Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, October 9, 1993 TAG: 9310090092
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CONCORD, N.C. LENGTH: Medium
Besides winning $500, Earnhardt earned the right to start 35th in a 44-car field when the green flag drops at 1:10 p.m.
"Well, we won, which is good, but we won a heat race, which we don't want to have to do," Earnhardt told a track reporter afterwards. "But we're in the show and that's what counts."
Jason Keller was third, followed by Harry Gant, Dave Rezendes, Michael Waltrip, Phil Parsons, Rick Mast, Bobby Hillin, Jr. and Sterling Marlin. All qualified for today's race.
A four-car crash in turn four on lap seven sent Shawna Robinson to Cabarrus Memorial Hospital for an X-rays of her banged-up right knee, but nothing was broken and she was released. It started when she and Robert Powell tangled, and her car was hit hard twice as Tim Steele and Eddie Sharpe, Jr. became involved. Sharpe received some stitches at the infield hospital to close a cut on his chin.
Earnhardt gave credit to 1992 GN champion Joe Nemechek for helping his team this week. "We haven't run well," Earnhardt said. "He helped us with the shocks and the front-end setup on the car and it's driving a lot better than it did."
Bobby Dotter will start on the pole in today's race.
\ BIG CAR LOT: There are 308 different race cars competing at Charlotte Motor Speedway this week, which track officials are sure is a record.
The lineup includes 50 Winston Cup cars, 59 Grand National cars, 61 Sportsman cars, 29 Dodge Shelby Pro race cars and 109 Legends cars.
\ POINTS BATTLE: Rusty Wallace and Dale Earnhardt, who are only 72 points apart in the battle for the 1993 Winston Cup championship, with Earnhardt leading, met the motorsports press Thursday, but it was mostly the routine talk you've already heard.
Earnhardt, however, took exception to Wallace's assessment (after winning last weekend at North Wilkesboro) that his team had been on cruise control last month when he was leading by almost 300 points.
"Why would I be on cruise control?" he said. "I was sitting there running second at Dover when we got in a crash. We were running fourth or fifth at Martinsville when we had problems, and we were racing hard. We just had things happen that you can't gain back. Cruise control is 10th or 12th."
\ EXHAUST FUMES: The transformation of sports car drivers into stock car drivers continues. 1987 IMSA GTP champion Chip Robinson, who is visiting the track this week, has just moved from Oldwick, N.J. to Shelby, N.C., and hopes to land a full-time Grand National ride in 1994. . . . In sponsorship news, the Hooters restaurant chain has announced that it will return to the Winston Cup series in 1994 with driver Loy Allen, Jr. in family-owned Ford Thunderbirds. . . . Pennzoil has announced that it has renewed its sponsorship, for one more year, of the Pontiac Grand Prix driven by Michael Waltrip and owned by Chuck Rider and Lowrance Harry. . . . Pic' N Pay shoes has renewed its sponsorship for 1994 of Dale Jarrett's limited Grand National schedule. . . . Andy Hillenburg, the chief instructor at Charlotte's Fast Track High Performance Racing School, announced that Budget Gourmet foods will sponsor him in 1994 to run the full Grand National schedule and compete for rookie of the year.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB