ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, June 5, 1996 TAG: 9606050037
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: AUTO RACING NOTES
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
Ford Thunderbird fans had to shudder a bit Monday with the published report that Ford's NASCAR Winston Cup mainstay will be gone by the year 2000.
A top Ford racing official had little to say Tuesday on the T-bird report, but said Ford will stay in Winston Cup even if the T-bird doesn't.
``We are still considering all of our options,'' said Ford's Lee Morse.
That includes a new car (T-bird or not), a new special production vehicle, a Lincoln Mark VIII or no major change, he said. ``That does not include leaving Winston Cup racing,'' he added.
As to the fate of the T-bird, ``it's pure speculation that the Thunderbird is going away,'' he said. ``I do know that as a fact, the T-bird in its current configuration is around through 1999, and beyond that, even the product planners have not made up their minds.
``As for Winston Cup racing, we're fairly happy with the Thunderbird body. We've been able to make some gains with NASCAR in terms of balancing aerodynamics with the Chevy. We're still not fully where we need to be to have parity, but we're a lot closer than we were in January.''
The Bloomberg Business News reported Monday that the Thunderbird, as well as the Mark VIII and the Mercury Cougar, would be dead in the North American market by the end of the decade, according to company and supplier documents obtained by the publication.
The paper said the Thunderbird would be killed in about two years and the Lorain, Ohio, plant where T-birds and Cougars are assembled would be retooled to build a new, small, sport utility vehicle.
``It's pure speculation and we don't talk about future products,'' Morse said. ``Whoever let that story out, they don't know what they're talking about.''
SAWYER A FREE AGENT: David Blair kept his unsponsored Winston Cup team alive for almost half a season, but he finally hit the wall at Charlotte.
Driver Elton Sawyer has been released to pursue his own interests, and Blair's Ford Thunderbird is out of action until further notice.
``I was sort of proud of some of the small accomplishments we did have - some good qualifying runs - but as we all know, this sport hinges on sponsorship and we were unable to secure that,'' said Sawyer, a Chesapeake native.
The team figuratively and literally hit the wall at Charlotte with Sawyer's crash during pole qualifying. Sawyer suffered a rib injury he's still recovering from.
Sawyer said he won't be driving the car ``unless I brought sponsorship. They're not going to run unless they get sponsorship to run. To the best of my understanding, they're going to only run four more races, and that hinges on sponsorship.''
Team manager Mike Hill confirmed this, but said he didn't have an exact number and doesn't know when the car will be back.
As to who might drive it, Hill said, ``I can tell you the next race easier than whose driving it.
``I want everyone to know I love Elton Sawyer,'' Hill said. ``He's like my brother. For us to have to let him go really hurt. But it was a business decision.''
Hill said Blair has already spent $1.5 million of his own money this year supporting the team. ``We could not keep on going to every race hoping we could get a sponsor,'' he said.
Sawyer said he's currently concentrating on recovering from his Charlotte crash and being more personally involved with the Grand National team he owns with his wife, Patty Moise, who is the driver.
A DIFFERENT DRIVER: Jimmy Spencer says he's a different driver than he used to be and there's no cause for people like car owner Felix Sabates to take pot shots at him.
Sabates, complaining about Kyle Petty's five-lap penalty for rough driving at Charlotte, said last week that Spencer ``hits everything but my bus in the garage every week'' and NASCAR never penalizes him.
``For Felix to bring that up, I think he's totally out of line,'' Spencer said. ``I think if you asked all of the competitors, they'd tell you they see a different Jimmy Spencer.
``I won't deny it, I've crashed many times by being dumb. But then all you've got is a wrecked race car and you've got a bunch of crew guys mad at you because they've got to fix it, and it rubs off on the next race. I've changed. I'm driving as hard as I can, but with patience.''
PARROTT OK: Buddy Parrott's scare at Dover on Sunday was just that - a scare.
A battery of tests at Kent General Hospital in Dover revealed no heart problems and he was released Sunday evening, said Roush Racing's Lori Halbeisen.
The likely cause for the chest pains? A pulled chest muscle.
LENGTH: Medium: 91 linesby CNB