ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, September 28, 1996 TAG: 9609300132
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: AUTO RACING NOTES
DATELINE: NORTH WILKESBORO, N. C.
SOURCE: FROM ASSOCIATED PRESS REPORTS
A 2 1/2-hour rain delay didn't faze Ted Musgrave or Jeff Gordon.
In fact, the cooler temperatures after the interruption probably helped them grab the front-row qualifying spots for Sunday's North Wilkesboro Speedway Winston Cup swan song, the Tyson Holly Farms 400.
Musgrave came up with his first pole since this race last year and the fifth of his career, getting around the historic .625-mile oval at 118.054 mph to take the top qualifying spot for the final Winston Cup race at the track.
``It was well worth waiting for,'' Musgrave said. ``It was anybody's guess how the race track was going to act. When you get cooler temperatures like that, sometimes you get so much grip that the car slows up in the middle of the turns and it can be a disadvantage. But it felt just fine out there.''
As for winning his first pole of the season, Musgrave said, ``It bothered me we hadn't had a pole because both my teammates, Mark Martin and Jeff Burton, had a pole and were already in the Busch Clash. This is a big relief.
``And I'm glad to win the last pole here, too, because now it goes down in the record books. This means a lot more than it did last year here.''
Thirteen drivers remained in line to qualify when rain began falling late Friday afternoon on the track that ran its first NASCAR race in the sanctioning body's inaugural year of 1949.
The track was finally dry enough to continue at 6:02 p.m. EDT, with darkness on the horizon. But the rest of the qualifying was completed in just 14 minutes.
Bobby Hamilton, last week's pole-winner on the half-mile oval at Martinsville, had just turned the fastest lap up to that point, 117.894, when the rain came.
The Chevrolet of Gordon, who won the race at Martinsville and leads the series by 81 points over Terry Labonte, was next in line.
The long delay didn't seem to bother him, as his first lap was 117.937, putting him on top until Musgrave, four cars later, drove his Ford Thunderbird onto the track.
Hamilton's Pontiac wound up third, followed by the Fords of Martin and Ernie Irvan, both at 117.721, and the Pontiac of rookie Johnny Benson Jr. at 117.500.
The top 25 qualifiers locked up starting spots in the 36-car field, with the rest of the lineup to be determined today in second-round qualifying.
TRUCK QUALIFYING: Qualifying for today's Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse 250 NASCAR Craftsman Truck race was suspended by rain and darkness Friday with only five drivers left in line.
Benson, driving in only his third event in the truck series, was on top late Friday afternoon when officials called a halt to the action.
The qualifying session, which followed rain-interrupted time trials for Sunday's Tyson Holly Farms 400 Winston Cup event, was scheduled to be completed this morning.
Benson, driving a Chevrolet, was fastest at 116.611 mph on the .625-mile North Wilkesboro Speedway oval.
Martin, another Winston Cup star driving in only his second truck event, was next at 116.207, followed by defending series champion Mike Skinner and Rodney Combs, both at 115.717, and Bryan Reffner at 115.574.
GRISSOM FINDS RIDE: Steve Grissom, without a Winston Cup ride since mid-season, will drive in 1997 for Larry Hedrick Motorsports.
The announcement was made Friday at North Wilkesboro Speedway, where Ricky Craven will drive the team's Chevrolet Monte Carlo on Sunday in the Tyson Holly Farms 400.
Craven, who earlier this season had talked about buying into the Hedrick team, instead is expected to announce next week he will drive the No.25 car for Hendrick Motorsports next season, replacing Ken Schrader, who reportedly has another ride lined up.
``That says a lot about him,'' Hedrick said. ``Who would you rather hire? Someone who's good and wants a job or someone who is good and is looking for the best deal? Attitude, not aptitude, will gain you an altitude. Steve's got the attitude and I think he'll gain the altitude.''
LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: headshot of Musgraveby CNB