Motor Racing Roundup : Bonnett Ends Up on Top Down Under

It may have been the first NASCAR race held outside the United States, but it was just another Sunday drive for Neil Bonnett and neighbor Bobby Allison.

Bonnett, in a Pontiac, scored his second straight victory by winning the $250,000 NASCAR 500 stock car race as 46,000 fans at Calder Park Raceway in Melbourne, Australia, were treated to a series of side-by-side duels between Allison and Bonnett.

“It’s the same old deal,” Allison said. “We’ve been racing that way for 20 years.”

Bonnett, racing from the pole position for the first time in three years, held off his Hueytown, Ala., neighbor by 0.86 of a second.

Dave Marcis of Wausau, Wis., finished third and Glen Steurer of Simi Valley was fourth.

Seven drivers were knocked out of the race by a spectacular eight-car pileup after less than one-third of the race was won, but Australian Allan Grice was the only one injured. He was treated for a bruised collarbone and a mild concussion.

Bonnett averaged 101.67 m.p.h. in a race punctuated by 11 caution flags for 52 laps. He earned $42,500 for the victory, plus $26,000 in bonuses. Allison received $21,000 and Marcis collected $17,850.

Price Cobb, who co-drove a Porsche 962 with Englishman James Weaver, held off two Jaguar XJR-9s to win the three-hour Grand Prix of Miami in the second-closest finish in the 18-year history of the IMSA Camel GT sports car series.

The Jaguar shared by Daytona 24-Hours winners Martin Brundle of England and John Nielsen of Denmark finished second, while the English sports car shared by Davy Jones and Dutchman Jan Lammers spun twice and wound up a lap behind in sixth.

Nielsen moved up to the rear of the Porsche several times in the last 10 minutes, but finished .004 behind.

The only closer finish in IMSA history came in 1976 at Lime Rock, Conn., when George Dyer beat Michael Keyser by .001.

Third place went to the Porsche 962 of Italian Oscar Larrauri, followed by the Porsche of defending IMSA GTP champion Chip Robinson and Englishman Derek Bell.

Tom Kendall made the debut of his Chevrolet Beretta a successful one, outracing Amos Johnson late in the race to win a 40-minute contest for GTU cars on the Miami street circuit.

Johnson, in a Mazda RX-7, finished second, followed by Luis Mendez in a Porsche 911, Max Jones in a Beretta, Al Bacon in a Mazda, and Bart Kendall, Tom’s older brother, in a Mazda.

Rod Millen of Newport Beach drove his Maxda 323 to a 59-second victory at the 300-mile Chattahoochee Forest Pro Rally at Helen, Ga., beating out the Peugeot of John Woodner of Washington, D.C.

The Production Class was won by Guy Light of Midland, Mich., in a Volkswagen GTI, coming from behind in the last section of the rally.

Jeff Ward of Mission Viejo won the opening round of the AMA/Bel-Ray 250cc National Motocross Series at Gainesville, Fla., passing Rick Johnson of El Cajon in the closing laps of the second moto.

In the opening round of the RK Pro Series 125cc championships, Erik Kehoe of Granada Hills took home overall honors by beating George Holland of Kerman, Calif.