ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, September 8, 1996 TAG: 9609090143
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C10 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: LOUDON, N. H.
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
Mike Skinner won the pole for the inaugural NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Pennzoil 200 race at New Hampshire International Speedway by a mere one- thousandth of a second over Steve Park on Saturday.
Skinner's 124.891 mph run in a Chevrolet was good for his fourth pole of the 1996 season. The defending series champion won the circuit's most recent race, Thursday night at Richmond.
``I over-drove the first lap and turned right around and under-drove the second,'' said Skinner, who is seeking his seventh win of the year. ``The wind may have come up a bit, too. It will send you into one corner a little faster, then slow you down a little at the other end.''
Park, who won a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series pole last month at Watkins Glen, N.Y., as a relief driver, drove his Chevrolet around the 1.058-mile superspeedway at 124.887 mph.
They will head a field of 30 in today's $281,964 event of 211.6 miles.
Jack Sprague qualified his Chevrolet third-fastest at 124.834, edging Joe Bessey, also in a Chevrolet, who was clocked at 124.166. Veteran Joe Ruttman had the fastest Ford, qualifying fifth at 124.146.
LENGTH: Short : 33 lines KEYWORDS: AUTO RACINGby CNB