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| | Saturday, May 6 Martin drives with heavy heart | |||||||||||||
Associated Press
Geoff Bodine was the sentimental choice in the Pontiac 400 after qualifying fourth in his return from a fiery crash in February. Bodine was running in third place behind Rusty Wallace and Mike Skinner when Robby Gordon hit the wall after 117 laps, and then he goofed big time. Pit road was closed, but Bodine got out of line and pitted anyway. He wasn't allowed to stop for service, then failed to beat the pace car to the pit road exit and was held until the field passed, dropping him to 31st position. "I made a few rookie mistakes out there," Bodine said. "I told the crew I was rusty and that I might, and I did." Bodine, 51, got out of the car after 183 laps, turning the driving duties over to his brother, Todd, who had been knocked out of the race after 42 laps. "It a tough track to come back on," Geoffrey Bodine said. Todd Bodine completed a strong run for his brother, making up two laps with perhaps the strongest car at the end and salvaging a 13th-place finish. Marcis misses race, but bags turkey Dave Marcis was 46th among 47 drivers in first-round qualifying and didn't even try again to make the race Saturday. "We cannot make our car go fast enough. We can't make it. I might be stupid, but I'm not ignorant," he said. "To go down there and spend $1,500 on a set of tires just to do what, prove you're an idiot? I don't need to do that." Marcis, 59, has missed eight of 11 races. He said his wife, Helen, tapes them all, but he either scans them quickly or doesn't watch them at all. "I want people watching my car in the races," he said. Marcis did pick up a nice consolation prize during his stay in Virginia. On Friday, he went hunting at 4:30 a.m. with a friend and bagged a 21-pound, 2-ounce turkey, believed to be one of the biggest ever shot in Virginia. Marcis has sent the bird off for official certification, then plans to mount it. "We'll display it with its feathers fanned. We saw it do that four or five times when we were waiting for a clear shot," he said. "It's beautiful." Pit stops ... Todd Bodine, who had the fastest car in happy hour, lasted just 42 laps before hitting the wall coming out of the fourth turn and retiring for the night. ... Jeremy Mayfield, whose team was fined twice this week for infractions in the last two races, hit the wall in turn 3 on the eighth lap and went behind the wall for repairs. He finished 36th. ... Paul Sawyer, the developer and owner of Richmond International Raceway until he sold it to International Speedway Corp. in December, was grand marshal for the Pontiac 400. ... All but eight of the starters in the Pontiac 400 had led at least one lap in the season's first 10 races. Among those not on the list was Tony Stewart, who ended that drought when he led on the 209th circuit around the raceway. | ALSO SEE Repeat after E: Junior returns to Victory Lane Busch Series crew chief Lovendahl dies in wreck  | |||||||||||||
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