DATE: Friday, September 26, 1997            TAG: 9709261038

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C5   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY BOB ZELLER, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   76 lines

MARTINSVILLE TIME TRIALS NO LONGER DO OR DIE BUT THE PRESSURE'S STILL ON - TO PIT ON THE FRONTSTRETCH.

The bite will be gone from Hanes 500 pole qualifications at Martinsville Speedway today.

There are 43 expected entries for the race, and only one will miss the race - perhaps none at all.

Three years ago, when the field was 34 cars plus provisionals, five drivers went home. Now the field is 38 cars, plus up to five provisionals.

The field was expanded because teams and sponsors howled when they missed races. New pit stalls were created and the field was increased.

But what was sacrificed was the nail-biting drama of the second round of time trials, and the knowledge that as many as a half-dozen drivers, including some regulars, would go home.

The only suspense that remains is who is going to do well. Drivers in the top half of the speed chart get to pit on the frontstretch. The rest must pit on the backstretch, a disadvantage that makes it almost impossible to win the race.

Mark Martin came somewhat close in April, finishing third after starting 39th. But he never led a lap in a race won by Jeff Gordon.

Martinsville is considered important enough that most teams test there during the year. A test session significantly increases the chances of a team's qualifying well.

Johnny Benson Jr. and his team have used all seven of their test dates this year. But they considered a Martinsville test important enough to do an ``outlaw'' test at Greenville-Pickens Speedway in South Carolina.

``We have only been good once at Martinsville, so we need all the work we can,'' Benson said. ``We tried a couple of new things with the chassis just to see what works and what doesn't work. We didn't have any test dates (on Winston Cup tracks) . . . so Greeville was the closest track we could go to that is similar to Martinsville.''

Beyond the battle for the Winston Cup championship, the spotlight will focus on two young drivers trying to make the field.

Kenny Irwin, who will replace Ernie Irvan in the No. 28 Ford Thunderbird next year, tested at Martinsville and will attempt to make the race - his second Winston Cup event - in a car owned by David Blair, but with major assistance from Yates.

Steve Park, a three-time winner in his rookie Busch Grand National season, will attempt to qualify Robby Gordon's No. 40 Chevrolet Monte Carlo. Gordon has been excused by car owner Felix Sabates to race in the season-ending CART race at California Speedway.

Irwin needs to qualify in the top 38 to make the race because he's not eligible for a provisional starting spot.

Winston Cup qualifying begins at 3 p.m. today and will be followed by a single round of time trials for all 36 positions in Saturday's Hanes 250 NASCAR truck race. This is where the heartbreak will hit. Fifty-seven trucks will vie for 36 spots, meaning more than 20 drivers will go home early.

Among the entrants in the truck race are Winston Cup drivers Bobby Hamilton, Michael Waltrip, Benson and Irvan, as well as Geoff Bodine's son Barry.

Today's admission is $10, and the first 12,000 fans who purchase pole-day tickets will receive a 50th-anniversary commemorative ticket. Children 12 and under are admitted free.

The Hanes 250 truck race is at 1 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $25 each, with children 6 through 12 admitted at $5 each. Children under 6 are admitted free with an adult.

Reserved $35 seats are still available for Sunday's Hanes 500, which begins at 12:30 p.m. As always, 8,000 unreserved seats on the backstretch will go on sale for $30 each at 7:30 a.m. Sunday.

Meanwhile, NASCAR has announced an aerodynamic concession for Chevrolet Winston Cup teams, beginning with the Oct. 5 UAW-GM 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

NASCAR said it will allow the Chevys to increase the height of their spoilers by a quarter-inch, to 6 inches.

It was the sixth aerodynamic change made by NASCAR this year but the first for the Chevys. Previously, Ford had two changes that helped their cars and two that hurt, while Pontiac recently received a concession.

The extra quarter-inch should help improve rear downforce on the Chevys and allow them to go faster through the turns.

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