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

DATE: FRIDAY, July 30, 1993                   TAG: 9307300118
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: CHARLOTTE, N.C.                                LENGTH: Medium

ALLISON'S TEAM PICKS UP SPEED SPEED TO TAKE OVER ALLISON'S RIDE

Veteran NASCAR driver Lake Speed will take over for the late Davey Allison at Watkins Glen on Aug. 8 and likely will complete the rest of the season in the No. 28 Ford Thunderbird, the team owner said Thursday.

Speed, a 13-year Winston Cup veteran with one victory in 258 starts, will take the ride that Indy-car series driver Robby Gordon had in last week's DieHard 500 at Talladega Speedway, team owner Robert Yates said.

Speed started 11 of this season's first 18 Winston Cup races in his own Ford Thunderbird. His sponsorship with Purex ran out after the Talladega race. Speed was making plans for 1994 when Yates called.

"I don't think either one of us is concerned if this is a one race deal or for 12 races," Speed said. "This is a win-win situation. I promise I'll give the best I can."

Gordon, 24, who had entered only one Winston Cup race before Talladega, was running fifth when a spin sidelined him. He lost control in front of the pits and hit the outside wall hard.

Talladega is not far from Allison's home in Hueytown, Ala. It also is the place where the 32-year-old driver crashed his helicopter on July 13, suffering fatal head injuries.

Without criticizing Gordon for his performance, Yates praised Speed's knowledge of Winston Cup racing.

"Lake can step into our cars this week," he said. "He has plenty of experience with 3,500-pound race cars and he understands the elements of this kind of racing . . . like pit road speeds and restart rules. The last time he competed on road courses was in 1991, and he qualified in the top 10 at both Sears Point [Calif.] and Watkins Glen.

"I would like to thank Robby Gordon for helping us through a difficult weekend at Talladega. He did the job for us, and we appreciate all the things he did for this team, on and off the track. He's going to be tough in anything he drives. If he ever decides to go Winston Cup full time, he would be hard to beat.

Gordon is under contract with A.J. Foyt's Indy team, so he couldn't have remained with Yates the rest of the Winston Cup season.

Keywords:
AUTO RACING

by CNB