Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, February 28, 1994 TAG: 9402280103
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BY BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ROCKINGHAM, N.C. LENGTH: Long
Several Goodyear drivers, including Mark Martin and Rick Mast, got at least one bad or mismatched set of tires during the race. A mismatched set of tires causes handling problems.
Tire problems are not unusual at Rockingham. Tires take a beating on the rough, old asphalt of the 1.017-mile speedway.
Mast's car owner, Richard Jackson, said he found an unusual problem after his crew removed Mast's bad set of tires late in the race.
"The right-rear tire circumference was a quarter-inch bigger than the other tires in that set," Jackson said. "That's unusual for radial tires. You usually don't expect that. Usually, when you get a bad set, you can't find anything wrong with them."
Goodyear's field manager, Phil Holmer, said: "Tires are always a factor at Rockingham because of the low-grip surface."
He said the Goodyear tire "performed just like we thought it would. We're happy."
The Hoosiers, meanwhile, performed better than they did at Daytona (where they weren't used during the Feb. 20 race) but still were no match for the Goodyears.
Pole-winner Geoff Bodine led the first eight laps, then began a steady backward slide that saw him finish in 15th place, five laps down.
"We felt like we were going to be at a little disadvantage," Bodine said. "We lie to you guys a little bit before these races. You can't give up a half-inch of width per tire and expect to run with those guys. The weather didn't allow [Hoosier] to test its wide tires here, so we had to run this tire [which was about a half-inch narrower than the Goodyear's] today.
"Starting next week at Richmond, we'll be equal to Goodyear on size and, hopefully, we're going to be equal with them when we get on the race track."
Darrell Waltrip, Hoosier's other top driver, finished 23rd, nine laps down, but he "had a good day on the Hoosiers."
\ LAPS DOWN: North Carolina Motor Speedway is one of the few Winston Cup tracks where a driver can be several laps down at the end and still finish in the top 10. Ken Schrader and Michael Waltrip, who finished ninth and 10th, respectively, were three laps down to Rusty Wallace. It was Waltrip's fourth top 10 finish in the past eight races. In eighth place, two laps down, was Kyle Petty.
\ MARLIN LEADS: For the first time in his career, Sterling Marlin leads the points race for the Winston Cup championship. On the strength of his Daytona 500 victory and his second-place finish here Sunday, Marlin has a 20-point lead over Ernie Irvan.
\ EMPTY SEATS: Sunday was a bright, sunny day, but NASCAR fans did not flock to The Rock. The speedway fell well short of a full house - the current norm in the Winston Cup series.
The backstretch concrete grandstands and the new L.G. Dewitt grandstands in turn 2, built last year, were less than half full.
There are about 45,000 seats at the track, but the speedway did not release an attendance estimate.
\ CORRECTION: Contrary to a report in Sunday's notebook, Dale Jarrett still can use one more provisional starting spot before his team exhausts its current allotment.
Here's how NASCAR provisional starting spots are allocated, according to NASCAR spokesman Andy Hall:
Each team starts the year with three provisionals. After 10 races, each team gets one more. And teams get one more after 10 additional races, for a maximum of five per season. To earn the extra provisionals, teams have to attempt to qualify for all of the races.
Only the top 35 teams in car owner points are eligible for provisionals.
Since Jarrett has used two provisionals, he only gets one more through the Sears Point race on May 15. Assuming he attempts to qualify for all the races between now and then, he will be eligible for an additional provisional as of the Coca-Cola 600 weekend in Charlotte.
\ ELLIOTT CRASHES: Bill Elliott got the short end of the stick in Sunday's first crash Sunday. He had nowhere to go when Richie Bickle spun ahead of him in turn 3.
"We were riding good," Elliott said. "A car started to spin in front of me. Next thing I knew there was smoke. I couldn't see. Next thing I knew I hit the [No. ] 47 car, I guess."
Elliott returned to the race, minus his front hood and quarter panels, on lap 190 and eventually finished 39th, completing 337 laps.
There were four other yellow flags during the race.
Loy Allen Jr. had a solo crash in turn 1 on lap 238. Morgan Shepherd, Chuck Bown and Bobby Hamilton tangled in turn 2 on lap 371. Joe Nemechek hit the outside wall coming off turn 2 and pasted the inside fence on the backstretch on lap 410. And Jeff Gordon crashed in turn 1 on lap 469 after a collision with Wally Dallenbach Jr.
\ HENSLEY 22ND: Jimmy Hensley said his Ford Thunderbird was "consistent all day, but never was real fast." The Ridgeway driver had early pit problems that "got us into a hole, but we're in one piece and we're happy about that."
\ BURTON TOP ROOKIE: Jeff Burton, with a 20th-place finish Sunday, has taken the early lead in the 1994 rookie of the year contest. Burton leads John Andretti 21-19. Loy Allen Jr. has 18 points.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB