Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 31, 1990 TAG: 9003310046
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
DARLINGTON, S.C. - When driver Geoff Bodine and car owner Junior Johnson joined forces for the 1990 season, many of NASCAR's so-called experts snickered and predicted a quick annulment of the marriage.
"Yeah, a lot of folks around the sport thought that Junior and I wouldn't be able to work together," Bodine said. "I was a Yankee, and here's Junior, a good ol' boy from the South. `It can't work,' a lot of people said.
"Well, I tried to tell everybody it would work. And it is working."
On Friday afternoon at Darlington Raceway, Bodine delivered convincing evidence of that. In a run that left his competitors shaking their heads in disbelief, Bodine turned a track-record lap of 162.996 mph to capture the pole for Sunday's TranSouth 500 Winston Cup race.
"I guess [Junior and I] have proved we can get along pretty good," Bodine said.
Even Johnson, the unflappable guru of stock car racing, was impressed by his new driver. This odd couple has the makings of a hit, Johnson said.
"Where you're from in this sport doesn't make a bit of difference," he said. "How you drive that race car makes the difference.
"We knew Geoff was the kind of driver who could take us back to the front. And we're going to stay up there with Geoff.
"You've got to have all the pieces to the puzzle. The driver is a major piece. And I'm pretty sure we've found that piece now."
Bodine's sizzling run gave the Johnson team its first pole in 54 races, dating to April 1988 at North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway.
"This is really a good boost for this team," said Bodine, who replaced Terry Labonte in the Johnson mount this season.
"We've run good all year long and we're fifth in points. Now, we need to go out and win a race on Sunday. I think this team is going to be hard to handle before it's over with."
No one could handle Bodine & Co. on Friday. The only man to come close was Mark Martin, who had a lap of 162.399 mph in a Ford.
Meanwhile, the rest of the field was in a different zip code.
Ernie Irvan, who continues to be a quick fix for the Morgan-McClure team out of Abingdon, Va., was third in an Oldsmobile at 161.445. Brett Bodine, the pole winner's younger brother, was fourth in a Buick at 161.259. Sterling Marlin (Olds) took fifth at 160.800.
Ken Schrader, Greg Sacks, Kyle Petty, Michael Waltrip and Virginian Ricky Rudd completed the top 10.
Among qualifying disappointments were Rusty Wallace (11th), Alan Kulwicki (14th), Dale Earnhardt (15th), Darrell Waltrip (16th), Bill Elliott (17th) and defending TranSouth champion Harry Gant (20th).
Geoff Bodine, whose fastest practice speed was three-tenths of a second slower than his qualifying effort, conceded he couldn't believe the stopwatch.
"When I pulled back into the garage, [crew chief] Tim [Brewer] came up and told me I ran a 33.17 [seconds]," the driver said. "I said, `Cut it out. That's not right. What did I really run?'
"He told me again. I said, `The Timex must not be working. It's got to be broke or something.'
"The best we could do in practice was a 33.50. I never dreamed we could run this."
Neither did anybody else.
"The guy just hit a perfect lap," Brewer said of his team's driver. "I knew we would be quick, but not that quick."
Johnson said his team must have found the right chassis combination to work with Goodyear's radials, which are being used at the 1.366-mile track for the first time.
"We tested a lot here, and I'm sure that helped a bunch," Johnson said.
Martin, who won the pole here a year ago, said he lost any chance at beating Bodine when his Ford got loose in turns three and four.
"I had to give in, I had to lift," Martin said. "I didn't think a 33.28 [his time] was possible, much less a 33.17. Hey, that guy had a great run."
"Make that an unbelievable run," said Steve Hmiel, Martin's team manager. "Lose with our speed? I can't believe it."
Darrell Waltrip's Chevrolet ran a lap of 158.996, exactly 4 mph off the pole speed. Waltrip said he suspected the Fords would be tough in time trials.
"Their cars look so good," Waltrip said. "They are handling great, while everybody else's car looks a little twitchy."
Rudd admitted the strength of the front-row Fords was a bit intimidating, but added that he thinks his car will run better under race conditions.
"Maybe they'll have their race and we'll have ours," Rudd said.
\ LUGNUTS: Bodine's speed broke Schrader's event and track record of 162.657 mph established in 1988. . . . It was the 26th career pole for the 40-year-old Chemung, N.Y., native. It was Johnson's first pole since he switched from Chevrolets to Fords last season. . . . Virginian Rick Mast qualified 23rd in D.K. Ulrich's mount. . . . Sunday's starting field consists of 40 cars. Only 43 cars attempted to qualify.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB