Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, October 8, 1993 TAG: 9310080120
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CONCORD, N.C. LENGTH: Medium
The fastest Winston Cup driver, Mark Martin, will start fifth in the 44-car field. And many of the top Winston Cup regulars, including Dale Earnhardt, failed to qualify among the top 30.
Joe Nemechek, the 1992 Grand National champion, joined Dotter on the front row with a speed of 174.003 mph. Two-time race-winner Ward Burton was third at 173.444 mph.
Casey Elliott, son of engine builder Ernie Elliott, beat his uncle, Bill, in qualifying to snare the fourth starting spot with a speed of 173.349 mph. Bill Elliott qualified 20th.
"I really thought we were a few years away from something like this," Dotter said. "We've always had to qualify in the last-chance race. But my car drove so good today, it was just too good to be true. We really put an all-out effort for this race."
Completing the top 10 were Randy LaJoie (173.127 mph), Tracy Leslie (173.110), Todd Bodine (172.955), Tom Peck (172.889) and Joe Bessey (172.800).
The "last-chance" race Dotter spoke of is today at 2 p.m., and the top 10 finishers will get the final 10 starting spots in Saturday's race.
Besides Earnhardt, who was 49th among 59 qualifiers, Winston Cup regulars Darrell Waltrip, Jimmy Spencer, Terry Labonte, Sterling Marlin, Michael Waltrip, Harry Gant, Rick Mast and Bobby Hillin Jr. will have to run in today's race to qualify for Saturday's event.
When H.A. `Humpy" Wheeler, the track's president, arranged to have a pile of bundled cash spread on the press room interview table for Dotter's post-qualifying news conference, the Winston Cup media corps didn't give it a second thought.
In this case, Wheeler was promoting the track's "$50,000 deal," in which Dotter and seven other 1993 pole-winners can earn a $50,000 bonus if they win Saturday's race.
But everyone is so used to Wheeler's promotional gimmicks that this one generated the usual yawns - until Dotter got his hands on the cash.
As he concluded the interview, Dotter said, "If there are no more questions, I've got one more thing to say. You could hear a lot of grumbling with me sitting here with all of this money in front of me. So . . . "
With that, he tore open a pack of $1 bills and began tossing the money through the media center. Then, as most of the reporters scrambled to grab and pocket the cash, Dotter grabbed several more packs and walked through the center, throwing bills into the air.
Dotter tossed about $300 as ashen-faced speedway employees scurried to put the rest of the bundles in a money bag.
Was it spontaneous? Or was it an ingenious Wheeler stunt?
"He just said I could do whatever I wanted with it, but be fair," Dotter said. "I'm not going to get in trouble for it, if that's what you mean."
But Eddie Gossage, the track's public relations director, said, "When we said, `Do something with it,' we didn't mean give it away. I don't think a couple of hundred dollars will make any difference, but a couple of thousand, that would have been another matter."
\ WINSTON CUP QUALIFYING: A dozen Winston Cup drivers took to the track Thursday in second-round qualifying for Sunday's Mello Yello 500, with Darrell Waltrip leading the way to win the 24th starting spot at a speed of 174.143 mph.
Finishing just behind Waltrip was Andy Hillenburg, who won the 25th spot at 174.104 mph and then lost it just as quickly when he totaled his Chevy in the second turn on his second lap. Hillenburg was not injured, but he'll have to go to his backup car, which means he'll start in the back of the field.
Dale Jarrett continued to struggle here, qualifying 38th at 172.447 mph, more than 5 mph behind Jeff Gordon's pole-winning speed of 177.684 mph.
John Andretti stood on his Friday night time and just made the field, dropping from 36th to 40th on the grid after the second round.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB