Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 14, 1992 TAG: 9203140056
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: HAMPTON, GA. LENGTH: Long
Gordon won the top starting spot with a lap of 173.821 mph during the first round of qualifying Thursday.
Among those racing today will be Robert Huffman, who starts 35th in his first race since suffering burns in a crash during the Goody's 300 at Daytona International Speedway last month.
"I pretty much just have [burn] spots on my arm and elbow," Huffman said Friday. "The rest of me is pretty much recovered."
The race, which will start at 1 p.m., is not being televised but will be broadcast live on radio by the Motor Racing Network.
\ Atlanta Falcons football coach Jerry Glanville's on-again, off-again plans to drive in the Grand National series are on again. His debut is now set for April 25 in the Nestle 300 at Lanier Raceway in Gainesville, Ga.
Glanville also said he expects to compete in all three sportsman races this May at Charlotte Motor Speedway in a car soon to be purchased by speedway president Humpy Wheeler.
\ Team III Racing is still looking for a buyer.
The team, which is under the control of a crisis management agency appointed by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Charlotte, N.C., was supposed to name a new owner and sponsor last Sunday at Richmond. It didn't happen.
"We're still looking for an owner," said team manager Barry Dodson, who is still biding his time serving as Derrike Cope's interim crewchief. "I was quick at getting my hopes up, but every time I do, something [bad] happens."
| Dale Earnhardt's poor Winston Cup start got a bit better at Atlanta Motor Speedway when he qualified seventh despite a battle with the flu.
Earnhardt may have to miss today's Grand National race after qualifying fifth Thursday. But he wasn't going to make a decision until this morning.
Sterling Marlin practiced in Earnhardt's Grand National car Friday morning and will be available to drive if Earnhardt doesn't feel well enough to race.
"I've got a bad chest cold and congestion," Earnhardt said Friday. "It started yesterday, and it's been getting worse."
| Discontent among the General Motors teams is focused, to some extent, on the new GM cylinder heads that will be mandatory on all GM cars after July 31.
Car owner Richard Childress said last week that the engines in Dale Earnhardt's Chevys are creating 50 to 60 horsepower less than the Fords. Other teams have complained about engine acceleration. And there are lingering questions about the reliability of the engines with the new heads.
But Roger Allen, the GM engineer who developed the heads, said "we'll be right there power-wise" when the deadline comes.
The Chevy teams "realize they have to go to work," Allen said. "Everybody is of the opinion that there's a lot to be done, but I think by July 31 we'll be up to speed. The potential is there to have the same power as the Fords. Now it's just a matter of realizing that potential."
Only five or six GM teams used the new heads at Richmond. There are reports that some of the teams are resisting the change in hopes that NASCAR will change the rules and allow them to return to their old "Pontiac" heads manufactured by Brodix.
But NASCAR Technical Director Gary Nelson scuttled that notion last weekend at the driver's meeting before the Richmond race. "I would suggest more GM teams start running with the new heads because that's the head you're going to have to run after July 31," he said. "You need to get some time on that product."
Said Allen, "It's important that the teams have confidence in the heads. Attitude is everything. If they don't want the heads to work, then they won't work."
| Richard Petty plans to cap off his 1992 Fan Appreciation Tour with a huge grand finale at the new Georgia Dome in Atlanta on the evening of Nov. 14, the day before his final Winston Cup race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Some 50,000 people will be awarded tickets to the Dome party, which will include an appearance by Georgia Gov. Zell Miller and music by the country and western group Alabama.
At Petty's request, no alcohol will be served at the event. Petty wants to discourage drinking and driving.
The new dome, which can seat 20,000 to 80,000 people, depending on the seating configuration, will open in August.
| Not only is there a No. 13 car entered for the Motorcraft 500, there are two of them. That seemed appropriate on a weekend that included Friday the 13th.
Mike Skinner, driving Thee Dixon's No. 13 Chevrolet, was 39th fastest in time trials Friday. Dave Mader III, driving the No. 13 Seal Tech Motorsports Chevrolet, was 41st fastest. There are 49 cars here, so their starting positions will not be guaranteed until after second-round qualifying at 10:30 a.m. today.
To distinguish between the two lucky cars, Mader's vehicle was designated "13-A."
| Ford's three straight victories in 1992 matches its best previous start in 1957, when it also opened the season with three wins in a row.
Ford's best year was 1965, when it won 33 of the first 34 races. The blemish on that 1965 streak was the year's second race, which Darel Dieringer won in a Mercury. That was a 100-mile qualifying race at Daytona.
by CNB