Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, April 5, 1993 TAG: 9304050030
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BRISTOL, TENN. LENGTH: Medium
HENSLEY MAY FINALLY GET HIS RIDE
In the weeks before his death, Winston Cup champion Alan Kulwicki began organizing his estate and told close friend Felix Sabates that if anything happened to him, he wanted Jimmy Hensley to take over as driver of his Hooters Ford Thunderbird."Alan told me a month ago that if he ever got hit on the head and got goofy, to put Jimmy Hensley in the car," Sabates said Sunday at Bristol International Raceway shortly before the Food City 500. "He told the same thing to Don Hawk, his business manager, so if we can get Mr. [Gerry] Kulwicki's permission to get the car back on track for North Wilkesboro and Martinsville, if Jimmy Hensley is available, that's who we will put in the car."
After qualifying at Darlington last weekend, Kulwicki "was saying it was a shame that Jimmy Hensley hadn't gotten a shot at any of the rides that came open this year, because he thought Jimmy was a pretty good driver and a nice human being," Sabates said. "He thought a lot of Jimmy."
Hensley, reached at his Ridgeway, Va., home Sunday night, was surprised with the news he might be driving Kulwicki's car, but said he would drive if offered the ride.
"I wish it was under different circumstances," he said. "But if they ask me, yes, I will.
"It's a great car. It will be a tough situation, but I am sure we'll get through it.
Hensley said Kulwicki told him at Daytona "he thought I was a good driver."
Sabates, who is the temporary administrator of the estate, said Gerry Kulwicki, Alan's father and sole beneficiary, told him he had "no intention of operating a Winston Cup team."
The elder Kulwicki, however, "has asked me to keep the team together until we can find a suitable buyer for the team," Sabates said.
Sabates said he intends to do nothing until after Kulwicki's funeral Wednesday.
"Mr. Kulwicki asked me to hold the team together," Sabates said. "Alan would have wanted me to, and the team wants me to. [Crew chief] Paul [Andrews] and all the guys have asked me. They want to stay together.
"So I hope we can find somebody to come over and invest some money in the team and keep those guys together."
Sabates, who already owns two teams, said he is not interested in purchasing the team.
Meanwhile, National Transportation Safety Board investigators completed their field investigation at the site of the crash on a hillside near Blountville on Sunday. They loaded the wreckage onto a trailer and used a backhoe to dig through the dirt for embedded parts.
The wreckage "will be moved out, probably today, to Griffin, Ga.," for a more detailed examination, said NTSB lead investigator Phil Powell.
Powell dismissed reports that one propeller might have come off the plane just before it crashed during its final approach to Tri-City Airport.
"No, we found both of the propeller systems right there next to the aircraft," he said. "We located all of the pieces we were looking for."
He said he expects to have a report of preliminary findings early this week.
The crash occurred at 9:30 p.m. Thursday, instantly killing Kulwicki, 38; pilot Charlie Campbell, 48; Hooters sports marketing director Dan Duncan, 44; and Hooters sports marketing manager Mark Brooks, 26, the son of chief executive officer Robert Brooks.
Kulwicki's funeral will be at noon Wednesday at St. Matthias Church in Milwaukee, Wis., his native state. Funeral mass will be conducted by Father Dale Grubba, a stock car racing enthusiast from Wisconsin and a close friend of Kulwicki's.
In Charlotte, there will be a memorial service at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at St. Thomas Aquinas Church at 1440 Suther Road.
"Alan talked to Don Hawk about what would happen to the team if he ever died," Sabates said. "He came to me about two weeks ago and asked, `How do you have it organized if something were to happen to Sabco Racing? In my case, I don't have anybody to take care of the business, but I am worried about my crew.'
"We talked, and I gave him some ideas. . . . But he died too soon to do that. He was probably going to do that this week.
"I was really amazed, when I started going through all his stuff, how neat and organized everything was. He had everything A-B-C. Alan had taken extremely good care of his finances, and that team is probably in better shape financially than 90 percent of the teams here."
Keywords:
AUTO RACING