Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, September 12, 1994 TAG: 9409140003
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
As Terry Labonte exited the pits after his team took an excruciatingly long 22 seconds on his final pit stop Saturday night, he said, ``Aw, heck.''
``That's not exactly what I said,'' Labonte said after the Miller 400. ``I don't think you could repeat exactly what I said.''
But even though other cars ``whipped us all night long in the pits,'' as Labonte put it, the Chevy his Rick Hendrick team had prepared for him was so good it didn't matter.
Labonte simply chased down whoever was in front of him and dusted them off, winning the 300-mile NASCAR Winston Cup race at Richmond International Raceway by 1.79 seconds over teammate Jeff Gordon. The victory - Labonte's 12th as a Winston Cup driver - moved him from 13th to 11th in the points race.
Actually, the extra seconds on that final pit stop were caused by a broken air wrench.
``I didn't know an air wrench had broke,'' Labonte said. ``They were all tore up about it. They're better than that.''
But when he cursed a blue streak about the 4.8-second lead Rusty Wallace suddenly had over him with 56 laps remaining, his crew simply told him: ``You can get him.''
``We were lucky we didn't lose any more time than that,'' said the 37-year-old former Winston Cup champion. ``I didn't know I'd be able to run him down at that point. I looked at his lead and said, `Wow!' Then, when he got in traffic, he really lost some time. That's where I really gained on him.''
``When I cut the distance in about half, I felt like I could get him. And then I could see his car was getting a little bit loose.''
It took Labonte only 27 laps to catch Wallace.
``The car I had was really good coming off the corners,'' Labonte said. ``That's where we beat everybody. I was able to get in the throttle off the turns and not spin the tires. I think Rusty's car was stronger than ours, but after awhile he would spin his wheels.''
On lap 373, Wallace went hard into the first turn. ``He went in the corner so hard he got loose and couldn't keep it down,'' Labonte said. ``And I just shot under him.''
``Well, I just never had the car perfect all day long,'' Wallace said. ``I lost my power steering about halfway through it. And it was getting to be a real bear to drive. I took some wedge out and put some wedge in, kept adjusting and I'd get close, but I never could get it as good as the [No.]5 car [driven by Labonte].''
With 10 laps to go, Wallace burned a piston and slipped to fourth.
The fact that Labonte was being beaten in the pits made a potentially dull race exciting. With the faster Labonte behind them, Wallace and Dale Earnhardt, who finished third, put on a classic driving display between laps 280 and 300, often battling door handle to door handle.
``They really raced hard side by side,'' Labonte said. ``I could see them. So I just kind of sat back there and watched them. I probably had the best seat in the house.
``I tell you, when you can race against the guys like Rusty and Dale, you don't have to worry about them,'' Labonte said. ``I don't think any of us ever touched. That's the way racing should be. It was fun.''
Labonte, who is far more congenial and outgoing than his ``Iceman'' reputation suggests, has been inconsisent in 1994, even while winning two races. His best finish between Saturday night's victory and his triumph at North Wilkesboro in April was sixth at Watkins Glen.
But after going winless from 1991 through 1993 with the chronically underfinanced Billy Hagan team, Labonte is far from upset with the way his year is going.
When he was asked if the low spots frustrate him, Labonte gave his questioner a bemused look and said, ``You haven't been with me the past few years, have you?''
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB