Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 14, 1991 TAG: 9104140066
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: BRISTOL, TENN. LENGTH: Medium
They were unhappy fans.
All of them were nice, he said. After all, Wallace himself sold seven cars Wednesday at the Morristown GMC dealership that now carries his name.
But the fans expressed almost universal discontent and frustration with NASCAR's new pit rules for 1991.
"The outcry came from everywhere," said Wallace, who sits on the pole for today's Valleydale Meats 500 at Bristol International Raceway. "They were saying, `I'm tired of it. I can't keep track of the cars. The fields are all strung out. I'm not going to the races anymore.'
"I was starting to get nervous. There was such an outcry after Darlington, it was just unbelievable."
But as Wallace listened to fans last week, NASCAR officials met in Daytona Beach, Fla., and announced a significant change in the 1991 pit rules, which are being blamed for boring races.
Starting with today's race, Winston Cup teams again will be allowed to change tires during caution periods.
"I think the fans will be able to keep track of what's going on now," said Wallace. "I kept telling them, `Just be patient. NASCAR will change it.' "
The latest modification of the pit rules brings back a new form of odd-even pit stops. The cars will be designated odd or even, depending on their starting positions. When the pits open after a yellow flag flies, cars with odd designations will be allowed to pit on the first lap and even-designated cars can pit on the next lap.
This is designed to keep an open stall between pitting cars to increase the margin of safety on pit road - the reason the new rules were instituted in the first place.
Last week's rule change also stipulates a new type of double-file restart, with odd cars on the inside and even cars on the outside.
The order of the two rows for restarts will be determined by who gets out of the pits first, which means the intense competition for quick pit stops should thrive again on pit road during caution periods. But with 50 laps to go or less, cars in the lead lap will be allowed to move to the front of their rows, ahead of lapped cars.
In addition, NASCAR officials plan to keep a strict new penalty they announced last weekend in Darlington. Any car spinning 90 degrees or more or making contact with another car on pit road will be penalized at least five laps.
"It's a better deal," said Ricky Rudd, who won last week's TranSouth 500 at Darlington Raceway and was not at all bored with the race. "You don't want to throw away what this sport has worked for over the years, and that's exciting racing."
Rudd, however, is concerned that the odd-even pitting system will hurt some cars at a short track like Bristol, where pits are located on the front and back stretches.
Darrell Waltrip, a consistent critic of the 1991 pit rules in all their forms, remains dissatisfied. He still favors a timeout during pit stops, with cars retaining their position at the time the yellow flag flew.
"We don't need the odd and even confusion," Waltrip said. "There's going to be an advantage and a disadvantage. You may be sixth, but if you're the first even . . . you're going to come back out and be all the way up to the outside front row. You're going to gain five spots. That's not what the caution flags are meant for. They're not meant for you to gain or lose."
And, as Terry Labonte said, "In that situation, you'll win some and lose some."
A lot of drivers are unsure how the new change will affect racing. Many, in fact, don't believe the old version - which essentially prohibited tire changes during caution periods - caused the long periods of green-flag racing and the strung-out fields that have characterized the first five races this year.
"I don't know what's going to happen," said Rick Mast. "I told the crew, `Tell me when to pit and tell me where to get back in line for the restarts.' "
\ The second round of Winston Cup qualifying at Bristol was rained out Saturday, leaving Dave Marcis, Jimmy Means and J.D. McDuffie out of the race.
Although 30 cars were scheduled to start the race, NASCAR added three provisional starters to the end of the field. Chad Little and Derrike Cope received provisional starting spots because their cars were among the top 35 in the season-long points race among car owners.
Richard Petty also is in today's race because of a new NASCAR rule this season - dubbed the "Richard Petty rule" - that allows former Winston Cup champions to receive a provisional starting spot.
The 500-lap race, which is 266.5 miles on this .533-mile high-banked oval, is scheduled to start at 1:10 p.m. and will be televised live by ESPN. The weather forecast, however, calls for a 60 percent chance of rain.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB