THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, March 6, 1995 TAG: 9503060142
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: C6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BOB ZELLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium: 87 lines
Six months ago, Terry Labonte's biggest challenge during his 400 trips around Richmond International Raceway was overcoming slow pit stops by his crew.
On Sunday, Labonte's pit crew may have been his biggest asset.
With 88 laps to go in the Pontiac 400, Labonte's crew gave him a lead he never relinquished as he cruised to a 1.25-second victory over Dale Earnhardt. Rusty Wallace finished third, followed by Ken Schrader and Sterling Marlin.
Labonte, of course, won last fall's race as well as Sunday's. So no matter how slow or fast his crew services his Chevrolet, Labonte has the handle on this 3/4-mile track.
``Sometimes you just hit on a combination and it really works for you,'' Labonte said. ``Every time you come back, you say, `Boy, I really hope we can run as good as last time.' ''
Labonte's victory came despite a poor qualifying run on Saturday. He started 24th and spent the first half of the race hacking his way through the field. He didn't take the lead until lap 221, when the race was more than half over. But after that, he dominated, leading 131 laps.
While Labonte was paying the price for a poor qualifying effort, Wallace and Earnhardt were entertaining the crowd.
They seem to have a thing about running side-by-side at Richmond. And from lap 97 to lap 123, they put on another show. For 16 of those 26 laps, their cars ran as if they were attached door-to-door.
``I really thought I was going to win it,'' said Wallace, who led 247 laps. ``But beggars can't be choosy. After two DNFs (he did not finish at Daytona and Rockingham), I'm really happy to finish third today. It was neat racing. I had a good time out there today.
``I believe we just mischose the right rear shock today. That really aggravated me and killed me.''
Said Earnhardt, ``I was having fun racing Rusty. That's what it's all about. But I just couldn't get to Terry. My tires went away. He was better than we were.''
The patience Labonte displayed while working his way through the field was matched by the patience of the Virginia race fans. They waited through a snowy, useless Friday and a cold, threatening Saturday to find themselves with what turned out to be a nice Sunday for racing. In fact, the sun actually came out during the afternoon.
The weather was great for the fans, but a sudden change like that can wreak havoc on stock-car teams.
``Boy, the sun came out and that thing was good,'' Labonte said, referring to his car. ``The way we qualified, I thought we might be in trouble. And we didn't practice as good as I thought we would. I don't know. We just lucked out, probably.'''
Luck always plays a part, but the winning move for Labonte and his team came in the pits.
Labonte's pit crew is not entirely the same as it was last fall. Brad Parrott, who was a key member of Wallace's unparalleled 1994 crew, joined Labonte's team over the winter.
But the change wasn't apparent during a round of yellow-flag pit stops on lap 273 after Dale Jarrett and Ward Burton tangled in turn three. Labonte was leading when he came in for new tires and fuel. When he came out, he was third, trailing Wallace and Earnhardt. It looked like a rerun of last fall's race.
``When they beat us on (that) stop, I just went back and dug down deep,'' Parrott told a track reporter.
And they got another chance.
On lap 311, Jimmy Spencer and Brett Bodine tangled in turn two. The yellow flag came out for the fifth and final time, and everyone headed to the pits. Labonte, at this time, was still trailing Wallace and Earnhardt.
But after a few pumps of the jack and turns of the air wrench, Labonte was out first, with Wallace and Earnhardt just behind him.
``Good stop, guys,'' Labonte said. ``Way to go.''
After that, it was just a matter of counting down the laps.
``Our guys practice every week and really work hard on their pit stops,'' Labonte said. ``They've been doing that since before the end of last year, trying to get better.''
Labonte was asked if he could have regained the lead on the track if his crew had not given it to him in the pits. After all, he did it last September.
``You don't ever know,'' he said. ``It would have been tough.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
Terry Labonte...
by CNB