ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, October 19, 1996 TAG: 9610210115
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: AUTO RACING NOTES
DATELINE: ROCKINGHAM, N.C.
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
Buckshot Jones is only 26 years old, but he's been quick to learn effective NASCAR public relations.
He's already got the catchy nickname (his given name is Roy). And he managed to come through with a pole-winning performance on the same day he had a big news conference.
After announcing that his Busch Grand National team has switched from Ford to Pontiac on Friday, Jones went out in his new Pontiac and won the top starting spot for today's AC-Delco 200 Grand National race with a lap of 150.425 mph.
Dale Jarrett, who won the pole for Sunday's Winston Cup race, took the outside pole for today's race with a lap of 150.222 mph.
``Winning the pole is great, but that's already behind us now and winning the race tomorrow is the next and foremost thing in our minds,'' Jones said.
Jones received his nickname from his grandfather years ago. He fell into a table, causing a knot to form on his head. ``I got up and kept running,'' he said. ``And my grandfather said, `That boy is as tough as buckshot.'''
He got into racing after wrecking a couple of the family's vehicles. His dad thought racing would be cheaper.
``But as he got into racing, he found out it wasn't cheaper,'' Jones said.
A 42-car field is scheduled to take the green flag at 2 p.m. today.
In other auto racing news:
GLOVER TO SABATES? As the NASCAR Winston Cup silly season winds down, rumors in the garage have shifted to crew chief changes.
The hottest rumor Friday was that Tony Glover was leaving as crew chief for Sterling Marlin and the No.4 Morgan-McClure Chevrolet team, apparently so he can join car owner Felix Sabates as Robby Gordon's new crew chief. Glover was mum on the subject.
``Today and this weekend, all I'm concentrating on is the 4 car,'' Glover said as he helped push the Chevy toward the NASCAR inspection area before qualifying. ``That's my main concern today and throughout the rest of the season. Next year, it may be a different story.''
Sabates confirmed he has signed a new crew chief for Gordon, but said he couldn't reveal who it is and would not confirm Glover, who reportedly approached Sabates rather than the other way around.
Sabates said he hasn't had to do any recruiting for his crew.
``We've probably had 60 applications and maybe more than that during the last three weeks and we have not approached a single person,'' he said.
DALLENBACH TO SABATES: Wally Dallenbach will be another Sabates convert for 1997. Dallenbach will be driving a Pontiac Grand Prix on a limited schedule of at least 15 races with sponsorship from First Union.
Dallenbach, who has been driving Bud Moore's Ford this year, said he expects to run a full season in 1998.
LENGTH: Medium: 60 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. Winston Cup points leader Jeff Gordon (left) talksby CNBwith Terry Labonte, who trails by just one point, Friday during a
practice session for Sunday's AC-Delco 400 in Rockingham, N.C.