Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, April 27, 1990 TAG: 9004270156
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: MARTINSVILLE LENGTH: Long
"No doubt," Waltrip said. "I love checking the schedule and seeing it's time to head to Martinsville.
"It seems no matter how things are going for myself and the team, Martinsville always provides us with a boost."
In the topsy-turvy, ever-changing game of stock car racing, Waltrip at Martinsville is one of the few rock-solid bets left on the NASCAR board.
"It's not the car, it's not the tires or anything else," said Bill Wilburn, a Waltrip crewman. "It's just the place. Darrell Waltrip can win at Martinsville in a Volkswagen, man."
He's not bad in a Chevrolet, either. Heading into Sunday's Hanes 500, Waltrip has won three straight and four of the past five Winston Cup races on the tight .526-mile oval. With 11 career triumphs, he ranks second only to Richard Petty's track-record 15 victories.
Martinsville, the shortest layout on the Winston Cup trail, seems to play right into the hands of Waltrip, a smooth, calculating driver who unlike most of the stock car leadfoots, knows how to be patient.
"I've won several races at Martinsville just because I was able to take better care of my equipment than everybody else," Waltrip said.
"I drive moderately hard, but I don't drive too hard. People say, `Martinsville is hard on the engine, it's hard on brakes, it's hard on this or that.' Well, those are areas in which I've always been able to run with people but still be conservative."
For most, Martinsville is a nerve-wracking, blood-pressure-pumping, rush-hour traffic jam. For Waltrip, it may as well be a 3 1/2-hour cruise on the Autobahn.
"I just have a knack at getting around this place," said Waltrip, "and needless to say, it's been a good track for me."
As things stand on the Winston Cup tour, Martinsville couldn't come any sooner for Waltrip & Co. Although they've had consecutive strong runs at Bristol, Tenn., and North Wilkesboro, N.C., Waltrip and his team still are seeking their first 1990 victory.
"It's been disappointing to all of us to win the way we did last year [six times] and then start off like this," Waltrip said.
"We'd win at Bristol if we don't have a flat tire. I thought I should have won [at North Wilkesboro]. But we can live with that. What we can't live with is not being up there fighting for the lead. That's what was killing us early in the season."
Waltrip admitted he and his team made some mistakes. Sunday's run at North Wilkesboro marked the first time in seven '90 starts that Waltrip had finished on the lead lap.
"We messed around with the cars over the winter and got 'em off a little bit," said Waltrip. "A little bit here, a little bit there, a minor change here, a minor change there.
"We thought we would make the cars better, not worse. But we ended up messing with things that made the car worse."
Why would Waltrip and his team turn a bolt after winning six races in 1989?
"Well, you've got to keep getting better in this sport and you've got 90 days in there to do it," said Waltrip. "So you sit around and brainstorm about what you can do to the car and make it better for next year.
"The last couple of weeks have proved what we needed to know. It's just reaffirmed what we thought: We had the cars the way they needed to be last year and we should have left 'em alone."
Waltrip also said his team, like the operations of Hendrick stable mates Ricky Rudd and Ken Schrader, has had to battle a distraction other operations haven't in 1990.
It's called "Days of Thunder," an upcoming stock car movie for which Hendrick supplied all of the cars for race film footage.
"[The movie deal] doesn't affect us and we don't have anything to do with that," Waltrip said. "But distractions are distractions. When the guys are sitting around talking, saying, `Hey, did you hear what those guys working on the movie cars have got to do?' They say, `Hey, I would like to get in on that.'
"It's not a problem. It's just one of those distractions that the guys sit around and talk about. Matter of fact, I'd kind of like to have been in on the deal somewhere, too."
Waltrip, who is fifth in the Winston Cup standings, 169 points behind Dale Earnhardt, can only hope he gets his usual deal at Martinsville. He says he's loaded with aces, despite the fact that NASCAR is running radial tires at Martinsville for the first time.
"The radials won't affect us much," Waltrip said. "We brought the car with the same setup as always and right off the truck it was good.
"The radials don't seem to make a lot of difference if you've got a good handle on the race track."
At Martinsville, Waltrip appears to have much more than a good handle. It's more like a vise grip.
\ LUGNUTS: Waltrip will be one of the favorites when Hanes 500 time trials get under way today at 3 p.m. Other strong pole contenders include Geoff Bodine, Rusty Wallace, Mark Martin, Morgan Shepherd, North Wilkesboro winner Brett Bodine, Rudd and Earnhardt. . . . The pole-sitter will be in line to claim the richest short-track winner's share in NASCAR history. Thanks to the $38,000 Unocal bonus, a pole-race sweep would be worth close to $90,000. . . . Geoff Bodine's track record qualifying lap of 93.097 mph may not be in jeopardy. In testing, speeds on the radials have been a little slower than on bias-ply rubber. Also, unseasonably hot weather will curtail speeds. . . . The top 20 spots for Sunday's 30-car field will be determined today. Second-round time trials will be held Saturday.
by CNB