ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, March 5, 1996 TAG: 9603050055
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
Dale Jarrett, who lost a Busch Grand National race last year in post-race inspection, said Monday he was satisfied with the way NASCAR handled Sunday's decision to not penalize Pontiac 400 winner Jeff Gordon, whose car was found to be too low after the event.
The Chevrolet Monte Carlo driven by Gordon was found in post-race inspection at Richmond International Raceway to be below the 51-inch minimum roof height required by NASCAR. So were the Ford Thunderbirds driven by fourth-place finisher Jeff Burton and fifth-place finisher Mark Martin.
Each car was found to be less than one-eighth of an inch below the 51-inch mark, NASCAR spokesman Kevin Triplett said.
But NASCAR determined that the infraction was ``insubstantial enough to not create a competitive advantage,'' Triplett said, and thus decided not to penalize the three cars.
Triplett said the cold weather may have been a factor because it may have cooled the tires quicker after the race, causing them to lose pressure more quickly than they normally would.
But Jarrett, who finished second, had the same tires as everyone else, and his car didn't fail the height test.
Jarrett, who had his Michigan Busch victory taken away last August when the intake manifold on his engine failed inspection, had this to say about Sunday's post-race controversy:
``I think what happened here is more like the way NASCAR handled situations in the past. The explanation of it being cold I didn't really understand. The weather was the same for everybody.
``But I expected very little, if any, action and that's just because of the way things have gone in the past. I thought my situation last year at Michigan was completely out of character with the way they handled things.
``But as far as I'm concerned, I got beat on the race track. I can't see to where the lower height made any difference.''
Triplett said NASCAR was concerned that the teams might be using bleedervalves on the tires, which are not allowed. A thorough inspection of all the tires and a reinflation test ruled that out, he said.
But there's still no explanation as to why the cars of Gordon, Burton and Martin failed the height test while the cars of Jarrett and Ted Musgrave, who finished third, passed the test.
Also on Monday, NASCAR fined John Andretti $2,000 for ``actions detrimental to the sport'' after Andretti rammed the back of Bobby Hamilton's car several times during the cool-down lap after the race.
Andretti was mad at Hamilton after Hamilton rooted him out of position late in the race while making a pass, forcing Andretti high on the track and costing him about four positions.
LENGTH: Medium: 56 lines KEYWORDS: AUTO RACINGby CNB