Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, August 9, 1993 TAG: 9308090072
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. LENGTH: Long
Jarrett had burned up his clutch and was almost 30 laps down when he came upon Kyle Petty, who was standing next to his wrecked Pontiac after crashing while leading the race on lap 85.
"Kyle was standing out there looking lonely, so I just picked him up and brought him in," Jarrett said.
Said Petty, "I was waiting for a ride back, but I had been standing there about 10 minutes and I hadn't seen a wrecker or a rescue squad, so I figured I would get back the best way I could."
On the way in, Ernie Irvan pulled alongside to say hello.
Jarrett pulled into his pit, let Kyle out and went on his way, completing 61 of the 90 laps to finish 32nd. Petty finished 26th.
"I guess I broke the clutch going out of the pits," Jarrett said in the garage. "And I got spun out by somebody. Not a good day."
Jarrett remains second in Winston Cup points, but he lost 47 points to leader Dale Earnhardt, who finished 18th after hitting Petty. Jarrett trails Earnhardt by 281 points.
\ SPEED'S HEADACHES: Lake Speed got the Goody's Headache Award after race winner Mark Martin had it taken away from him.
Speed, who was racing for the first time in the late Davey Allison's Ford Thunderbird, had his first problem on lap 21, when he spun in turn 11.
"I was just trying so hard, I messed myself up downshifting," he told his crew on the two-way radio. "That was about the dumbest thing I've ever done. Guys, I'm sorry."
Speed was downcast about the mistake, but crew chief Larry McReynolds pumped him back up.
"Whatever happens, we're all with you," McReynolds told his driver.
Speed did make his way back into the top five, only to lose third gear and damage the transmission, which started leaking oil. He eventually finished 11 laps down in 27th.
"I'm real encouraged," he said after the race. "I could just about outrun everybody without third gear. It was exciting. I'm looking forward to Michigan [next weekend]."
\ MAST STICKS HIS NECK OUT: Rick Mast was walking the stiff-neck walk after his hard crash into the tire wall on the outside of turn 10 on lap 8.
Mast's car seemed to pick up speed as it slid sideways across the wide grassy apron before slamming into the tire wall, back end first. The car bounced off the tires, flew into the air and twirled like top before returning to earth.
"I lost the brakes. I hurt my durn neck. I might be here a little while," he told his crew almost matter-of-factly on the radio.
The car hit so hard, the race had to be red-flagged for more than 13 minutes while track crews repaired the tire wall and guardrail.
Later, after leaving the infield hospital, Mast said, "I just thought I had whiplash [after a crash] at Talladega. The car was going good. That surprised me. We hadn't run a lick since we got here.
"I run down in the turn hard and hit the brake pedal and it went to the floor. I tried to pump it, but nothing. And I had a long time to think about what was going to happen next. It felt like it was going 300 miles per hour headed across the grass. I knew I was going to hit hard. I put my hand behind my helmet to try to hold my head. I was very fortunate.
"But that's why we make the big bucks. I can tell you, sometimes it seems like too much until you go through something like this. Then on a day like today, it doesn't seem like enough."
Mast's crew told him a brake bleeder line broke.
\ ROUGH DAY FOR RUDD: Ricky Rudd had the same problem as Mast, and he crashed backward in the same turn a few laps later, although not as hard.
The brake pedal "just went right to the floor," Rudd told his crew as he entered the pits. "It's all right now. I've got a solid pedal right now. Before, it just blew out. It went to the floor like a line blew off."
That's exactly what happened.
Rudd returned to the race and finished three laps down in 24th.
It was one of many mishaps on the track. Morgan Shepherd had several incidents. Wally Dallenbach, who finished second, spun once. Others who crashed or spun included Dale Jarrett, Derrike Cope, Bobby Hillin, Dorsey Schroder, Darrell Waltrip, Terry Labonte, Rick Wilson and P.J. Jones.
\ FINE DAY FOR ROOKIES: It was a good day for all the rookies except Jeff Gordon.
Gordon blew his engine, dropped out after 64 laps and finished 31st.
Bobby Labonte finished seventh for his best finish of the year. He considered himself lucky.
"Missed the first wreck, missed the second wreck, missed the third wreck, missed the fourth wreck," he said. "And I didn't spin out all weekend."
P.J. Jones was eighth despite his spin with Shepherd early in the race.
And Kenny Wallace was ninth, despite a stop-and-go penalty for speeding on pit road, for the first top-10 finish of his Winston Cup career.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB