Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, August 6, 1994 TAG: 9408090031
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: INDIANAPOLIS LENGTH: Medium
Foyt was on the bubble - and survived. The only man to compete in the 50th and 75th Indianapolis 500s will start the first NASCAR race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 40th position.
1985 Indy 500 champion Danny Sullivan, ignoring the knot in his stomach, drove one of the best laps of his life. He qualified 26th.
Wally Dallenbach, Jr., who spent the days of his boyhood watching his father compete here, cast aside this year's qualifying woes, recovered from a blown engine Thursday and captured the 22nd starting spot.
Terry Labonte was the quickest in the second round, reaching 170.046 mph - the only driver to top 170 mph Friday - to qualify 21st.
Four drivers, including Loy Allen and Stan Fox, drove their cars over the limit and crashed.
And for 32 other drivers, including Dick Trickle, Steve Grissom, Mike Wallace, Robert Pressley, Tim Steele, Davy Jones, Joe Ruttman and Gary Bettenhausen, the day ended in crushing disappointment. All were too slow to make the field.
But no one provided more excitement than Foyt, the 59-year-old racing legend from Houston, Tex. Foyt was 45th fastest after Thursday's first round.
Could a man who has won Indy and Daytona and LeMans in a career unmatched in American auto racing history actually have butterflies about a qualifying session?
``I was nervous as hell,'' Foyt said after a lap of 168.596 mph. ``I should have stood on it a little harder, I guess. I was just trying to get it close and not screw up.''
In the trackside press room, Foyt gave one of the worst interviews of his career. ``They kept wanting to talk and I was trying to listen to qualifying ...'' he said. ``I just didn't want to be bumped out of this thing.''
Sullivan, who was 39th quickest Thursday, also felt the pressure that only Indy can dish out.
``I gotta say, this was as tense as it gets,'' Sullivan said after his lap of 169.214 mph. ``But Indy has that special feeling. There's a mystique here. Qualifying here is never easy. It's always a drama. It will take me awhile to get my heart settled down here.''
At 4 p.m., about an hour after Dallenbach's run, the tension started to show on the track.
Robert Sprague took the green flag and then did a half-spin and pancaked the turn one wall on the driver's side. He was taken to Methodist Hospital with evidence of a concussion.
There Sprague joined Ben Hess, who had a similar accident in turn two during morning practice and also suffered a concussion. Hess was to be held in intensive care overnight.
About 15 minutes after Sprague's crash, Lance Wade did two complete spins in turn three without hitting anything. But his weekend was over.
Immediately after Wade's ruined run, Stan Fox pounded the turn-four wall even before taking the green flag. And Loy Allen spun down the backstretch and hit the inside wall, ending his attempt.
Harry Gant and Lake Speed failed to qualify, but they received the two regular provisional starting spots for the race. Mike Chase, the Winston West points leader, also got a provisional slot, completing the 43-car field that will start the race at 1:15 p.m. today.
WALLACE WINS GN RACE: Mike Wallace, who started last, won the Kroger NASCAR 200 Friday night when the right front tire on race leader Johnny Benson Jr.'s Chevrolet blew with two laps to go.
Wallace won before a record 34,500 fans at Indianapolis Raceway Park, with Tommy Houston second and Mike McLaughlin third.
Wallace picked up his third Busch Grand National win of the year despite starting at the back of the field because of a driver change. Ed Berrier qualified the Chevrolet at IRP while Wallace was at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the afternoon trying, unsuccessfully, to qualify for today's Brickyard 400.
Benson, a rookie on the Grand National tour, took the lead on lap 100 when leaders David Green and Tracy Leslie pitted during a caution period.
The sixth caution of the race waved on lap 173 when Elton Sawyer's car, slowed by traffic, was tapped in the rear by McLaughlin and spun into the wall.
The field bunched up during the yellow, and Wallace took advantage when the green flag waved on lap 181 to jump past Benson into the lead. But Benson got back ahead on lap 192 after the two cars had banged several times.
Benson began to pull away as Wallace became engaged in a battle for second with Houston. Houston was pressuring Wallace when Benson's right front blew as he passed the start-finish line, bringing out a yellow flag.
Wallace and Houston raced back to the finish line, with Wallace leading by a car length, and the race ended under caution.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB