Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 11, 1990 TAG: 9003112604
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: MARTINSVILLE LENGTH: Medium
While that prospect doesn't faze Ellis, one of the more proficient push 'n' shove men in racing, one possible consequence does.
Forget the beating and banging. Ellis is more worried about the referee.
"I just hope [Grand National director] Robert Black uses some discretion with that black flag of his," Ellis said.
"At Martinsville, it's very hard to pass without getting under somebody and bumping 'em a little.
"There's a lot of pushing and shoving here. And when you're in there rooting, you have to worry about getting that black flag.
"That just ain't right. You look up and there's your number on the board. I love this place, but [NASCAR] needs to think about using that flag."
Ellis, more than anybody, should know. The Richmond leadfoot has seen his share of black at Martinsville. In the 1989 Miller 500, he was sent to the pits for a "cool-down" penalty lap, then stormed back to win the race.
"They get me every time here, it seems," Ellis said.
This time Ellis hopes to see only a checkered flag.
"I'm starting up front, so at least I won't have to be back there in the field rooting my way to the front early," said Ellis, who is 13th on the Grand National points list after three races. "I want to stay up front, but I want to pace myself, too.
"Man, we need to win this thing. We've had a bad start. We need to get going in the right direction again."
Ellis is one of several drivers in the 200-lap GN headliner who need a good day. Among them are such stalwarts as Tommy Houston, starting 10th, and Rick Mast, 19th.
"We need a good finish to help get back up there in points," said Houston, 19th in the GN standings. "It would give the team some reassurance. It's not imperative we win, but we do need a good finish."
If Houston thinks his numbers are bad, he should peek at Mast's. The Rockbridge Baths driver has finished 27th, 32nd and 25th.
"Things have not been good," said Mast, whose fell behind in his GN effort when he waited - and failed - to land a 1990 Winston Cup ride.
"We're not in good shape in the points," Mast said. "Hopefully, things will get better, starting right here.
"It won't be that tough to go to the front. We'll just pick our way through the traffic. If the car is working, I'll be there at the end."
Others who expect to be around for the finish are local drivers Jimmy Hensley and Chuck Bown, who start second and eighth, respectively.
Hensley said he hopes the .526-mile oval turns slippery in the expected 80-degree heat.
"The slicker it is, the better I like it," Hensley said. "It puts it back into the hands of the man behind the wheel."
The 100-lap Late Model Stock Car race, which takes the green flag at noon, begins the three-race program.
Frederickburg's Curtis Markham, a three-time LMSC winner at Martinsville, starts on the pole and figures to be a heavy favorite. He's 2-for-2 in his new Buick owned by Fairfax's Richard McSpadden, winning here in October 1989 and taking home a $10,000 prize on Feb. 19 at Barberville, Fla.
After the LMSC race, NASCAR's Modified division cranks up its 1990 season with a 200-lap race. Defending national champion Mike Stefanik, of West Greenwich, R.I., starts on the pole.
The 200-lap GN headliner will wrap up the schedule.
\ LUGNUTS: Winston Cup driver Harry Gant may not drive today. His father suffered a heart attack Friday night and Gant spent Saturday at the hospital. Morgan Shepherd practiced Gant's car Saturday morning and will drive today if Gant doesn't make it back. . . . One notable who won't be racing today is Jack Ingram. The five-time GN champion had car problems in Saturday's qualifying race and failed to make today's field. It marked the first time Ingram has failed to qualify for a GN race since 1982, a span of 240 races. He missed two races in 1986 when he was suspended by NASCAR. . . . Daleville's Orvil Reedy captured one of the three 25-lap LMSC qualifying heats Saturday. . . . Christiansburg's Ronnie Thomas, who didn't get his new Ford ready for Friday's LMSC time trials, failed to make the grid in Saturday's heat race. Thomas stormed from last to first in the qualifier before his car suffered mechanical failure.
by CNB