Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, February 8, 1993 TAG: 9302080031
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. LENGTH: Long
PURVIS OUTRUNS REMNANTS OF ARCA FIELD
After more than half the field wrecked behind him on the third lap of the ARCA 200 at Daytona International Speedway, pole sitter Jeff Purvis had little traffic to contend with as he cruised to a 2.2-second victory over Loy Allen Jr. in the 80-lap race.Kirk Shelmerdine, who quit as Dale Earnhardt's crew chief at the end of last season, finished third in his first ARCA start. Jeremy Mayfield was fourth, followed by Bobby Bowsher.
Purvis, 33, was the clear favorite to capture his first ARCA race after winning the pole Thursday with a speed that was almost two miles per hour quicker than Allen, the second fastest.
But the 22-car wreck in turns 3 and 4 helped clear the way for the Tennessee driver.
For Purvis, Sunday's race was worlds away from his short-lived effort to replace Hut Stricklin in Bobby Allison's car last fall in the Winston Cup series. He wrecked several cars and was quickly replaced by Jimmy Spencer.
"They never told me racing was going to be easy, but when the car drives that good and the crew makes sure nothing breaks on the car all day long, it really makes a difference," Purvis said.
The wreck occurred when Bob Schacht's car tapped Tim Fedewa's and both drivers lost control. In seconds, the track was blocked from bottom to top by spinning, crashing cars.
No one was hurt, but ARCA officials had to stop the race to clean up the mess. Twenty-two of the 42 cars that started the race were involved in the crash. Fifteen were immediately eliminated. The others were repaired and limped around the track the rest of the race.
Among those involved was Jerry O'Neil, who had an all-around tough weekend. Not only was he knocked out of the race, but he was also involved in the only practice incident when his race car was struck and damaged by a passenger car behind pit wall on Friday.
\ INSPECTION CRACKDOWN: Although most Winston Cup cars sailed through this weekend's NASCAR inspections without a hitch, four teams had a key part of their carburetors confiscated before pole qualifying Saturday.
NASCAR spokesman Chip Williams said inspectors took carburetor boosters from the cars of Winston Cup champion Alan Kulwicki, Ricky Rudd, Rick Mast and Dick Trickle because the boosters had been altered. "Machined boosters are not allowed," a statement from Williams said.
"If you read the rule book, it's acceptable the way the rule book is written," Kulwicki said. "But certain inspectors have a different interpretation. It was not intentional cheating."
Kulwicki, who was only 24th fastest, said the confiscation may have cost him some speed, but what probably hurt him the most was the fact that the oil in his Ford became cold while the inspectors debated what to do with the carburetor. The oil is usually kept warm by a heater, but "you have to unplug the heater when you go through inspection," Kulwicki said.
Mast said he probably lost 1 1/2 mph after his booster was taken, but he still was seventh fastest. "We'd have been quicker," he said. "Just one of them deals."
Rudd said his team used the same carburetor boosters throughout 1992 and NASCAR never had a problem with it, so he didn't understand why it suddenly became a problem on Saturday.
"Not that it was any faster, but we spent three days getting the [carburetor] jets set," Rudd said, and that work went out the window when the boosters were taken. Rudd was sixth fastest in qualifying, but expected to be faster.
NASCAR also confiscated a recording device from Jimmy Spencer's car that was designed to record engine RPMs during his qualifying lap. And it took a window net from Michael Waltrip's car that had been overlaid with plastic in violation of NASCAR safety standards, Williams' statement said.
\ SPREADING THE WEALTH: When Bob Whitcomb decided to close the doors of his Winston Cup team on Jan. 26, the team's major sponsor, Purolator, was left high and dry with only days to go before the start of Speedweeks.
"It was very unexpected," said Purolator senior vice president Marlen Silverii. "A lot of things happened, some we know of and some we don't. Other than that, I don't want to comment."
In any event, the company, which has been in NASCAR racing for more than 20 years, decided it was too late to become a major sponsor for any team this year. So it spread its money around, becoming an associate sponsor for seven Winston Cup teams, two Grand National teams and the top fuel drag racing team of Don Prudhomme.
Drivers whose teams landed Purolator associate sponsorships are: Alan Kulwicki, Morgan Shepherd, Bill Elliott, Hut Stricklin, Terry Labonte, Bobby Hamilton and Jimmy Spencer, as well as Grand National driver David Green and Elliott's GN car.
\ GRAND NATIONAL: Sterling Marlin plans to run at least eight Grand National races, including Saturday's Goody's 300 here, in a Ford Thunderbird prepared by Greensboro trucking executive Fred Turner, it was announced Sunday. The car will be sponsored by Maxwell House's "Cappio" iced cappuccino.