Richmond Charges to Victory at Riverside : He Rallies From 13th Place to Narrowly Overtake Bodine, Waltrip and Earnhardt

RIVERSIDE — Tim Richmond, the driver they call “Hollywood” in the garages of NASCAR, started first, fell back and then came on in dramatic Hollywood fashion to finish first in Sunday’s Winston Western 500.

A record Riverside International Raceway crowd announced as 70,000 watched as the former Indy car driver from Ashland, Ohio, won his seventh Winston Cup race of the season, more than any other driver.

After dropping back as far as 13th because of some inopportune pit stops in mid-race, Richmond fought back in the Harry Hyde-prepared Chevrolet to pass first Geoff Bodine, then Darrell Waltrip and finally series champion Dale Earnhardt in the last 10 laps to win by less than two seconds.

Earnhardt, who clinched the Winston Cup two weeks ago at Atlanta although he won only five races, finished second, followed by Bodine, Waltrip, Joe Ruttman, Bobby Hillin, Bobby Allison and Rusty Wallace--all on the same lap with Richmond.

“For a first-year team, I feel like we won the championship,” Richmond said. He won seven races, eight pole positions for a $30,000 bonus, and finished third in the points behind Earnhardt and Waltrip in his first season with Hyde.

Sunday’s win was worth $50,955 to the 31-year-old.

Waltrip denied him another $80,000, however, by finishing fourth to assure himself second place in the rich points fund. Had Waltrip finished sixth, Richmond would have collected second-place money of $225,000 instead of $145,000 for third place.

It took a daring tactic by Waltrip and crew chief Junior Johnson to do it. Waltrip was struggling in sixth place when a yellow flag came out on lap 105 (of 119 laps) after Bill Elliott’s Ford blew an engine while running fourth.

All the leaders pitted to top off their fuel and get fresh tires--except Waltrip. The defending series champion stayed out, took the lead and then held off Ruttman, Hillin and Allison to protect his advantage.

It was Waltrip’s last ride with the Johnson team. Next year he will join Richmond and Bodine as part of a three-car Hendricks Motorsports team.

“We couldn’t have done anymore than we did,” Richmond said. “We came from a 21-point deficit to cut it to six, but Darrell knew what he had to do and did it. I congratulate him.”

Sharing the spotlight with Richmond was 58-year-old Hershel McGriff, the former lumber baron from Bridal Veil, Ore., who won the Winston West series championship. It was the first series McGriff ever won in a NASCAR career that goes back to 1950.

McGriff finished 26th when the engine quit in his Pontiac on lap 97, but he had already won when Chad Little dropped out with engine problems of his own on the 42nd lap. Little, the West Coast rookie of the year from Spokane, Wash., was the only driver with a chance of catching McGriff.

“I started out trying to drive conservatively to be sure and finish for the points, but before long I forgot that and was racing,” McGriff said. “It’s fun to race with these young guys like Richmond and Earnhardt twice a year. I know most of them pretty well. I ought to, I drove with their dads before most of them were born.”

There were 13 lead changes among eight drivers in the 500-kilometer race that turned into one of the most exciting in Riverside’s long stock car racing history. Richmond averaged 101.245 m.p.h., well below Waltrip’s 107.060 set in January 1979.

The pace was slowed by seven yellow caution flags for 27 of the 119 laps.

Richmond, who qualified Friday at a record 118.247 m.p.h., jumped in front of Waltrip at the green flag but, before the second time around the 2.62-mile track was completed, Bodine had pushed his yellow Chevrolet in front.

Richmond got the lead back and appeared in control of the race when his timing went awry. Hyde called him in for his first refueling stop under the green flag on lap 24. A lap later a yellow flag enabled all the other leaders to pit while the cars dawdled around behind the pace car.

Problems with his brakes sent Richmond into the pits again, and a flat tire brought him in for the third time in 36 laps. By this time, the leaders were half a lap ahead and the pole-sitter was out of the top ten.

About that time Richmond got on the radio to his crew chief, Harry Hyde.

“Do we have a problem out here, or what?” Richmond asked.

“I told him he was looking good, just be patient and don’t get excited and wait for the yellows (caution periods) to move up,” Hyde said.

Sure enough, things began to happen.

Waltrip, while leading, had a tire go flat and had to crawl slowly into the pits, losing a lot of time. Neil Bonnett, after taking over the lead, had to make an unscheduled pit stop because his car was stuck in fourth gear.

Ricky Rudd, the defending champion, stopped with a broken brake caliper while running third. Benny Parsons, who had made a bold move up to second position after starting 26th, retired with transmission problems. Elliott, after leading at the halfway point of the race, had the engine blow on his Ford 10 laps from the end while running fourth.

All these problems, plus a lengthy yellow flag brought out by an accident involving Morgan Shepard, Harry Gant and Rick McCray, enabled Richmond to work his way back up to the lead pack.

“I’ll admit, things looked awful bleak after the first couple of stops,” Richmond said. “The brakes weren’t working right all day, which made the car sort of wheel-hop when I hit them hard.

“But we fought, and fought and fought and pretty soon I could see the guys I was after. It was tough to know how far ahead they were and still have to worry about not abusing the tires or the car. I had to charge, but I also had to save enough to be there at the end.

“We had to keep adjusting all day long. Harry Hyde and the Folger’s crew did one hell of a job. I can’t say enough for them.”

On the final fuel stop, when Richmond and Bodine pitted at the same time, Richmond was the last one in but the first one out as Hyde’s crew won the race in the pits.

There was an imprint of a tire and some crumpled panels on the left side of Richmond’s car, the result of a skirmish with Parsons.

“We were side by side coming out of the pits and when we got to Turn 2 we were the same way and there isn’t enough room there for two cars,” Richmond explained.

The most dangerous spot on the race track was along pit row when a caution flag came out. Cars came flying in together, causing a high-speed grid-lock. McGriff came in once, ready to slip into his narrow space when he discovered it was occupied. Forced to brake suddenly, he spun halfway around and blocked pit lane. While he sat there, trying to get straightened out, several impatient drivers sped by on both sides, sending crews and photographers scurrying for safety.

During Saturday’s Southwest Tour race, a similar situation ended with two crewmen being hospitalized when a car came in too fast, overshot his pit and crashed into the car they were servicing.