Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 23, 1995 TAG: 9504250033
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: MARTINSVILLE LENGTH: Medium
What's it going to take for a Ford Thunderbird to win today's Hanes 500 at Martinsville Speedway?
``Hell freezing over,'' said Ray Cooper, Chevrolet's NASCAR publicist.
``About four Chevys falling out of the race,'' said Steve Hmiel, Mark Martin's crew chief. Then he quickly added: ``That's not true, but it makes good copy.''
Actually, Hmiel and other Ford crew chiefs and drivers think the Fords have a decent shot at victory today. And they also think they'd better do it today, because the Chevys are 7-0 and prospects look pretty bleak after Martinsville.
``If Ford is going to win a race, this is the one they're going to win,'' said Ricky Rudd, who starts eighth. ``I don't think there's much separation between the Fords and the Chevys at this track.''
Dale Jarrett, who starts 10th, says this .526-mile track, the slowest in NASCAR's Winston Cup series, is ``certainly a place where the advantage they have doesn't mean quite as much. Handling can make up the difference.''
``But if you've got a Ford hooked up extremely good and a Chevy hooked up exactly the same, the Chevy is going to beat you,'' said Ford driver Rick Mast, who starts 22nd.
Superior aerodynamics usually is cited as the reason the Chevys are unbeaten this year, but Mast has noticed another Chevy advantage.
``The Chevy engine seems to accelerate a lot better than the Ford engine,'' said the driver from Rockbridge Baths. And that's important at Martinsville because of its long straightaways.
If a Ford reaches Victory Lane today, it probably will be driven by Martin, Jarrett, Rudd or Rusty Wallace.
``We're in the best shape we've ever been here,'' Hmiel said.
Martin qualified fifth, even though his run came late in Friday's time trials, a disadvantageous time to run. `'If we don't end up real good, I'll be brokenhearted because this is the best we've ever been here.''
Jarrett has been running well here this weekend, as well; Rudd had the second-fastest Ford in qualifying; and Wallace always is strong at Martinsville, having won three of the past four races here.
Whether it's a Ford or a Chevy or a Pontiac in Victory Lane (Pontiacs driven by Greg Sacks, Bobby Hamilton and Kyle Petty qualified third, sixth and seventh, respectively), the winner will have to avoid trouble for all 500 laps.
``This is a tough place,'' said Chevy driver Bobby Labonte, who won the pole Friday even though the left shoulder he broke at Darlington on March 26 still is mending. ``You can be out there leading for 50 laps, but they all go by you because you used up the tires.
``I think you've got to pace yourself for the first 350 laps and go from there,'' Labonte said. ``And you have to watch it throughout the whole race and be careful and have some good luck to go with it.''
Labonte's speed of 93.308 mph gave Joe Gibbs his first pole position in the Winston Cup series.
Rookie Robert Pressley, whose previous best starting position this year was ninth at Darlington, starts second in another Chevy.
And while Dale Earnhardt only qualified 20th, you can't count him out, especially after his team spent three days testing here this month, capping the session with a full 500-lap run by test driver Jimmy Hensley of Ridgeway.
As usual, 8,000 backstretch general admission seats go on sale at 7:30 a.m. for $30 each. Children ages 6 to 12 are admitted for $5 each.
The race, which starts at noon, will be televised by ESPN on a tape-delayed basis beginning at 3 p.m. WSLC 610 AM will carry the race live on radio.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB