ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, March 27, 1996 TAG: 9603270049
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: AUTO RACING NOTES
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
Bobby Hillin may be the first driver in NASCAR history to shovel snow off a track so he could practice.
Hillin wanted to test at Bristol International Raceway on Thursday, the last day before the track shut down in advance of qualifying for the Food City 500.
His truck driver drove through a snowstorm Wednesday night to reach the Tennessee track, and when Hillin arrived Thursday morning, he found the third- and fourth-turn banking covered with snow and ice.
Track officials said the track was closed. Hillin and team manager Mark Harrah asked if they could try to clear and dry it themselves. They were told, ``If you can do it, go ahead.''
``I was holding on to the wall with one hand and holding a shovel in the other hand, scraping snow and ice off the banking,'' Hillin said.
Harrah helped him. Then they got into Harrah's Ford Mustang Cobra and drove 220 laps to dry it.
``We were pretty determined,'' Hillin said. ``The two of us had done a lot before any of the team guys got to the track. And then we just got out on the track with Mark's car and one Ford van and dried it off.''
The forecast had called for clearing weather that afternoon, but Hillin drove through snow flurries on some of his practice laps. He had about 30 minutes of practice.
``We accomplished some things, but not a lot really, but I'm glad we got the few laps we got because we really needed to look at some things on the Bristol car,'' Hillin said.
AERODYNAMICS STILL A DRAG: The Ford-Chevy aerodynamics soap opera continues.
Stan Creekmore, a National Speed Sport News correspondent, reported Ford owner Jack Roush, one of the most outspoken NASCAR critics on this issue, is building a Chevrolet Monte Carlo and some Ford/Chevy hybrids to do his own testing.
``I'm getting ready to build a Chevrolet Monte Carlo for testing,'' Roush said. ``I'm going to show [NASCAR officials] the results. I'll show them here's how fast my Ford/Chevrolet is against my Ford/Ford, and then my Chevrolet/Chevrolet against my Ford/Ford.''
The Ford camp is saying the fuel-mileage problem many cars had Sunday at Darlington was almost exclusively limited to Fords and that's because fuel mileage is related to aerodynamics.
``All the Fords running out of gas was a byproduct of aerodynamics,'' said Wayne Estes, a Ford spokesman.
NASCAR has been trying to equalize the aerodynamics on the two makes - specifically the rear downforce - by allowing the Fords to enlarge their rear spoilers by fractions of inches. This happened on several occasions.
The larger spoiler improved Ford's rear downforce, which was the aim, but also increased drag.
``Greater drag is going to cause you to use more fuel, because horsepower costs more fuel and you've got to feed those ponies to make up for the extra drag.
``The top four Chevys drove to Victory Lane,'' he said. ``But they had to push Rusty [Wallace]'s Ford there.''
JUST DON'T CRAWL: The NASCAR exhibition in Japan scheduled for November may well end up as a Dale Earnhardt benefit.
Earnhardt has given an exhibition there, and now he and his crew are returning after the Bristol race for a Goodyear tire test. No other NASCAR driver has yet run at the track where the latest exhibition race will be run.
``I'm really not worried about the food or anything like that,'' said David Smith, Earnhardt's crew chief. ``If it doesn't crawl away from me, I can eat it.''
YOU CAN GO HOME AGAIN: Veteran crew chief Jeff Hammond, late of the Tri-Star Motorsports Ford Thunderbird team, has rejoined Darrell Waltrip as team manager.
Waltrip won two of his Winston Cup championships (1982, 1985) and 43 races with Hammond as his crew chief in the 1980s. Pete Petersen will remain as Waltrip's crew chief.
``Jeff will help prepare the cars and work on race strategy on race day,'' Waltrip said in a statement. ``On race day, he will be the one talking to me over the radio and making calls from the pits.''
Hammond said he always wanted to return. ``I was very happy at Tri-Star Motorsports, and this is the only reason I would have left,'' he said.
LENGTH: Medium: 82 linesby CNB