Roanoke Times Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc. DATE: SUNDAY, October 2, 1994 TAG: 9410110076 SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-13 EDITION: METRO SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER DATELINE: NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. LENGTH: Long
``We won't go again,'' Jarrett said Friday. ``We don't have any tires left, and the second day [of qualifying] is a little slower here. We'll just have to wait and see what happens.''
What happened was that Jarrett failed to make today's race. The track, in fact, was faster Saturday. It was the second time this year Jarrett has not qualified for a race. Jarrett's first DNQ (did not qualify) of 1994.
Jarrett's failure to make the field was the biggest shock in an unexpectedly dramatic second round of time trials at the .625-mile track.
``It's hard to understand how three-tenths of a second off the pole speed doesn't make the lineup,'' Jarrett said. (His time of 19.280 seconds was 33rd fastest; pole-winner Jimmy Spencer was clocked at 18.978 seconds).
Jarrett is currently 18th in Winston Cup points, but he could plummet quickly. The next four drivers behind him trail by 78 points or less.
If there was a saving grace for Jarrett, it was that Todd Bodine, only 48 points behind and in 19th place in the championship standings, also failed to make the race.
``That's only the second time in my life I didn't make a race,'' Bodine said. ``The car was good on old tires. Unfortunately, you've got to qualify on new ones.'' Like Jarrett, Bodine had qualified for every event this season until this one.
Assuming the track would be slower Saturday, everyone who was 34th or faster stood on their Friday times, expecting to make the 34-car field. The only drivers who requalified were those who were destined to go home if they didn't try again.
Ward Burton, 39th fastest after Friday's session, jumped to 21st with a lap of 118.321 mph, which would have put him in fourth had he made the same lap Friday.
``The best word for it is relief,'' Burton said.
Harry Gant, who went from 37th to 23rd, had the same feeling.
``Man, you don't know how much of a relief that was,'' Gant said. ``That would have made it awful tough on things Monday [which is Harry Gant Day in his hometown of Taylorsville, N.C.] if I hadn't been in the field.''
Gant had a backup plan if he didn't make it. He was going to try to buy Kyle Petty's ride from relief driver Jimmy Hensley. ``I just needed to be in this starting field, that's all,'' Gant said.
Besides Jarrett and Bodine, the others who didn't make it were Mike Wallace, Loy Allen and Tim Fedewa. The provisional starting spots went to Lake Speed, who dropped from 32nd to 35th, and Morgan Shepherd, who went from 34th to 39th.
``What can you say?'' said Jarrett's crew chief, Jimmy Makar. ``Obviously, a lot of them went a lot faster. It's a shame. We had a pretty good car this morning race-wise.''
DILLON WINS LATE MODEL RACE: Mike Dillon, the son-in-law of Winston Cup car owner Richard Childress, led the final 116 laps to win the Lowe's 150 Late Model Stock Car race Saturday.
Scott Kilby was second, followed by Dennis Setzer, Barry Beggarly and Max Prestwood, Jr.
Dillon, 29, of Clemmons, N.C., won the pole for the race, but outside pole-winner Beggarly passed him on the first lap and led until lap 36.
``That's probably the best thing that could have happened,'' Dillon said. ``I wasn't going to fight for it. I just set back there and rode for awhile.''
All three of Dale Earnhardt's grown children, Dale Jr., Kerry and Kelley, failed to make the race.
THE PERFECT RACE: Two years ago, Geoff Bodine drove a race here that was the NASCAR equivalent of baseball's perfect game.
The 1992 Holly Farms 400 ran from green flag to checkered without a caution period. It was two hours, 19 minutes and 43 seconds of non-stop racing, with Bodine in front most of the way.
``That was an interesting race,'' Bodine said. ``The car was so good and there were no cautions. It wasn't until five laps to go I said anything in the radio. I asked where Mark [Martin] was. I just drove, never talked. That's the only race I've ever done that in.
``You're thinking as you're going, `Boy, the race fans are going to be bored with this.' But the way the car went and the way I drove, I was thinking during the race, `I hope race fans are watching. Because this is like ballet.'
``I could go anywhere,'' Bodine said. ``I could go inside, outside. If somebody got in front of me on the inside, I could go around them. If they got high, I'd go under them. I could go anywhere I wanted.''
A caution-free race is a rarity in modern NASCAR racing. Since the modern era began in 1972, there have been only six - two at Riverside, two at Michigan, one at Texas World Speedway and the one here.
Before Bodine's non-stop victory, the most recent caution-free race was Darrell Waltrip's victory at Michigan in August, 1984.
by CNB