Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, March 11, 1991 TAG: 9103110112
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: MARTINSVILLE LENGTH: Long
With his racing team desperately in the market for a sponsor, driver Jimmy Hensley provided a boost Sunday at Martinsville Speedway, winning the Busch Grand National portion of the Miller 500 tripleheader.
"We did what we had to do," Hensley said. "I don't say we had to win today, but it sure couldn't hurt any.
"I don't know if winning will do any good or not. Hopefully, it will."
Hensley conceded his Chester-based team will be history soon unless major financial backing can be secured. Team owner Don Beverly was supposed to be at the race Sunday, but didn't show.
In Victory Lane, Hensley sent a message to his car owner via the Motor Racing Network broadcast.
"Maybe if my car owner is listening, we can make a couple more races," Hensley said.
"Deep down, I think we'll run a few more races. If not, I'll probably ride to the race track and look for something to drive."
If his team can't uncover a sponsor, Hensley certainly didn't hurt his personal stock any with his seventh career GN victory.
Five of those wins have come at Martinsville's .526-mile oval, which is only a stone's throw from the 43-year-old driver's Horsepasture home.
"It's always nice to win here," Hensley said. "This is my home track, this is where all my fans come out to watch.
"This shows I can still win, and that's what everybody wants to do."
Hensley's Oldsmobile won primarily due to great fuel economy. Hensley was one of a handful of drivers who went the full 105.2-mile distance without pitting for fuel.
Hensley assumed the lead when Harry Gant's Buick pitted on lap 127. Except for a couple of late caution flags that rebunched the field in the final 10 laps, Hensley never was threatened.
"We didn't stop last year and had plenty of gas left," Hensley said. "We figured most of the cars in front of us would have to stop, so we just bided our time early and stayed out of trouble.
"But I didn't want to see those last two cautions. I didn't want Dale [Jarrett] on my bumper, but we survived."
Jarrett, whose Pontiac ran out of fuel after crossing the finish line in second, had nothing for the winner at the end. Jarrett had two shots - on green-flag restarts on laps 195 and 200 - but could not muster a challenge.
"Jimmy was a little too strong for me," Jarrett confessed. "He gets around this track as well as anyone.
"Restarts were a problem for me. It takes a couple laps to heat these radials up, and by then, there were lapped cars between us.
"But I don't mind finishing second to Jimmy Hensley. Maybe it will help those guys get a sponsor. It's an awfully good team not to have a sponsor."
Kenny Wallace, Bobby Labonte and pole-sitter Elton Sawyer finished third through fifth.
Sawyer led the first 19 laps, then Labonte went to the point for 24 laps. Then came Gant, who built a nice cushion on the field before stopping for gas.
Gant had worked his way back to seventh when misfortune struck on lap 157. Tracy Leslie spun coming off turn four, creating a road block for Gant, Ricky Craven and Robert Pressley. The chain-reaction accident knocked all three of the trailing cars out of the race.
"He would have been tough to handle," said Hensley, of Gant, who wound up 24th.
Hensley picked up $16,125 for the win. But the money he and his team are waiting for lies in some corporate sponsor's bank account.
"I've got marketing people working for us and they're looking," Hensley said. "But the economy is not real good right now. Somebody may not want to turn loose of $300,000.
"I've done all I can do. We'll just have to wait and see what happens."
Hensley averaged 62.289 mph for the trip that was slowed eight times by cautions for 31 laps.
In the 100-lap Late Model Stock Car opener, Jay Fogleman rammed his way past leader Dennis Setzer with eight laps to go and sped to the checkered flag.
Setzer, who had led from laps 20-92, spun after making contact with Fogleman and finished a distant 12th.
"Dennis and I were both just racing hard," Fogleman said. "We went into the corner and he was trying to hold me down. He moved down, I moved up, and we got together.
"Things like that happen sometimes. I talked to Dennis after the race and there seemed to be no hard feelings."
Eddie Johnson, of Ashland, finished second, some four car lengths back. Johnny Rumley, of Winston-Salem, N.C., was third, Chesterfield's Bugs Hairfield fourth and Todd Massey, of Burlington, N.C., fifth.
Favored pole-sitter Curtis Markham led the first 19 laps before his car suffered brake problems and faded badly. The Fredericksburg driver finished eighth.
Fogleman, 24, picked up $4,375 for his first Martinsville victory.
"This is probably our biggest win ever," the 24-year-old Durham, N.C., driver said. "All of the top cars from the area are here and there's just so much prestige."
Fogleman, whose Chevrolet started fourth in the 32-car field, averaged 62.289 mph for the 52.6-mile trip. A record-tying eight caution flags slowed the pace for 33 laps.
The beating and banging did a number on the area contestants. Ferrum's Paul Radford (10th), Roanoke's Tink Reedy (24th) and Christiansburg's Ronnie Thomas (27th) had their hopes diminished in minor spins. Floyd's Jeff Agnew suffered mechanical failure and finished 30th.
Jeff Fuller owned the Modified Tour's season opener.
The 34-year-old Massachusetts driver led for 117 laps, including the final 101 en route to his second career Martinsville win.
"The car handled like a dream," Fuller said. "The car stuck down like glue, whether I went high or low. It just seemed to love Martinsville."
Fuller dodged a flurry of accidents and spins, which created an event-record 13 yellow flags consuming 55 laps.
"It was a wild time out there," noted Fuller, whose winning speed was reduced to 69.541 mph by the rash of yellows.
Fuller's ninth career Modified tour win was worth $14,275, or as he noted, "more than enough to take care of my bar tab."
Connecticut driver Carl Pasteryak finished second, three car lengths back. New Yorker Tom Baldwin was third, followed by Mike Fuller, the winner's younger brother.
Don "Satch" Worley, the only area entry in the 30-car field, finished 19th. Worley lost 26 laps in the pits for repairs after scraping the turn-four wall on lap 146.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB