ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, April 19, 1996 TAG: 9604190020
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
Rusty Wallace says one of the main secrets to mastering Martinsville Speedway is preserving the brakes on his Ford Thunderbird.
And to do that, ``you've got to work like crazy,'' Wallace said. His masterful work has produced victories in the past three spring races at the short track.
``Whenever you've got enough distance that you can breathe the brakes, you've got to do it,'' he said. ``It's not technology; it's driving style.
``If there aren't any cars right on your trail, you've got to get off the gas at the start-finish line and start coasting in. And when somebody gets on your butt, you take off again. I do that all the time.
``Brakes are important, but driving style is more important,'' he said. ``You cannot go out there and run as hard as you can every lap. You've got to get out of the gas and coast that thing in the corner. That's how you've got to drive the place.''
Of course, Wallace won't be coasting into any of the turns during the first round of qualifying for Sunday's Goody's 500. The pole position and first 25 starting spots will be decided during the session, which begins at 3 p.m. today.
If there is any chink in Wallace's armor at Martinsville, it is qualifying. He often has trouble getting the lap speed he thinks he should be capable of reaching. And it doesn't take much to be slow.
``I was listening to Terry Labonte on the radio recently and he said, `I can go out now and qualify on the pole or qualify 25th and can't tell a bit of difference in the car,''' Wallace said. ``But this qualifying thing is just getting to be a killer. I'm a notoriously bad qualifier, and I'm working really hard on that. But the race setups are usually pretty good.
``At Martinsville, track position is very, very important. So you've got to get a good pit spot on the front straightaway and get good pit stops. But above all, you've got to have a car that handles good.''
Reserved seats - mostly in the lower rows - are available for the Goody's 500, which begins at 1 p.m. Sunday. Those tickets cost $35 and $40 each, depending on location. As usual, the track will put several thousand unreserved backstretch seats on sale for $30 each at 7:30 a.m. Sunday.
Tickets for today's events, which include a 30-lap Allison Legacy car race, are $10 each, with children under 12 admitted free when accompanied by a paying adult.
Goody's 500 qualifying
First round at Martinsville Speedway, 3 p.m. Tickets are $10, with children 12 and under admitted free with paying adult.
LENGTH: Medium: 55 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: headshot of Wallace KEYWORDS: AUTO RACINGby CNB