ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, May 12, 1996 TAG: 9605130178
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C7 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: MONROE, WASH.
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
Open-wheel champion Mike Bliss refused to be rattled by the last charge of Ron Hornaday Jr., and hung on Saturday to win his second NASCAR Craftsman Truck series race.
They exchanged the lead twice in the final seven laps of the $275,175 Jerr-Dan/Nelson Truck Equipment 200 at Evergreen Speedway.
Bliss, who had dominated the 129-mile race in a Ford from his outside front-row starting position, watched a second-and-a-half lead disappear with the finish in sight. Hornaday, who'd beaten the former USAC Silver Crown champion a week ago at Portland, caught and passed Bliss on the 193rd of 200 turns around the .646-mile oval.
But Hornaday, the defending champion, couldn't make the pass stick. Bliss battled back on lap 195, retaking the lead for good on the third turn. He beat Hornaday's Chevrolet by .392 seconds for his second Craftsman Truck victory, worth $37,675.
The winning average speed was a record 81.286 mph.
Jimmy Hensley, of Horsepasture, finished seventh and collected $5,050.
Hornaday was followed to the checkered flag by Dan Press in a Chevy. Rich Bickle, who became the first Dodge driver to lead a lap in 1996, drove Richard Petty's truck to a fourth-place finish, just ahead of the Chevy of defending series champion Mike Skinner.
LENGTH: Short : 36 lines KEYWORDS: AUTO RACINGby CNB