Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, August 30, 1993 TAG: 9308300032
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BRISTOL, TENN. LENGTH: Medium
In the ultimate race of physical conditioning, power lifter Mark Martin used his Ford Thunderbird to bench press Wallace to the upper groove of the tight .533-mile oval with 11 laps to go after Wallace had led 410 of the first 489 laps.
Wallace, however, gave Martin the opportunity to use the low groove to pass. Wallace just didn't have the strength to hold his car low in turn 2 of lap 489. Martin squeezed into the opening and rooted through it in turn 3.
The excitement didn't end there. Wallace counterattacked, again and again, as Martin became stuck behind Geoff Bodine and then Bodine got caught in heavy traffic.
Martin prevailed by a car length, but it was so nerve-racking that he tapped Bodine's car in irritation on his victory lap. Nerve-racking or not, it was one of the best finishes of the year.
For Wallace, the disappointment was particularly bitter because he prides himself on his conditioning and he had rededicated himself and his team to be the best prepared on the stock-car tour.
Afterwards, he cited two reasons for being passed: "I think me getting a little bit tired and my neck hurting me a little bit."
And then he said, "Everything from that darn Talledega wreck has hurt me because I haven't been exercising."
His wild flip down the frontstretch at Talladega on May 2 - his second such crash of 1993 - still haunts him, months after the healing of the left wrist he broke.
Bodine admitted holding up Martin at the end, and was most apologetic. Problem was, he said, he didn't know what lap it was, he couldn't hear anything on his radio and his leg muscles were killing him.
Shortly after lap 400, he had radioed his crew and said, "I'm getting real bad cramps in my legs. I don't know what's wrong. They've never cramped up like this."
It's always something at Bristol, even beyond the usual epidemic of crashes. In 1991, it was tires blowing. This year, it was physical collapse.
There was no clear reason why the drivers were having so much more trouble than usual. It was humid, but not terribly. The longest stretch of racing was only 85 laps. There were 11 caution periods to slow the action and each of those gave the drivers a break.
But a review the casualty list, not counting bumps and bruises from 11 crashes, includes:
Bobby Labonte: Overcome by fumes, the rookie spun on lap 310. "I just lost my ball bearings," he said. He was relieved around lap 350 by his brother Terry, a crash victim.
Jeff Gordon: Blamed for two wrecks, this rookie was overcome by fumes stemming from damage to his own car. He was relieved late in the race by Todd Bodine, received oxygen in the infield care center and was unavailable for comment after the race.
Dick Trickle: Relieving injured rookie Kenny Wallace on lap 12, tough old Trickle suffered stomach cramps during the last 100 laps.
Greg Sacks: Needed relief from Bobby Hamilton, a crash victim.
Derrike Cope: Involved in several crashes, Cope said his worst problem was "I couldn't get any air in the car and I'm just about burned up. I got blistered on my backside and couldnt breathe, either."
Jimmy Hensley: His sixth-place finish was his best of the year, but Hensley said he fell back a bit at the end because "I got awful tingly in my arms and they just about went to sleep."
Lake Speed: One wonders what he thought when, after running in the top 10 all night, he was bumped by Rick Mast, crashed and finished 16th. But Speed, who had a cold all weekend, disappeared into the infield care center after the race and wasn't available for comment.
Bill Elliott: After finishing 11th, he was too exhausted to talk. "I've been hot before, but . . ." he gasped.
Even winner Martin was feeling the effects of hot exhaust fumes and the stirring battle at the end. "I'm not going to be much of an interview. I'm out of breath."
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB