ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, February 24, 1997 TAG: 9702250081
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: ROCKINGHAM, N.C.
TYPE: GOODWRENCH 400 NOTES
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
Considering pole-winner Mark Martin was lapped five times Sunday at North Carolina Motor Speedway, it is notable that he finished 13th in the Goodwrench 400.
Thirteenth is not a bad finish for most drivers, but for Martin, it was his worst in 17 races. In fact, the last time he finished outside the top 10 was at New Hampshire on July 14, 1996 - more than seven months ago.
It was also the first time since New Hampshire that both of his teammates had beaten him. Jeff Burton finished third Sunday, while Ted Musgrave was 12th.
``We just couldn't get a handle on it,'' team manager Steve Hmiel said after the race. Martin had already bolted to beat the traffic.
``We got loose one time and pushed another time,'' Hmiel said. ``The car just fell off the tires too fast. We were only fast for a little while. We just weren't good enough and our car used the tires up quicker than the other guys did.''
Martin, however, provided the only action at the front during a long afternoon of dull round-and-round.
He was lapped for the first time on lap 180. Dale Jarrett, who dominated the race only to lose at the end to Jeff Gordon, passed Martin on the outside. But after a yellow flag on lap 185, Martin passed Jarrett on the restart. Nineteen laps later, Jarrett lapped him again by passing on the outside.
Martin unlapped himself again on a restart on lap 245, only to see Jarrett go past again a few laps later. He unlapped himself again on lap 281 and on lap 304, but the result was the same.
``We never did get it done,'' Hmiel said. ``We just kept saying, `We'll get 'em, we'll get 'em.' Then a caution would come out, and we'd say, `Damn, we didn't get 'em, let's just keep going.'''
He finished one lap down.
EARNHARDT'S DAY: Defending race champion Dale Earnhardt never led a lap Sunday and was the last car on the lead lap when the Goodwrench 400 ended.
``We just had a tight race car all day - an aero push,'' he said while standing in his team's transporter after the race, still wearing his driver's uniform. This was unusual because he usually is gone within minutes of the end of a race he doesn't win. ``We adjusted all day, but we never could get the front end to do what we wanted it to do.
``We're still struggling a little bit,'' he said. ``We had a change on the pit crew [one crewman was fired last week] and we're still adjusting to that.''
Earnhardt said his pit crew was at about 75 percent effectiveness Sunday.
``We're trying to get our team back together,'' he said. But crew chief ``Larry [McReynolds] and I work well together and we'll get 'em at Richmond.''
STILL IN ONE PIECE: Rookie Robby Gordon finished 33rd, five laps down. Only two other drivers who were still running at the end - John Andretti and Joe Nemechek - finished behind Gordon.
Still, it was not a bad day, according to car owner Felix Sabates.
``We didn't finish very high, but I thought we had a great day,'' Sabates said. ``We brought the car back in one piece, and that's important.''
It's Gordon's second consecutive finish after three crashes in his three Winston Cup races last year.
A ROUGH DAY: Another driver who struggled was Sterling Marlin, who finished 20th, one lap down.
``We just got our butt kicked today,'' Marlin said. ``We just couldn't ever hit on much. Loose, tight, loose, tight, slide. I told [crew chief Tim] Brewer we needed to bring a different car back next time.''
FIVE LEADERS: Only five drivers led Sunday's race, and only three of them led for any significant length of time. Jarrett led 323 of the 393 laps, winner Jeff Gordon led the final 43 laps and pole-winner Martin led 22 laps. Ernie Irvan led three laps, while Burton and David Green each led a lap.
NEW RULE: Winston Cup drivers no longer will be allowed to dive into the pits to top off their gas tanks before the start of a race, unless they're willing to take a one-lap penalty.
Race director David Hoots announced the one-lap penalty at the driver's meeting before the race.
Generally, the only cars that topped off before a race were those at the back of the pack because they were going to start from the rear anyway. NASCAR spokesman Kevin Triplett said the rule was established because NASCAR officials decided drivers who failed to qualify well shouldn't get any potential gas mileage advantage by topping off their tanks.
HALF-MAST: Rick Mast finished 21st, one lap down, in his first points race driving the No.75 Remington Arms Ford Thunderbird.
``Believe it or not, we're happy with it,'' car owner Butch Mock said. ``We were just a little tight, but our car ran good all day. Nothing blew up and nothing fell off.''
LENGTH: Medium: 92 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. The mangled car of Robert Pressley slides down theby CNBtrack after hitting the wall in turn 1 as Dave Marcis goes by. KEYWORDS: AUTO RACING