GM GAINS GROUND, BUT FORD HAS PLAN

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, January 23, 1992                   TAG: 9201230197
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: C4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium
GM GAINS GROUND, BUT FORD HAS PLAN
Kyle Petty on Wednesday became the first General Motors driver to top 192 mph in winter practice at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla., while Charlie Glotzbach practiced in a car reportedly reserved for A.J. Foyt and a top Ford racing official cautioned that Ford's advantage in winter testing may be an illusion.
Petty's lap of 192.102 mph still left his Pontiac the sixth-fastest car of the December and January tests.
However, the fact that five Ford Thunderbirds head the speed list, with Bill Elliott fastest at 193.340 mph, is of no comfort to Lee Morse, Ford's stock-car racing boss.
Morse is concerned the Thunderbirds may not be stable in traffic at Daytona and may suffer an even greater racing disadvantage at other tracks because of the body changes that Gary Nelson, NASCAR's new technical director, has demanded.
Nelson forced the Fords to lower their rear-deck lids so the shape of the body would conform to the stock shape of the Thunderbird. That means the Fords have less downforce on the rear of the car and, Morse said, "the jury is going to be out" on the stability and competitiveness of the cars.
"I'm probably more concerned with how we're going to race on March 1 [at Rockingham], March 8 [at Richmond] and March 15 [at Atlanta] than I am with Feb. 16," the date of the Daytona 500, Morse said.
Morse said he is confident NASCAR will address the problem if the Fords turn out to be junk as race cars in 1992, but if they don't, the company is prepared to produce a special-edition Thunderbird this spring that will be built with a raised back end.
The Fords return to the track today for two more days of tests in the final winter session for Winston Cup cars.
Ricky Rudd posted the second-fastest lap Wednesday at 191.002 mph, followed by Darrell Waltrip at 190.921 mph, Harry Gant at 190.880 mph and Dale Earnhardt at 190.638 mph. The laps were the fastest of the winter for these drivers.
Also in the top 10: Bob Schacht (190.355 mph), Ernie Irvan (190.154 mph), Richard Petty (189.713 mph), Rusty Wallace (189.553 mph) and Hut Stricklin (188.996 mph).
Glotzbach reached 185.338 mph in an Oldsmobile he said Foyt was supposed to drive in the Daytona 500 next month.
Foyt missed last year's Daytona 500 while recovering from severe leg injuries suffered in a 1990 Indy car crash. He had said 1991 would be his final year of racing but was backing away from that by the end of last year.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB