THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, June 17, 1996 TAG: 9606170141
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BOB ZELLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LONG POND, PA. LENGTH: 76 lines
Dale Jarrett did not need a relief driver Sunday. His car broke before he did.
Jarrett wheeled his Ford to the garage after only 37 of the 200 laps of the UAW-GM 500 at Pocono International Raceway. He had a broken crankshaft.
It was the final indignity of a race weekend that left him with a fractured rib and a slight leg fracture after a crash during qualifying Friday.
``I was as comfortable in the car as I would have been just sitting around,'' he said. ``I think I could have run all day. But a crankshaft bolt on the front of the block broke, slung off the power steering belt and broke something in the motor.
``It's been a long, tough weekend, and we certainly didn't need something like this to happen.''
Jarrett finished 38th in the 41-car field.
BOUNCING BACK: Two drivers took great comfort in their high finishes Sunday because they so badly needed a good performance.
Geoff Bodine's third-place finish was easily his best of the year. And Morgan Shepherd's sixth-place finish, with new crew chief Gere Kennon at the helm, was not only his best of the year, but was the first time he's finished better than 20th in almost three months.
``That's like a transfusion for us,'' Bodine said. ``We needed this. We needed a good run and a good finish. Eventually, (poor finishes) wear you down and you can't survive. But we've survived, and we're back.''
Shepherd gave Kennon, a former Jack Roush crew member, much of the credit for his good showing.
``We've got a new crew chief on board and it made a difference of pulling this team together,'' he said. ``The strength was there, it just needed to get organized, and Gere is doing the job. To run like we had been running just tore my heart out. My heart's back in place now.''
EARNHARDT OUT EARLY: He's still leading the points, but Dale Earnhardt suffered his first did-not-finish of the season, losing an engine and finishing 32nd. It was only the third time this year he has finished out of the top five.
``Maybe this will be our one (DNF) for the year,'' Earnhardt said. ``I think we just dropped a valve down on the piston and messed it up. We came down pit road to see if we could do anything to it, and it locked up.''
MOVING UP: Jeff Gordon failed to finish the season's first two races, but he's been on a roll since then. With his fifth victory Sunday, Gordon moved to within 64 points Earnhardt, the Winston Cup points leader. Gordon is third in points, 12 behind Terry Labonte.
Gordon also became the first driver to top the $1 million mark in season winnings this year. His '96 winnings now total $1,069,482.
A FIRST FOR PONTIAC: It's hard to believe, but Bobby Hamilton's fifth-place finish Sunday was the first time this year a Pontiac Grand Prix has scored a top-five finish.
``I raced there at the end with Terry (Labonte) and Morgan (Shepherd) to get the top five,'' Hamilton said. ``This ended up being a good finish after all we went through today.''
FOUR YELLOWS: The yellow flag flew only four times Sunday. There were only three accidents, all involving two cars.
Bobby Labonte smashed the third-turn wall and Joe Nemechek spun after they collided on lap 2.
Ernie Irvan lost control and hit the wall in turn 3 on lap 28 and then was struck by Brett Bodine.
And Lake Speed hit the wall in turn 1 while Ricky Craven spun to avoid him.
None of the drivers was injured, although when Speed returned to the garage, he said he was already getting sore.
``I got my neck stretched pretty good,'' he said.
STRICKLIN LEADS: Hut Stricklin enjoyed a rare opportunity Sunday. He led a Winston Cup race.
He was in front four times for a total of 19 laps in the early going before fading to 29th with transmission problems.
``I can't explain it in words,'' he said. ``That was the first time in a long, long time I've had that kind of chance to win a race.'' ILLUSTRATION: ASSOCIATED PRESS photo
Dale Earnhardt's crew ran into a problem it couldn't dispatch when
the No. 3 Chevy's engine died, tightening the NASCAR points race. by CNB