Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 31, 1990 TAG: 9003310059
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By RANDY KING SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
A lot. Just ask Jimmy Hensley.
Seeking his first NASCAR Busch Grand National pole for his new team, Hensley came up a fraction of a second short Friday at Darlington Raceway.
"I thought I had the pole," Hensley said. "I did have it . . . for about 45 seconds."
After turning a lap of 156.343 mph in his Oldsmobile, Hensley was knocked off the Pontiac 200 pole by the next guy on the track - Kenny Wallace.
Wallace, the younger brother of 1989 Winston Cup champion Rusty Wallace, drove a lap of 156.821 to bump Hensley to second.
"I would have liked to have won the pole, but we're not disappointed," said Hensley, a 43-year-old native of Horsepasture, Va.
"We feel good here. The qualifying lap was the best one we've run here. Now, in the race we just want to be consistent, run all day long and hang in there."
The Pontiac 200, the sixth of 31 races on the 1990 Grand National schedule, takes the green flag today at 1 p.m.
"We've got a good shot here," said Hensley, who stands third, 18 points behind leader Bobby Labonte, in the GN title chase.
"I want that first win for Don Beverly and John Dodson [his new Richmond-based car owners]."
Harry Gant, Labonte and Darrell Waltrip rounded out the top five qualifiers in the 41-car field.
Among other southwest Virginians, Ridgeway's Chuck Bown was ninth and Rockbridge Baths' Rick Mast was 15th.
Geoff Bodine, who has won the past two Pontiac 200s, qualified 27th.
Tommy Houston, who has won the last two GN races, was 32nd.
Winston Cup driver Ernie Irvan said Friday that he is close to signing a long-term contract with the Morgan-McClure team, which is based in Abingdon, Va.
"We hope to make some kind of announcement at Bristol [Tenn.] next week," Irvan said.
Irvan said team owners Tim Morgan and Larry McClure have reached a settlement with driver Phil Parsons, who was abruptly dismissed by the team March 5.
Irvan made his first start in the car at Atlanta on March 18 and had a career-best third-place finish. He qualified third Friday for Sunday's TranSouth 500.
"This is a good team," Irvan said. "We're going to be heard from out here. I guarantee it."
Driver Lake Speed, who picked up his only Winston Cup victory in the 1988 TranSouth, announced Friday that his team has picked up financial backing from Prestone.
Speed, who hasn't competed since the season-opening Daytona 500, said the deal is a seven-race package that begins with the Winston 500 on May 6 at Talladega, Ala.
by CNB