Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 11, 1993 TAG: 9307110068
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: E11 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LOUDON, N.H. LENGTH: Medium
\ The drivers are predicting plenty of action in today's inaugural Slick 50 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway.
"I said from the beginning that the fans will enjoy this race, but I'm not sure about the drivers," Dale Jarrett said Saturday. "The fans like to see a lot of beating and banging, and that's what's going to happen."
Ernie Irvan added: "This track is plenty wide enough, but the groove is kind of narrow. There's going to be a lot of bumping. It's going to be a lot like Martinsville. You're just going to have to get up under somebody and move 'em out of the way and go on."
Irvan starts eighth, and Jarrett is ninth.
A 40-car field was set for the 1:15 p.m. race after four cars participated in the second round of time trials Saturday.
Rusty Wallace tried again and was slightly slower than Friday, even though he got out of the groove Friday and nearly lost control. He will start 33rd, which is where he was after Friday's pole qualifying.
Derrike Cope also tried again, dropping from 34th to 38th. Phil Parsons went from 40th to 39th, and Clay Young was the only driver who failed to make the field.
\ ON THE TRACK: In Saturday's action, Reggie Ruggiero won a wild New Hampshire Shootout 40 for Modified cars, beating Doug Heveron by about a car length.
A couple drivers had nasty crashes in the 40-lap sprint, including a multicar tangle on the backstretch during the second lap that prompted a red flag. Nobody was hurt.
A great battle developed among a half-dozen drivers during the final laps.
"I was able to get by them," Ruggiero said. "They were fighting among themselves and I was able to get a little free air."
Rick Fuller was third, followed by pole-sitter Eddie Flemke Jr., Mike McLaughlin and Jan Leaty.
Meanwhile, Mike McLaughlin won the Slick 50 150 for Grand National North series cars, beating Kelly Moore by a car length.
\ DOWN TO THE SHORT LIST: Car owner Billy Hagan said he still is two weeks to a month away from announcing who will replace Terry Labonte as the driver of his Chevrolet Lumina.
"I don't have anyone signed," Hagan said. "But several people have talked to me and I'm kind of making a short list right now."
\ WAIT, WAIT, WAIT: Ricky Rudd said it will be December before he announces who will be the crew chief for his new Winston Cup team in 1994.
"They're all under contract, so I can't get one until December," he said. Actually, he expects to have one before then, but contractual obligations may force him to keep it secret, if that's possible in the Winston Cup series.
Rudd is renting a shop while building a new one in Mooresville, N.C. He said he will open the doors, with two or three employees, around Aug. 1. He has two cars ordered and by the end of the year expects to have about a dozen employees.
\ KEEPING HIS NOSE CLEAN: Ken Schrader says you won't see any problems in NASCAR inspection with his Chevy.
"I don't think anyone has to worry about the No. 25 car passing inspection for a while," he said. "I'll guarantee you we're going to be real careful with those restrictor plates."
Schrader starts fourth today after an appeals panel rescinded a four-race suspension levied by NASCAR against him and car owner Joe Hendrick for using illegal engine parts on his car during Pepsi 400 qualifying on July 1. The appeals panel instead fined Schrader and Hendrick $5,000 each.
"I've been getting ribbed a lot by everybody here in the garage this week," Schrader said. "The fine is $10,000 and all the abuse you can take from your friends."
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB