Craven hits wall at Miller 500 qualifier

LONG POND, Pa. – Newburgh’s Ricky Craven walked away from a crash here in Friday’s qualifying races for Sunday’s Miller Genuine Draft 500 at the 2.5-mile Pocono International Raceway.

Craven’s Chevrolet Monte Carlo hit the wall exiting the second turn in practice, leaving tire marks he hit again during his qualifying lap.

“We’ll bring out the backup car now,” team manager Waddell Wilson said. “We don’t have enough pieces to fix this one again.”

Craven, who didn’t qualify for the Miller 500 field, will try again in Saturday’s trials.

“It was slippery out there,” Jeff Gordon said after a lap of 160.953 in a Chevrolet put him 11th. “You couldn’t get into the gas as much as you’d want.”

Bill Elliott turned a lap of 162.496 mph at the 2.5-mile Pocono International Raceway to put his Thunderbird on the pole for the first time in 42 races. Mark Martin was second at 161.993 and Morgan Shepherd third at 161.438.

While Elliott led a surprising domination by Fords in Friday’s qualifying, Rusty Wallace never got a chance to see if he could break his own track qualifying standard.

Wallace never left his garage.

“He did not pass technical inspection because of unapproved roof flaps,” NASCAR spokesman Kevin Triplett said. “We are examining them, and I don’t think anything will be decided before (Saturday).”

Triplett refused to be specific about the infraction other than to say the material used in the flaps – which slow cars in the event they spin – was being studied. Wallace, contacted outside his hauler, said only that he was confused.

He set the track qualifying record last June with a run of 164.558.