Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, April 1, 1995 TAG: 9504030071
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B5 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BRISTOL, TENN. LENGTH: Medium
If any of the leading Winston Cup teams had information about the results of NASCAR's comparative wind tunnel tests of the Fords, Chevys and Pontiacs, they weren't talking Friday at Bristol International Raceway.
``I got my car back. That's all I know,'' said Richard Petty, whose Pontiac, driven by Bobby Hamilton, was one of the three cars used in the tests.
``The whole world is curious, including me,'' said Greg Moore, Dick Trickle's crew chief.
There was a report that Rusty Wallace had told some sponsor guests that the tests had showed that the Chevys, indeed, had an aerodynamic advantage over the Fords and that changes would be forthcoming in a week or so.
But on Friday, Wallace said, ``I don't know nothing yet, nothing at all. It's all rumors.''
Meanwhile, NASCAR issued a statement from Mike Helton, vice president of competition, saying the sanctioning body was ``very pleased'' with the tests, which were held on Tuesday at the Lockheed wind tunnel in Marietta, Ga., and Wednesday at the General Motors wind tunnel in Warren, Mich.
``It will take several weeks for the gathered data to be analyzed,'' Helton's statement said. ``We have a large amount of information, but have put our effort on hold'' until after Sunday's race. Helton said NASCAR has not yet planned for any rule changes.
``We don't want to talk about what we've got until we know what we've got,'' explained NASCAR spokesman Kevin Triplett.
``We've got 200 pages of numbers from two different tunnels using two different systems.''
GREEN ON BUSCH POLE: After filling in for injured Bobby Labonte and qualifying fifth for Sunday's Food City 500 Winston Cup race, David Green returned to the series where he is reigning champion and won the pole for today's Goody's 250 Grand National race with a speed of 122.474 mph.
Green's lap in his Chevrolet Monte Carlo was less than a tenth of a mile per hour faster than that of Chad Little, who took the second starting spot with a lap of 122.396 mph in his Ford.
Also in the top five were Darlington winner Larry Pearson at 122.318 mph in a Chevy, Mark Martin at 122.232 mph in a Ford and Curtis Markham at 121.313 mph in a Pontiac. (Results in Scoreboard. B4)
LABONTE WILL START: Labonte, meanwhile, said he planned to start Sunday's Winston Cup race and then let Green take over, although Labonte was still uncertain Friday as to how far he would try to go.
Labonte suffered a cracked left shoulder bone in a crash during last Sunday's TranSouth 400 at Darlington. He is also recovering from pneumonia.
``I ran eight or 10 laps today in practice, but the car just didn't feel comfortable enough for me to go out there and run fast,'' Labonte said. ``Starting at the rear of the field Sunday may be the best thing to do. I'd like to go to the first yellow, but we'll have to wait and see.''
ALLEN RESIGNS: After a year and a half of trying to make it in the Winston Cup series, 28-year-old Loy Allen resigned as
driver of the Junior Johnson-owned No. 27 Ford Thunderbird.
Allen's resignation came after a team meeting Thursday that included crew chief Mike Hill and representatives from Hooters, the team's sponsor.
A surprisingly frank statement announcing the resignation said: ``All parties agreed that Allen made his entrance to stock car racing's premier division prematurely.''
Hill was quoted as saying: ``With time and laps, Loy Allen will make a fine driver. He made history in Daytona and won several poles last year. There is a future for him in this sport when he has more experience. Kenny Wallace and Chad Little have proven that you can step back, hone your skills and become a valuable property. I see Loy doing just that.''
Hut Stricklin was named to replace Allen here at Bristol, but the team is still looking for a permanent replacement.
Allen won three poles last year, including the Daytona 500 pole, but failed to qualify for a dozen others. He had failed to qualify for one race so far this year.
MAST TO PONTIAC? Rick Mast and his car owner, Richard Jackson, are seriously considering a move from Ford to the new Pontiac Grand Prixs in 1996, sources close to the situation report.
Mast, however, was unwilling to confirm the report. ``We're committed to running Fords the rest of this season,'' he said. ``To be honest, we're not even looking beyond this season.''
Memo: shorter version ran in the Metro edition.