Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, May 4, 1990 TAG: 9005040109
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: TALLADEGA, ALA. LENGTH: Medium
Lost for much of the 1990 season, Elliott resurfaced Thursday at one of his favorite stomping grounds - Talladega Superspeedway.
Elliott whipped his Ford Thunderbird around the 2.66-mile tri-oval at 199.388 mph to win the pole for Sunday's running of the Winston 500.
"Man, we needed this," said Elliott of his first pole this season. "Hopefully, this will help turn things around for us. We've been on and off all year.
"But today, unlike others this season, everything went just right for us. This is better than we've been here in a couple of years. Everything we tried seemed to go right."
Ken Schrader, the Daytona 500 pole winner and odds-on favorite here, was second at 199.131 mph in a Chevrolet Lumina.
"Elliott didn't surprise me," Schrader said. "He was our main concern. I knew from practice that he was quick.
"Sure, the pole would have been nice, but winning the race would be nicer."
Darrell Waltrip, who had the advantage of qualifying last after his Lumina blew an engine late in practice, took third at 199.023.
"The weather was a little cooler late and that helped us," said Waltrip, who originally was scheduled to run second among the 43 cars. "I just wish we could have qualified with the first engine. I think we would have been a little faster."
Ernie Irvan, in an Oldsmobile, was fourth at 198.928. Dale Earnhardt rounded out the top five in a Lumina at 198.804.
Elliott said it felt nice to be running back up front in NASCAR's high-speed traffic jams. Elliott's best 1990 finish is third (Daytona 500), and he is ninth in the current points standings.
The redhead from Dawsonville, Ga., said he hopes his resurgence lasts for more than a day.
"A lot of people have been asking me what our problems are," Elliott said. "A lot of people seem to have the answers, but they don't realize what goes on on the back side of it. You can't be 100 percent all the time. You can't be perfect every race."
Elliott should know. He hasn't seen perfection lately - until Thursday.
"Everything was positive," he said. "When we unloaded the car off the truck, it was pretty good. Then we changed springs, tires and stuff, and the car kept getting better."
The qualifying results bode well for Elliott's chances Sunday. The pole winner has won the Winston 500 seven times in 20 chances. The No. 2 starter has won six times.
\ Hut Stricklin of Calera, Ala., was chosen the new driver for Bobby Allison's first-year team. Stricklin, who lost his regular NASCAR ride at the end of the 1989 season, replaces Jeff Purvis, who drove the Allison car Sunday at Martinsville, Va. Purvis had been selected by Allison on Saturday to replace Mike Alexander. "About 10 minutes after I finished talking with Jeff Purvis, I thought about Hut," Allison said. "It was just an oversight on my part." Stricklin is married to Allison's niece.
\ Indy-car driver Bobby Rahal drew the pole for Saturday's first round of the 1990 International Race of Champions series. Mark Martin, one of five competing NASCAR drivers, also will start on the front row. The 38-lap, 101-mile race starts at 1 p.m. ABC will tape the race for broadcast May 27 at 3:30 p.m.
\ LUGNUTS: Elliott became the seventh different driver to win a pole this season. It was Elliott's track-record seventh pole and 38th career pole. . . . No stock-car driver has turned a 200-mph qualifying lap since NASCAR went to its horsepower-sapping carburetor-restrictor plate in July 1987. . . . Other qualifiers included Mark Martin (sixth), Davey Allison (eighth), Kyle Petty (12th) and Ricky Rudd (14th). . . . Among those disappointed were Rusty Wallace (21st), Geoff Bodine (22nd), Brett Bodine (23rd) and Terry Labonte (30th). . . . The top 20 spots in Sunday's 42-car were set Thursday. Second-round time trials will be held today at 4:30 p.m.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB