Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 20, 1990 TAG: 9005200136
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: CONCORD, N.C. LENGTH: Medium
"I'm hoping I can drive off and leave the rest of 'em," Earnhardt said confidently. "Then, maybe, there won't be any controversy this time."
That would be an upset. Twice in the past three years, the lucrative bash for NASCAR's hotshots has ended with harsh words, finger pointing and nearly a slugfest.
In 1987, Earnhardt exchanged sheet metal with Bill Elliott and Geoff Bodine in the final laps before racing to victory. Last year, Rusty Wallace was on the hot seat after he spun Darrell Waltrip on the next-to-last lap en route to victory.
Following both races, tensions ran high between drivers, crew members and the general racing public.
"I'm still trying to get my fans back," said Wallace, who was roasted for his move on Waltrip. "I went into this race last year with a ton of fans. But after that, all I heard was boos. In one race, it all changed.
"I'll have to pay for that for a long time."
The race format invites controversy and seat-of-the-pants driving tactics. The event was designed as an all-out, no-holds-barred shootout for the fans.
The big payoff - the winner is guaranteed $200,000 - adds to the potential for fireworks.
"People will take a lot of chances in this race they normally won't take," Wallace said. "It's not a race for the meek."
Earnhardt, never accused of being one of NASCAR's kinder, gentler drivers, is the odds-on favorite in a field that includes the 20 most recent winners on the Winston Cup tour.
Not only is Earnhardt a three-time 1990 winner and the current points leader, he also is on the pole. He took the No. 1 spot Saturday in the unique three-lap qualifying run, which also included a mandatory pit stop for right-side tires.
"I can't think of a better place to start," said Earnhardt, who pocketed $45,000 while his crewmen $30,000 earned for winning the pole.
Davey Allison, Waltrip, Brett Bodine, Mark Martin and Wallace completed the top six in qualifying.
Elliott was bumped from second to ninth, after he was assessed a three-second penalty when his jackman was ruled to have come over the wall too quickly on the pit stop.
Geoff Bodine, whose Junior Johnson team won the pole last year thanks primarily to a miraculous 11.45-second pit stop, settled for 19th. Bodine overshot his pit stall by 6 inches on his stop, and NASCAR director Dick Beaty told him to back up his car. After a heated exchange with Beaty, crew chief Tim Brewer told Bodine to shut off the engine, ending the qualifying run.
The 105-mile race, which takes the green flag at 4:30 p.m., has a new format. After a 50-lap opening segment, the drivers will stop on pit road for service before going on for a 20-lap final segment.
In the past, the final segment has been 10 laps.
The final entry in The Winston field will be the survivor of the 200-mile Winston Open, which precedes the all-star bash at 2:30 p.m.
The Open favorite figures to be Ernie Irvan, whose Oldsmobile starts on the pole of the 30-car field. Other strong contenders include outside pole-sitter Dick Trickle, Greg Sacks, Dale Jarrett and Sterling Marlin, who has won the event the past two years.
A 100-mile Sportsman preliminary will start the day's activities at 1 p.m. Tim Hepler, a former national Go-Kart champion running his first stock car race, starts on the pole.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB