ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, April 24, 1996 TAG: 9604240042
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: AUTO RACING NOTES
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
The fate of the Holly Farms 400 at North Wilkesboro Speedway hung in the balance right up until the moment last Friday that NASCAR issued a statement all but assuring that the race would be held as scheduled.
That same day, New Hampshire International Speedway owner Bob Bahre had reached a verbal agreement with Speedway Motorsports, Inc., and board member H.A. ``Humpy'' Wheeler to buy the fall date for New Hampshire for an undisclosed amount of money.
``We had come to an agreement that would have moved the fall date,'' Bahre said. ``It wasn't a perfect deal. But then [NASCAR] put that [statement] out and that was it. It's really over for this year. The fall date, as far as I know, will be run at North Wilkesboro.''
Bahre owns half the track; Speedway Motorsports owns the other half.
Bahre said he hopes the matter can be resolved for the 1997 season, with Speedway Motorsports getting the spring date for the new Texas Motor Speedway and Bahre getting the fall date for New Hampshire.
But Bahre said he's not positive about any agreement for 1997 after the tough stance taken in negotiations by Speedway Motorsports chairman Bruton Smith, who did not become directly involved in the talks and sought to buy Bahre's half of North Wilkesboro.
``I can't see why it can't be settled,'' Bahre said. ``I don't know. But you know how Bruton is. He's a tough man.''
Bahre said one thing in his favor is that NASCAR president Bill France has told him that he and Smith must settle the matter before he'll consider any new dates for anyone, including a brand-new race date in Texas.
Tickets go on sale Monday for the Sept.29 North Wilkesboro race.
CONTRACT EXTENSION: Dale Jarrett and car owner Robert Yates have reached an agreement to extend his contract by one year to cover the 1997 season, Yates said Tuesday.
``We've already agreed to do that,'' Yates said.
Yates said he's happy that he expanded to a two-car team with Jarrett and Ernie Irvan as drivers.
``It's actually been a plus for us,'' he said. ``It's given us an opportunity to reach out and have more people come in. But the number one thing I'm most happy about is the fact that the drivers have a lot of respect for each other and they communicate well. And I'm really enjoying that.''
IRVAN'S WOES: It's no secret Irvan has been struggling in his comeback year, particularly in qualifying.
After winning the outside pole at Daytona, Irvan hasn't done better than the 16th starting spot, which he won at Bristol.
But Irvan's charge to second place at Martinsville last Sunday, after starting 34th, was a big boost to himself and the Yates team.
``Martinsville was kind of a mystery to us,'' he said. ``We unloaded off the truck with probably one of the fastest cars. What we ran in practice maybe would have been the pole. But all of a sudden, we lost two or three tenths [of a second per lap] and we just never found it.
``For the race, we put on a set up we just knew had worked there for a lot of years. We had no idea how it would do. It was kind of a puzzling deal.''
Irvan said he thinks a big part of the problem is that he's a bit rusty after sitting out 1995 while recovering from his near-fatal Michigan crash.
``The biggest thing is us getting to the race track and just being able to get some laps in,'' he said. ``That's been our hardest problem - just getting me acquainted with the race tracks again. I think my body and my mind went through a tremendous amount of things just from the accident.
``It's just a matter of getting it to where I'm comfortable to be able to go fast and tell [crew chief] Larry McReynolds what I need in the car.''
LENGTH: Medium: 69 linesby CNB