THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, August 2, 1996 TAG: 9608020644
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C9 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BOB ZELLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SPEEDWAY, IND. LENGTH: 75 lines
The sorer Dale Earnhardt gets, the better he looks.
There was no better evidence of this at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Thursday than during the morning practice session, after he climbed out of his car for the second time of the day.
That sparkle was gleaming in his blue eyes. He had a big smile on his face. He wandered over to where broadcaster Ned Jarrett was standing and chatted amiably for as long as Jarrett wanted him. He did some side-to-side stretches.
Then he got an ice cream cone, walked over to a trash can to throw away the wrapping and told this reporter: ``I'm sorer than (expletive).''
On his fourth day after suffering a fractured left collarbone and a fractured sternum in a violent, upside-down crash at Talladega, Earnhardt discovered that he was sorer than ever.
His shoulder hurt him the most.
``This morning, when he got in the car and he made the first two (practice) laps on the racetrack, he said it hurt a lot more than he thought it would,'' car owner Richard Childress said. Earnhardt told him he doubted he could even make it to the first caution period in Saturday's race.
But the pain didn't stop him Thursday. And that incredible Earnhardt willpower allowed him to proceed through a full day's activities with only the briefest winces and groans.
Earnhardt wasn't even particularly interested in messing with special padding, flak jackets or other devices to help him feel more comfortable in the car.
``We put in a couple of straps and pads, but they were more cumbersome than helpful,'' crew chief David Smith added.
Clearly, Earnhardt has decided that the best medicine for him is to stick to his normal routine and act as if nothing is broken and nothing hurts.
``He actually feels better out here in the garage with us than he does in his camper,'' Smith said. ``He has tremendous willpower. Getting in and out of the car is really not as bad for him as the shoulder straps.''
But Earnhardt managed to ignore whatever pain shot through his shoulder and chest from the G-forces imparted on his body through the speedway's flat turns. He qualified 12th-fastest for Saturday's Brickyard 400.
``The car is a lot faster than I ran it,'' he said. ``I'm a little tender and I'm still a little sore. We're just taking it easy.
``I'm just sorry I'm not going to get to race it hard. It's real emotional that you can't drive and go on and do what you need to do.''
Said pole-winner Jeff Gordon: ``Dale Earnhardt is an amazing guy. Everybody keeps asking me what's going to happen when Dale gets out of the car Saturday. I'll believe it when I see it. Until then, I believe he's going all the way.''
ELLIOTT ROLLING AGAIN: After qualifying seventh-fastest, Bill Elliott said he finally feels physically capable of driving his best.
Elliott, who suffered a broken leg at Talladega in May, posted a speed of 175.131 mph in Thursday's pole qualifying session.
``Today I felt the best I have in a race car since my injury,'' he said. ``I feel like I'm 100 percent and the team is 100 percent.
NO INCIDENTS: There were no spins or crashes Thursday, although several drivers scraped the wall during practice or qualifying.
One of those to do it in qualifying was Dale Jarrett, who brushed the fourth-turn wall.
``I had a really good lap going, but I got back in the gas so soon in turn 4 and it just kept pushing toward the wall,'' he said.
SKINNER DOMINATES: Mike Skinner remained perfect at Indianapolis Raceway Park, leading all 200 laps for the second time in two years in winning the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Cummins 200 at Indianapolis Raceway Park.
Skinner battled Jimmy Hensley's Dodge for most of the 200 laps around the 0.686-mile asphalt oval. When Hensley dropped out with engine failure, Jack Sprague took up the chase in his Chevrolet, finishing 0.741 seconds behind.
The victory, worth $37,325, was Skinner's fourth of the season.
LaJOIE ON GN POLE: Randy LaJoie pulled a mild upset Thursday, winning the pole position for the Kroger 200 Busch Grand National race at Indianapolis Raceway Park.
LaJoie, one of the last drivers to take a qualifying lap on the 0.686-mile oval, turned a lap of 109.270 mph, knocking pole favorite and series point leader David Green out of the top spot for tonight's race. Jeff Fuller was third-fastest, followed by Todd Bodine and Curtis Markham. by CNB