ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Thursday, January 11, 1996             TAG: 9601110106
SECTION: SPORTS                   PAGE: B-1  EDITION: METRO 
COLUMN: AUTO RACING NOTES
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER 

PETTY TEAM HOPES TO HAVE REASON TO PARTY

The Christmas party at the Petty Enterprises shop was a special occasion - they actually had a driver come to the party.

``It was the first time we had a driver attend the party since Richard retired,'' crew chief Robbie Loomis said as the Charlotte Motor Speedway media tour stopped in Level Cross, N.C., for a visit Wednesday.

Yes, Bobby Hamilton has found a happy home with Petty Enterprises and will drive the No.43 Pontiac Grand Prix for the second consecutive year.

``There were about 10 employees at the party that were all going like this,'' Hamilton said, making a motion of bowing up and down. ``They said, `You're the first one we've ever had.'''

In addition to having the new Grand Prix, Petty and Hamilton will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of Petty Enterprises' STP sponsorship with a variety of paint schemes for the car.

At Daytona, Hamilton will drive a largely silver car with dashes of the traditional Petty red and blue. At the road courses, the car will have the all-blue motif of the first Petty STP car in 1972. The team also will use several other red-and-blue paint schemes during the year, including the design used in 1984 when Petty earned his 200th and last Winston Cup victory.

Loomis said preparing the cars with the different paint schemes is going to make it tougher on the body shop, but ``we're real excited for STP and their 25th anniversary, so we've got to go with it.''

Meanwhile, Petty, who is fielding a Dodge SuperTruck with driver Rich Bickle, said with his usual frankness that he does not feel the Grand National series is an important part of NASCAR racing.

The Winston Cup series has the personalities, as well as the three major manufacturers - Ford, Chevy and Pontiac - Petty said. The truck series doesn't have the personalities, but it has the added element of Dodge involvement. The Busch series, he said, ``doesn't have the draw with either personalities or cars.''

Petty, Hamilton, Loomis and team manager Dale Inman, who has shed more than 20 pounds during the winter, all believe the 1996 season is the best chance for the team to win a race since Petty won in 1984.

``Hopefully, if we do this long enough and strong enough, then the sun will shine on us and we'll win some races,'' Petty said. ``When we do win a race, it's going to be like No.201, basically.''

TURNER WITH BURTON: Car owner Fred Turner, after a miserable 1995 GN season, appears to be coming back strong in 1996.

Turner has signed a 10-race deal to field Grand National cars for Ward Burton, with help from Bill Davis, Burton's Winston Cup car owner, and sponsorship from MBNA bank.

``At Charlotte last fall, Ward and I agreed to do something,'' Turner said. ``I had another sponsor commitment and a letter of intent, but they decided to pull out. MBNA stepped in and they've been most gracious.''

Turner said Burton will run his car at Daytona, Talladega, both Charlotte races, both Dover races, Michigan, Atlanta, the fall Rockingham event and the spring Darlington race.

Davis, meanwhile, played host to the media tour at his unfinished 40,000 square-foot shop in High Point, N.C. The huge shop, which looks like a race mechanic's palace, will be ready in about a month, he said.

CLARIFICATION: Although most of the Pontiac teams believe NASCAR will grant spoiler and front air-dam concessions to the new Grand Prix, NASCAR spokesman Kevin Triplett said Wednesday, ``It's not set in stone.''

Triplett added: ``I think we want to see them on the race track in the next couple of weeks.'' That will come during the second General Motors test at Daytona - a crucial test for Pontiac - scheduled Monday through Wednesday.

Triplett also said the changes NASCAR is considering are a 6.5-inch spoiler height (incorrectly reported Wednesday as 6.25 inches) and a 3.5-inch ground clearance for the front air dam.

Those are the heights the Fords currently have, and the Pontiac teams believe it's only fair their cars have it, too.

DAYTONA TESTS: Dale Jarrett again led the Ford testing Wednesday at Daytona, increasing his speed to a best lap of 186.741 mph, which still is slower than the best Chevrolet laps last week.

Only three other drivers tested Wednesday, and they were well off Jarrett's mark. Bill Elliott was at 182.934 mph, Mike Wallace reached 181.116 mph and Wally Dallenbach was at 180.672 mph in Bud Moore's Ford.

LENGTH: Medium:   83 lines
ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO:  AP. The Petty Enterprises No.43 Winston Cup car, driven 
          by Bobby Hamilton, will commemorate the owner's 25th year with 
          sponsor STP with this paint scheme and a number of others. color.