 37 homers and 130 RBIs, was 2-for-18 against Arizona. His lone big hit was a two-run homer off Johnson in Game 2. Drew tied Game 5 with an eighth-inning homer off Schilling, but was 1-for-12 the rest of the series. Matt Morris, who tied Schilling for the league lead with 22 victories, distinguished himself in two epic battles against Schilling. He gave up a run in seven innings in a 1-0 Game 1 loss and one run in eight innings in Game 5. "There wasn't a bad game in the five, especially the two where Schilling and Matt got hooked up," La Russa said. This was Morris' first year back in the rotation since he underwent elbow ligament transfer surgery that wiped out his 1999 season. "Hopefully, this has taken away any doubt about the caliber of pitcher he is," said catcher Mike Matheny. The rotation is solid behind Morris, led by Woody Williams (15-9), who was 7-1 with a 2.28 ERA after joining the team in August in a low-key trade for outfielder Ray Lankford. Darryl Kile (16-11), Dustin Hermanson (14-13) and rookie Bud Smith (6-3), who pitched a no-hitter against the Padres in September and then won Game 4, give the Cardinals a full slate without Rick Ankiel, expected to compete again for a major league job next spring after a wild season that landed him in rookie ball. The Cardinals' other major decision during the offseason is finding a closer. Dave Veres slid from 29 saves to 15 this year because of various injuries and ineffectiveness, and La Russa went with a bullpen committee most of the second half. La Russa does not have a contract but is expected to sign an extension soon. He also waited until after the season before agreeing to a two-year deal in 1999.