THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, June 22, 1996 TAG: 9606220379
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BOB ZELLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BROOKLYN, MICH. LENGTH: 69 lines
For the first time in almost 17 years, Petty Enterprises' distinctive No. 43 car will start a NASCAR Winston Cup race from the No. 1 starting spot.
Richard Petty's driver, Bobby Hamilton, won the first pole position of his career Friday with a lap of 185.166 mph around the 2-mile oval at Michigan International Speedway in qualifying for Sunday's Miller 400.
It was the first time the Petty car has won the top starting spot since King Richard captured the pole for the August 1979 race at Bristol.
``The lap was so clean and effortless, I knew I'd run fast,'' Hamilton said. ``It seems like every time you run fast, it's easy. It seems like a real smooth lap is the fastest. I could have tried harder, but it could have slowed us down.''
Said Petty: ``This is a great day for Bobby and Robbie (crew chief Robbie Loomis) and the crew. This was a long time coming. But until now, circumstances just weren't right.''
The contest wasn't even close.
Derrike Cope was more than 1 mph slower in winning the outside pole in his Ford Thunderbird at 184.153 mph. And there was another big gap to third, which was won by Morgan Shepherd at 183.613 in another Ford.
Mark Martin put his Ford in the fourth starting spot with a lap of 183.608 mph, followed by defending champion Bobby Labonte in the fastest Chevy at 183.580.
Hamilton's ace in the hole was that he'd run the Goodyear tire test at Michigan in April.
``This was the same car,'' team manager Dale Inman said. We didn't even take it apart.''
And in practice Friday morning, Hamilton knew right away that the Pontiac Grand Prix was still quick.
``When I practiced, I never really got after it,'' he said. ``And I never really told anyone what I had. It seems like if you've got something and you talk about it, it jinxes you.''
Although pole winners usually qualify for the annual Busch Clash race at Daytona, that apparently was not the case for Hamilton because Petty refuses to display a Busch decal on his car.
``You ever seen me drink a beer?'' Petty said.
Petty added, ``My mother would probably shoot me if I put that sticker on my car. She doesn't have any control over Kyle, but she does me.'' (Kyle Petty, of course, drives a Pontiac sponsored by Coors).
Richard Petty said he would be happy to put his car in the Clash if Busch wants it there.
NASCAR spokesman Kevin Triplett said he didn't know if that was possible. He said the contract for the race is between Busch and Daytona, and ``we're trying to sort all that out and figure how it fits in.''
For Hamilton, who has been driving full time in the Winston Cup series since 1991, this was his first taste of real success. And he was unusually calm about it.
He told the press: ``You all are probably sitting there looking at me saying, `He don't look very enthusiastic.' But we've qualified for outside poles so many times, and we've been running good, so I don't feel like on a decent day we can be held back.''
Also in the top 10 Friday were Terry Labonte at 183.393 mph, followed by Jeff Gordon (183.379), Sterling Marlin (183.309), Lake Speed (183.304) and Brett Bodine (183.029).
Because only 40 cars are entered for Sunday's race, it appears everyone will make the field. Only Dave Marcis is not eligible for a provisional starting spot, and he was 36th-fastest Friday.
A second round of time trials is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. today. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Bobby Hamilton's lap of 185.166 mph won the pole for Sunday's Miller
400 at Michigan International Speedway. by CNB