DARLINGTON, S.C., March 17 (UPI) -- Although he started at the back of the field, NASCAR Winston Cup points leader Sterling Marlin took advantage of an 11-car pileup on lap 226 that knocked out race leader Tony Stewart and won the Carolina Dodge Dealers 400.
The 44-year-old Marlin captured his second victory of the season, second at Darlington and 10th of his career. He qualified 11th, but was relegated to last in the 43-car field after changing the engine in his Dodge Intrepid.
Stewart worked his way from 36th into the lead, ahead of Jeff Gordon. Some 10 laps later, he maneuvered his Pontiac Grand Prix low on the track in turn 2, trying to lap the Dodge of Buckshot Jones.
But Jones got loose into Stewart's path. Stewart's Pontiac bounced off Jones' car into the wall and down the middle of the track. With nowhere to go, Jimmy Spencer was hit in the rear by Ken Schrader's Pontiac and collided with Stewart's right front end.
Several cars running in the top 10 also were involved, including Mark Martin, Ward Burton, Kurt Busch, Dave Blaney, Gordon, Bobby Labonte and Johnny Benson. Gordon suffered only slight damage to the right front end of his Chevrolet and lost ground after several pit stops for repairs. He finished ninth.
Stewart had to be helped out of his car and was placed on a stretcher. He was alert, but complained of pain in his lower back, numbness and tingling in the left foot. Stewart was airlifted to the Carolinas Hospital System in Florence, where he was expected to have a CT scan of the head, back and abdomen.
Elliott Sadler finished second in a Ford Taurus, followed by Kevin Harvick and Dale Earnhardt Jr. in Chevrolets. Rookie Ryan Newman rounded out the top five in a Ford. Newman qualified third but hit the wall during practice and had to start in the back.
