Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, October 17, 1993 TAG: 9310170075
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOHN A. MONTGOMERY SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: MARTINSVILLE LENGTH: Medium
"I want to go Winston Cup racing next year," Nemechek said Saturday at Martinsville Speedway. "I've got a lot of things in the works, but I can't say [anything's] definite yet."
Nemechek took another step toward achieving that goal Saturday, taking the pole for the Busch Grand National race of today's Advance Auto Parts 500.
The top 30 drivers of 42 entries qualified for today's race. The 30th-fastest time belonged to Grand National points leader Steve Grissom, who survived only after several of the final racers attempting to qualify were unable to surpass his time.
Nemechek is third in the Grand National points standings.
Nemechek's qualifying lap of 20.726 seconds (91.364 mph) was one-hundredth of a second faster than Hermie Sadler's. Nemechek earned his third Grand National pole of the season, the fourth of his career and his first at Martinsville.
"It was very slick out there," Nemechek said. "Really slippery. Martinsville is slick in the corners. You have to be on top of it."
Sadler, from Emporia, will start on the outside pole. Ernie Irvan and Chuck Bown will start third and fourth, respectively, and Johnny Rumley will begin the 300-lap race fifth.
"Ernie's going to be tough," Nemechek said. "And so are Hermie, and Chuck Bown . . . there are a lot of really tough [drivers] in the top 10."
Rumley should be more than warm when the Grand National race opens. He's also competing in the 30-car 200-lap Late Model Stock Car race that will precede the big boys at 1 p.m. Rumley will start from the 17th position.
The 21st through 30th positions for the Late Model Stock Car race were filled Saturday after Grand National qualifying, as the top five finishers in two 50-lap heats joined the 20 fastest qualifiers from Friday.
The first heat was relatively tame, with four of the first five starters - Tommy Spangler, Jason Gullie, David Blankenship, and Danny Willis - making the cut.
North Carolina's Jerry Sheppard slipped into fifth, pulling ahead of Roanoke's Tim McGuire very early.
"Myself and 90 [Shepherd] rubbed, and it cut my right front tire. I wanted to change it, but I knew if I did I never could get back to the front," McGuire said.
McGuire's brother Tony was involved in some of the best racing of the day, jockeying for the last position in the second heat. McGuire had particularly intense battles with Powhatan's Rex Jones and Goode's Darryl Lacks, but none of the three made today's field.
Tony McGuire started 15th and climbed into fifth, but he was overtaken by Shayne Lockhart late in the race. McGuire finished sixth in the heat.
Lockhart posted the fastest qualifying time Friday among 97 drivers but was disqualified because of an illegal carburetor during inspection. Lockhart made the heat field because of low-ranking eligible drivers dropping out.
"We didn't know until 11 o'clock this morning we'd be in," Lockhart said. "So we started in the rear [32nd]. Finishing fourth wasn't bad."
As did others, Lockhart benefited from some early caution flags that derailed several drivers near the front of the pack. Joe Gaita, the Advance Auto Parts 500 defending Late Model Stock champion (when it was 100 laps), qualified poorly and started 20th. Gaita finished second.
Jay Fogleman, who started on the outside pole, won the second heat. Robert Elliott, who started first, and Todd Kelley, who started 11th, also advanced into today's race.
In the event that rain forces the postponement of today's race, it will be rescheduled for the first available date, Sunday, Oct. 31.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB