Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, April 22, 1991 TAG: 9104220131
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. LENGTH: Medium
Marlin, who suffered second-degree burns when his car burst into flames in a crash last weekend at Bristol, needed to log that lap to qualify for Winston Cup points.
His face is still badly scarred and tender. He wore a full-face helmet and a fire-retardant face cloth. But he managed to drive one fast lap at the end of the field before pitting to let veteran Charlie Glotzbach take over.
"I wish we could have run longer," Marlin said. "But we were doing what the doctor said. We're going to get well and be back."
The driver switch "went smooth," Marlin said. "We took our time and there were no problems."
After getting out of the car, Marlin got into a motorized cart and was taken back to the garage area, where he changed clothes. He left the track in a van after the first yellow flag flew on lap 36.
Glotzbach's race was typical of the day's events. He was hit by a spinning car early in the contest. A brake line broke and he lost several laps getting it repaired. He finished 12 laps down in 22nd place.
"We just got behind and it's hard to catch up once you get behind," Glotzbach said.
Marlin's team will make a decision on his plans for Martinsville, Va., later this week.
\ Bill Elliott continues to have bad luck this season, but his eighth-place finish was a credible accomplishment. Early in the race, Elliott tangled with Bobby Hillin and lost a couple of laps.
"He pinched me into the corner," Elliott said. "I hit the curb and then I hit him. Then, the No. 28 [Davey Allison] hit me once and then again. He slammed into me. I was out of his way, but he hit me anyway.
"We got our laps back, running on fresh tires and beating the leaders back to the line a couple of times."
Elliott finished on the lead lap.
\ Richard Petty had one of his best runs in a long time, working his way up to fifth place shortly before the halfway point.
"It took us 180 laps to catch up and get up to fifth," he said. "Just as we caught up, there was a caution. On the restart, there was a cat behind me that wanted to be in front of me and he spun us out."
After that setback, Petty suffered a cut tire that damaged the front end and another spin.
He finished 16th, three laps down.
"The first half went good," he said. "The second half went terrible."
by CNB