Mark Martin in Victory Lane after winning The Winston at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, May, 1998. (Craig Jones/Allsport Photo) » More Photos

Heading into Turn 1 on the last lap of the race, Gordon’s Chevrolet sputtered and coughed, out of fuel. Martin, who was a distant second, couldn’t believe his good fortune, as he blew past Gordon en route to his first NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race victory and a winner’s purse of $257,500.

“I saw him slow and I know I’m pretty stupid because I forget a lot, but I knew it was the white flag and not the checkered flag,” Martin said. “I saw him slow and I said, ‘He’s going to slow and make this a show,’ and he never started going again.”

The 160,000 race fans in attendance at Lowe’s Motor Speedway erupted in thunderous howls as Gordon’s car slowed and Martin sped to victory, a triumph he acknowledged was fortunate. “They had it won; we lucked out,” said Martin. “I don't think that we would have ever caught them, but that doesn't matter.”

Tom Jensen is the Senior NASCAR Editor for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. He is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED,” and has appeared on numerous television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the President of the National Motorsports Press Association. The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com. Tom Jensen answers your questions during every race week and looks forward to hearing from you - please e-mail it to

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SPEED will televise the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race XXIV and the NASCAR Sprint Showdown live on May 17, as well as provide more than 90 hours of support programming prior to the event. Stay tuned to SPEEDtv.com for frequent updates on the history of the event and all the details about this year’s action. Watch and Win!