Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 6, 1993 TAG: 9303060141
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
SCHRADER, MAST RUN FAST AT RICHMOND
Ken Schrader ran the fastest lap ever at Richmond International Raceway on Friday, but it was just barely fast enough to deny Rick Mast the rare feat of winning two pole positions in a single afternoon.Schrader's lap of 123.164 mph in a Chevrolet Lumina broke the five-year-old track record of 122.850 mph set by Davey Allison in September, 1988. And it gave Schrader his first short track pole.
"We never have won a pole that wasn't on a superspeedway," Schrader said. "We have traditionally been so bad on short tracks, but we're having some good days now, too."
Schrader's accomplishment was all but overshadowed by the impressive qualifying performances of Mast. After winning the outside pole in Winston Cup qualifying, Mast returned to the 3/4-mile track with his Grand National car and won the pole for today's Hardee's 200.
"Just call me Mr. Richmond," Mast said.
Mast, who lives in Rockbridge Baths, turned a lap of 123.052 mph in Richard Jackson's Winston Cup Ford Thunderbird to win the outside pole for Sunday's Pontiac 400. Mast also broke Allison's record, as did Morgan Shepherd, who qualified third at 122.861 mph in another Ford. Brett Bodine was fourth fastest in a Ford at 122.828 mph, followed by Darrell Waltrip at 122.805 mph in a Chevy.
In winning the pole for today's Hardee's 200 (which starts at 1:15 p.m.), Mast turned a lap of 120.876 mph in his own Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme. Mark Martin, the second fastest Grand National qualifier, wasn't even close by NASCAR standards with his lap of 120.080 mph.
Ward Burton, of South Boston, was third fastest in Grand National qualifying at 120.037 mph. His brother, Jeff, will start right beside him after qualifying fourth at 119.963 mph. Robert Pressley was fifth fastest at 119.856 mph.
Mast said he and Schrader had the fastest cars in pre-qualifying practice.
"All morning, Schrader was the one I'd been chasing," he said. "He'd go out and run a little faster. Then I'd go out and run a little faster. And finally in qualifying, he went out and ran a little faster."
Mast said he purposely skipped the final Grand National practice session, which came just before Winston Cup qualifying.
"I knew I had a shot at the pole, so I didn't practice in the final Grand National session because I didn't want to get screwed up in qualifying the Winston Cup car," he said. "But it kinda worked out the other way around."
Schrader attributed his improved short track performance on the help he's received from teammates Ricky Rudd and rookie Jeff Gordon, and their crew chiefs.
"We've beat on those guys and beat on those guys [for help], and they've helped us a bunch," he said.
Bill Elliott and Harry Gant were among the drivers who failed to crack the top 20 Friday. But the driver with the worst fortune was Geoff Bodine, who crashed into the fourth-turn wall during his warmup lap before qualifying.
"I don't know what happened," Bodine said. "I'm a professional driver and I know you don't go too fast on cold tires on a cold day, but when I went out there, it just went sideways. I don't think that I made a mistake."
Bodine will qualify his backup car in the second round of time trials today at 11 a.m.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING