Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 13, 1994 TAG: 9402130157
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. LENGTH: Medium
Unheralded rookie Loy Allen Jr. upstaged the Winston Cup veterans and achieved one of the biggest upsets in recent NASCAR history Saturday by winning the top starting spot for next Sunday's Daytona 500.
He is the first rookie to win the Daytona 500 pole.
Driving the Hooters Ford Thunderbird and riding on a new set of Hoosier tires, the 27-year-old from Raleigh, N.C., circled the 2.5-mile speedway at a speed of 190.158 mph to win his first pole in only his sixth Winston Cup race.
Dale Earnhardt won the outside pole in his Chevrolet Lumina with a speed of 190.034 mph.
In Daytona 500 qualifying, only those two starting spots are set for the race. The rest of the field is set after the Twin 125 qualifying races on Thursday.
"I can't believe it," Allen said after qualifying. "I can't believe it."
Each driver takes two laps in time trials. Allen's first lap was only fourth quickest. On the second lap, he was faster than any previous driver on all parts of the high-banked track.
"The second lap really felt good because the car really stuck to the bottom of the track, especially in turns three and four," he said. "I knew it was a good lap, but I really didn't know it was the pole because things are so close."
Behind Allen and Earnhardt, Ernie Irvan was third fastest in a Ford at 189.901 mph. Sterling Marlin was fourth in a Chevy at 189.765 mph. Greg Sacks was fifth at 189.677 mph.
Also in the top 10 were Darrell Waltrip in a Chevy at 189.020 mph, Mark Martin in a Ford at 188.671 mph, Ted Musgrave in a Ford at 188.573 mph, Todd Bodine in a Ford at 188.478 mph and Ricky Rudd in a Ford at 188.391 mph.
In addition to Allen, Sacks and Waltrip were on Hoosier tires. The rest of the top 10 were on Goodyears. Nearly all the drivers were slower in qualifying than they have been in practice the past two days, but that is common at Daytona.
"My hat's off to Loy Allen," Earnhardt said. "A lot of people might have been surprised, but I knew he'd be fast. I hate he got the pole. I really wanted it. But the guy who started second won it last year [Dale Jarrett], so maybe that's the place to start."
Rudd, in his first race with his own team, was delighted with his run, but he was even more excited about next Sunday's race.
"This car is going to race real well," he said. "That's what I'm happy about."
Six other rookies were among the 55 drivers who made qualifying runs. None of the other rookies was even close to Allen. Jeff Burton was second best at 34th, followed by Steve Grissom (37th), John Andretti (46th), Joe Nemechek (49th), Ward Burton (51st) and Rick Carelli (53rd).
Allen is the second youngest driver to win the 500 pole. Rudd was 26 when he won it in 1983.
"We knew we had some good testing yesterday [he was second-fastest in one session], but you never know in Winston Cup racing exactly where everybody stands until qualifying," Allen said. "The Hoosier tires worked out a lot. They were a couple or three-tenths [of a second] faster the whole time we've been down here."
Allen started his racing career in go-carts and began racing short-track stock cars in 1983. Until he arrived at Daytona for the ARCA race in 1992, he had never been on a track longer than five-eighths of a mile. He promptly won the pole for that ARCA race.
Allen also sits on the pole for today's ARCA 200 after qualifying at 190.219 mph Friday - a tick faster than his Winston Cup qualifying speed. In the four Daytona races he has entered, he has won a front-row starting spot each time. Last year, he finished second in the ARCA 200.
Today's schedule features the Busch Clash at noon - a 50-mile sprint race run in two 10-lap segments. After the first segment, the 13-car field will be inverted, with the driver in first going to the back of the pack. Ken Schrader starts on the pole, and P.J. Jones is on the outside of the front row.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB