ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, March 18, 1996 TAG: 9603180134
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: MARTINSVILLE
SOURCE: JOHN A. MONTGOMERY SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES
THE CHEVY DRIVER holds off Roanoke's Tony McGuire in the Miller 300.
The opening green flag may have held special St. Patrick's Day significance for pole-sitter Todd Massey, but it was the black-and-white checkered flag after 200 laps that mattered most to Donnie Apple.
Apple won the Miller 300 Late Model Stock Car race at a cool and overcast Martinsville Speedway on Sunday. Not only was it Apple's first win at Martinsville, it was the first race at the track for which he had ever qualified.
``I got pinched before this race,'' said Apple, who was given a pocketful of green [a $25,000 first-place check] in Victory Lane. ``This is a super-good feeling. It's a dream come true. This is the Daytona 500 for [Late Models].''
Apple primarily attributed his win to consistency, but admitted luck was also a factor.
With an event record-setting average speed of 70.762 mph in his Chevrolet, Apple held off Roanoke's Tony McGuire, who finished second, 1.13 seconds behind.
Apple, who qualified seventh in the 36-car field, ran among the top five cars virtually the entire race. He assumed the lead on lap 159, when Nathan Buttke and David Blankenship, fighting for the first position, became entangled on turn 4. They both slowed momentarily, and Apple took advantage.
Apple was not challenged seriously thereafter.
``Our whole plan was to save the car for the second half [of the race],'' Apple said. ``But when Nathan got ahead of me, that was a mistake [on my part]. Then Nathan and David leaned on each other a little bit. It was a lucky move for me, that Nathan went first.
``We ran consistently, and that's why I was able to pull away.''
Buttke and Blankenship, both in Chevrolets, finished third and fifth, respectively. Bugs Hairfield, a winner here in 1994, placed fourth in a Pontiac.
Apple, from Denton, N.C., ranked 24th in points in the mid-Atlantic region in 1995. He ranked fourth in points last year at Caraway Speedway in Asheboro, N.C.
McGuire, who won the Taco Bell 300 at Martinsville last fall when apparent winner Elliott Sadler's vehicle did not pass inspection, was the leader Sunday for 49 laps until Blankenship passed him on lap 155.
``I had my hopes up for a win,'' said McGuire, who posted the third best qualifying time in his Chevrolet. ``I never go into any race looking for second.''
Richard Landreth led the entire first half of the race, overtaking Massey on turn 2 of the first lap. As leader at the 100-lap mark, Landreth picked up a $5,000 check from WDBJ-7 and MainStreet BankGroup. The top seven racers at the break inverted their positions for the start of the second half, putting Greg Edwards temporarily in front.
His lead was short-lived. McGuire, who was sixth at the break, started the second half in second, and took first five laps later. McGuire, who was involved with 10 other cars in an incident that drew a red flag on lap 3, insisted his strategy was not to intentionally finish the first half sixth or seventh.
``I hustled to get back up front as far as I could,'' McGuire said.
Apple finished the first half in fourth place, so when the first seven places were inverted, he held the same position. ``I thought something was wrong,'' Apple said. ``I looked in front of me and the cars were different, and I looked behind me and the cars were different.''
Seventeen cars were still running when the race was completed. Among the drivers who dropped out were Bassett's Ray Young, Floyd's Jeff Agnew and Ridgeway's Rodney Sawyers, all of whom were involved in accidents.
The first 20 starting positions in Sunday's race were established in Saturday qualifying. The next 12 spots were awarded to the top three finishers in four successive 25-lap heats that preceded Sunday's race, and the final four provisional positions were determined from points standings.
The heat winners were B.A. Wilson (Richmond), Scott Riggs (Durham, N.C.), Young, and Mike Porter (Princeton, W.Va.).
Nine caution flags marred the 100 laps of heat racing.
The most dramatic finish in the heats came in the final 25-lapper, when Ashland's Eddie Johnson, running fourth, attempted to spin out Salem's Clay Highberger for third. Instead, Johnson spun himself on turn 4 of the final lap, enabling Highberger to advance.
LENGTH: Medium: 85 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. Donnie Apple of Denton, N.C., celebrates his victoryby CNBSunday in the Miller 300 at Martinsville Speedway. KEYWORDS: AUTO RACING