Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, October 17, 1994 TAG: 9410190034
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOHN A. MONTGOMERY SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: MARTINSVILLE LENGTH: Medium
Busch Grand National driver Kenny Wallace attributed his win to shock absorbers.
Late Model Stock Car victor Barry Beggarly was simply absorbing shock.
Wallace and Beggarly came from behind to capture their respective portions of the Advance Auto Parts 500 doubleheader at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday afternoon.
Wallace held off a late charge from pole-sitter David Green - who had been passed during a restart - to win his third Busch Series race of 1994. All of Wallace's victories have come since Aug. 26.
It was Wallace's sixth career Busch win and his 11th top-10 finish this season. No other driver has as many. Wallace also edged runner-up Green for the ``Virginia is for lovers'' bonus program, a competition that pays $10,000 to the Busch driver who posts the best finishes in the state.
``What made the difference was that my car just handled a lot better than the others,'' said Wallace, who started 12th in the 36-car field. ``I did most of my passing on the outside.''
Wallace's climb to the front was temporarily delayed on lap 95, when he was sent to the rear for loose sheet metal hanging from his Ford Thunderbird. Several cautions aided Wallace, however, and eventually he slipped past brother Mike Wallace into second, and then passed Green on lap 220 for the lead.
By virtue of finishing second in the 300-lap race, Green expanded his division points lead to 84 over Ricky Craven, who placed eighth, and practically wrapped up the points championship. Only next week's race at Rockingham remains on the 28-date Busch schedule.
Mike Wallace was third, Tim Fedewa fourth, and Chad Little, third in the points race, finished fifth.
Johnny Rumley, who qualified strongly in a bid to win both events, was running fifth in the Busch race when three broken air wrenches sent him back to the pits. Later, an oil leak eliminated Rumley from the race. He placed 25th.
Michael Ritch was involved in the most dramatic event of the day. Ritch's Oldsmobile erupted in flames during a refueling stop on lap 72. Ritch escaped from the inferno unharmed, but two of his crew members were treated at the Martinsville hospital for treatment of burns.
The second event, two 100-lap segments separated by a 10-minute pit stop, saw just two lead changes. Pole-sitter Rumley was passed on lap 37 by Richard Landreth, and soon after the break, Beggarly assumed control.
Beggarly, the Orange County (N.C.) Speedway champion, was clearly surprised to win at Martinsville for the second time in three weeks. He became the first driver to win two LMSC events at Martinsville in the same season.
``I'm in total shock,'' said Beggarly, who started third, moved to second on lap 92, and took the lead on lap 116.
Shayne Lockhart, making just his third career Martinsville start, was the runner-up. Landreth and Rumley placed third and fourth, respectively.
The best showings among area drivers were Roanoke's Tony McGuire (who placed 12th after starting 20th) and Rocky Mount's Rick Sigmon (who climbed from 32nd to finish 14th).
New River Valley Speedway champion Jeff Agnew, who qualified sixth and ran in the top 10 for most of the race, developed engine problems and dropped out after 181 laps. He placed 20th.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB