Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 23, 1991 TAG: 9102230121
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
Allison, who also won the pole at Daytona, toured the three-quarter mile Richmond International Speedway at 120.428 mph on the second of two qualifying laps, edging Alan Kulwicki, who took the outside pole with a lap of 120.401 mph. The lap time difference between the two was just five one-thousandths of a second.
Allison said his Ford Thunderbird was a bit unresponsive in the first turn during his first qualifying lap. "I decided to banzai the second lap, and it paid off," Allison said.
Allison said last weekend's Daytona 500 disappointment is history. He was battling with Dale Earnhardt for second place three laps from the end when Earnhardt lost control, collected Allison in the process and sent the Hueytown, Ala., star into a dirt bank.
Allison clearly was irritated with Earnhardt immediately after the race, but he said Friday that he since has talked with the 1990 Winston Cup champion and "we've been laughing and cutting up."
"In this business, if you dwell on the past, then you're backing up," Allison said. "That's gone. Dale and I are friends. We've been friends for a long time."
Twenty cars qualified Friday for Sunday's 400-mile, 300-lap race, scheduled to start at 1:15 p.m.
The final 14 qualifying spots for Sunday's race will be determined today during another session at 11 a.m. The Pontiac Excitement 200 race for Busch Grand National cars follows at 1:15 p.m. today.
The difference between Allison's speed and that of the 20th fastest qualifier, Rusty Wallace, was 2.287 mph, which translates to only about four-tenths of a second.
Drivers failing to make the top 20 included Bill Elliott, Jimmy Spencer, Rick Wilson, Richard Petty, Morgan Shepherd and Joe Ruttman.
Kulwicki, still searching for a full-time sponsor, qualified in a Ford Thunderbird that is now painted white. It was painted in U.S. Army Desert Storm camouflage for the Daytona 500 as part of a one-race sponsorship by R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., the Winston Cup sponsor, to show support for the troops in the Persian Gulf.
"It was a good run for us," Kulwicki said. "We need to just keep running good week in and week out and see if we can come up with something. We have one or two things in the works [for sponsorship] but nothing signed. And in cases like this, close doesn't count."
\ Jeff Burton of South Boston won the pole for today's Pontiac Excitement 200 Grand National race.
Burton, who won his first Grand National race last September at Martinsville, qualified his Chevrolet at 118.848 mph, edging Jimmy Hensley of Ridgeway.
Burton, 23, first ran here in a Late Model Stock car when he was 16. He didn't make the race.
"To come here now and sit on the pole, I can kind of kick the race track and say, `I got you,' " he said.
The competition for starting spots was as tight among the Grand National cars as it was with the Winston Cup cars.
The difference in lap times between Burton's car and that of 32nd qualifier Cecil Eunice was less than half a second. Grand National regulars Tom Peck and Tommy Houston were not fast enough to qualify, but they were given provisional starting spots along with Jamie Aube and Barney McRae at the rear of the field.
\ Richard Petty says his performance this season will dictate his plans for 1992.
Speculation has it that Petty will end his racing career with a farewell tour in 1992, but he isn't ready to say - just yet - that he will be part of it.
"That's exactly what it is - speculation," Petty said. "I just told them I'm going to run this season and what I do next year is according to what I do this year.
"Whether I get somebody else to drive the car, or whether I get a new crew or change cars or whatever, I don't know what I'm going to do next year because I haven't got through with this year yet.
"Right now that's so far off in the future, I ain't even interested in it yet."
\ NASCAR has modified the new pit rules for 1991 to allow cars with flat or flat-spotted tires to change them without penalty during a yellow flag period.
In a statement issued Friday, NASCAR said any car that changes flats during a caution period will have to return to the pits after the restart - adhering to the odd-even pitting rules - and "change at least two tires on any side [of the car] changed under caution."
The modification, however, will not be in effect during the final 25 laps of any race. Cars that change tires under yellow during those final 25 laps will be assessed a two-lap penalty, the statement said.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB