ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, March 2, 1997 TAG: 9703040007
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-9 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: AUTO RACING NOTES
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
When it rained again Saturday at Richmond International Raceway, Kyle Petty was able to sit back and relax, secure in the knowledge he had planned for this day more than two months ago.
Today's forecast for the Pontiac 400 calls for unseasonably warm temperatures and partly cloudy skies, but the price that had to be paid for such a good February forecast was two days of wet weather.
The rain Saturday forced NASCAR to cancel Winston Cup qualifying. That meant the final spots in today's 43-car field had to be determined by the dates on the postmarks of entry forms.
The last 10 starting spots were allocated on the basis of postmark dates. And three drivers - Mike Wallace, Billy Standridge and Greg Sacks - failed to make the race because their entry blanks were postmarked too late.
That's where Petty had an edge. As a new team owner, with no 1996 owner points to help him gain entry into today's race, Petty knew his chance to compete might well rest on the postmark of his entry form.
``I tell you what, we've been in this position before when I was driving for The King in the early 80s,'' Petty said, referring to his father, Richard. ``So we, as a team, planned on this in December. I knew that the potential for rain, snow or sleet was pretty good for Rockingham, Richmond and Atlanta. ...
``In my case, you're working without a safety net anywhere. We don't have any provisionals, and we don't have any owner points. So whatever safeguards NASCAR provides, like the postmark deal, you have to take full advantage of them.''
Wallace, watching his crew load his car in a steady drizzle, said the recent change of ownership, with Chesapeake car dealer Joe Falk taking over the team, led to the entry blank being sent in later than those of Petty and some other teams.
``It's tough,'' he said. ``What are you going to do? Now I hope the whole place freezes over and nobody gets a chance to race.''
The first 33 starting spots were filled on the basis of 1996 car owner points, with champion Terry Labonte starting on the pole and Jeff Gordon alongside him on the front row.
The final 10 spots in the 43-car field were doled out by postmark in this order: Dave Marcis, Bobby Hillin, Mike Skinner, Petty, Derrike Cope, Robert Pressley, Dick Trickle, David Green, Chad Little and Gary Bradberry.
CRAVEN WRECKS: In the first and final practice before today's Pontiac 400, Ricky Craven wrecked his Chevrolet Monte Carlo coming out of turn 2. Two other drivers, Ken Schrader and Johnny Benson, were involved.
The back end of Craven's car wiggled as it came out of turn 2 before turning into the outside wall. Schrader's car was clipped as Craven went into the wall and Benson hit him coming off the wall.
Schrader's car appeared to suffer only sheet-metal damage, but Benson and Craven will be forced to use backup cars in today's race.
In the only test of speed before Sunday's race, Mark Martin had the fastest car in practice, reaching 120.887 mph in his Ford.
LENGTH: Medium: 60 linesby CNB