THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, February 24, 1996 TAG: 9602240440
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BOB ZELLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ROCKINGHAM, N.C. LENGTH: Medium: 73 lines
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 when a plastic bag was sucked into his car's air cleaner, shutting down the engine.
Less than a week later, Labonte was rolling at full speed again as he won the pole position for Sunday's Goodwrench 400 at North Carolina Motor Speedway. He posted a speed of 156.870 mph in his Chevrolet Monte Carlo during Friday afternoon's qualifying session.
Teammate Jeff Gordon won the outside pole at 156.756 mph. On the clock, he was only 17/1000ths of a second slower than Labonte around the 1.017-mile speedway.
Meanwhile, the 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.
``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.''
Labonte had one of the fastest cars at Daytona, 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 Friday's race. Then, a freak stroke of bad luck killed his chances to win the 500.
``Everybody always looks forward to going to Daytona,'' he 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 the plastic bag incident.
``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.
Friday, Labonte said he has not changed his mind about quitting the IROC series. He quit in a fit of pique 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 finished behind several drivers who did, including 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.
Meanwhile, in Friday's time trials, rookie Johnny Benson put his new Pontiac in the third starting spot, behind the Chevys of Labonte and Gordon, 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 mph.
Steve Grissom was sixth fastest at 155.683 mph in a Chevy, followed by John Andretti in a Ford at 155.630 mph, Kenny Wallace in a Ford at 155.610 mph, Kyle Petty in a Pontiac at 155.571 mph, Bobby Hamilton in a Pontiac at 155.412 mph and, in 11th, Ward Burton in a Pontiac at 155.261 mph.
``I don't think I've been this happy since I used to sit on poles down here,'' Petty told Pontiac's Brian Hoagland. ``All the Pontiacs are running really, really good down here.''
There will be a second round of time trials today at 11:30 a.m. ILLUSTRATION: Terry Labonte
by CNB