ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, April 7, 1997 TAG: 9704070152
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: AUTO RACING NOTES
DATELINE: ROANOKE, TEXAS
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER THE ROANOKE TIMES
As if to authenticate the drivers' worst fears about Texas Motor Speedway, the first crash of the first Interstate Batteries 500 occurred in the first turn of the first lap.
You have to go back more than 30 years - to the inaugural American 500 in 1965 at North Carolina Motor Speedway - to find a first lap wreck in a first race.
That one at the Rock involved three cars. This one at Texas was a bit worse. Thirteen cars became entangled in the mess that ensued after Darrell Waltrip came down into the low groove in the first turn and Johnny Benson already had the nose of his Pontiac in the spot Waltrip wanted to occupy.
``I went on down and got into the first turn and had a great opportunity to drop to the inside in front of Benson,'' Waltrip said. ``I was in the groove. I don't know if he went on the apron or what he did.''
Although 13 cars were involved, only Waltrip dropped out of the race.
The first-lap crash was the first of eight incidents, including a nine-car crash on lap 162. No one was seriously hurt, but several drivers increased the level of their complaints about the inability to race on the 1.5-mile Texas oval.
And a new voice was raised in protest.
After crashing all by himself in the trioval in the incident that triggered the nine-car crash, Rusty Wallace blasted the speedway. He had been one of its biggest boosters.
``I really believe they have to do a total reconstruction to get it right, and I'm sure they will,'' said Wallace. ``Turn 4 is just a terrible corner. You can't hardly maneuver through it at all. I don't think there's no way in the world we will come back here with the track in its current condition.''
Even winner Jeff Burton had a tart comment: ``There were some things about it we didn't like, but we surely didn't dislike it as much as everybody else, for some reason.''
Eddie Gossage, the speedway's general manager, responded, ``If improvements or changes need to be made to improve either safety or competition, we'll look at it. I want to talk to the guys in the garage. We'll have to see what they say. We've got to weed out fact from frustration and right now I don't know which is which.''
Irvan received six stitches to close a cut on his chin.
``I was trying to race back to the caution and there was confusion on the radio as to where the wrecked car was sitting,'' Irvan said.
MAST'S DAY: Rick Mast had a rough Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway.
``I got caught up in that wreck on the first lap and that got the car all out of whack,'' he said. But his crew made emergency repairs, which allowed him to continue for 245 more laps.
``Finally, something went in the motor,'' Mast said. ``But that's the way it goes.''
LENGTH: Medium: 60 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ASSOCIATED PRESS. Jeff Burton takes the checkered flagby CNBfor his first Winston Cup victory.