Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, October 21, 1995 TAG: 9510220007
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER|
DATELINE: ROCKINGHAM, N.C. LENGTH: Medium
The track that seems to consistently have the worst luck with wet weather had no luck again Friday. Rain fell on and off here throughout the day, and not a single car made it onto the one-mile oval.
The saving grace this time was that Rockingham built a new garage and infield media center over the summer, so the wait was considerably more comfortable.
The only thing to do Friday was wait for NASCAR to call it off, which the sanctioning body did at about 4 p.m.
The revised schedule calls for one round of Winston Cup qualifying for all 38 starting spots at 9:30 a.m. today, followed by the Unocal pit crew championship at 11.
The AC Delco 200 Grand National race is set to start at 2 with a 43-car field determined by the points standings. Points leader Johnny Benson will start on the pole.
GREENER PASTURES: If David Green had 1995 to do over again, he would do it differently.
After winning the 1994 NASCAR Busch Grand National championship, Green opted to defend his title instead of moving up to the Winston Cup series. But he's endured a horrible season and is in 13th position in the Busch standings.
``Looking back on the year, I should have gone to Winston Cup,'' he said. ``If I was going to blow up and break and not finish races, I'd just as soon blow up in Winston Cup.''
So it was back to square one for Green, and he's decided to try to work his way back into the limelight with a young, new team owned by Buz McCall, a leading car owner in the SCCA Trans-Am series, and sponsored by Caterpillar.
This season was McCall's first in the Busch series, and the team ran a limited schedule with driver Ward Burton. They'll run the full season next year with Green before moving into the Winston Cup series in 1997.
``I think with the kind of year I've had this year, I don't need a situation ... where all of a sudden fingers are pointing at the driver if things get tough,'' Green said. ``I feel real confident about the fact that I'll be spending a year with these guys in Busch and then moving to Winston Cup. I think this is one of the best opportunities to get into Winston Cup.''
JUNIOR SET TO SELL: Junior Johnson and Brett Bodine are not yet confirming it, but the papers reportedly have been signed for Bodine to buy Johnson's Ford Thunderbird team - one of the most successful teams in the history of NASCAR racing.
``It's not a done deal,'' Bodine said. ``I'm still working on it.''
Bodine wouldn't confirm it, but reportedly the only thing holding up an announcement of the sale is the transfer of money.
But he's made no secret of his negotiations with Johnson and his desire to own his own team. And he agreed that something has to happen soon.
``Time is becoming of the essence,'' Bodine said.
If the 64-year-old Johnson retires, he'll leave the sport with six Winston Cup championships as a car owner and 50 race victories as a driver, including the 1960 Daytona 500.
MOTOR MAN: One thing Ricky Rudd never has lacked during the past two years is motor power. And folks in the garage have noticed.
Rudd leases his motors from Peter Guild's PME engine building company, as do the teams with drivers John Andretti and Todd Bodine. Because of his success, Guild has found himself with new customers knocking on the door.
Guild said he's adding three new employees and will be building engines for Lake Speed and Jimmy Spencer next year. He said he'll also be providing engines to Bud Moore's team for about half of the 1996 races.
With the growing sophistication of the Winston Cup series, teams have found that it is ``better and less expensive, and therefore more cost effective'' to lease power plants, Guild said. ``I think that's what we've kind of shown.''
QUICK STOPS: Richard Childress made it official this week - veteran crew member David Smith will replace departing Andy Petree as crew chief and will oversee race track operations, while Bobby Hutchens acts as team manager, overseeing shop operations.
Jimmy Spencer will return in 1996 as driver of the Smokin' Joe's Ford Thunderbird owned by Travis Carter, the team announced Thursday.
Ted Musgrave will drive a Jack Roush-owned SuperTruck in the truck race on Oct.28 at Phoenix International Raceway, Roush announced Friday.
MW Windows, which has been sponsoring Terry Labonte in a limited Grand National schedule, has announced a 15-race Grand National deal in 1996 with Michael Waltrip.
by CNB