Talladega weekend opens

BRADBERRY SETS PACE AS WINSTON SELECT 500 WEEKEND OPENS

TALLADEGA, Ala. -- Former rookie of the year Gary Bradberry of Chelsea, Ala., posted the fastest speed Wednesday as 41 cars opened practice for Saturday's Food World 500k ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Supercar Series race at Talladega Superspeedway.

Bradberry was clocked at 192.68 mph in his own Chevrolet. The Food World 500k is set to start at 1:30 p.m. Central Time, following Round Three of True Value Hardware Stores presents the Dodge International Race of Champions XIX, at Noon Central.

Those "Super Saturday" events are preliminaries to the Winston Select 500, the ninth race in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series, which is scheduled for Sunday at 12:10 p.m. Central Time.

Talladega Pole Qualifying to lock in positions 1-20 for the Food World 500k will be held on Thursday at 3:30 p.m. Central Time. Nearly 50 cars are expected to try to make the 40-car field for the third race in the Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series season.

NASCAR Winston Cup Series practice will begin on Friday morning.

In the only incident in ARCA practice Wednesday, driver Bob Dodds spun his Chevrolet going into turn three on the 2.66-mile oval, but continued with no damage.

Jeff Purvis is the defending champion of the Food World 500k, in James Finch's Delco Remy Chevrolet. Purvis, whose ARCA car did not get on the race track Wednesday, will do double duty this weekend. Finch's Jackaroo Barby-Q Sauce Chevrolet is entered in the Winston Select 500.

ARCA PRACTICE RESULTS (Unofficial and randomly timed): 1. Gary Bradberry, Chevrolet, 192.68 mph; 2. Mark Thompson, Ford, 191.98; 3. Peter Gibbons, Chevrolet, 191.67; 4. Mike Wallace, Ford, 191.09; 5. Doug Reid, Ford, 190.38; 6. Joey Sonntag, Ford, 190.38; 7. Bob Hill, Chevrolet, 189.89; 8. Andy Hillenburg, Chevrolet, 189.77; 9 . Randal Ritter, Chevrolet, 189.10; 10. Bobby Bowsher, Ford, 188.91 .