Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, October 29, 1995 TAG: 9510310038
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-13 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PHOENIX LENGTH: Medium
And he did it in style, too, winning the race by twenty-five-hundredths of a second over Ernie Irvan.
``I tell you, this is great,'' said the 38-year-old driver from Randleman, N.C. ``Everybody stood behind me when we were having our low times and kept me pumped up. And when we were having high times, they kept my head from swelling up.
``Richard Childress [the truck owner] gave me an opportunity that really made a big difference in my career.''
Actually, the low times were few and far between this year for Skinner, who won eight of the 20 truck races and captured the title by 126 points over Joe Ruttman.
Skinner led 89 of the 124 laps and said he went after Saturday's victory because ``you can't win nothing being conservative.''
Irvan, who led 25 laps, said, ``We were pretty close. We actually ran faster at the end, but it wasn't good enough.''
Geoff Bodine was third, followed by Ted Musgrave and Ron Hornaday Jr.
IRVAN CRASHES IN FINAL PRACTICE: Less than 30 minutes after taking second place in the truck race, Irvan was into the wall backward in his Winston Cup car.
The crash occurred in turn 1 early in the final Winston Cup practice session. What happened?
``Go ask Lake Speed,'' Irvan said angrily in the garage as his team scrambled to prepare his backup car.
Speed said he was blending into traffic when he felt a bump and nearly spun.
An Irvan team member said, ``Our favorite driver cut down on Ernie and he hit the wall.''
Irvan will have to start from the rear of the 44-car field in today's race.
EARNHARDT CONFIDENT: Dale Earnhardt usually doesn't make predictions about races, but he seemed to be bubbling with confidence Saturday.
``I've got a lot of confidence that it'll be a good day,'' Earnhardt said. ``We've got a good car for [today]. We've got a good engine combination. I've been begging for it since Martinsville, and they finally got it together.''
SECOND-ROUND QUALIFYING: There will be 44 drivers starting today's Dura Lube 500 Winston Cup race, but one of the most famous won't be among them.
A.J. Foyt Jr. was bumped from the field by Michael Waltrip during the second round of time trials. Foyt ended up 40th fastest for a 38-car field.
``It wasn't the lap I wanted,'' he said. ``I used the car up on the warm-up lap.''
Waltrip and Ron Hornaday Jr. qualified for the race on their speeds, and provisional starting spots went to Todd Bodine, Geoff Bodine, Mike Wallace, Ricky Craven and Winston West regulars Ernie Cope and Doug George.
Besides Foyt, those who missed the show included Chad Little, Mike Bliss and Shane Hall, who was driving Dick Brooks' Pontiac.
LABONTE RE-SIGNS: Terry Labonte and his crew chief, Gary DeHart, have signed five-year contract extensions with car owner Rick Hendrick.
``This is the best team I've ever been with,'' Labonte said. ``We had a three-year deal with a year left on it and we signed a contract for five more years. That really made me feel good knowing Rick wanted to do that.''
Labonte is sixth in points, but in the past 10 races he has earned more points than any other driver.
NEW OWNER: The latest owner of a Winston Cup team, attorney David Blair, dropped by the media room here Saturday to talk about his purchase of the No.27 Ford Thunderbird team with driver Elton Sawyer.
Blair, who is from Batesville, Ark., the same small town where Mark Martin and Bill Davis grew up, said Davis got him started in racing.
``After Bill and Gail [Davis] got involved, I started hanging around the garage,'' he said. ``I just hung around too much. Maybe I was brain-dead. But after 30 years trying lawsuits, I thought maybe I'd try something different.''
Blair said he bought the team because ``I think NASCAR has a great future and I think it's a business opportunity. I believe NASCAR is a solid investment.''
by CNB