THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 22, 1995 TAG: 9510220157
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BOB ZELLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ROCKINGHAM, N.C. LENGTH: Medium: 67 lines
Forget about 16-second pit stops.
It took Junior Johnson's team more than 23 seconds to change four tires and dump two cans of fuel Saturday to win the annual Unocal 76/Rockingham pit-crew competition. But that made the victory no less sweet.
``This will give 'em a big lift, which they all need right now,'' Johnson said after the last of 35 teams had given it their best shot. ``A bunch of 'em have been with me a long time and it means a lot.''
The Lowe's Ford team, with driver Brett Bodine and crew chief Dean Combs, won a total of $10,100 Saturday after completing their stop in 23.692 seconds with no penalties.
``We made a statement with this pit stop today,'' said Ronald Queen, the team's front tire changer. ``We've been through a lot this season, but all along we've known we had as good a pit crew as there is out there.''
Lowe's said it would match the prize money.
Kyle Petty's team, led by crew chief Keith Simmons, finished second despite being decimated this year by turnover. The jackman had been with the team only a couple of weeks, Petty said. The team completed its stop in 24.003 seconds.
Jeff Burton's team, led by crew chief Donnie Richeson, was third at 24.050 seconds.
Jeff Gordon's team, headed by Ray Evernham, had the fastest raw time of 22.706 seconds but had a three-second penalty tacked on because of a loose lug nut. Fifteen of the 35 teams received penalties, mostly for loose lug nuts.
Bill Elliott's team was the slowest, clocking a time of 37.394 second, which included 12 seconds of penalties for four loose nuts.
BICKLE IN RELIEF: Rich Bickle, who spent part of Saturday interviewing with Richard Petty for Petty's SuperTruck effort in 1996, found himself in position by the end of the day to compete in today's AC Delco 400 Winston Cup race.
Bickle will drive in relief of Jimmy Spencer after Spencer broke his right shoulder blade in a crash during Saturday's Grand National race. It's the same shoulder blade Spencer broke twice last year, in accidents at North Wilkesboro and Indianapolis.
MAST'S PONTIAC DEAL: Rick Mast has announced that he and car owner Richard Jackson will be switching from Ford to Pontiac for 1996.
``The change is more for a long-term deal than trying to find something to win races right off the bat,'' Mast said. ``We've kinda made a long-term commitment to each other.
``The problem is timing. We've just got two or three months to get (the new 1996 Pontiac Grand Prix) ready to race. And we're not where we need to be yet.''
``I think switching to Pontiac is going to work out,'' said Mast, who has had what he considers the worst year of his Winston Cup career. ``Sometimes change just makes it better.''
OUT FOR BLOOD: There'll be a car with a strange orange-and-black, Halloween-type paint scheme in today's AC Delco 400 and again next week at Phoenix.
It's not a new entry. For those two races only, Kyle Petty's team will replace the No. 42 Pontiac's blue and hot pink colors with the orange and black.
The name ``Elvira'' will be painted across the hood. Elvira is a spokeswoman for Coors, the team's sponsor, at Halloween.
``We're making the change to bring awareness to a charity that's very important to the people at Coors,'' team spokesman Jon Sands said. ``That's the St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital For Cancer in Memphis (Tenn.).'' by CNB