ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, May 15, 1996 TAG: 9605150062
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: AUTO RACING NOTES
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
Don't look for that Lincoln Mark VIII that John Andretti was testing at Charlotte last week to be on the track in competition anytime soon.
Ford is curious but not enamored with the special project out of the Kranefuss-Haas shop in Mooresville, N.C. And NASCAR, of course, is noncommittal.
``I understand [crew chief] Tim Brewer and Michael Kranefuss wanted to be able to use it this weekend in the Winston Select Open, but NASCAR has not signed off on that as an approved body make,'' Mike Helton, NASCAR's vice president of competition, said Tuesday. ``It will take awhile basically because of the necessity from NASCAR's perspective for a body make to include NASCAR part numbers. That's going to take some time.''
And that's also why it may never get approved.
``It technically is supposed to have our approval,'' said Kevin Kennedy, a Ford spokesman. ``I think we have to issue the parts numbers. And there's a Ford rule right now that Ford and Lincoln-Mercury do not compete against each other in racing. Unless that rule is rescinded, it's not going to get approval from Ford anyway.
``We're not sure Lincoln is the right car for Winston Cup for us,'' he said. ``We have a commitment to the Ford division and the Thunderbird. We see this as a learning project and, in this case, the learning is to try to help us make the T-bird a better race car.''
Meanwhile, team spokesman Chip Williams said Andretti, Kranefuss and Brewer ``want to run it and feel like it's going to be approved. Every indication at this point is that the car is going to be approved to run.''
HARRY HYDE DIES: Harry Hyde, the colorful engineer-crew chief who prepared 56 winning cars on the Winston Cup circuit, died Monday of a heart attack at his home near Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Hyde, 71, was the first crew chief for car owner Rick Hendrick. Hyde primarily worked with drivers Geoff Bodine and the late Tim Richmond.
``I wouldn't be in racing today if it wasn't for Harry,'' said Rick Hendrick, among this era's most successful team owners. ``He talked me into starting an operation and letting him lead it.''
HELP FOR PONTIAC: In an effort to help the struggling Grand Prix, NASCAR is allowing Pontiac teams to pull their front air dams out one inch. The change is effective for the Winston Select events at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
``All that can be moved and pulled forward is the air dam, and that will give them more of a ledge there,'' said Kevin Triplett, a NASCAR spokesman.
NASCAR and Pontiac also hope it will improve the front downforce on the Grand Prix. The lack of front downforce has given the Pontiacs a chronic push and generally kept them from being competitive.
Pontiac, meanwhile, is working on a new nose piece and is expected to present it to NASCAR for approval in the near future.
NOT NERVOUS: Harry Gant says he probably won't be too nervous before his one-race comeback in Saturday's Winston Select, but that might not be the case during the race itself.
``The only time you get nervous in that heat race is when it comes down to the final three or four laps and everybody puts it all out on the line. Now, that will make you nervous,'' Gant said Tuesday while practicing at North Carolina Motor Speedway in Rockingham.
Gant will substitute for Bill Elliott in the Winston Select. Elliott is recovering from a broken left leg suffered in a crash April 28 at Talladega. He drove Elliott's car at Rockingham as a tuneup.
DOLE TO THE RACES: Sen. Bob Dole has accepted an invitation from the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. to be the grand marshal for Saturday night's Winston Select.
LENGTH: Medium: 73 linesby CNB