Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, October 18, 1993 TAG: 9310180291
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOHN A. MONTGOMERY
DATELINE: MARTINSVILLE LENGTH: Long
On an overcast Sunday afternoon, 12 years later, he sold many more.
And now he's in a position to buy as many as he wants.
Bown dramatically won the 300-lap Busch Grand National race at the Advance Auto Parts 500 at Martinsville Speedway Speedway before an estimated crowd of 10,000. Most of the patrons were entertained as Bown aggressively sought the lead and then deftly kept it.
Bown won $17,080 for his afternoon's efforts, increasing his career GN winnings to $1.03 million, third on the all-time list.
"This was a whole lot more fun than selling tickets," Bown said.
The GN victory was Bown's 11th career win in 155 events but his first in the series since July 1991, a drought of 65 races.
In the second portion of the doubleheader, Yorktown's Mike Buffkin appeared to have won the 200-lap Late Model Stock Car race but was disqualified during inspection because the combustion chamber of his Pontiac was smaller than rules allow. Buffkin finished 3.2 seconds ahead of North Carolinian Mike Skinner, who was awarded the victory.
Bown's win, his first at Martinsville, was much closer, and much longer in coming. A GN points champion in 1990, Bown posted his last win at New River Valley Speedway in Radford 27 months ago. The drought was the second-longest current winless streak (to Phil Parsons' 77) on the circuit.
Bown, whose team operates out of Horsepasture, overtook Todd Bodine on lap 256 and held off Steve Grissom, the division's points leader, at the finish.
"We've been contenders to win," said Bown, who entered the race with 11 top-10 finishes this year, including a season-best third at Orange County two weeks ago. "Today, we finally broke the ice."
Rain that had dampened the .526-mile track cleared off before the race began, but 12 cautions for a total of 60 laps slowed the event.
Bown started fourth and was cited beforehand as a serious threat by pole-sitter and defending points champion Joe Nemechek.
Nemechek held a commanding lead for the first 124 laps, but when he visited the pits during caution No. 3, he temporarily gave up the lead. In a move to regain the lead, Nemechek collided with Hut Stricklin, and Bodine assumed the lead. All the while, Bown was plotting his strategy and improving his position.
With Nemechek out of contention, Bown turned his attention toward Bodine.
"I made a few attempts at Todd," Bown said, "and finally got around him." As the gap closed, Bodine and Bown touched and Bodine spun out. He finished 11th.
Grissom, the 30th qualifier on Saturday, mounted an impressive effort. With 50 laps done, he had moved to 13th. At the 200-lap mark, he was fifth. When David Green was sandwiched between Bown and Grissom on lap 274 and spun out, Grissom advanced to second and challenged for the lead.
Ernie Irvan made a late rally and briefly held the second position, but he fell back and finished ninth.
Finally, a caution period on laps 296-298 set up a two-lap sprint between Bown and Grissom. Bown prevailed by a car-length and moved into third place in GN points.
Bown's average speed of 71.188 mph set a track race record. Bown's vehicle was the only Pontiac among the first 19 finishers.
Ricky Craven, Ridgeway's Jimmy Hensley and Tom Peck placed third through fifth, respectively.
Nemechek, who finished 14th, and Bodine combined to lead 248 of the 300 laps and tied for the media's Goody's Headache Award.
In the second event consisted of two-100 lap LMSC segments separated by a 10-minute pit stop. David Hyder of Sanford, N.C., dominated the first-half.
Intermission didn't help Hyder, however, as the engine on his Ford failed on lap 106, and Skinner took the lead. Buffkin pursued Skinner for the next 24 laps, passed him on lap 130 and never was headed.
"I ran just as hard as I could," said Buffkin, who was looking at the biggest payday of his career ($10,000 for first place) until the disqualification. "I didn't want to give anybody the opportunity to catch up."
The real race seemed to be for second - but it ultimately determined the winner - as Skinner held off Christiansburg's Ronnie Thomas in a spirited finish.
Although NASCAR officials warned Skinner and Thomas about the periodic banging over the last several laps, each competitor seemed to enjoy it.
"Me and Ronnie had a ball," Skinner said.
"It was just good, hard racing," Thomas added.
Buffkin appeared to gain the most from the Skinner-Thomas competition, as during their battle, he increased his lead.
Buffkin, who raced at South Boston and Langley this season, also owns the car driven by defending champion Joe Gaita, who placed third after a 24th-place start.
Shayne Lockhart's bid to go from first to last to first fell six places short. He was the fastest of 97 qualifiers Friday but was disqualified because of an illegal carburetor. He started 32nd in Saturday's 50-lap qualifying heat and placed fourth, earning the 28th position in Sunday's race. He finished seventh.
By finishing fifth, four places ahead of Paul Radford, Johnny Rumley won the season-long Camaro Junction/Doughton Racing Challenge and won an extra $1,500.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB