ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, May 20, 1996 TAG: 9605200147
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: CONCORD, N.C.
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
MICHAEL WALTRIP credits the Wood Brothers for putting him in Victory Lane for the first time on the Winston Cup circuit. Winston Select triumph at Charlotte Motor Speedway was who surrounded him in Victory Lane.
For Michael Waltrip, the real treasure in Saturday night's It was the Wood Brothers. Glen and Leonard Wood, and Len and Eddie Wood - the legendary Wood Brothers team from Stuart, Va.
The Wood Brothers gave stock car racing the modern pit stop. They turned the wrenches on the Fords that David Pearson drove to some of the most dramatic NASCAR victories two decades ago.
And now they gave Michael Waltrip the car he needed to break his personal jinx as the longest non-winner in the Winston Cup series.
``I'm standing in Victory Lane, and I've just won a race for the Wood Brothers,'' Waltrip said. ``If you was a kid growing up wanting to be a race car driver, well you know it doesn't get a whole lot better than that.''
It was a big lift for the Woods, too, who hadn't won since 1993.
``After you've been around as long as we have, the only thing that excites you is a win, and we are definitely excited,'' Glen Wood said.
Waltrip's 1.052-second victory over Rusty Wallace was improbable, if not dramatic. But the drama Saturday night was that it was Michael Waltrip winning.
He has spent more than a decade plying his trade without success in the high-profile world of the Winston Cup series.
Waltrip was drawing strength from his victory in the Busch Grand National race here in 1993, in which he held off Ernie Irvan.
``I just reminded myself what I had accomplished with Ernie right behind me,'' he said. ``I told myself, `You did it once. You outran Ernie. Just be smooth and be steady. You can outrun these cats.' And I did.''
Still, this wasn't supposed to happen.
``In the minds of many, and me included, I don't think I ever said coming over here that I was going to win it,'' he said. ``If I did, I was lying.
``And I was never happy with the car, ever. It was terrible in the Open and little better in the first segment. But I'll be darned if they didn't fix it.''
It was one of those strange occurrences in racing. Waltrip barely made the main show, taking the last spot with his fifth-place finish in the Winston Select Open. After the Open, they had changed spring rubbers, widened the fenders, taken wedge out, raised the track bar and changed tire pressure, all to no avail.
They made some more changes after the first segment. ``And that wasn't any good, either,'' Waltrip said.
At that point, Waltrip more or less threw up his hands and left it up to the Woods.
``So for the last segment, we put a [spring] rubber in the left front, and if I'm not mistaken changed the air pressure and changed the track bar again,'' Waltrip said.
Bingo.
``It was awesome,'' Waltrip said.
But even as everyone celebrated for Waltrip, there was a strong undercurrent of discontent from the Chevy teams.
``It's over next week,'' Sterling Marlin said, referring to Chevy's chances in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte. ``We were loose all night. I couldn't drive it. The Fords would just drive by us and check out. It's so far out of kilter now.''
Said Chevy car owner Rick Hendrick: ``I guess we're going to see a Ford IROC race next Sunday.''
Waltrip was invited to respond.
``I'm not a big enough name or a good enough driver to be gettin' my dog in that fight,'' he said. ``I'll just take my $211,000 and go home.''
LENGTH: Medium: 79 lines KEYWORDS: AUTO RACINGby CNB