Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, June 13, 1994 TAG: 9406140293
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BY BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LONG POND, PA. LENGTH: Medium
But if Ernie Irvan loses the Winston Cup championship by four points or fewer, he'll probably call it highway robbery.
More than two hours after the end of Sunday's UAW-GM 500 at Pocono International Raceway, NASCAR released an official order of finish that moved Jeff Gordon from eighth to sixth, and dropped Irvan from sixth to seventh (and Brett Bodine from seventh to eighth).
The change cost Irvan four Winston Cup championship points.
Here's what happened:
Gordon was in third on lap 196 during a yellow flag, behind Dale Earnhardt and winner Rusty Wallace, when he spun into the mud and grass inside turn 1 while warming his tires.
While Gordon was trying to extricate his Chevy from the mud, five drivers passed him: Ken Schrader, Morgan Shepherd, Mark Martin, Irvan and Brett Bodine.
But crew chief Ray Evernham ordered Gordon to go back to third, presuming his driver was entitled to reassume that position because cars are not allowed to pass under a yellow flag.
But while the rule says a driver can't pass under the yellow, it doesn't mean he can't be passed. Drivers often lose positions during a caution period because of abnormally long pit stops, for instance. Moreover, Gordon had to pass those five cars under yellow to get back to third.
NASCAR repeatedly ordered Gordon's team to tell him to drop back to eighth place behind Martin, but his team never relayed the message. On the last lap, as the green and white flags flew, Gordon received the black flag. But he continued racing and finished behind Wallace and Earnhardt, thinking he had finished third.
After a long discussion, NASCAR officials decided to award Gordon sixth place.
Why not eighth, behind the five cars who passed him while he was stuck in the mud?
Kevin Triplett, a NASCAR spokesman, said it was because officials decided Gordon probably would have passed Irvan and Bodine had he started where he was supposed to start. Why? Because both had crippled cars.
"Those [two] cars were down one cylinder each," Triplett said. "If he had started back where he was supposed to start on the restart, he would have passed those two cars. He was not put back in front of the cars that were up to speed."
By the time the ruling was issued, Irvan and his team members had left the track and were not available for comment.
Meanwhile, there was another change further down the order of finish.
Hut Stricklin, originally listed in 11th place, was moved back to 13th, behind Michael Waltrip and Kyle Petty. Waltrip and Petty protested Stricklin had passed them under the yellow flag before the final lap, and NASCAR upheld their protest.
\ BOWN KNOCKED OUT: Chuck Bown was knocked unconscious in a crash with Sterling Marlin on lap 18. It was the hardest crash of the day.
Although he crawled out of the car and walked to an ambulance, he was airlifted to Lehigh Valley Hospital Center in Allentown, Pa., for a precautionary examination and was expected to be held overnight.
"Anytime you have someone unconscious for so long, there could be swelling of the brain," said Bown's wife, Debbie, just before the helicopter departed.
Bown spun in front of Marlin in turn 1, and Marlin hit him in the passenger side and drove him into the wall.
"We were going right along, running good," Marlin said. "Chuck let Ricky [Rudd] by and I was right on him. He just lost it. Then he came back across the track and hung me. He let one by, but he wouldn't let us by, so I don't know."
\ CREWMAN INJURED: Billy Silers, who was changing the right-rear tire on Hut Stricklin's Chevy, was hit in the eye by a flying lug nut and suffered a cut, which was treated at the infield car center. Team owner Travis Carter replaced Silers for the rest of the race.
Also, four infield fans were struck by lightning during heavy thunderstorms the night before the race, but none was seriously injured, track officials said.
\ MAST GAINS IN CHAOS: Rick Mast, who finished ninth, was up to the challenge of the confusing final lap.
"We pushed all day and kept loosening it up," said the Rockbridge Baths driver. "Then, on the final lap, I gained about four or five spots."
\ HENSLEY HAS SOUR ENGINE: Jimmy Hensley fell off the pace early in the race when his engine began to go sour. The Ridgeway driver finished 29th, five laps down.
"We were probably really lucky to finish," Hensley said. "We were on six cylinders, probably 5 1/2."
by CNB