Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, February 12, 1993 TAG: 9302120083
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. LENGTH: Medium
CRASH WIPES OUT HENSLEY'S SMILE
As quickly as Jimmy Means fractured his left shoulder blade in a seven-car crash during practice Wednesday, a bleak week at Daytona International Speedway for Jimmy Hensley became brighter.Thursday was another day, however, and all was not good.
Hensley, driving Means' backup Ford Thunderbird in the second Twin 125 qualifying race, became an innocent victim of Al Unser Jr.'s crash in turn 2 on lap 11.
Hensley was unable to avoid Unser's spinning car.
"That was no good," Hensley said. "I couldn't miss him."
Two laps before the wreck, Hensley saw trouble in the making when smoke began pouring from Unser's Chevy in the turns. A fender was chewing up the sidewall of a tire.
"Michael [Waltrip] saw what was going on and he was trying to slow me down," Hensley said. "But I was trying to pass [Unser]. I almost missed him.
"I hate it for Jimmy Means because I told him I'd take care of his car. The right front is tore up pretty bad."
"It's fixable," said Means, who was back at the track Thursday after an overnight stay at Halifax Medical Center. "We'll have to put a new nose on it, a rear-end housing and trailing arms, and just beat the right side out."
On Wednesday, Hensley had spent another boring day wandering around the garage as a spectator after losing his ride in Cale Yarborough's Ford.
But when Hensley went to the airport Wednesday evening to pick up his wife, Becky, he ran into a Means crew member, who said the team needed him. Hensley called Means at the hospital.
As his wife waited for her luggage, Hensley came up and said, "Well, I think I got me a ride."
Despite Thursday's crash, Hensley still will drive in the Daytona 500 on Sunday.
Means' qualifying speed - 187.559 mph - was fast enough make the field in the 38th starting position. Means' cars have been slow in recent years, but he switched to Ford over the winter and has a competitive car for 1993.
Means has a 2-inch crack in his shoulder blade, and doctors said it could be four weeks before he can drive a race car again.
In other Daytona news:
\ FORD NOT SWAYED: Although a Ford Thunderbird finished second to a Chevrolet Lumina in both Twin 125s Thursday, the Ford camp remains convinced that NASCAR has given General Motors better race cars this year.
After all, one Ford official noted, how else would a rookie Chevy driver like Jeff Gordon beat a veteran Ford driver like Bill Elliott?
Geoff Bodine, who finished second in his Ford to Dale Earnhardt's Chevy, said the Chevys "are still quicker than we are. We just had better handling than some of those other guys.
"We feel like we've been dealt a bad hand with a wide front end and a narrow rear end, and the GM cars have a narrow front end and a wide rear end," Bodine said. "The rules are a little out of balance right now."
The GM drivers disagree.
"I think they're equal," Earnhardt said. "The cars are so close. I think it's just a matter of who [you] can get to work with" on the track.
Added Chevy driver Ricky Rudd: "I think it's pretty even. It just depends on who gets their car adjusted right."
\ TV TIME: The Twin 125s were taped by CBS and will be televised at 1 p.m. Saturday. The network will provide live, flag-to-flag coverage of the Daytona 500 starting at noon Sunday.
\ MAST FALLS BACK: After running in the top five for the first 10 laps of the first qualifying race, Rick Mast and his Ford tumbled to a 21st-place finish.
Mast said the right rear shock absorber mount broke. He still makes the Daytona 500 because of his qualifying speed, but he will start 31st.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING