Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 20, 1994 TAG: 9403200137
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By JOHN A. MONTGOMERY SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: MARTINSVILLE LENGTH: Long
It's officially spring. The $148,884 purse will provide an attractive paycheck to the winner. The man to beat is David Green.
Green took the pole for the 300-lap GN portion of the Miller Genuine Draft 500 on Saturday, posting a lap speed of 92.447 mph, more than 1 mph faster than Hermie Sadler, who qualified second at 91.280 mph.
It was the third pole of Green's career and his second in three events. He was the fastest qualifier at Richmond on March 4, the only other short-track GN event this season. Green finished 16th in that race.
"I love Virginia," said the Owensboro, Ky., resident. "She was good to me last year." Green's winnings in four Virginia races last season approached $23,000.
Green finished fourth and seventh in the two GN events at Richmond in 1993. He placed sixth twice last year at Martinsville, and he was contending for the lead in the October race until he collided with Steve Grissom.
This season has not started as well for Green. His Richmond finish was his best in four races, and he stands 20th in points. He completed the 1993 season third in the standings.
Green attributed the showing of his Chevrolet on Saturday to its tires.
"This track is in such good shape it's hard to get hooked up in two laps," he said. "My tires were great today. [Normally] the longer we run, the better it gets."
Green was cautious in his prediction for today.
"Starting up front could give you a false sense of security," he said. "But I'm right on the boundary of having what it takes to win here."
In 64 career starts, Green has won once, in 1991 at Lanier, Ga.
Sadler, whose Chevrolet will be starting on the outside of the front row, posted his lap about an hour before Green. Sadler also loves Virginia; the state's tourism department sponsors the Emporia resident.
"David was the last car I was worried about," Sadler said. "I didn't cut that good of a lap and I could tell by the way he was running that he was getting around the track good."
Sadler is third in the points race, trailing Terry Labonte and Harry Gant, drivers who do not usually run the entire GN season. Sadler missed the qualifying field last week at Atlanta and was forced to buy a ride from the Larry McClure-Sterling Marlin team.
"I did want to win the pole today after what happened in Atlanta," Sadler said. "But second isn't anything to sneeze at."
Sadler also has one GN victory, in October at Orange County. He has finished third at Rockingham and fifth at Richmond this season.
Labonte qualified third (91.095 mph), and Ricky Craven of Newburgh, Maine, and Johnny Benson Jr. of Grand Rapids, Mich., completed the top five.
"I'd never seen this track until we came in this morning, and I had never raced on cement corners before today," said Benson, who took 18 practice laps before qualifying.
Johnny Rumley, the second-fastest qualifier in Friday's Late Model Stock competition, placed eighth in Saturday's GN qualifying. He and Michael Ritch are the only drivers who will compete in both portions of today's doubleheader.
The top 32 GN racers, plus two provisional spots, qualified for today's race. Among those who missed the cut was bass-fishing champion Hank Parker, who took 33 practice laps, more than all but one of the drivers who attempted to qualify.
After the GN qualifying, two 50-lap Late Model Stock heat races were held. The top five finishers plus two provisionals in each race earned a position in today's 200-lap Late Model race, joining the top 20 time-qualifiers Friday.
It was a stellar day for owner/driver Mike Buffkin. He owns the twin teal-and-fuchsia Pontiac Firebirds that won the heats. Buffkin was behind the wheel in the second race; Joe Gaita, who lives four houses from Buffkin in Tabb, won the first 50-lap race.
Neither Buffkin nor Gaita qualified well Friday. Buffkin experienced brake problems, and Gaita bumped the curb in a turn. Their runs were flawless Saturday.
Gaita and Buffkin have been friends for 25 years. Both have won at Martinsville, but they will be starting back in the pack (21st and 22nd, respectively) today.
"It takes so long to pass anybody here, I'm going to run the race the whole way," Buffkin said.
Said Gaita, "I'm going to try to stay out of trouble the first 100 laps, and then in the later stages try to come around and be competitive."
Area race drivers who survived the heats included Dicky Wilson, fourth in the first race; Richard Goodwin, fifth in the second race; and Tink Reedy, who claimed the final provisional position.
Wilson led the first 19 laps of his heat before fading to fourth.
"The car loosened up real bad," Wilson said. "I was hanging on for dear life at the end."
Reedy overcame an early collision in the second heat and was running fifth until lap 44, when Goodwin passed him.
"I moved over," Reedy said. "I knew I had the provisional spot [determined by points]. Plus, that put Dick Goodwin in."
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB