ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, February 25, 1996 TAG: 9602260105
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-2 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: AUTO RACING NOTES
DATELINE: ROCKINGHAM, N.C.
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
There was no catching Mark Martin on Saturday in the Goodwrench 200 at North Carolina Motor Speedway, but he didn't exactly feel like a rabbit.
``This would have been a good day to get us,'' Martin said after leading 151 of the 197 laps.
He won by 1.35 seconds over Mike McLaughlin.
``If those guys would have been on the money a little bit better, they would have beat me today,'' Martin said. ``We were loose and could only run at certain speeds. I couldn't go real, real fast and thank goodness these other guys went off their tires when they did.''
Martin was passed twice, and Ricky Craven, who led 20 laps, did it both times. Martin said he let Craven pass him once early in the race to see what Craven had, and once more at around the halfway point while Martin was conserving his tires.
But it was another dominating Busch victory for Martin, who has won six of these races, including four since 1992.
While Martin was running away, life was more hectic farther back in the field. There were eight spins or crashes, including a six-car crash on lap 41, a four-car crash on lap 81 and a three-car crash on lap 138. No one was hurt.
Martin said the crashes occurred ``because the outside groove here is so undesirable. This track will not forgive you if you get out of the groove, especially when you slip into that outside lane. The Busch guys are not as good at keeping their stuff dead on the bottom and they tangle more often.''
Jeff Purvis finished third, followed by Craven and Bobby Labonte. Seventeen cars finished on the lead lap.
The race was seen by a record Saturday crowd at Rockingham (estimated at 57,000) that took advantage of sunny skies and balmy February temperatures in the low 70s.
BODINE REPORT: Geoff Bodine, who found out Friday that he broke two left-side ribs in his crash at Daytona last weekend, is still uncertain about what he'll do in today's Goodwrench 400 Winston Cup race.
``As far as tomorrow goes, I really don't know,'' he said. ``I guess I'll try to start it if I'm not hurting too much. And if I do, let Todd [Bodine] get in it as quick as possible.''
Younger brother Todd, who does not have a Winston Cup ride this season, finished 10th in the Goody's 200.
SECOND-ROUND QUALIFYING: Only one Winston Cup regular - Elton Sawyer - failed to qualify for today's 400. A 41-car field will start today's race at 12:30 p.m., but Sawyer did not make it because he was not eligible for the 42nd spot - a provisional starting spot.
The team Sawyer drives for was purchased during the off-season by Arkansas attorney David Blair, who has not run enough races to qualify for provisional starting spots.
AN AVID LISTENER: Jeff Gordon, who crashed out of the Daytona 500 last weekend, said he listened to the last 10 laps on the radio while beating the traffic out of the speedway.
``When I'm not in the race, I'm still a race fan,'' Gordon said. ``I was pulling for [teammate Ken] Schrader.''
Gordon said he's talked to Dale Earnhardt about the fact that Earnhardt could get no help from Schrader and Martin behind him to try to draft pass 500 winner Dale Jarrett.
``I told Dale, `I feel sorry for you. Nobody wants to help you out.' He said, `Yeah, but they haven't won yet, either.'''
LENGTH: Medium: 67 linesby CNB