THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, March 2, 1996 TAG: 9603020375
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BOB ZELLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines
The hottest driver with nothing to show for it in 1996 is Terry Labonte, who on Friday led qualifying for the second straight week to capture the top starting spot for Sunday's Pontiac 400 at Richmond International Raceway.
Labonte, currently mired in 30th in the points race after two bad finishes, reached 123.728 mph on the second lap around this 3/4-mile oval in his Chevrolet Monte Carlo, edging teammate Jeff Gordon, who was at 123.496 mph.
Bobby Hamilton, trying to put last week's disappointing finish at Rockingham behind him, was third-fastest at 123.158 mph in a Pontiac Grand Prix, followed by Ricky Craven in a Chevy at 123.113 and Mark Martin in a Ford at 123.063.
Also in the top 10 were Bill Elliott in a Ford at 123.057 mph, Steve Grissom in a Chevy at 122.984, Joe Nemechek in a Chevy at 122.968, Dale Earnhardt in a Chevy at 122.917 and Kenny Wallace in a Ford at 122.895.
Labonte has had the fastest car so far this year; he just hasn't been able to finish.
He started fifth and led the most laps - 44 - in the Daytona 500 but lost power and finished 24th, four laps down, when a piece of a plastic bag became stuck in his air cleaner.
He won the pole at Rockingham and led the most laps - 198 - until a burned piston put him on the sidelines. He finished 34th.
``I think the thing we feel good about is, overall, the car has been running great for us,'' Labonte said. ``Those things can happen to you when you're not running good. It's a whole lot easier when you have problems and you are running good. Your people don't get as depressed.''
With the temperature hovering around freezing, the trick Friday was to keep the car on the track with cold tires.
``It's kind of hard to qualify because it really takes that first lap just to put some heat in the tires,'' Labonte said.
A number of drivers had close calls, and late in the Winston Cup practice session, Ernie Irvan looped his Ford and smacked the fourth-turn wall. He was unhurt, and his team scrambled to get his backup car ready before the session ended. Irvan was able to run a lap before the session was red-flagged.
``The tires are real cold today and I was driving into turn 3 and locked the front tire up,'' Irvan said. ``It's a shame, because we had a car that was really competitive.''
Irvan was 39th-fastest in his backup car.
The qualifying was a bit more competitive than usual, with at least a half-dozen drivers holding the top starting spot. Darrell Waltrip, who ended up 12th-fastest, was on the pole for a few minutes early in the session. He was supplanted by Steve Grissom, who drives a Chevy sponsored by The Cartoon Network.
``That's something - to come up here and work this hard and get knocked off the pole by Fred Flintstone,'' Waltrip said. ``I saw his feet smoking when he was coming around turn 4, but I didn't think he was going that fast.''
With only 43 cars battling for a maximum of 41 starting spots, it appeared all of the regulars would make Sunday's show.
Drivers at the bottom of the lineup after Friday's session were Bobby Hillin (37th-fastest), followed by Bobby Labonte, Irvan, Dick Trickle (subbing for the injured Loy Allen), Robby Faggart, John Andretti and Randy MacDonald. A second round of time trials is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. today. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
Friday's Qualifying
by CNB