THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 13, 1994 TAG: 9411130217
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BOB ZELLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: HAMPTON, GA. LENGTH: Medium: 71 lines
Ted Musgrave, who blew his engine in the first round of qualifying Friday, came back Saturday with a new power plant and led the second round with a speed of 182.585 mph to capture the 21st starting spot for today's Hooters 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Veteran Indy-car driver Pancho Carter also found more speed overnight and claimed the 22nd starting position with a lap of 182.433.
Bill Elliott, Kyle Petty and Bobby Hamilton had to take provisional starting spots after their speeds were too slow to crack the top 40.
Elliott, who stood on his Friday time, dropped from 35th- to 45th-fastest and had to take a champion's provisional. Petty ran Saturday but dropped from 49th to 51st; Hamilton was 46th.
Drivers who failed to make the field included Dick Trickle, Jeremy Mayfield, Joe Ruttman and Dave Marcis.
Rick Mast switched from Goodyear to Hoosier tires Saturday and improved his position from 36th to 24th with a speed of 182.045 - about 1 1/2 mph faster than his Friday run.
MIKE WALLACE WINS: Mike Wallace won the ARCA 500K race on Saturday, pulling away from Jimmy Horton for a 12.83-second victory.
The race was slowed by seven spins or wrecks, including a horrific eight-car crash in turn three that brought out the red flag on lap 105 of the 204-lap race.
No one was seriously injured, although Bobby Bowsher hurt his neck and was taken to Georgia Baptist Medical Center in Atlanta for precautionary X-rays.
Wallace also won the season-opening ARCA race at Daytona, driving, ironically, the Ken Schrader-owned Chevy with which Horton took second place Saturday.
Wallace made a daring pass below Horton in turn one on lap 185, but he had the advantage at the end in part because he was on fresher tires.
``Tire wear was a factor,'' Wallace said. ``The right rear tires - we were wearing them down to the fabric after 40 laps.
``Goodyear had a good tire, but it didn't last long enough. That was the problem. But we won the first ARCA race of the year and we won the last one. I'm pretty happy about that.''
In the big crash, Jeff Green's car slammed the wall head-on at almost full speed, was hit by a couple of other cars and spun like a top off the banking. But he walked away.
``I'm fine,'' he said later. ``I've never hit anything that hard. It kinda hurt there for a while.''
Meanwhile, ARCA driver Dave Jensen, who was injured in a crash during Friday practice, remained in stable condition but still under heavy sedation at Georgia Baptist Medical Center.
PARROTT'S FUTURE: Veteran crew chief Buddy Parrott, who is leaving Rusty Wallace's team, formally unveiled his new venture with Diamond Ridge Motorsports driver Steve Grissom and sponsor Meineke Mufflers.
``I've been in this business for 25 years, so I'm looking forward to putting all this together,'' said Parrott, who will be vice president of operations as well as crew chief for the team.
``That's exactly what we need here at Diamond Ridge - some experience and leadership,'' Grissom said.
McMONEY: The voting is concluded and 1994 Winston Cup champion Dale Earnhardt, top series winner Rusty Wallace and 23-year-old wunderkind Jeff Gordon are each $50,000 richer.
The popular trio repeated in a national vote as members of the McDonald's NASCAR All-Star Racing Team.
Motorsports fans voted on their NASCAR favorites from June through mid-October in at-track balloting and by calling a free hot line. Then a 10-member media panel and a group of Winston Cup competitors voted on the finalists. by CNB