THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 9, 1997 TAG: 9701090525
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BOB ZELLER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 65 lines
After failing to reach a lap speed of 185 mph around Daytona International Speedway, Dale Earnhardt was not a happy driver at the end of the first three-day General Motors test Wednesday.
``Guys, I just don't have time to talk,'' Earnhardt told reporters. ``I'm tired, I'm hot and we just can't get these cars to run.''
It didn't help matters that Earnhardt's new teammate, Mike Skinner, was fifth-fastest Wednesday at 185.993 mph. The best Earnhardt could do was 184.816, which was 11th-fastest.
Robby Gordon again led the GM teams with a lap of 188.107 mph. Jeff Gordon was second-fastest at 187.383, followed by Winston Cup champion Terry Labonte at 186.722 and Sterling Marlin at 186.239. All were driving Chevys. Derrike Cope had the fastest Pontiac at 185.185 and was ninth-fastest overall.
The Ford teams return Monday for a final three-day test, followed by the final GM Winston Cup test Jan. 20-22.
SETTING THE STAGE: Rick Mast and his new car owner, Butch Mock, are not setting a deadline for Mast's first victory, but they do have a specific goal for 1997.
``My goal is to get on stage at the banquet in New York at the end of the season,'' Mast said Wednesday when the Charlotte Motor Speedway Media Tour visited Mock's shop in Mooresville, N.C.
To do that, Mast must finish in the top 10 in Winston Cup points - something he's never done. And after six full-time seasons and 216 Winston Cup starts, Mast is still looking for his first visit to Victory Lane.
``We want to come out smoking, but we're looking at it as a long-term deal,'' he said. ``We haven't set a timetable for a victory.''
The danger with doing that, Mast said, is that ``you start doing the wrong things on the racetrack and off the racetrack.''
On the track, a driver who is pressing for a victory will start overdriving and get himself into trouble, he said. Off the track, team members will start pointing fingers at one another when the victory fails to materialize.
But as Mock pointed out, even without internal troubles, it's not going to be easy.
``There's not a bad team out there now,'' he said. ``Just to be here and be in the top 30 is a big deal.''
SHARE AND SHARE ALIKE: The teams of Ricky Rudd, Rick Mast and Jeremy Mayfield have begun an information-sharing program in an effort to keep pace with the multi-team operations.
Michael Kranefuss, who owns Mayfield's team, said the initial efforts have focused on sharing information about the chassis and its stiffness. But Kranefuss said he doesn't know how if he will continue to be part of the effort.
``By May, we'll be building our own chassis,'' he said. ``We just rented a place to start that effort.''
Only a few teams, including Rusty Wallace and the Hendrick Motorsports team, build their own chassis.
SHOP TALK: Lee Morse, who recently retired as Ford's North American motorsports chief, was introduced as the new general manager at Geoff Bodine's shop. And mechanic Pat Tryson, who was with Rudd's team in 1996, has been named crew chief, replacing Paul Andrews, who is now Mayfield's crew chief. . Enterprises II) race shop in Concord, N.C. The new team is a joint venture owned by Kyle Petty, Richard Petty and engine builder David Evans. Bobby Kennedy will be crew chief.