Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, September 24, 1993 TAG: 9309240145
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: M.J. DOUGHERTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: MARTINSVILLE LENGTH: Medium
When Wayne Patterson finished his qualifying run Thursday, the Richmond driver hoped only that he had made the field for the Goody's 150.
So Patterson was the most surprised person at Martinsville Speedway when he learned he was the fastest of the 72 drivers who attempted to qualify for the NASCAR Late Model Stock Car race.
"When I went around the track, the car felt smooth," Patterson said. "But I didn't think it was that fast."
The top 20 positions for the race were determined in time trials. Positions 21-30 will be set today after two 25-lap qualifying races. The race is Saturday at 2 p.m.
Patterson drove his Chevrolet around the .526-mile track in 21.468 seconds for a qualifying speed of 88.206 mph to win the pole. The next fastest qualifying, Roanoke's Tim McGuire, was more than one-tenth of a second slower.
"I don't think we blew them away," Patterson said. "We just guessed right. Everyone knew when the clouds moved in that the track was going to change. We thought it was going to be slick so we tightened the car up a little bit."
Patterson's fast lap appeared to take the pole from Ronnie Thomas of Christiansburg. Post-qualifying inspection found the chassis of Thomas' car offset, and he was disqualified. That moved McGuire to the front row.
McGuire, who split time between New River Valley and Franklin County speedways, felt he benefited from the neutral track.
"Every once in awhile, I'll sneak in there," McGuire said. "No one has an advantage here. Since no one races here, it's not anyone's home track. That gives everyone a fair shake."
The qualifying run for McGuire also continued the hot streak he has been on since putting a new motor in his Chevrolet a few weeks ago.
After McGuire, the field was tightly bunched. Drivers whose fast laps were 0.15 seconds slower than McGuire found themselves in the qualifying race.
And starting with McGuire, the field had a strong contingent from the two weekly tracks nearest Martinsville - NRVS and FCS. Of the 20 drivers already in the field, 11 raced at one or the other sometime, nine on a regular basis.
That included the next three qualifiers after McGuire: Johnny Rumley of Winston-Salem, N.C., Jeff Agnew of Floyd, and Tony McGuire of Roanoke.
Other regulars from the two tracks in the field include NRVS track champion Paul Radford of Ferrum (12th), Stacy Compton of Hurt (13th), Tink Reedy of Roanoke (15th) and Frankie Pennington of Lexington (19th).
\ PIT STOPS: The main activity at Martinsville today will be Winston Cup qualifying. The top 20 positions for the Goody's 500 will be determined in time trials beginning at 3 p.m. The LMSC qualifying races are at 4 and 4:30.
National LMSC champion Barry Beggarly of Pelham, N.C., did not attempt to qualify after he cracked a cylinder in practice. Beggarly could receive one of two provisional starting spots if he runs a lap in a qualifying race.
As a result of his disqualification, Thomas will have to make the field through one of today's 25-lappers. If he doesn't, Thomas probably will lose his lead in the NRVS/Martinsville Speedway Challenge Series. He leads Rumley and Radford 94-90-84.
Goody's Manufacturing announced in Winston-Salem, N.C., it was continuing its sponsorship of the fall races at Martinsville through 1997.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB