Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, April 22, 1991 TAG: 9104220054
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. LENGTH: Medium
It was Waltrip's first triumph since the fall of 1989 at Martinsville - an emotional victory that capped a trying comeback for the three-time Winston Cup champion, who suffered career-threatening leg injuries last July in a Daytona practice crash.
But most of the rest of the Winston Cup stock car drivers were more than accommodating to Waltrip as they smashed and crashed their way out of contention.
"I never saw anything basically like it in a NASCAR race," Waltrip said. "There's not a lot of discipline on the race track right now."
Dale Earnhardt managed to finish second after recovering from an incident early in the race with Ricky Rudd, who finished 11th. A delighted Jimmy Spencer took third - his best finish ever in 50 Winston Cup starts. Morgan Shepherd was fourth and Ken Schrader finished fifth.
The stock car racing slugfest was a repeat of last week's mayhem at Bristol, but this week the drivers didn't have the congested, odd-even restart to blame. They could only point the finger at each other, now that NASCAR has brought the pit rules nearly all the way back to 1990 standards.
"It's not racing any more; it's survival," said Dale Jarrett, a victim in one of 17 non-injury crashes. "People don't try to pass anymore, they just hit 'em."
"We're just doing a poor job of giving and a real good job of trying to take," said Mark Martin, who managed to avoid trouble on his way to a ninth-place finish.
Eight drivers led the race, but four of them - Rusty Wallace, Harry Gant, Ernie Irvan and Brett Bodine - saw their opportunities for victory evaporate in the metal-bending madness on the track.
Wallace led 30 laps early in the race and was riding in third when, just in front of him, Shepherd tapped the rear of Ted Musgrave's lapped car. Musgrave spun into Wallace and sent last week's winner into the wall in turn two.
Gant was involved in several incidents. "Terrible, terrible!" he said. "We finally got took out when the 11 car [Geoff Bodine] spun and backed down the track." Gant couldn't stop and hit him. Earlier, Gant hit the wall after tangling with Rudd, who was trying to unlap himself.
Irvan led 23 laps and was battling to make up a lost lap late in the race when he was pinched by Dick Trickle while trying to get under Trickle going into turn one. Trickle, Irvan and Jarrett careened out of control and into the wall.
Irvan said: "I don't know what Trickle's deal is."
Trickle said: "Ernie figured there was nobody else on the race track."
Jarrett, the innocent victim, said: "There's just a bunch of damn idiots out there."
And poor Brett Bodine was leading the race on lap 219 and obviously had the strongest car when he was taken out of the race. Rudd tapped Bodine in turn three, again while trying to make up a lap, and Bodine crashed hard into the outside wall.
"It just seemed like everything was pretty much going our way throughout the day," Bodine said. "And to have it all taken away by a lapped car is pretty hard to take."
Said Rudd: "You would think as bright as my car is, people would see it."
Tempers really began to flare when Geoff Bodine and Davey Allison, who both had strong cars, tangled in turn three. Allison said his brakes locked up, causing him to spin into Bodine.
Then, as both drivers tried to get their cars straightened out, they crashed into each other again.
After Geoff Bodine had time to cool down, he said: "We just got in each other's way. That happens sometimes. It's unfortunate."
Rick Mast, who finished a lap down in 12th, had a novel way of avoiding trouble when it unfolded in front of him. "A couple of times I gunned it wide-open, closed my eyes and went through there," he said.
"Well, everybody's got a good car now," said Waltrip, who notched his 10th career victory at North Wilkesboro. "Today, when guys get in trouble and get a lap down and then get an opportunity to get that lap back, they get real aggressive. With competition as keen as it is, everybody thinks you got to stick that thing in there real quick because you may not get that opportunity again."
Considering his injury last year and the work involved in fielding his own team this year, Waltrip said this victory was the most exciting of his 80 career wins - even his 1989 Daytona 500 win.
"I don't think I've ever had anything excite me as much as winning this race," he said. "I don't reckon I've ever been any more nervous. I think it will really help my confidence and really help my driving ability. It's going to take a lot of pressure off me. I had a lot to prove to a lot of people and a lot to prove to myself."
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB