Motor Racing Roundup : Allison Rolls to Victory on a Fresh Set of Tires

Bobby Allison knew he had to play catch-up, and he wanted to do it with a new set of tires.

Allison’s gamble paid off when he came from 12th place to take the lead five laps from the finish and win the Firecracker 400 Saturday at Daytona Beach, Fla.

“I was the only driver who stopped and put on four fresh tires (during the final caution period), and it made an incredible difference,” Allison said.

As Allison crossed the finish line with Buddy Baker 1.5 seconds behind, Ken Schrader and Harry Gant crashed behind the leaders. After Schrader did a barrel roll, both cars slid to a stop just past the finish line. Neither driver was hurt.

For Allison, 49, it was the third Firecracker 400 victory and the 83rd win of his NASCAR career.

Dave Marcis finished third, followed by Darrell Waltrip, Morgan Shepherd and Dale Earnhardt. Schrader was sixth, while Gant wound up eighth.

Nigel Mansell of Britain won his fourth straight pole position in his quest for a second straight French Grand Prix victory at Le Castellet, France.

Mansell, driving a Williams-Honda, posted the best lap of qualifying when he toured the 2.4-mile Paul Ricard Circuit Friday in 1 minute 6.454 seconds at an average speed of 128.35 m.p.h.

Alain Prost of France will start next to Mansell on the front row with a time of 1:06.877. Prost needs one victory to break Jackie Stewart’s record of 27 career Formula One wins.

Roberto Guerrero of Colombia eclipsed his own track record with a blistering lap of 136.287 m.p.h. and held off a charging Bobby Rahal to win the pole position for today’s Cleveland Grand Prix.

Mario Andretti qualified third at 135.903 m.p.h.