Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, October 7, 1994 TAG: 9410070020
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CONCORD, N.C. LENGTH: Long
Sabates said he has lined up another sponsor - a products company that has been involved in racing before. He would not say who the new sponsor is.
Although it had been rumored since August that Mello Yello and its manufacturer, Coca-Cola, might dump the struggling team, Sabates said that is not what happened.
``We asked them for a release, and yesterday afternoon they did it,'' Sabates said. ``We've already signed a contract with the new sponsor.''
Sabates said he and Petty asked for the release after they found out that Coca-Cola did not intend to use the team in its marketing of Mello Yello.
``We needed a sponsor that was going to be active in racing,'' Sabates said.
Added Petty: ``They decided marketing-wise for the company that they needed a change of direction.''
Petty said sales had leveled off, and Coca-Cola thought ``the promotional potential for that product on this car had pretty much run its course. Basically it was just a dead year for them. And that left us in a position of having a sponsor spending money but us not being involved'' in helping sell Mello Yello, he said.
Coca-Cola spokesman Mart Martin said the Mello Yello brand will not sponsor a car next year, nor will it sponsor the Mello Yello 500. The decision to withdraw from the Charlotte race sponsorship was a local bottler decision, he said. The Coke brand itself will continue to sponsor the 600 here.
MARTIN ON GN POLE: After winning the pole for Saturday's All Pro 300 Grand National race with a Busch record speed of 176.696 mph, Ford driver Mark Martin said he was a bit less concerned than last weekend about the escalating speeds here.
His statements came despite the fact that the Grand National session itself was a crash fest, with five drivers hitting the wall while trying to make the field.
Six days ago at North Wilkesboro, N.C., Martin said he had doubled his disability insurance immediately after a crash-filled practice session here last month.
``I'm less concerned, but we're still going to to be in a world of hurt if the air comes out of our tires,'' he said here Thursday. ``But things are looking pretty good so far. The Winston Cup [Goodyear] tires - we've punished 'em pretty good this morning and didn't see any problem at all.''
As for the qualifying crashes, Martin said, ``I don't know what the deal is on that, really. I went when it was really hot, but it wasn't too slick for me. I really can't explain what it is. This isn't a good time and a good place for trying to be brave with speeds the way they are.''
Martin's run gave him his third Grand National pole of 1994 and broke the previous GN qualifying record of 174.390 set by Bobby Dotter a year ago. The next five fastest drivers also broke the record.
Joe Nemechek won the outside pole at a speed of 176.332 mph in a Chevy, followed by Todd Bodine in a Ford (175.268 mph), Tracy Leslie in a Chevy (175.097 mph), Bobby Hillin Jr. in a Chevy (175.063 mph) and Hermie Sadler in a Chevy (174.464 mph). Championship points leader David Green was seventh in a Chevy at 174.188. Mike McLaughlin, Phil Parsons and Jason Keller also made the top 10.
Thirty-six drivers failed to make the top 20, including the five who crashed: Dirk Stephens, George Crenshaw, Dennis Setzer, Sherry Blakley and Kevin Lepage.
All of the drivers were unhurt except Lepage, who did not appear to be seriously injured but went to Cabarrus Memorial Hospital for a precautionary checkup.
PRACTICE CRASHES: In addition to the qualifying accidents, there was a number of wrecks during practice.
The most serious involved Grand National driver Randy LaJoie, who was released after a checkup at the infield care center, only to return to complain of being light-headed. He was taken to Cabarrus Memorial Hospital and later released.
There also was a three-car Grand National crash involving Mike Skinner, Johnny Benson Jr. and Dick Trickle that heavily damaged all three cars. Greg Clark also was involved in a single-car crash.
In Winston Cup practice, Jimmy Spencer was unhurt after hitting the first-turn wall. His team plans to fix the car before Sunday's race.
WALLACE QUICKEST IN SECOND ROUND: Kenny Wallace led second-round Winston Cup qualifying for the Mello Yello 500 with a lap of 181.739 mph in his Ford, which would have been good enough for 16th had he done it Wednesday night. Wallace blew an engine during the first round.
Kyle Petty and Steve Grissom failed to qualify with their runs, but earned the provisional starting spots. This is Petty's fifth and last provisional, although he'll be eligible for another one at the Atlanta race next month.
Dave Marcis was the only Winston Cup regular who failed to make the race.
A FINE MESS: After discovering ``altered fuel'' in the Chevrolet driven by Sterling Marlin, NASCAR levied a $5,000 fine against the Morgan-McClure team, owners of the car.
``We do a test to determine if it's the fuel that comes out of the pump,'' NASCAR spokesman Kevin Triplett said. He said NASCAR ``has a real good idea'' what was added to the fuel, but must perform further tests to find out exactly what it is.
Co-owner Larry McClure and engine builder Runt Pittman both said nothing had been added to the fuel.
``If I had been fooling around with the fuel, we'd certainly have qualified better than 36th,'' Pittman said.
BODINE AND JOHNSON: Junior Johnson, Brett Bodine and the Lowe's chain of home improvement stores made it official: They'll join forces in 1995 and 1996 to field a single car for the 1995 Winston Cup season.
Johnson said he went with Bodine because ``I think he's one of the young guys waiting to be cultivated into a great driver. He's proved he can win already, and he's all around the front all the time.''
Said Bodine: ``Hopefully we can be a lot more competitive than I have been in the past.''
Johnson said he is cutting back to one team ``to get a better handle on the whole operation.''
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB