Atlanta Motor Speedway: NAPA 500 Testing Notes
6 November 1997
The following is provided courtesy of Atlanta Motor Speedway.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 4, 1997
RISING STARS STEELE, BODINE AND GEORGIAN JONES SET THE PACE
IN TODAY'S NAPA 500 TESTING SESSION AT ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY
HAMPTON, Ga. -- If such talented young drivers as Jeff Gordon, Jeff
Burton and Bobby Labonte appear to be the future of NASCAR Winston Cup
racing, they had better make room at the top-if today's NAPA 500 testing
session at Atlanta Motor Speedway is any indication.
The three fastest drivers-Tim Steele, Todd Bodine and Buckshot
Jones-haven't even been regulars on the Winston Cup circuit this year. And
Jones, a 26 year old University of Georgia graduate from Tucker, Ga.,
hopes to earn his first Winston Cup start when the world's best race drivers
line up for qualifying on MasterCard/MBNA Pole Day on Friday November 14.
"We're as quick as anybody," said Steele, who has 12 Automobile Racing
Club of America Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series victories this season, including his
record-setting third at Atlanta Motor Speedway. "It's almost too good to be
true. I can't believe how great everything is going."
Steele was clocked at 192.166 mph in a Ford prepared by legendary car
owner Bud Moore, who is planning to return to the Winston Cup circuit in the
NAPA 500 on Sunday November 16 with Steele behind the wheel.
"Working with Bud is great," Steele added. "There are some pretty good
cars here to judge my speed by, so I'm thrilled-unless they're just messing
with us."
Bodine, who lost a season-long battle with Randy LaJoie for the NASCAR
Busch Series title, was clocked at 191.635 mph in a Pontiac, and he indicated
he can go faster.
"We still haven't done any 'Go fast' things," he said. "We're working on
raceability, trying to make the car drive well and feel comfortable. Stay
tuned. There's more speed left in this car."
As with Jones' Pontiac.
"The more I run, the more confident I get," said Jones, a star on the
Busch Series who was timed in 190.843 mph. "We ran some pretty good laps. I
tried to go faster and got uncomfortable going through turns one and two.
Once we get the setup down, we'll get faster. I just don't want to risk the
car right now."
Before anyone concedes the NAPA 500 to "Generation X" drivers, however,
watch out for Darrell Waltrip. The 50-year-old three-time Winston Cup
champion was right on the heels of the young lions with a clocking of 190.058
mph.
"I'm bad to the bone," said Waltrip, whose 84 victories lead all active
drivers. "I'm tickled to death with the race track. I'd heard horror
stories, but it's just very smooth. It's fast, but it was fast before. The
tires have got so much grip. Simply repaving the track this well has made it
faster."
Wallace, the 1989 Winston Cup champion, echoed Waltrip's sentiments
about the transformation from a 1.522-mile oval to a 1.54-mile quad-oval and
the increased speeds that could result in most of the cars that qualify on
MasterCard/MBNA Pole Day eclipsing Robby Gordon's track record of 186.507
mph set last March.
"Everybody's talking about how fast it is. Big deal! It's fast because
it's so smooth and so comfortable to run that fast," Wallace said. "Nobody
should be complaining about anything. Five miles an hour faster? Heck, I can
walk faster than five miles an hour."
HAMPTON, GA -- Practice times for the NASCAR Winston Cup Series,
ATLANTA TESTING 11/4:
Ps.No. Driver Sponsor Make Lap Time M.P.H.
-- ---- ----------------------------------------------------- -------- -------
1 15 Tim Steele Bud Moore Eng. Ford 0:28.850 192.166
2 35 Todd Bodine Tabasco Pont 0:28.930 191.635
3 00 Roy Jones Aquafresh Pont 0:29.050 190.843
4 17 Darrell Waltrip Western Auto Chev 0:29.170 190.058
5 2 Rusty Wallace Miller Lite Ford 0:29.230 189.668
6 5 Terry Labonte Kellogg's Corn Flakes Chev 0:29.240 189.603
7 90 Dick Trickle Heilig-Meyers/Simmons Ford 0:29.271 189.404
8 41 Steve Grissom Kodiak Chev 0:29.310 189.150
9 22 Ward Burton MBNA Pont 0:29.320 189.086
10 91 Kevin Lepage Pionite Chev 0:29.330 189.021
11 10 Ricky Rudd Tide Ford 0:29.670 186.855
12 95 Ed Berrier Feed the Children Ford 0:30.060 184.431
13 77 Robert Pressley Jasper Engines Ford 0:30.210 183.515
14 ?? Mike Miller unknown series & sponsor Chev 0:31.170 177.863
Unknown at this time if the 15 car has sponsorship.
Track Length : 1.5400 Miles