ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, March 31, 1996 TAG: 9604010132
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B4 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: AUTO RACING NOTES
DATELINE: BRISTOL, TENN.
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
The bitter pill of failure was dispensed liberally at Bristol International Raceway on Saturday in the second round of time trials for today's Food City 500.
Johnny Benson, John Andretti, Mike Wallace, Bobby Hillin, Dave Marcis and Chuck Bown headed home early. All were too slow to make the race, and did not have enough owner points to earn a provisional starting spot.
``It's one of those deals,'' Benson said. ``We all hate to see it happen. Everybody on the Bahari team did the best they could, I did the best I could, but we just wound up a little short.''
``I'm not sure what it is,'' he said. ``Maybe we can go test some place and find out. The car was pushing and loose both and we couldn't fix it.''
Benson, who won the pole at Atlanta, was 37th fastest for a 32-car field.
Andretti had been 32nd fastest, but he slipped to 33rd - and fell out of the show - when Dick Trickle managed to boost himself from 43rd to 29th. Ten other cars also participated in the second round, but all went slower than they did on Friday.
Provisional starting spots went to Steve Grissom (34th fastest), Kyle Petty (36th), Jeremy Mayfield (38th), Jeff Burton (41st) and Bill Elliott (43rd), who took the provisional starting spot available to past champions.
MAST FALLS ILL: Grand National driver David Green agreed to drive in relief for Rick Mast if Mast needs help in today's race. The driver from Rockbridge Baths, Va., came down with a severe case of stomach flu on Saturday but is expected to start today.
INGLE TO RACE: Bill Ingle, crew chief for Steve Grissom and the No.29 Diamond Ridge Motorsports Chevrolet, announced that he'll return to the track as a driver in the Grand National race at Hickory, N.C., next Saturday.
Ingle, 39, left as Ricky Rudd's crew chief at the end of the 1995 season to join car owner Gary Bechtel's team after Bechtel offered him the opportunity to drive in a few races.
``We've tested the car a couple of times, and I still haven't gotten my timing all the way back,'' he said. ``We're not that far off [on lap speeds], so hopefully we'll get in the race.''
But that's one of NASCAR's biggest challenges these days, especially in the Grand National series. Eleven drivers failed to make Saturday's race.
Ingle last raced in 1988, when he crashed at Daytona and was injured seriously. He has competed in seven Grand National races in his career.
NEW FACES: When Jeff Hammond rejoined Darrell Waltrip's team last week as team manager, he was greeted with a sea of new faces at the shop in Concord, N.C.
``There's not one person on this team who was here when I was here before,'' he said. ``I've got to re-learn the people, but I think the way we qualified [3rd] on Friday shows there's some good people working on this team.
``This is a long-term situation we've entered into, and it might take us three or four races to get everything sorted out.''
NEW SPONSOR: The Cape Canaveral Cruise Line announced that it will sponsor Todd Bodine's Chevrolet Monte Carlo in the full-season campaign in the Grand National series. Veteran engine builder Ron Neal is the car owner.
LENGTH: Medium: 63 linesby CNB