THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, August 13, 1994 TAG: 9408130146
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BOB ZELLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. LENGTH: Medium: 72 lines
After setting the speed to beat as the first qualifier for Sunday's Bud at the Glen, Mark Martin spent two nerve-wracking hours hanging around the garage of Watkins Glen International to see if any of the 45 other Winston Cup drivers could top it.
``I felt like I did back at the dirt tracks in 1974,'' Martin said. ``I felt butterflies and everything.''
But as the sun began to dip toward the rolling hills of upstate New York, and Kyle Petty completed the final run, Martin's speed of 118.326 miles per hour around this 2.45-mile road course in his Ford Thunderbird was still the best of the day.
``It was a beautiful lap,'' Martin said. ``There wasn't a glitch in it. But it was slightly conservative. I knew I had a good car, and I didn't want to make a mistake because I tried too hard.''
The top 10 on the starting grid of Sunday's race will be loaded with NASCAR's heaviest hitters, but none could better Martin's speed.
Ken Schrader won the outside pole with a speed of 118.205 mph in a Chevy, while Brickyard 400 champion Jeff Gordon was third-fastest at 118.118 mph in another Chevy. Ernie Irvan will start fourth after a lap of 117.943 mph in his Ford, and Rusty Wallace fifth after a lap of 117.888 mph in a Ford.
Dale Earnhardt was sixth-fastest at 117.760 mph in a Chevy, followed by Ricky Rudd at 117.609 mph in a Ford, Bill Elliott at 117.281 mph in a Ford, lame duck Wally Dallenbach Jr. at 117.247 mph in Richard Petty's Pontiac and Terry Labonte at 117.200 mph in a Chevy.
During his long wait to see if he'd won his first pole of 1994, Martin needed no help to set his fragile nerves on edge. ``I always expect the worse,'' he said.
But Irvan helped him anyway.
``Mark's been over here so nervous that somebody was going to beat him, it was just too easy to have some fun with him,'' Irvan told Ford's Wayne Estes while the session was still under way. ``It's unlucky to go up and congratulate somebody before qualifying is over, and I think 60 guys have congratulated him so far.''
If that wasn't enough, Irvan organized some phony cheers from the drivers and team members hanging around the qualifying board to make it appear someone had beaten Martin. ``I know we made him a nervous wreck,'' Irvan said. ``He'll appreciate (the pole) more now.''
Said Martin: ``Ernie Irvan is a lucky man, because he was going to get whipped by a little bitty guy if I didn't start on the pole. It's just been hard getting a pole this year.''
Martin's victory in this race last year was his first win in 1993, and it started a string of four straight victories. He finished the season with five wins.
And now he's back at the Glen with no victories in 1994.
``It very well could (happen here) because we've been running good enough for that roll to start,'' he said. ``Man, we have been so close to breaking out, and this is the right time of the season for us.''
On top of that, Martin seems to have a great attitude coming into the second and final road race of the season.
``To me, there's no difference (with) a road course,'' he said. ``It's certainly no adjustment for me. We drive these cars as fast as we can without going off the road, just as we did when we drove down country roads when we were 15 and 16 years old.''
Although the number of cars entered here (45) is smaller than in recent races, a few drivers still will have to sweat through the second round of time trials at 11 a.m. today.
The following drivers (in order) were outside the top 40: Loy Allen, Greg Sacks, Jeremy Mayfield and Brian Bonner, who spun on his qualifying lap. Also, Mike Wallace had engine problems and did not attempt to qualify Friday. by CNB