Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, August 5, 1994                   TAG: 9408050103
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B-7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: INDIANAPOLIS                                LENGTH: Medium

FOR MAST'S FAMILY, IT WAS WORTH WAIT

At 3:31 p.m. local time, Mast had established the top qualifying speed for the Brickyard 400 at 172.414 mph in his Ford Thunderbird.

After that, however, the Masts and other guests had nothing to do but wait and watch while 57 other drivers did their best to beat him.

And a few minutes after 5 p.m., when Jeff Gordon went out to qualify after establishing the fastest speed in morning practice, ``I was just about to have a heart attack,'' said Ricky Mast.

``My stomach still hurts,'' Sharon Mast said long after it was over.

``When Gordon came out, we all held hands,'' said Ricky. And after Gordon's run, it took a few seconds for his time and speed to be posted.

``I was saying, `C'mon, c'mon, show the time!''' Ricky said. ``And then they showed it and we all started screaming and jumping up and down.'' They knew that no one after Gordon posed much of a threat.

So off they went back to the garage, only to be stopped by one of the scores of yellow-shirted Indy ``Safety-Patrol'' guards.

Children are not allowed in Gasoline Alley, and it didn't seem to matter that Ricky was the son of the first stock car pole-winner in Indy history.

``The one guy who wouldn't let me in was the one guy in charge,'' said Ricky.

``We finally had to go get [NASCAR pace car driver] Elmo Langley to go out and get him and bring him back in the pace car,'' team publicist Brian Buchauer said.

RELUCTANT HOOSIER USER: Although he may be changing his attitude, Mast has never been a whole-hearted user of Hoosier tires. But his team owner, Richard Jackson, calls the shots. Throughout the day Thursday, the left shoulder of Mast's black uniform had a piece of black masking tape on it. When he pulled it back, a Goodyear decal was revealed.

WRECKS: There were two crashes during practice Thursday morning. Tim Steele hit the wall between turns 1 and 2, and Joe Nemechek pounded the wall in turn 2. Neither was hurt. Each went to a backup car for qualifying. Steele was 42nd fastest, and Nemechek was 21st.

CORRECTION: In a story this week, the Roanoke Times & World-News misconstrued the Wood Brothers family tree. Eddie Wood and Len Wood are the sons of Glen Wood. Leonard Wood has a daughter, Beth, but no sons.

NOT A RECORD: The total of 85 cars entered for the Brickyard 400 is the most for any NASCAR Winston Cup race, but it is not a record, stock car racing historian Greg Fielden says.

``The most cars ever entered was 110 for the race in Ontario in 1972,'' Fielden said. ``And that broke the record of 104 set a year earlier at Ontario.''

The 2.5-mile Ontario Motor Speedway was a carbon copy of Indy but never was a financial success. After being host to races through the 1970s, it was closed after the 1980 season and later was razed.

AMAZING AWARDS: One of the many ways to tell the Brickyard 400 isn't your ordinary NASCAR Winston Cup race is the vast array of special awards.

Among them: The winner gets a $200,000 bonus; the leader of the most laps gets $25,000; the lowest qualifier to lead the race gets $25,000; the leaders at 100, 200, 300 and 400 miles each get $20,000; the fastest qualifier who doesn't make the race gets $5,000; the top starting rookie gets $5,000; the lowest-placed driver still running at the finish gets $5,000; the leader at lap 5 gets $5,000; the leader at lap 78 gets $5,000; the driver who logs the most miles between pit stops gets $5,000; and the driver who demonstrates ``superior safe-driving skills'' (as voted by a panel) gets $5,000.

Keywords:
AUTO RACING