Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, September 24, 1995 TAG: 9509250111
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: MARTINSVILLE LENGTH: Medium
``It's frustrating because everything was building toward the biggest weekend this place has probably ever seen, but when you get weather like this, there's nothing you can do about it,'' track president Clay Campbell said Saturday evening as the sun was setting on the second rainy day in a row.
Although both the NASCAR trucks and Winston Cup cars were able to practice both Friday and Saturday morning, all of the qualifying sessions and Saturday's Goody's 150 SuperTruck race were stopped by rain.
The truck race was rescheduled for 10 a.m. Monday, but it will run without Ernie Irvan, who had planned to make his comeback here after a 13-month recovery from head injuries suffered in a near-fatal racing accident last year.
Irvan did not make the race under the NASCAR rules used to set the field when qualifying is canceled. He had to reschedule his comeback for next Saturday's truck race at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
Meanwhile, the 36-car field for today's race was set by car owner points, with Jeff Gordon on the pole and Dale Earnhardt on the outside of the first row.
``We've got a brand new car for this race, and I think we'll be in good shape,'' Gordon said. ``We haven't had a chance to make too many laps, so it's hard to say exactly how it's going to be.''
Everyone else, of course, is in the same position as Gordon.
Although there was a 45-minute practice Saturday morning, perhaps two-thirds of the teams were still trying to get dialed in for the qualifying that never happened, and had not changed to a race set-up.
Besides Irvan, the biggest losers because of the rain were Dave Marcis, Greg Sacks, Bobby Hillin, Kenny Wallace, Rich Bickle and Jimmy Hensley, all of whom failed to make the field. Hensley, 49, who is from nearby Horsepasture, is a local favorite.
``We need the rain bad,'' Hensley said. ``The timing is not real great right now on race weekend, but you really can't complain about the rain because we certainly need it.''
A previous bout of bad weather here gave Hensley one of his greatest racing moments. When Hurricane Hugo hit in 1989, Dale Earnhardt couldn't get to the track for qualifying. Hensley jumped in at the last minute and put Earnhardt's car on the pole.
``I need something like that to happen right now,'' said Hensley. ``I've been getting kicked around a little bit. That's why I might go back over to the SuperTruck series.
``Of course, everybody's goal is to go Winston Cup racing. The way I've been treated here the last few years kind of works on you. I started off with the 32 car this year. I helped the 77 test one time. I stood by for Kyle Petty when he was sick. I've been in the 31 car, 22 car, stood by for Darrell Waltrip when he got hurt and ran a couple of races for him. I tested for Richard Childress a couple of times. I drove a truck for one race and tested some with that.
``It's not that I'm not busy,'' Hensley said. ``It's just that I don't know where I'm going to be from day to day. I kind of want to go somewhere I might have a little more security.''
Hensley was set to try to qualify Alan Dillard's No.31 Chevrolet, but the rain left him one of the odd men out.
The race is scheduled to start at 12:40 p.m. and will be telecast live by ESPN. The forecast calls for partly cloudy skies and temperatures in the 60s, but then that's what was forecast for Saturday.
``I really get frustrated because you put all this hard work into it, and then you get rain,'' said Campbell. ``But it's just a race. There's a lot of things a lot worse than getting rained out.''
by CNB