ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, June 17, 1996 TAG: 9606180057
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: AUTO RACING NOTES
DATELINE: LONG POND, PA.
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
Even though Jeff Gordon continues to hog Victory Lane in the Winston Cup series this year, a couple of drivers took great comfort in their finishes Sunday at Pocono International Raceway because they so badly needed a good performance.
Geoff Bodine's third-place finish in the UAW-GM 500 easily was his best of the year. And Morgan Shepherd's sixth-place run, with new crew chief Gere Kennon at the helm, not only was his best of the year but was the first time he's finished better than 20th in almost three months.
``That's like a transfusion for us,'' Bodine said. ``We needed this. We needed a good run and a good finish. Eventually [poor finishes] wear you down and you can't survive. But we've survived, and we're back. The last year-and-a-half has been pretty agonizing for us.''
Shepherd gave Kennon, a former Jack Roush crew member, much of the credit for his strong showing.
``We've got a new crew chief on board and it made a difference of pulling this team together,'' he said. ``The strength was there, it just needed to get organized and Gere is doing the job. To run like we had been running just tore my heart out. My heart's back in place now.''
Said Kennon: ``They've got a good, young team here. I want to be here and they're interested in having me. I brought some experience over here. Maybe that was the key. But it worked right off the bat.''
EARNHARDT OUT EARLY: He's still leading the points race, but Dale Earnhardt had his first DNF of the season, losing an engine and finishing 32nd.
It was only the third time this year Earnhardt finished out of the top five.
``Maybe this will be our one [DNF] for the year,`` Earnhardt said. ``I think we just dropped a valve down on the piston and messed it up. We came down pit road to see if we could do anything to it, and it locked up.''
JARRETT'S BAD WEEKEND: Dale Jarrett did not need a relief driver Sunday. His car broke before he did.
Jarrett wheeled his Ford to the garage after 37 of the 200 laps. He had a broken crankshaft. It was a final indignity from a race weekend that left him with a fractured rib and a slight leg fracture after a crash during qualifying Friday.
``I was as comfortable in the car as I would have been just sitting around,'' he said. ``I think I could have run all day. But a crankshaft bolt on the front of the block broke, slung off the power-steering belt and broke something in the motor.
``It's been a long, tough weekend and we certainly didn't need something like this to happen.''
Jarrett finished 38th in the 41-car field.
MOVING UP: Gordon failed to finish the season's first two races, but he's been on a roll since then.
With his fifth victory Sunday, Gordon moved to 64 points behind Earnhardt, the Winston Cup championship leader. Gordon is third in points and is 12 behind Terry Labonte.
Gordon also became the first driver to top the $1 million mark in winnings this year. His total reached $1,069,482.
FOUR YELLOWS: The yellow flag flew only four times Sunday. There were only three crashes, all involving two cars.
Bobby Labonte smashed the turn 3 wall and Joe Nemechek spun after they collided on lap 2. Ernie Irvan lost control and hit the wall in turn 3 on lap 28, then was struck by Brett Bodine.
And Lake Speed hit the wall in turn 1 while Ricky Craven spun to avoid him.
None of the drivers was injured, although when Speed returned to the garage, he said he already was getting sore.
``I got my neck stretched pretty good, but there is nothing broken or anything like that,'' Speed said. ``You get pretty sore after an impact like that.''
MAST BLOWS ENGINE: Rick Mast's endless struggle with the 1996 season continues. He retired on lap 180 with a blown engine and finished 28th.
``We finally lost a cylinder there at the end,'' he said. ``The motor started souring with about 50 laps to go.''
LENGTH: Medium: 84 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP Jeff Gordon celebrates in Victory Lane after theby CNBUAW-GM Teamwork 500, his fifth triumph of the Winston Cup season.