Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 16, 1994 TAG: 9402160093
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. LENGTH: Medium
The Winston Cup veteran who's never won a Winston Cup race had little trouble Tuesday winning the pole for Saturday's Goody's 300 with a lap of 184.555 miles per hour in his Pontiac Grand Prix. But when he got to Victory Lane, it was all but deserted.
"We got to Victory Lane, and I never had been to Victory Lane here before, and when I got down there the gates were locked," Waltrip said. "They finally got the keys, and I walked in there and I had always wondered what it would feel like, and there were like two people there.
"I said, `Hey, how y'all doing? My name is Michael, and I'll be receiving some awards. I hope you enjoy it.' Kind of like my whole career, basically, but I don't care."
Waltrip's biggest burden to shoulder is his failure to win a Cup race in 237 starts. Waltrip won two of his seven career GN victories last year, "but it's funny it doesn't seem to matter what I do in this division, it's what I do in Cup."
Still, he's so confident of success in the Goody's 300 that he all but predicted victory.
"I really feel like I'll win this race here on Saturday," he said. "I know what it takes to win it, and I've got a car capable of winning it. When I have that feeling, I very seldom don't [win]."
Ken Schrader was second fastest at 183.812 in a Chevrolet Lumina, followed by Joe Nemechek at 183.737 mph, Harry Gant at 183.602 mph and Joe Bessey at 183.550 mph, all in Chevys.
Also in the top 10 were Ford driver Mark Martin and Chevy driver Dale Earnhardt with identical laps of 183.367 mph, Randy LaJoie in a Chevy at 183.303 mph, Phil Parsons in a Chevy at 182.815 mph and Kenny Wallace in a Ford at 182.730 mph.
"Schrader ran a time that I felt like I could beat if it ran right, and it did," Waltrip said.
Other qualifiers included Hermie Sadler in 12th and Dennis Setzer in 15th.
Sterling Marlin was 22nd fastest in the Chevy owned by Fred Turner of Greensboro, Terry Labonte was 27th fastest and Elton Sawyer of Chesapeake was 48th fastest. Sixty-one drivers made qualifying runs. A second round of qualifying to fill out the 40-car field will be held at 1 p.m. today.
\ HOOSIER RESPONDS: There were no incidents Tuesday, a comforting change from a string of crashes that included Neil Bonnett's fatal crash Friday and Rodney Orr's on Monday.
But Hoosier Tire Company President Bob Newton was feeling the heat, since several Goodyear loyalists, particularly Ernie Irvan, pointed out that all the bad crashes have involved cars on Hoosier tires. The Hoosiers are slightly narrower, and their critics say they are less stable on the track.
But Newton said his tires "absolutely haven't been a factor in what's happening. I think it's been other things."
He cited the gusty winds on the days of the accidents and the soft springs that Cup cars were using during practice for qualifying.
"And we have all the backmarkers," he said. "And when there is a problem, most likely it's going to be from that group."
\ EARNHARDT ON BONNETT: Dale Earnhardt spoke eloquently and at length about Bonnett Tuesday, saying his late friend "was the happiest I had seen him in the last three years" on Friday morning shortly before his fatal crash.
Earnhardt said he never told Bonnett not to get back into a race car, but "I told him he didn't have the confidence to come back at one point."
"You just wonder, why? Why this race? Why this year?" he said. "But that is the side of racing that is there. I live with it. I understand it. I have no problem with it."
In fact, he said, he and his wife, Teresa, have started a new team called Chance, Inc., to field cars for his two sons, 23-year-old Kerry and 21-year-old Dale Jr., and his 19-year-old daughter, Kelly.
"They're going to race, and I'm going to race," he said.
by CNB