Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, March 13, 1995 TAG: 9503150027
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: HAMPTON, GA. LENGTH: Medium
Jeff Burton, who dropped out after 191 laps with a broken engine, said he and other former Hoosier drivers have been having trouble finding the right chassis setups for Goodyear tires.
As he and his team tried to figure out how to make their ill-handling Ford work better, Jeff told them, ``Y'all can't fix the car because I can't feel what it's doing.''
After dropping out and finishing 33rd, Burton said, ``Most of the guys who were on Hoosiers are having trouble. It's a totally different feel.''
Geoff Bodine, who also dropped out with a failed engine and finished 30th, had trouble with a vibration before his engine failed.
``We made a bunch of pit stops, but the crew couldn't find the problem,'' Bodine said. ``Finally, we brought the car behind the wall and changed numerous suspension components, but it still didn't help.''
A BAD CRASH: Michael Waltrip and Jeremy Mayfield escaped injury in the hardest crash of the afternoon.
Mayfield lost control coming out of turn 2 on lap 149, smacked the outside wall and slowly rolled to a stop in the middle of the track on the backstretch.
``It just broke out from under us,'' Mayfield said.
Behind Mayfield, Waltrip and Jeff Purvis were racing together. Purvis checked up, but neither Waltrip nor his spotter saw Mayfield's disabled car. Waltrip plowed into Mayfield's car, demolishing both vehicles, then slammed into the inside wall. Purvis also was involved.
``Are you all right, Michael?'' a team member asked on the radio moments after the wreck.
``Well, yeah, I'm all right,'' Waltrip replied wearily. ``I just had a real bad hit. I just clobbered him.''
``I didn't know Jeremy had wrecked,'' Waltrip said after the race. ``The car in front of me checked up. I didn't know why. I pulled out. I cleaned his clock. I hit him hard. It was just a terrible weekend.''
OVER BEFORE IT BEGAN: Mike Wallace's race effectively ended before it started.
As the 42-car field came down the front straight toward the green flag that honorary starter Ernie Irvan was waving, Jeff Burton got into Wallace's rear bumper and sent him spinning into the inside wall.
``It was a stupid move that cost us a great run,'' Wallace said. ``The car behind us ran into the back of us. We hadn't even got to the start-finish line yet.I don't know if we'll get back in the race or not.''
Wallace got back into the race, but only went around the track 33 times before his engine failed. Wallace finished 40th.
EARLY SIX-CAR CRASH: The race was 10 laps old when Brett Bodine tapped Steve Kinser in turn 1 and sent Kinser into the wall. A chain-reaction crash ensued and collected Phil Parsons, Jimmy Spencer, Billy Standridge, Dave Marcis and Randy LaJoie.
``Me and Brett just got together going into [turn] 1 there and got me spun around,'' Kinser said. ``It happens once in awhile, but I would like to have had a chance to race a little bit today.''
Kinser took a moment to thank his team for sticking with them. ``If they stay with me, I'm going to make 'em a good race driver,'' he said. ``It's just going to take a little time for me to make the adjustment.''
HENSLEY BREAKS ENGINE: Jimmy Hensley's day ended after 93 laps when smoke emerged from his Ford on the front straight.
``We lost a cylinder or broke the motor or something,'' said the Ridgeway, Va., driver. ``The car was a little tight, but we were hanging on.''
DECENT RACE FOR MAST: After finishing 11th, two laps down, Rick Mast of Rockbridge Baths, Va., said, ``What hurt us was before that first stop, I ran out of gas. I ran out in the first turn and we had to coast back to the pits. I don't know how many spots it cost us, but it hurt us.''
by CNB