ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, October 27, 1996 TAG: 9610280155
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-13 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: AUTO RACING NOTES
DATELINE: PHOENIX
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
While his brother Terry was trying to adjust to his broken left hand Saturday, Bobby Labonte was busy busting the track record on his way to the pole position for today's Dura-Lube 500 at Phoenix International Raceway.
``I was driving my guts out,'' said Labonte after capturing the top starting spot with a record-breaking lap of 131.076 mph in his Joe Gibbs-owned Chevrolet Monte Carlo.
As Labonte won his third pole of 1996 (and his third in the past six races), newcomer Mike Skinner jumped all over the one-mile track to capture the outside pole with a speed of 130.695 mph, which also broke the record of 130.020 mph set last year by Bill Elliott. The top six drivers broke the record.
``It was hung out,'' Labonte said of his two-lap run. ``I drove into turn 1 so hard the first lap, I knew I had messed [it] up really bad. The second lap was better. It stuck real good - better than I thought it would. We were tickled to go that fast, but we didn't have any idea we could.''
Terry, meanwhile, adjusting to the constraints created by his damaged hand, qualified 30th. He had been one of the fastest drivers in the morning practice, despite his injury.
``We ran quicker than that in practice and thought we were in pretty good shape,'' Terry said. ``It takes me a couple of laps to get going, and that wasn't a good lap.''
``I almost wrecked on the second lap,'' Skinner said. ``The first lap was a good lap, and I felt like the second lap was going to be better. But the driver was just too overaggressive in [turns] 3 and 4 and the car went sideways.
``It scared the hell out of me, but that's what you've got to do if you want to win the pole.''
Ricky Rudd was third fastest in a Ford Thunderbird at 130.496 mph, followed by Ken Schrader in a Chevy at 130.354 and Dale Jarrett in a Ford at 130.110.
Also in the top 10 were Mark Martin in a Ford at 130.058, Kenny Wallace in a Ford at 129.997, Rick Mast in the fastest Pontiac Grand Prix at 129.992, Rusty Wallace in a Ford at 129.959 and Jeremy Mayfield in a Ford at 129.805.
Jeff Gordon, who trails Winston Cup points leader Terry Labonte by 32 points, qualified 19th. It will be his lowest starting position since he went off 21st at Atlanta in March. And it was the first time in 13 races he had qualified outside of the top 10.
``We've been OK, but we really weren't set up to qualify,'' Gordon said. ``I just couldn't get hold of anything. I don't know where the guys had been coming up with those laps all weekend long. I don't know why we can't get it to go any faster than we did, but we just didn't. We're going to be good in the race.''
All of the Winston Cup regulars made the race in this single round of qualifying. Friday's first round of qualifying was canceled because of high winds and near-sandstorm conditions.
Provisional starting spots went to Ricky Craven, Bobby Hillin, Ward Burton, Hut Stricklin, Lance Hooper and Jeffrey Krogh.
In other auto racing news:
TRUCKS: Jack Sprague passed Johnny Benson on the outside with 14 laps to go in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Phoenix International Raceway and won his fourth race of the year.
``We were pretty evenly matched on horsepower,'' Sprague said. ``I finally got him on the outside and luckily enough won the race.''
Sprague's victory moved him to 99 points behind truck points leader Ron Hornaday Jr., who finished seventh. Sprague trails Mike Skinner, who is second in points, by 27. Skinner edged Ted Musgrave for fourth place, winning the spot by less than the width of his bumper.
``Pretty much the only way either of us are going to get around Ron is he's going to have to mess up pretty bad,'' Sprague said.
FINAL PRACTICE: Rusty Wallace blew his engine in the final Winston Cup practice after recording the fourth fastest lap of the session.
Mark Martin was fastest in the session, followed by Musgrave, Bobby Hamilton, Wallace and Rudd.
LENGTH: Medium: 77 linesby CNB