Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, August 16, 1994 TAG: 9408160105
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: From Knight-Ridder and Associated Press reports
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Retired NASCAR star Richard Petty confirmed Monday that he has hired John Andretti to drive the No.43 Pontiac in Sunday's Goodwrench Dealers 400 at Michigan International Speedway. Qualifying for the Winston Cup Series race, which was named the Champion Spark Plug 400 from 1975-93, is scheduled for Friday at the 2-mile track near Brooklyn, Mich.
Andretti, 31, is the nephew of Mario Andretti. ``Uncle Mario'' is a former winner of the Daytona and Indianapolis 500s.
John Andretti succeeds Wally Dallenbach Jr., who split with Petty's team Sunday after The Bud at The Glen.
Andretti was available to take the ride because his Winston Cup team owned by Billy Hagan cut back to a limited schedule last week because it lacks sponsorship.
Andretti, a Winston Cup rookie, has a best finish of 19th in 18 starts this season in Hagan's Chevrolets. However, Petty and other team owners have indicated they see a lot of potential in the driver, who lives in Indianapolis.
He's among three Andrettis to win IndyCar races. John won the Gold Coast Grand Prix in Australia in 1991 to join Mario and his son, Michael, on the victory list.
In May, John Andretti became the first driver to compete in the Indianapolis 500 and Charlotte Motor Speedway's Coca-Cola 600 Winston Cup race on the same day.
Neither Petty nor John Andretti could be reached for comment.
``Richard and John met Monday morning at Level Cross [N.C.] to discuss terms,'' said Harvey Duck, a spokesman for Petty's longtime sponsor, STP. ``A driver for the balance of the season will be named later.''
The 400-mile event in Michigan is the 21st of the season's 31 races.
In other sports news:
Debbie Yow, athletic director at Saint Louis University the past four years, became the first woman athletic director in the Atlantic Coast Conference when she agreed to a five-year contract with Maryland.
Yow, who will be paid $130,000 a year, takes over Aug.28 for Andy Geiger, who resigned in May to become athletic director at Ohio State.
Yow, 42, is credited with revitalizing the Saint Louis men's basketball program. She hired coach Charlie Spoonhour, who led the basketball team into the NCAA Tournament last year for the first time in 37 years. Attendance for home games increased by more than 4,000 a game last season, a climb second only to NCAA champion Arkansas among all NCAA schools.
The university has achieved a 92 percent graduation rate for its athletes, 10th among the 300 Division I schools.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB