ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, March 17, 1997 TAG: 9703180108
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: MARTINSVILLE
SOURCE: CHAD WILLIS THE ROANOKE TIMES
David Hyder dominated a caution-plagued Miller 300 to finally collect his first Late Model Stock victory at Martinsville Speedway.
What a difference five months has made in the Martinsville Speedway fortunes of David Hyder.
Last October, the Greensboro, N.C., Late Model Stock driver was leading the Taco Bell 300 and appeared to be headed for his first career Late Model victory at the historic track before being spun out on the last lap by a hard charging David Blankenship.
On Sunday, Hyder once again found himself at the head of the grid with one circuit remaining, only this time he was too far ahead of the competition to have his efforts spoiled by an overzealous pursuer as he ran away with the Miller 300 Late Model title.
Hyder dominated the field, starting from the pole and leading the final 172 laps of the caution-riddled 200-lap feature while maintaining a comfortable five car-length cushion over second-place finisher Wayne Grubb. But no matter how far in front of Grubb he was, Hyder said he was wary of another mishap.
"Last year I kind of counted my chickens before they hatched," Hyder said. "I was nervous, but I felt I was in a position to win that race. This year I just wanted to put some distance between myself and the next guy. I concentrated on keeping the car steady ... I pushed her, but I kept her in control."
And how did Hyder feel about finally being able to put the questions about last year's finish to rest?
"This is just unbelievable," Hyder said. "I'm standing here talking to all you guys and I just can't believe that I've won at Martinsville. This is our Daytona 500. To just make the show is an achievement. To win is unbelievable."
Despite Hyder's blistering performance, the race seemed to be at a standstill for much of the afternoon because of a Miller 300-record 10 caution periods. Perhaps none of the caution sessions had a greater bearing on the outcome of the race than the fourth.
Greg Marlowe, running in second at the time, was forced to pit under green flag conditions on lap 75 because of a flat left front tire. Approximately 10 seconds after Marlowe entered the pits, debris on the track forced the yellow flag. The end result was a lost lap for Marlowe.
"I thought at first we might just have a bleeder and I would be able to wait for a caution to come in," Marlowe said. "But pretty soon I realized the tire was cut and I had to come in. It was just a bad break and it sent me to the back of the field."
Marlowe, who, as a lapped car, was allowed to pull to the inside of the leaders, passed Hyder on a lap 134 restart and got his lap back when another debris-induced caution brought the field to a crawl. He circled the track and sat in 27th position when the field went back to green.
In the next 28 laps, Marlowe passed 17 cars and made his way back into the top 10. By lap 175 he was in sixth. With 10 laps remaining he was all the way back to third, where he finished.
"No one was passing Hyder ... not unless his engine blew up," Grubb said.
LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ERIC BRADY THE ROANOKE TIMES. 1. Four cars piled up onby CNBlap five in Sunday's Miller 300 Late Model Stock race at
Martinsville Speedway: Phillip Morris (01), Richard Landreth (12),
Wayne Patterson (14) and Randy Ratliff (2). 2. (headshot) Hyder.
color. KEYWORDS: AUTO RACING