ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, May 5, 1996 TAG: 9605070013
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-7 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: PORTLAND, ORE.
SOURCE: Associated Press
Ron Hornaday Jr. outraced local favorite Mike Bliss following a late caution period to win the Craftsman 200 NASCAR Truck Series race Saturday at Portland Speedway.
Hornaday, who started 11th, wasted little time driving his Chevrolet to the front and held a lead of more than a second over Bliss' Ford when the last of seven caution flags waved with 13 of 200 laps remaining.
Bliss, a former USAC Silver Crown champion who resides in the Portland suburb of Milwaukie, restarted on Hornaday's rear bumper but was unable to pass in the leader.
The Palmdale, Calif., driver had a 0.664-second cushion at the finish, winning for the seventh time in the series. Hornaday, who averaged a track-record 64.217 mph for the 100 miles, won a career-best $36,375 and took over the lead in the driver standings from Jack Sprague, who finished eighth.
Last year's Portland winner, Mike Skinner, was passed by Hornaday for the lead on the 40th lap and went on to finish third, less than a truck-length ahead of Bill Sedgwick. Both were driving Chevys.
Butch Miller was fifth in a Ford, followed by Rick Carelli, Brian Reffner, Sprague and Joe Ruttman.
Jimmy Hensley of Horsepasture, Va., drove the top-finishing Dodge, coming in 10th after starting eighth.
Hornaday headed to Sonoma, Calif., for today's Winston Cup race in Sears Point, where he's filling in for injured Ricky Craven. Hornaday qualified the Craven car third in the field.
LENGTH: Short : 39 lines KEYWORDS: AUTO RACINGby CNB