Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 17, 1994 TAG: 9408100026
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LONG POND, PA. LENGTH: Long
At the end of the second round of time trials for today's Miller 500 at Pocono International Raceway, Spencer's fate in making or missing the event was in the hands of Jimmy Hensley.
If Hensley went fast enough to make the field on his speed, Spencer was out. If he didn't, Spencer received a provisional starting spot.
Hensley didn't know this at the time. He joked afterwards that had he known Spencer's fate hinged on his run, he would have found the extra speed.
But Hensley's qualifying speed of 159.269 miles per hour was too slow - about a tenth of a second too slow - and left him 41st fastest for a 40-car field.
``I ran it hard,'' Hensley said. ``We just really haven't been very fast since we've been here.''
Said Spencer: ``I just thank Jimmy Hensley for not going fast enough to make the race. It's a bad thing to say. But we lost our best car (in a Friday qualifying crash) and maybe I tried too hard today.''
Spencer was 43rd fastest after the second round of time trials.
``This is the first time this year I've been on the hot seat,'' he said. ``Now I know how the other guys feel. It's tough. It's a whole different ballgame than it was in the past.''
The other provisional starter will be Michael Waltrip, who plummeted from 38th fastest Friday to 45th fastest Saturday after slowing down more than 1.2 seconds on his lap. Like Hensley, Waltrip and his team simply haven't been able to get their Pontiac up to speed this weekend.
Another driver with a case of nerves during the Saturday qualifying session was Steve Grissom, who decided to stand on his Friday time, which was 34th fastest. By the time the second round was over, Grissom had dropped to 39th.
Asked he if he'd had a mild scare, Grissom said, ``I wouldn't necessarily call that mild. It was getting pretty close there.''
Besides Hensley, those who failed to qualify were Dick Trickle, Phil Parsons and Jerry O'Neil.
LOST WEEKEND - A few hours after sportsman driver Wally Fowler of Campobello, S.C. described his visit to Pocono ``the biggest weekend of my life,'' NASCAR took away his twin victories in sportsman races here.
Fowler took the checkered flag in both the 150-mile race here Saturday and the rain-delayed June event, which was run Thursday. But NASCAR stripped him of both victories and took his winnings of $7,290 after discovering a number of problems with the car's engine.
``The external cylinder head had been cut, the valve angles had been changed and the inside of the combustion chamber had been polished,'' NASCAR spokesman Kevin Triplett said. ``None of those three things are allowed.
``The most obvious violation was the polished combustion chamber, which provides for much more efficient air flow in the engine, and greater horsepower,'' Triplett said.
The illegal engine wasn't found after Thursday's race, he said, because the cars weren't inspected. NASCAR had planned for a post-race inspection after Saturday's race and thus had impounded, but not inspected, the cars after Thursday's event, Triplett said.
Marty Ward, who finished second Saturday, was declared the winner. Jerry Rector was declared the winner of Thursday's race. Saturday's race was marred by five spins or crashes, but all the drivers walked away unhurt.
In other action on the track here Saturday, Jeff Purvis led 32 laps and won the ARCA 150 under the yellow flag over Dick Trickle, Kerry Teague, Bob Schacht and Bobby Bowsher.
AS THE TIRES TURN: After winning the first four starting positions in today's Miller 500, the Hoosier-shod cars found themselves subject of widespread speculation Saturday that the Indiana tire company might withdraw, or be ordered to withdraw, from the race because of blistering.
But it was just a rumor. There was some blistering, but not on all cars.
Ward Burton, who qualified second, blistered two right rear tires in the final Winston Cup practice Saturday. As for the race, he said, ``I don't know. I'll tell you tomorrow. We got the car to turn, but when it does turn, it eats up the right rear tire.''
``We're not blistering,'' said Jeff Burton, who qualified fourth. He did blister a tire in morning practice, however. ``We got that problem fixed, but to get it fixed, we had to make the car a little tighter than we want it.'' He also lost about three-tenths of a second in lap times, he said.
And pole winner Geoff Bodine said he had no tire problems at all Saturday, despite persistent reports that he blistered a tire in morning practice.
``We haven't had a problem,'' he said. ``Believe me, we have not seen a blister or a chunk out of these tires at all. And we don't anticipate a problem with these tires.''
Still, most Hoosier teams spent the final practice scuffing in sets of tires, which meant they ran several laps on each set. By scuffing the tires, ``you get `em hot and then let them cool and that helps cure them'' and makes them tougher, Rick Mast said.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB