News and Record from Greensboro, North Carolina • 29

Ii nn I I I 1 I nail ri iinr i ii if'ifiTri'i'i' i'r ruTiuiH 'ii i 1 1 i 'Z Racing The Charlotte 600 Greensboro News Record Sun May 18 1986 B9 wu 4 aA VHBm 1 vWi KwRHI tT? 1 ls8PBihr fc i rr tMfcOaJEMMl jRar7 a "Mlmy "WMK Wk VimM? 'M0'5 S5HBH l'? 9 XlM ImB I $5 A new tire compound used forthe first time on the Dover track Darrell Waltrip who qualified for the sixth position said like you're caught between a rock and a breathtaking out Waltrip said referring to the slick track and the hard tires a little safer but slow ing the speeds by about one second he said every one has to deal with the same problem had to change their chassis combina Richard Petty at 137598 inph and last pole winner Terry La bonte at 137441 mph rounded Rudd who said he ran good in and was of The Associated Press DOVER Del Ricky Rudd edged out Dale Earnhardt bv a fraction of a second to post the top out the top five starters speed and take the pole Saturday Rudd who said he ran for Budweiser 500 good in and was of Rudd took the pole at 138217 the fastest on the track mph which qualifies him for the know if his ord would hold Busch Clash set for ebruary in tip to take the pole Daytona Beach la last pole was in 1984 when he set the record for the an(j he track sealant combined to Bud 500 at 140807 mph cause a slippery track and a tire feels real good We thats too hard Rudd said win one at an in oo out we won three in 84 so this is some kind oi satisfaction for last Rudd said course getting into the prestigious Busch Clash is some thing The race the last one before next Charlotte 600 is set tions for today on the Monster Mile at Dover Downs International Speedway and Dale Earnhardt will be in the No 2 slot Earn hardt had a qualifying speed of 138158 mph Geoff Bodine at 137777 mph Rudd takes pole for race at Dover Junior Johnson rom B1 3 the he eventually became the one who embodied the breed Interest in the NASCAR circuit had begun to mushroom in 1963 which turned out to be a year when Johnson came to the fore as the hardest charger in the hottest car i approach was simple: Qualify for the pole position and stand on the accelerator until the race was won or the equipment broke Although he won seven races in his Chevrolet he was victim ized by mechanical breakdowns i i 5 Bi'' Kf II II Junior Johnson through the years more often than not Nonetheless the simplicity of his driving tactics appealed to the unsophisticated rac ing fans who were beginning to flock to the tracks The following year an avant garde New York based writer named Tom Wolfe authored an arti cle for Esquire magazine that pro filed Johnson explored his intrigu ing past and turned him into a cult i i figure with a widespread national 1 following The title of article Junior as Last American He thus became i the first NASCAR driver whose re nown expanded beyond the South In 1965 having left behind his Chevy for a ord Johnson managed his finest year as a driver with 13 victories But then in ord be gan withdrawing its factory sup port Junior competed in only seven races that year quit driving at the relatively tender age of 33 and be gan dabbling in car ownership be cause it appeared to offer greater long range security than driving was the kind of driver who involved himself with every aspect of the Johnson recalled recent ly being a car owner a big transition for me I owned a car before I quit Nonetheless it took Johnson three years to secure enough facto ry backing and the right driver to return to the circle with some degree of regularity Employ ing several different drivers he failed to win as an owner in '67 and mustered only one victory in when Darel Dieringer drove his car to victory in the Trenton 300 By the end of the season Johnson had found a talented young driver named Lee Roy Yarbrough and regained full factory backing from ord The Johnson Yarbrough team scored two victories that year then dominated the circuit in They won seven times and became the first to capture the three most prestigious races on the circuit the Daytona 500 World 600 and the Southern 500 at Dar lington Due to a weakness for off track high jinks Yarbrough did not han dle his initial burst of success very well After commitment weakened again in 1970 the John son Yarbrough team managed only one wdn The owner driver alliance was severed in By then however Johnson had Point standings established a reputation as an 'effec tive car owner Johnson joined forces with Bobby Allison and Chevrolet in 1972 to re cord 10 wins Then when the rest less Allison found another ride Johnson enlisted another up and coming driver named Cale Yarborough The Johnson Yarborough team endured for eieht seasons from 1973 through Their General Motors cars joined the Wood ords and the Chrysler products as dominating rival forces in those years When one of the three win it was an upset When Johnson and Yarborough split Junior quickly enlisted anoth er top driver in Darrell Waltrip By 1984 success as an owner had earned him sufficient resources to add a second car and another top driver Neil Bonnett to the team He began leaving the struggling Pettys and Wood Brothers behind In choosing his drivers it take Johnson long to stop looking for Another Junior Johnson I want a driver with physical ability and he said I also look for a guy who knows how to take care of the equipment someone with enough knowledge about the engine and chassis to help the crew develop and maintain the car I was a driver I think twice about taking care of the car I just tried to go to the front of the pack and stand on it But being a car owner and running for the (points) championship taught me how important it was to protect the Indeed durability as a car owner can' be traced directly to his willingness to absorb the lessons that experience has taught him acquired a knowledge of what it takes to be well prepared to win he said been lucky enough to hire drivers who were in their prime recognized the im portance of factory backing and tak en advantage of it by persuading the factories to replace bad parts with good ones I understand that win ning is a process of elimination and that the pit crew is just as likely to win as the fastest car and the best driver has taken steps to in crease competition in the years since we were racing primarily against the Pettys and the Woods Competition makes you work har der but it still boils down to figur ing a better way to get the job done Waltrip can best attest to John expertise knows what it takes to win races and champion ships better than anyone the driver has said Here are the NASCAR Winston Cup stand ings through the first nine races Driver Points 1 Dale Earnhardt 1417 2 Darrell Waltrip 1308 3 Rusty Wallace 1216 4 Bobby Allison 1198 5 Terry Labonte 1189 6 Kyle Petty 1152 7 Bill Elliott 1141 8 Tim Richmond 1135 9 Harry Gant 1084 10 Geoff Bodine 1082 11 Bobby Hillin Jr 1043 12 Ricky Rudd 1042 13 Richard Petty 1041 14 Joe Ruttman 998 15 Ken Schrader 965 16 Morgan Shepherd 963 17 Neil Bonnett 923 18 Buddy Arrington 857 19 Dave Marcis 850 20 Ron Bouchard 821 21 Tommy Ellis 816 22 Trevor Boys 791 23 Jimmy Means 760 24 Mike Waltrip 758 25 Alan Kulwicki 756 26 Jody Ridley 689 27 Doug Heveron 643 28 Rick Wilson 579 29 Phil Parsons 754 30 Eddie Bierschwale 499 31 Benny Parsons 492 32 McDuffie 485 33 Lake Speed 482 34 Cale Yarborough 468 35 Buddy Baker 446 36 Greg Sacks 438 37 Davey Allison 364 38 Ronnie Thomas 346 39 Chet illip 340 40 Sterling Marlin 320 41 PanchoCarter 313 42 Kirk Bryant 301 43 Bobby Wawak 249 44 AJ oyt 193 45 H0 Bailey 179 46 Derrike Cope 138 47 Jim Sauter 128 48 Jerry Cranmer 124 49 Mark Stahl 115 50 Dick Trickle 112 One position left at Indy The Associated Press INDIANAPOLIS our qualifi ers led by Scotsman Jim Crawford I at 208911 mph moved into the ten tative starting lineup for the India napolis 500 Saturday leaving one i spot open for the May 25 race Also completing four lap 10 mile qualification runs on Saturday were Johnny Parsons Rich Vogler and a nervous Dick Simon whose average of 204978 was the slowest of the 32 in the field so far and potentially the first to be bumped once the lineup is filled The National Weather Service 1 had forecast a 60 percent chance of rain for Saturday that never ap peared However an 80 percent i chance of showers was predicted for Sunday the last of four days of time trials for the 70th Indy Once the field is completed a rainstorm could work to the benefit of Simon 52 trying to become the oldest driver ever to start the 500 If rain washes out qualifying after the field is full those already quali fied would start the race but if posi tions remained open at the official close of time trials 7 pm EDT Sunday another round of qualify ing would be held on the next clear day Crawford made it into the tenta tive lineup after two aborted tries in session He drove his Buick powered March onto the 212 mile Indianapo lis Motor Speedway oval shortly af ter the track opened for qualifying turning a fast lap of 213129 before a piece in his turbocharger shattered and spewed pieces of metal into the engine crew did a heck of a Crawford said 2'2 hours we were back on the track I thank them Later in the session Crawford moved back onto the track and started to get up to speed when a hose broke forcing him back to the pits for repairs without taking the green flag for another try was a 10 cent hose and it gave me a 1000 dollar Crawford said Crawford who had two laps over 209 and two over 208 in his success ful qualifying run finished 16th at Indy last year as a rookie He got his ride here this year when John Paul Jr who started the month in the car was sentenced to five years in prison on racketeering charges stemming from a drug smuggling ring In his first day of practice in the car owned by March builder Robin Herd Crawford spun and whacked the concrete wall But he escaped injury and the car suf fered only minor damage Among the drivers still trying to build enough speed to make it into the lineup were veterans George Snider Gary Bettenhausen Derek Daly of Ireland and Spike Gehlhau sen along with Indy rookies Mike Nish Rupert Keegan of England Jan Lammers of Holland and Rick Miaskiewicz Snider driving a Chevrolet pow ered March owned by AJ oyt made one try Saturday completing one lap over 207 and one over 205 before coming in with an engine problem And Bettenhausen in a March Cosworth made his second qualifying try the first was last Sunday and waved off after two laps over 206 Last week the veter an of 14 Indys did three laps aver aging over 208 before his team de cided to wave off the effort THE NEW NIKON N2020 AUTOOCUS SLR IT CAN DO IT ALL OR YOU CAN Introducing a Nikon SLR perfect for beginners and advanced photog raphers alike Because this Auto focus camera can be fully automatic com pletely manual or just INTRODUCTORY PRICED AT $4095 ONLY w50nini fl8A QUANTITIES LIMITED RAINCHECKS AVAILABLE Nikon Wt take th? voids greatest pictures about anything in between And with the Nikon Autofocus Converter TC 16A you can use the N2020 with most existing Nikon lenses in addition to our new autofocus lenses EATURES INCLUDE LARGEST AUTOOCUS LENS SYSTEM ANY CAMERA 2 AUTOOCUS MODES SINGLE SHOT CONTINUOUS NORMAL HIGH SPEED DUAL PROGRAM EXPOSURE MODES APERTURE PRIORITY EXPOSURE LOCK OCUS LOCK BUILT IN MOTOR DRIVE PROGRAMMED TTL LASH AUTO ILM LOADING AUTO ILM SPEED SET NIKON USA CLUB LIMITED WARRANTY APPLICATION INCLUDED Camera World s46i9 Market St GRpENSBORO NC 919855 310 1 NEW 1986 CAPRI 60 LITER COUPE PERORMANCE SPOKEN HERE! GREENSBORO RACING I SPECIAL LIST PRICE DISCOUNT LINCOLN MERCURY $1 3307 $807 ADD ONLY TAX AND LICENSE TO COUGAR AND CAPRI PRICES NO DEALER PREPARATION CHARGES! 1TLOTOTAL SELLING PRICE $14205 $1205 CASH OR TRADE TOTAL PAYMENTS $16920 109 APR 60 MONTHS "TOTAL SELLING PRICE $12777 $1277 CASH OR TRADE TOTAL PAYMENTS $1197408 60 months 109 MONTH RED CARPET LEASE REQUIRES 1st MONTH PAYMENT AND SECURITY DEPOSIT $300 TOTAL PAY MENTS $14370 72 LEASE END VALUE $829768 NO OBLIGATION TO PURCHASE 6 PER MILE OVER 72000 MILES USAGE STOCK ULLY EQUIPPED AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION 775 LEAS1NE MI rani Ki s12500 s24r NEW 1986 COUGAR XR7 TURBO COUPE LIST PRICE 17278 DISCOUNT 2778 IINHAIN B1EDMIDV UEDIIID Lil in Lnu in i '300 NORTH CHURCH STREET DOWNTOWN GREENSBORO 274 0195 IN STOCK! ULLY EQUIPPED AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION NEW 1986 MERKUR XR4TI COUPE 1 4 i Lib I HHIUE If 04 1 DISCOUNT 1321 HR RIMI SPECIAL 1 031111 I lJ LJ ft (LINCOLN MERCURY GREENSBORO.