THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, October 22, 1994 TAG: 9410220413
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ED HARDIN, LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
DATELINE: ROCKINGHAM, N.C. LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines
Ricky Rudd, who had to fork over $10,000 to NASCAR earlier this week, got most of it back Friday when he won the pole for Sunday's AC Delco 500.
Rudd set a track record at North Carolina Motor Speedway, qualifying his Ford Thunderbird at 157.099 mph to win $6,000.
The Chesapeake driver outran Terry Labonte and Geoff Bodine, who had blown an engine earlier in the day, to earn his first pole since 1992.
``The last time we came here we didn't even have a garage stall,'' Rudd said. ``We had to park down in the dirt.''
The last time the tour came to Rockingham, the track was old and weathered. The record speed before Rudd's run was only 151.716 mph. A repaving job that has resulted in faster speeds and an increase in spins and crashes forced teams to throw out years of research.
``I think some of the established teams might have treated this like the old Rockingham,'' said Rudd, in his first season as a car owner. ``That worked to our advantage since we didn't have books going back to 1970 on this track.''
Many established teams will start from back in the field Sunday, including points leader Dale Earnhardt, who qualified 20th, and Kyle Petty, who will start 29th.
Rudd will start Sunday's race on probation after losing his appeal this week of the NASCAR sanctions he received following a racing incident with Jeff Gordon at the Mello Yello 500.
Since the altercation at Charlotte, where Rudd bumped Gordon and sent both drivers spinning into the wall, Rudd has received more than $3,000 from fans who want to help pay his $10,000 fine.
``They'll all get their money back,'' Rudd said. ``They'll get a little thank-you note, too.''
Gordon will get no such note. The young Chevrolet star has not spoken to Rudd since Charlotte. He will start 15th Sunday, seven rows behind Rudd.
Rudd said that if he comes up on Gordon from behind Sunday, he will use a different standard than he would on Dale Earnhardt, Rusty Wallace or Mark Martin.
``Those guys wouldn't have wrecked,'' Rudd said. ``The mistake I made at Charlotte was I misjudged Jeff's ability. He's a great driver, but he's not used to bumping around or somebody coming up and taking the air off his car from behind.
``I had no intention of wrecking him. I meant to hit him, but I didn't think he would wreck."
NOTES: The Five Hours of Rockingham, one of the longest days in stock-car racing, will be cut by about an hour next year when the AC Delco 500 becomes the AC Delco 400. NASCAR announced the change Friday morning. The change will affect the fall race only. ... Richard Petty will need a replacement for John Andretti in 1995. Sources said that Andretti, who took over the STP Pontiac ride earlier this season, has agreed to run for the new Kranefuss-Haas Ford team in 1995, a deal that will include an Indy-car arrangement for the Indianapolis 500. Andretti plans to run both the Indy 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte on the same day, a feat he pulled this past May. ... Grand National driver David Green can wrap up the Busch title today with a 22nd-place finish in the AC Delco 200. Green will start from the pole. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
The $6,000 prize cuts into the $10,000 Ricky Rudd was fined after an
altercation at the Mello Yello 500.
by CNB