Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, June 18, 1995 TAG: 9506210029
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: E-9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: TOM HIGGINS KNIGHT-RIDDER/TRIBUNE
DATELINE: BROOKLYN, MICH. LENGTH: Medium
New asphalt pavement on a speedway plus a high temperature usually equal a slick race track.
To the concern of some NASCAR Winston Cup drivers, that is the prospect today at Michigan International Speedway, where the Miller Genuine Draft 400 is to start at 1 p.m.
The two-mile oval has been completely repaved, with the work being finished in early May. Today's weather forecast for this area, about 65 miles southwest of Detroit, is for a high temperature of 92 degrees.
``We're definitely keeping an eye on the situation,'' said Jeff Gordon, who put the Hendrick Motorsports team's No.24 Chevrolet on the pole Friday with a lap of 186.611 mph, a track record by 5.529 mph. ``When the weather gets hot and muggy it does things to race tracks, and you have to adjust your car's chassis setup to match it.
``It's pretty slick already when you get out of the groove. I got my right-front tire out of it a couple times in practice before qualifying and that's no fun.
``Through qualifying it was still a one-groove race track. Everybody is hoping that the ARCA race Saturday afternoon [the Meijer/All Sport 200 won by Jeff Purvis] will help bring in another groove. If that happens, then we'll have a great race [today], lots of side-by-side racing.''
Gordon, the 1995 Winston Cup leader in victories with three, is considered one of the NASCAR drivers who does well on slick tracks.
The master is Dale Earnhardt, the seven-time Winston Cup champion who starts his Chevrolet seventh in the 42-car field.
The smooth, new asphalt on the track owned by motorsports mogul Roger Penske enabled 31 drivers overall in first-round trials on Friday to better the previous track record of 181.082 mph, set in August 1994 by Ford's Geoff Bodine.
Ten more drivers whipped the old record in second-round qualifying Saturday, led by John Andretti at 183.838 mph in a Ford to grab the 21st starting position.
Ricky Rudd, winner of the June 400-miler here in 1993, lines up alongside Gordon in the front row in the Ford he qualified at 185.152 mph. Rudd is seeking to extend his record of winning at least one race per season to 13 years.
Completing the top 10 qualifiers: Sterling Marlin, Chevy; Mark Martin, Ford; Rusty Wallace, Ford; Ted Musgrave, Ford; Earnhardt, Chevy; Dick Trickle, Ford; Jeremy Mayfield, Ford; and Lake Speed, Ford.
Earnhardt leads Marlin by 77 points in pursuit of an eighth Winston Cup title going into the 14th of the season's 31 races.
Wallace, the 400's defending champion, is another driver who handles slick conditions well.
``I think we're in great shape,'' Wallace said Saturday. ``We've got the same car - the `Captain,' named for Roger Penske - that we came from 24th to first with in the Coca-Cola 600 [on May 28] at Charlotte before getting wrecked. The car has been rebuilt and is running fine. We dominated with this car up here last June and there's a possibility we can run that well again.''
Musgrave has been the focus of attention recently with finishes of second twice, third twice and sixth twice in his past eight starts. His average finish in the past six Winston Cup events is 6.5, the best of any driver.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB