ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, June 1, 1996 TAG: 9606030058
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: AUTO RACING NOTES
DATELINE: DOVER, DEL.
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
Felix Sabates made a statement with a new, black-and-white Pontiac Grand Prix he provided for Kyle Petty at Dover Downs International Raceway, but the quixotic car owner didn't show up to talk about it.
That left Petty and team members in the awkward position of trying to explain their owner's latest display of emotion. And they were none too pleased about it.
``The boss told us to do that,'' said team manager Ty Norris. ``The man said paint it black, and now it's black. That's all I'm going to say.''
Said Petty, ``You gotta ask Felix where it all came from. Sometime in the last two or three days, it changed colors.''
Petty's Pontiac is normally red, blue and yellow, but Sabates ordered it changed to black and white, which made it a clone of Dale Earnhardt's Chevy.
Sabates also left a message - printed in Spanish - on the side of the car. It said, ``Todo Es Justo En Amor U Carreras,'' or "All's Fair in Love and Racing.''
Obviously, Sabates hasn't gotten over the seven-lap penalty NASCAR assessed against Petty during the Coca-Cola 600 last Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Petty was docked five laps for rough driving after triggering a major crash in the trioval. The additional two-lap penalty came after NASCAR took offense to Sabates' language a two-way radio.
``We thought it was a racing accident,'' Sabates said Tuesday. ``I just think the whole thing was unfair because Kyle didn't wreck anybody on purpose.''
Petty clearly sought to distance himself from the situation, telling reporters, ``I had a great week.''
Earnhardt's car owner, Richard Childress, didn't think much of the stunt, but was measured in his response.
``I ain't saying much of anything, but I just feel for the guys who work on that car and the driver, since they were dragged into the situation.''
And if Sabates was trying to suggest that Earnhardt gets special treatment from NASCAR, ``they must not have been around in 1986 when NASCAR held us for five laps at Charlotte,'' Childress said.
Said NASCAR's Kevin Triplett, ``As far as I know, there's no rule on what color a guy can paint his car.''
LABONTE ON BUSCH POLE: Bobby Labonte won the pole for today's GM 200 Busch Grand National race with a record lap of 149.963 mph in his Chevrolet Monte Carlo.
Labonte's run broke the record of 149.638 mph set by Harry Gant in September, 1994.
Labonte cited the new Goodyear tires for this one-mile concrete track, saying, ``I'm sure that was 99 percent of the fast speed today.''
Chevys took the first four starting spots, with Mike McLaughlin second fastest at 149.757, followed by Bobby's brother, Terry, at 149.701 and Ricky Craven at 149.607. Kenny Wallace was fifth fastest in a Ford Thunderbird at 149.371.
TOO TOUGH TO STOP: He's sore on top of sore, but Ricky Craven isn't letting the aches and pains of hard crashes at Talladega and Charlotte get in the way of running both races this weekend at NASCAR's most grueling track.
Craven qualified fourth for today's Grand National race, and he was 26th fastest for Sunday's Miller 500.
``I'm sore, but I feel pretty good,'' Craven said. ``I'm not really where I want to be. But I've been pretty fortunate that I haven't had a lot of crashes in my career. Now I'm getting it in lumps. I need to try and not repeat that because if I do, I'll have a short career.''
MORE CHANGES: Robert Pressley will not drive Leo Jackson's No.33 Chevrolet Monte Carlo this weekend.
Pressley, recovering from a broken rib suffered in a crash during practice at Charlotte, was ready to start the car, as he did in last Sunday's Coca-Cola 600, but crew chief Andy Petree decided to let Greg Sacks do all the driving.
Pressley put on a good face when asked about the switch. ``We're going to kick back a little bit and get ready for Pocono,'' Pressley said.
In other news, Gary Bradberry has been named to replace Chuck Bown in the No.95 Ford Thunderbird.
And NASCAR inspectors found another thin vertical roll bar on Rusty Wallace's Ford Thunderbird in pre-practice inspection Friday morning. The fine or penalty was not announced.
LENGTH: Medium: 81 linesby CNB