ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, October 5, 1996 TAG: 9610070142
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: AUTO RACING NOTES
DATELINE: CONCORD, N. C.
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
It was only a consolation race, but when you're Dave Marcis and you haven't won in 14 years, seeing any victory lane is a special occasion.
Marcis, six months past his 55th birthday, beat Ron Barfield by 1.27 seconds after leading every lap of the Busch Grand National consolation race Friday at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
``It's been a very, very, very, very, very long time,'' Marcis said. ``It's great to be out front, that's what this sport is all about.''
The race was interrupted on the second lap by a huge, 14-car crash in turn two that involved Jeff Fuller, David Bonnett, Rodney Combs, Elliott Sadler and Dennis Setzer, among others. No one was hurt, but 11 cars were knocked out of the event.
Marcis, who started second in this so-called ``hooligan'' race, took the lead from pole-sitter Barfield on the first lap and fended off several challenges from Jimmy Spencer, who finished third.
``Jimmy made a couple of hard runs at us, but he polished his tires off and that's what it took,'' Marcis noted.
Marcis dedicated the victory to the late Harry Hyde, the veteran NASCAR crew chief and mechanic who died last year, and Ivan Baldwin, a former racer-turned-fabricator who perished in a highway accident last month.
Marcis drove a Ken Schrader-owned Chevrolet, but only after some convincing.
``I didn't want to run it,'' he said. ``I didn't want to take that ride away from a Busch guy. They called back and said they were going to put a Winston Cup guy in that car. They said, `We want you.'''
In other auto racing news:
ALL-PRO 300: A 43-car field will start today's All-Pro 300 at 1:10p.m.
In addition to Marcis, Barfield and Spencer, the other drivers who made it into the event from the consolation dash were Kyle Petty, Tommy Houston, Tim Fedewa, Darrell Lanigan, Mike Wallace, Jeremy Mayfield and Jim Bown.
Jeff Purvis and Jeff Green qualified on their times, but will have to start at the back of the field after crashing in practice Friday. Neither were hurt, but both had to revert to backup cars.
NEW BUSCH SPONSOR: Dale Jarrett announced that Gillette Company's White Rain brand of hair care products will be the primary sponsor of his BGN car in a limited, 14-race schedule in 1997 and 1998.
LENGTH: Medium: 53 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP Dale Jarrett (right) confers with crew chief Toddby CNBParrott during Friday's practice session for today's Auto Parts 300
at Charlotte Motor Speedway.