ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, February 12, 1997 TAG: 9702120086
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: AUTO RACING NOTES
DATELINE: DAYTONA BEACH, FLA.
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
One year ago, Elliott Sadler was carrying tires in the pits for his brother, Hermie, in the 300-mile Grand National race at Daytona International Speedway.
On Saturday, Elliott Sadler will start from the pole position in the Gargoyles 300.
The 21-year-old from Emporia, Va., posted the fastest official lap of Speedweeks here Tuesday, reaching 190.508 mph in the unsponsored Diamond Ridge Chevrolet, which was driven to victory by Steve Grissom in last year's 300.
So a pair of first-year drivers will sit the pole in the week's two biggest races.
Sadler, however, turned a faster lap than Daytona 500 pole winner Mike Skinner, who was at 189.813 mph in his Chevrolet.
``I'm on cloud nine,'' said Sadler. ``To be a rookie and come here and sit on the pole, this beats all my dreams. This is the same Monte Carlo and motor they won with last year. I just tried to be smooth and hold the wheel as straight as I could.''
Sadler has 15 Grand National races under his belt, but this is the first time he's ever run at Daytona. He ran in 13 events last year, so even though this is his first full season, he is not officially a rookie because he lost that status by running in more than five races.
He said the highlight of his career until Tuesday was his first top five - a fifth-place finish at the Homestead last fall.
"Things are snowballing big time,'' Sadler said. ``A year ago today, I had no Busch car and no Late Model car. I would have never thought that a year later I would be on the pole. Last year when I came here, I was a tire carrier for my brother Hermie. That shows you how much can change in a year.''
``I've always had the dream to race here,'' Sadler said. ``I remember sitting on the living room floor with my brother when we were kids, dreaming that someday we'd both be racing here.''
That will happen Saturday, because Hermie Sadler qualified 19th for the race.
Next to Elliott Sadler on the front row is Mike McLaughlin, who ran at 189.966 mph in his Chevrolet. Joe Nemechek was third fastest in another Chevy at 188.644, followed by Elton Sawyer at 188.620 and Buckshot Jones at 188.537.
``We wanted the pole, but we'll take this,'' said Sawyer. ``Now, we'll work on the race setup. We're ready to go.''
Fifty-two cars made qualifying laps, but a few will go home after the second and final round at 1 p.m. today. As many as 46 cars will start the race.
TWIN FIELDS SET: The fields for Thursday's Twin 125 qualifying races were set with the final round of Winston Cup qualifying, which was led by unsponsored Lake Speed at 188.162 mph.
Speed moved from 35th to 10th fastest with his lap, vastly improving his chances of making the race.
Of the 14 drivers who participated, only three went slower than they did in Saturday's pole qualifying session. One of those was Sterling Marlin, who was 28th fastest before Tuesday's session and 35th after it was over, even though he was less than 1/10th of a second slower.
``We thought we'd found some stuff and I think we did, but it really didn't show today,'' said Marlin. ``We kinda wanted to put a good lap down, but we didn't. It's disappointing for us.''
The first Twin 125, which starts at 12:30 p.m., will have a 26-car field. The second 125-miler will have 25 cars.
FULL FIELDS: Martinsville Speedway President Clay Campbell said Tuesday that his track - the smallest in the NASCAR Winston Cup series - will have no problem adapting to NASCAR's new rule of 42-car fields at all tracks.
Campbell said construction is well under way to add three pits each to the front and back stretches to accommodate the six extra cars.
``I think it's one of the greatest things NASCAR has done,'' said Campbell. ``No matter where the series goes - to superspeedways or short tracks - the same number of cars will run.''
Campbell said it's a big project to build the new pits, including lengthening both pit walls and relocating victory lane. But there's plenty of room, he said. ``We're not even going into the turns to build the new pits,'' he said.
TRICKLE TRAGEDY: Dick Trickle qualified 10th Tuesday for Saturday's Grand National race, but his thoughts were with his nephew, Chris, who was fighting for his life in a Las Vegas hospital.
Chris Trickle, 24, a NASCAR Southwest Tour driver who has won a race in the series, was shot in the head while driving on a Las Vegas freeway Sunday night and remained in critical condition with a bullet in his brain. Chris is the son of Dick's brother, Chuck.
``My heart's in Las Vegas,'' Trickle said Tuesday. ``If there'd been anything I could have done, I'd have gone out there. My family told me to race.''
SWAIM ON DASH POLE: Mike Swaim Jr. won his second straight pole for Friday's Discount Auto Parts 200, circling the 2.5-mile speedway at 163.755 mph in his Pontiac.
``We just had a great motor,'' said the 21-year-old. ``This is a mechanic's track. You've got to have a good motor and a good, slick race car.''
Will Hobgood won the outside pole with a speed of 163.088 for the Goody's Dash series race, which features four-cylinder cars.
LENGTH: Medium: 98 linesby CNB