Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, July 16, 1994 TAG: 9407160054
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LONG POND, PA. LENGTH: Medium
The undermanned Hoosier contingent, led by Geoff Bodine, served notice Friday at Pocono International Raceway that it's ready for another scrap with Goodyear.
Hoosier-shod cars took the first four starting positions for Sunday's Miller 400, with Bodine winning the pole at a speed of 163.869 mph in his Ford Thunderbird.
Rookie Ward Burton, who has failed to qualify for four races this year, won the outside pole with a speed of 163.286 mph in a Chevrolet Lumina. The second row was taken by Hoosier Ford drivers Greg Sacks at 162.825 mph and rookie Jeff Burton at 162.478 mph.
Ernie Irvan was the fastest Goodyear driver, taking the fifth starting spot in his Ford at a speed of 162.470 mph.
Also in the top 10 were Ricky Rudd in a Ford at 162.338 mph, Jeff Gordon in a Chevy at 162.256 mph, rookie Loy Allen in a Hoosier-equipped Ford at 162.124 mph, Ken Schrader in a Chevy at 162.118 mph and Rusty Wallace, who won the race here last month, in a Ford at 162.107 mph.
Bodine said his Hoosier tires "worked well right from the first time on the track" Friday.
"I knew we had something good, something that was going to let us be competitive this weekend instead of looking like rookies."
As it became clear that the Hoosier cars were going to dominate this qualifying session, the grumbling spread through the Goodyear camp. The primary allegation was that the Hoosier tire was soft enough to run a fast lap or two but wouldn't be strong enough to hold up during the long runs on this 2.5-mile trioval.
But even before the question could be asked, Bodine answered it.
"This is not a gumball, trick qualifying tire," he said. "I've already heard it. This tire will go the distance."
"This is a compound we know is going to last. Actually, it gets better [during a run]. Our fastest lap [in practice] today was on tires that had six laps on them. We believe the Hoosier tire is the tire you need to be on this weekend. The guys who have tried both [Goodyear and Hoosier] back to back say there's four-tenths [of a second] difference."
Hoosier cars have won five poles this year (Bodine has two and Allen three), but they have only one non-points race victory - Bodine's win in The Winston Select.
"We've had some good days, and we've had some bad ones, too, this year," Bodine said. "This tire is what we needed at Bristol, Darlington, Martinsville, Wilkesboro - even here at Pocono for the first race."
Ward Burton, however, didn't sound as convinced about the reliability of the Hoosiers.
"I hope they haven't gone overboard," he said. "I hope they'll be there Sunday, too."
Meanwhile, Jimmy Spencer crashed his Ford hard into the outer and inner walls in turn 3 during his qualifying run. He was unhurt but will have to try to qualify a backup car in today's second round of time trials at 10:30 a.m.
"All I know is I went in the corner and just lost it," Spencer said. "It's nobody's problem but mine. I had a good lap going."
Kyle Petty blew his Pontiac engine during his qualifying run but still finished the lap, which was 35th fastest.
Also, by running 21st fastest in qualifying, Wally Dallenbach went a long way toward stemming the current crisis on the No. 43 Pontiac team owned by Richard Petty, which had missed three straight races.
And in a seat-hop showdown, veteran Derrike Cope outdueled rookie Jeremy Mayfield. Cope was 25th-fastest in Mayfield's old ride - T.W. Taylor's Ford - and Mayfield was 40th in Cope's old ride - the No. 98 Ford owned by Cale Yarborough.
Besides Mayfield, those at the bottom of the lineup, from 41st down, were Dick Trickle, Mike Wallace, Jimmy Hensley, Phil Parsons and Spencer.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB