ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, February 24, 1996 TAG: 9602260033
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: ROCKINGHAM, N.C.
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
TERRY LABONTE runs a lap at 156.870 mph in his Chevrolet to win the No. 1 spot at North Carolina Motor Speedway.
Paper or plastic?
One fan chose plastic last week at Daytona International Speedway, and it cost Terry Labonte a chance at winning his first Daytona 500.
But less than one week later, Labonte was rolling at full speed again. He won the pole position for Sunday's Goodwrench 400 at North Carolina Motor Speedway in his Chevrolet Monte Carlo with a speed of 156.870 miles per hour during Friday afternoon's qualifying session.
``It was just a great run for us,'' Labonte said. ``We had a brand new car, it was fast off the truck [and] we had a brand new qualifying engine ... I knew we were pretty good in practice, but you just don't ever know when it comes time to qualify because these cars are so close.''
Jeff Gordon, Labonte's teammate, won the outside pole at 156.756 mph around the 1.017-mile track.
Labonte had one of the fastest cars at Daytona last week, but by the time Speedweeks was over, he was happy to clear out.
First, he quit the IROC series after a dispute over race rules following the Friday race. Then, a stroke of bad luck killed his chances to win the 500.
``Everybody always looks forward to going to Daytona,'' Labonte said. ``You always look forward to going there and then before the week is over, you look forward to getting out.''
Labonte led 44 of the first 76 laps of the 500 before a piece of a plastic bag that had blown out of the grandstands was sucked into the cowl of his car and into the air cleaner.
``There was trash blowing all over the race track,'' he said. ``I've been racing for a long time, and I've never heard of this happening, but we picked up a plastic bag off the race track and it got on the back of the air cleaner. It cut the air off to the engine. There was nothing wrong with the engine. There was nothing wrong with the car.''
By the time his team found the problem, Labonte had lost four laps and was out of contention. He finished 24th.
Labonte said Friday that he has not changed his mind about quitting the IROC series. He quit last week - tossing his driver's uniform in a trash can - after IROC officials changed the rules for the Daytona race to allow drivers to have tires changed during the race. Labonte did not change tires and was beaten by several drivers who did, including race winner Dale Earnhardt.
``I haven't talked to them and they haven't talked to me,'' Labonte said. He said IROC officials retrieved his driver's uniform.
In Rockingham, the new 1996 Pontiac Grand Prixs took four of the top 11 starting spots and were poised for a better showing than they had in Daytona, where the top Grand Prix finished 18th.
Rookie Johnny Benson put his new Pontiac in the third starting spot with a lap of 156.361 mph.
In a mild surprise, Hut Stricklin was fourth fastest in the quickest Ford at 156.168 mph, followed by Bobby Labonte in a Chevy at 156.081.
Steve Grissom was sixth fastest at 155.683 mph in a Chevy, followed by John Andretti in a Ford (155.630), Kenny Wallace in a Ford (155.610), Kyle Petty in a Pontiac (155.571), Bobby Hamilton in a Pontiac (155.412) and Ward Burton in a Pontiac (155.261).
``I don't think I've been this happy since I used to sit on poles down here,'' Petty said. ``All the Pontiacs are running really, really good down here.''
There will be a second round of time trials at 11:30 a.m. today.
LENGTH: Medium: 74 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. Terry Labonte raced to the pole Friday for theby CNBGoodwrench 400. He's on the front row with teammate Jeff Gordon.
color. KEYWORDS: AUTO RACING