Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, July 19, 1993 TAG: 9307190103
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LONG POND, PA. LENGTH: Long
Allison, who died Tuesday after a helicopter crash at Talladega Superspeedway, had his terrible tumble here a year ago Sunday - a multi-flip wreck that left him with a broken right wrist and arm.
Pocono also was the site of his father Bobby's career-ending, near-fatal crash in 1988.
But a weekend of beautiful weather brought out the fans. The estimated attendance was more than 100,000, and the infield appeared to have the largest crowd ever. The tragedy seemed to be on a lot of minds.
Along the entire length of the front grandstand, fans hung signs in tribute of Allison and Winston Cup champion Alan Kulwicki, who died in an April 1 plane crash.
"It Won't Be The Same Without Davey," read one sign. Another read, "His Star Will Burn Forever." On a third banner: "Alan Has Good Company."
The 28th pit stall was left empty Sunday in honor of Allison, and the track dedicated a new American flag to him that will fly at future NASCAR races. The track owner, Dr. Joseph Mattioli, said he will place a plaque honoring Allison, 32, at the base of the flagpole.
Allison's Ford Thunderbird team, owned by Robert Yates, did not enter the race. And team publicist Brian VanDercook said it was "very unlikely" Yates will make any decisions today. The team has barely begun discussions on the future, VanDercook said.
\ ENGINES THAT COULDN'T: The long straightaways and sweeping turns of Pocono International Raceway are hard on engines, and Sunday's Miller 500 was no exception.
Drivers with engine failure or engine problems included Jimmy Hensley, Rick Mast, Jeff Gordon, Jimmy Spencer, Ernie Irvan, Derrike Cope and Ted Musgrave.
"Our motor lost a valve or something," said Hensley, who dropped out after only 42 laps and finished 39th. "It just started missing. I run around for two or three laps, but it just kept getting worse."
Mast retired 30 laps later.
"Something broke under the hood," he said. "But this was probably the best car I've had since Charlotte. Right before it blew up, I was running a tenth of a second faster than the leader, kind of picking them off. I was thinking, `Man, this might be our day.' Then, boom, it's over."
Gordon dropped out after 49 laps when "something in the motor just let go." Irvan lasted 157 laps, and Cope dropped out on lap 173.
\ NOW THAT'S REPORTING: Rarely do you hear cheering in the press room, but the motor racing reporters gave Bobby Hillin rousing applause after the dramatic, live in-car broadcast of his spin on lap 97.
It was hold-your-breath time as Hillin tried to get under Michael Waltrip in turn 2 and his Ford Thunderbird spun to the inside. Then it suddenly whipped back around and slid into the middle of the track.
Viewers of the WTBS telecast got a nerve-wracking idea of what it's like to be out of control with a herd of cars bearing down on you and no idea what's going to happen. But everyone avoided Hillin. Darrell Waltrip had the closest call.
"My pants are wet," one scribe quipped as the applause died.
Said Hillin, "It was my fault. I guess I just got anxious."
\ MARTIN'S TROUBLES: Mark Martin's team used three carburetors on his Ford Thunderbird.
His problems started a few laps after the race began and he was already using a second carburetor by lap 15.
"The second carburetor didn't fix it, and by the time we got the third one on that did fix it, it was too late," Martin said. "We were too far behind."
Martin was a lap down most of the afternoon, but he made it up late in the race and finished 13th.
\ SO MUCH FOR THE POLE: Pole winner Ken Schrader led the first five laps, but it was downhill from there. His Chevrolet Lumina was tight throughout the race. Schrader finished sixth.
"We need to learn how to run 200 laps fast instead of just one," crew chief Ken Howes said.
\ SHOCK SHOT: Hours before the race, Ricky Rudd's team found a bad shock absorber on his Chevrolet Lumina.
"We had something that had gone wrong on the car all week long, and we didn't catch it until race morning," he said. "The shock absorber was messed up. We'd been loose all week. Then they found the shock absorber, fixed it and the car pushed all day long. We changed some springs behind pit wall trying to fix it, but it didn't do much for it."
Rudd finished 11th.
\ FOR ALLISON'S FANS: The car normally driven by Davey Allison will be on display Friday night as scheduled at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Birmingham, Ala.
The display had been scheduled last March, to take place during a Southern League baseball game between the Birmingham Barons and Memphis Chicks.
Allison's family consented to the display after his death.
"We canceled the car display after Davey Allison's tragic death on Tuesday," Bill Hardekopf, president of the Barons, said. "But the Yates racing team has told us that the Allison family expressed an interest in having these displays continue for the sake of Davey's fans."
by CNB