Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 17, 1991 TAG: 9102170094
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: DAYTONA BEACH LENGTH: Medium
Earnhardt was in front of all the mayhem and in command most of the way. He led 90 of 120 laps in the 300-mile race and won $38,532.
Michael Waltrip executed a slingshot pass on Davey Allison on the last lap, grabbing second place. Ken Schrader was fourth, and Harry Gant finished fifth.
Tom Peck's sixth-place finish was the best among Grand National regulars.
"I knew Davey and those guys were getting ready to take a shot at me, and I was doing all I could to keep 'em off," Earnhardt said.
Waltrip's move on Allison gave Earnhardt the edge he needed.
It was questionable whether anyone could have gotten around him anyway, since Earnhardt was passed only once on the track while the green flag was out.
That happened on lap 93, when Schrader went low on the backstretch to pass Earnhardt and Allison while they were battling side-by-side.
It was the most exciting moment of racing in the Goody's 300, but Earnhardt quickly put an end to the challenge, passing Schrader on the next lap and holding the lead to the finish.
For those who find crashes exciting, the first hour of the race was overwhelming. There were no serious injuries, although Todd Bodine needed several stitches to close a cut on his chin.
The first crash, a fiery one, occurred 30 seconds after the green flag in the third turn of the first lap.
Bobby Labonte, who has had the worst luck of Speedweeks, was bumped onto the apron going into the turn. He spun back up the high banked curve, creating havoc in the tightly bunched pack behind him.
Fifteen cars were caught up in the crash. Labonte took the worst of it. He was driving his brother Terry's Oldsmobile after destroying his own car in a practice crash Friday, and Terry's car was reduced to a charred heap.
The car was crushed in the front and back, and fire broke out as Labonte and Davey Johnson slid to a stop in the grass at the edge of the apron. Safety crews extinguished the blaze as Labonte and Johnson emerged from the cars unhurt.
In addition to Labonte and Johnson, seven other drivers were done for the day, including Ernie Irvan, Dick Trickle and Jimmy Hensley.
Labonte blamed Jack Ingram for knocking him in the rear and sending him out of control, an accusation that irritated the veteran. Ingram, after all, was innocent.
"That Labonte ought to learn to say what's going on," Ingram said. "He ain't done nothin' but trash two race cars."
After the race, Michael Waltrip said he was the one who hit Labonte.
Waltrip said he eased off the gas going into the turn because the cars in front of him were racing four wide. He said he was tapped from behind "and I hit Bobby."
"I almost spun out," Waltrip said. "I was out of control when I hit him, and he did spin out."
Seven laps after the restart, five more cars tangled in turn three when Jimmy Spencer ran into the back of Dale Jarrett's car. Jarrett, Darrell Waltrip and Chuck Bown were knocked out of the race. Spencer was not forced out of the race, but he was penalized a lap and eventually finished eighth.
In that destructive first hour, the Grand National garage area looked like an automotive trauma center after a natural disaster.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB