ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, April 20, 1997 TAG: 9704220010
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-6 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: AUTO RACING NOTES
DATELINE: MARTINSVILLE
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER THE ROANOKE TIMES
Rookie David Green found a new way to get stung by the rules Saturday at Martinsville Speedway. The strange twist will keep him out of the Goody's Headache Powder 500 today.
After running 44th fastest for a field of 38 in the second round of time trials Saturday, Green was hoping for a provisional starting spot in the Winston Cup race. He didn't get it.
The first three provisionals went to drivers whose car owners were among the top 40 in points this year. Green's owner, Buzz McCall, is 41st.
After reaching the cutoff point of 40th, there was one provisional left. NASCAR didn't pick Green, but by the rules reverted to the 1996 car owner points and Bobby Hillin.
Hillin's team was less prepared for the good news than Green's was for the bad news.
The crew had half-loaded its transporter, and one of the team's owners, Mark Harrah, had left the track when Michael Rompf, the team's public relations director, arrived and cheerily announced: ``Hey, guys, we made the race!''
Replied one crewman: ``That's not even funny. Don't kid about that.'' Rompf wasn't.
For Green and his team, it was another tough blow two weeks after they failed to make the race in rain-soaked Texas when NASCAR reverted to postmarks on official entries.
``The best thing to do is not get into a position where we need a provisional,'' Green said. ``But I thought that after the first four or five races, last year's points went by the wayside.''
That's true for the top 40 in car owner points. The previous year's points are used for the first five races of a new season. After the fifth race, the new year's points are used only up to 40th place. Then it reverts to the previous year's points.
``I just hope humble pie doesn't have many calories, because we've been eating a lot of it,'' McCall said.
Green was not the only driver who went home Saturday. Joining him were Randy MacDonald, Billy Standridge, Lance Hooper and Gary Bradberry.
Besides Hillin, provisionals went to Mark Martin, Robby Gordon and Dave Marcis.
Ken Schrader led a busy second round of time trials, reaching 93.143 mph in his Chevrolet Monte Carlo. That lap was ninth fastest overall. Sixteen drivers participated in the session.
Martin had the most surprising run. He was 40th fastest and had to take a provisional for the first time since last year's Pepsi 400 at Daytona.
FINAL PRACTICE: John Andretti was the fastest driver in the final round of Winston Cup practice Saturday afternoon, reaching 92.796 mph on the fastest of the 47 laps he made in his RCA Ford Thunderbird during the ``happy hour'' session.
Andretti has been one of the quickest drivers this weekend, but will start 27th, with a pit on the backstretch.
``But there's a lot of good guys pitting on the back straightaway, and they'll run good, too, so I intend to get this one up front with 'em,'' Andretti said.
Pole-winner Kenny Wallace was second fastest in practice, followed by Darrell Waltrip, Robby Gordon and Rusty Wallace.
NEW PROGRAM: Virginia law enforcement agencies and the Department of Motor Vehicles launched a ``Drive Smart, Virginia,'' safe-driving program here Saturday, warning that 31 percent of all fatal crashes in 1995 involved a speeding car.
LENGTH: Medium: 70 linesby CNB