ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, May 17, 1996 TAG: 9605170052
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-12 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: FROM ASSOCIATED PRESS REPORTS
Todd Bodine was picked Thursday to take over the Winston Cup driving duties of injured Bill Elliott, beginning with the Coca-Cola 600 on May 26 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Harry Gant is coming out of retirement to drive Elliott's Ford Thunderbird in Saturday night's Winston Select all-star race at Charlotte, but he did not express an interest in staying in the car beyond the special event.
Elliott said Bodine will take over the following week and will remain in the car until doctors determine that Elliott can return to the circuit.
Elliott, who fractured his left thigh bone in an April 28 crash at Talladega, Ala., is to meet next week with Dr. James Andrews to discuss a possible timetable for resuming racing.
``I am anxious to return to the circuit,'' Elliott said from his home in Blairsville, Ga. ``But I will not attempt to get back into the car until Dr. Andrews feels I'm ready.''
Bodine, 32, drove full time on the Winston Cup circuit in 1994 and '95 and is fifth in this year's Busch Grand National points standings.
``It's great to be back in the Winston Cup series,'' Bodine said. ``This means a great deal to my career.''
In other racing news:
nThe True Value Firebird International Race of Champions series plans to make history tonight at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Not only will it be the first visit by the all-star series to Charlotte's 1.5-mile oval, it also will be the first race under the lights in the 20-year existence of IROC.
``Under the lights, this should be a tremendous show for the fans,'' said H.A. ``Humpy'' Wheeler, president of the Concord, N.C., track. ``It will be interesting to see how the IndyCar and road-racing drivers do in the backyard of NASCAR's best.''
Besides Dale Earnhardt and Sterling Marlin, the NASCAR drivers in the IROC series include Terry Labonte, Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon, Rusty Wallace and rookie Johnny Benson, last year's Busch series champion.
Also racing this year are sprint car champion Steve Kinser and road-racer Tommy Kendall.
The IROC race will follow qualifying for the ARCA cars and The Winston Select Open qualifying.
LENGTH: Medium: 52 lines KEYWORDS: AUTO RACINGby CNB