Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, September 26, 1995 TAG: 9509260056
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BRUCE STANTON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: MARTINSVILLE LENGTH: Medium
Joe Ruttman felt like Moses when he won the Goody's 150 SuperTruck race Monday at Martinsville Speedway.
Riding in third place on the next-to-last lap, Ruttman found himself in the lead as he took the white flag after leader Geoff Bodine and second-place Mike Skinner tangled in turn 4 on lap 149.
``Basically, the seas parted when I got there,'' Ruttman said of his second victory of the season. ``It was luck. it wasn't any skill. I've lost some like that, so I know how the guys feel.''
The victory enabled Ruttman to pick up 10 points in the SuperTruck standings. He now trails Skinner, the points leader, by 41.
While Ruttman, who drives for owner Ernie Irvan, was enjoying the unforeseen victory, Bodine and Skinner were pointing fingers.
Earlier in the race, Bodine had been spun out by Ron Hornaday Jr., who is third in the points standings. Hornaday had just given up second place to Bodine, then was black-flagged for bumping Bodine from behind and spinning him.
Bodine recovered to take the lead on lap 135, but the tangle with Skinner left him one lap down in 15th place when the race ended. Bodine blamed Skinner and Hornaday for the incidents.
``I'm disappointed with the way those guys drove today,'' said Bodine, who has won races in three divisions at Martinsville - Winston Cup, Busch Grand National and Modified. ``They have good teams and good sponsors, and they don't need to drive like that. They made some dirty moves. They both put me out from behind.
``Bump-and-grind is a part of short tracks, but hitting someone from behind ... that's dirty.''
Skinner, who led all but the last 15 laps, had a different view, hinting there is some animosity between Winston Cup drivers and SuperTruck drivers.
``Well, it was just a short-track deal,'' said Skinner, who has won six of 16 SuperTruck races he has run this season. ``We're here at Martinsville, and it's a real aggressive deal.
``We're trying to win a championship, and some of the guys come in here and race and have nothing to lose and everything to gain, and they're going to be more aggressive. But we'll probably run a couple of Cup races next year, and the shoe will be on the other foot.''
Ruttman started on outside pole and never was worse than third. And it didn't bother him that he won even though he didn't have the ``best truck on the track'' and consistently ran behind Skinner, Hornaday and Bodine.
``A win's a win,'' he said. ``I've lost that way, too, and I can't feel sorry for them."
Bodine was the third of three Winston Cup stars to be knocked out of the race. Darrell Waltrip hit the front-inside wall hard on lap 17 and retired, and Ken Schrader got knocked out when he damaged his truck on lap 39.
Barry Bodine, the 17-year-old son of Geoff Bodine, finished 30th in his SuperTruck debut. He retired on lap 32 after hitting the outside wall on the front stretch, then knocking Rick Carelli into the inside wall.
``This was a rough day,'' Geoff Bodine said. ``I saw Barry get put out, and then I got put out twice.''
TREAD MARKS: An estimated crowd of 5,500 attended the rare Monday race. The event was scheduled for Saturday, but rain forced NASCAR officials to postpone it until Monday. A SuperTruck official expected 20,000 to 30,000 for Saturday's race had Ernie Irvan been able to qualify and had the weather cooperated. ... The next event for Martinsville Speedway is the Taco Bell 300 on Oct.15. The Late Model Stock race features the largest payday for a single race in that division.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB