Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, April 29, 1995 TAG: 9505010043
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: TALLADEGA, ALA. LENGTH: Medium
Labonte, whose last previous pole came in August 1991 on the road course at Watkins Glen, N.Y., set the target early with a lap of 196.532 mph in his Chevrolet Monte Carlo as the second of 46 drivers to make qualifying attempts on the 2.66-mile, high-banked track.
It was the 21st career pole for the 1984 Winston Cup champion, who put his Chevrolet Monte Carlo on the inside of the front row for Sunday's 500-mile race.
``Well, this is just one of those places where drivers can't really screw up qualifying too much,'' Labonte said. ``The car just ran good.''
``I didn't really worry about running the line I wanted to run. I just kept trying to keep the car real free. We knew we'd be close. We were really good right off the truck.''
With carburetor restrictor plates keeping speeds down, Labonte's lap was the fastest at Talladega since 1990.
``We were talking about that in the truck and we really couldn't figure it out either, unless the temperature is a little bit cooler than it has been,'' Labonte said. ``Everybody gets a little better over the winter. They find more power. The cars get a little bit better, and that's probably why the speeds picked up.''
A bigger surprise than Labonte was Loy Allen, who celebrated his return to the Winston Cup series after missing three races by winning the outside pole. Allen was fired from the No.27 Ford Thunderbird team before the race at Bristol, Tenn., earlier this month.
Allen reached 195.977 mph in the No.19 Tri-Star Ford Thunderbird - the car he drove last year.
``The Tri-Star team has been here testing many times over the years and they've learned a lot while they've been here at this race track,'' Allen said.
Labonte was surprised by Allen's performance.
``I didn't even know he was here,'' Labonte said. ``We've never clocked him or anything, so I guess that was a surprise.''
Mark Martin qualified for third in a Ford at 195.728 mph, followed by Bobby Labonte in a Chevy at 195.664 and Dale Jarrett in a Ford at 195.604.
Also in the top 10 are Jeff Gordon in a Chevy at 195.512, Sterling Marlin in a Chevy at 195.202, Dick Trickle in a Ford at 194.824, Robert Pressley in a Chevy at 194.789 and Michael Waltrip in the fastest Pontiac Grand Prix at 194.741.
Among other drivers, Rick Mast qualified 13th, Dale Earnhardt 16th, Darrell Waltrip 21st , Bill Elliott 24th, Ricky Rudd 26th, Kyle Petty 29th, Elton Sawyer 32nd and Rusty Wallace 35th.
Earnhardt, Wallace and Waltrip all were hit with power plant problems before qualifying and had to change engines. Waltrip had to change two.
Forty-six drivers made qualifying runs Friday, but only 42 will be left after the second round of time trials at 11:30 a.m. today.
Steve Grissom currently sits on the bubble in 38th position. Behind him, in order of fastest to slowest, are Joe Nemechek, Jeff Burton, Geoff Bodine, Ritchie Petty, Billy Standridge, Ward Burton, Brett Bodine and Steve Seligman.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB