ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, June 15, 1996 TAG: 9606180024
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: AUTO RACING NOTES
DATELINE: LONG POND, PA.
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
All the grumbling of the past few years and all the complaints about the dirt-track conditions in turn 1 at Pocono International Raceway were non-existent Friday.
In fact, most of the drivers were raving about the new track surface here. The 2.5-mile three-turn speedway was repaved in October.
``It's a pleasure to run on this pavement,'' said Ricky Rudd, who qualified ninth for Sunday's UAW-GM 500. ``It's like Indy. It's that smooth.''
``It's awe-some,'' said Wally Dallenbach Jr. ``Before, you needed to bring your off-road vehicle to race here. Now it's nice.''
But the new surface also presented new challenges.
``With this new pavement, it's like a motorcycle on ice,'' said Ken Schrader. ``You've got complete control or you lose control. With the old pavement, you bounced, you slipped, you slid and you knew when you were going as fast as you could.''
Not everyone was entirely happy with the change.
``They did a great job of paving,'' said Ted Musgrave, ``but it's too new, too fast and it makes an ill-handling car feel too good.''
LAWSUIT SETTLED: Winston Cup engineer Dave Charpentier was back at the track and working with Kyle Petty's team Friday for the first time since early in the year, when a court order forced him out of the garage.
Charpentier was able to return to the garage after a lawsuit Rudd filed against he and Petty's car owner, Felix Sabates, was settled Monday in an arbitration session.
Rudd sued Charpentier and Sabates, and obtained a restraining order preventing Charpentier from working with the Sabates team after Charpentier left Rudd's team to join Petty's.
Rudd said in the lawsuit that Charpentier was under contract to work for him in 1996.
Rudd and Charpentier said they could not discuss the terms of the agreement.
``I'm happy, but I don't guess there's a winner,'' Rudd said. ``But now I'm able to focus 100 percent on racing.''
``It's settled, and I'm happy to be back,'' Charpentier said.
KENNON BECOMES CREW CHIEF: Veteran mechanic Gere Kennon, who has been working on Ted Musgrave's team, is here this weekend as a Winston Cup crew chief for the first time.
Kennon was hired by car owner Butch Mock this week to replace Troy Selberg as crew chief for Morgan Shepherd's Ford Thunderbird. Mock said Selberg still is employed with the team, but that he has other responsibilities.
``I've waited all my life for a chance to step out and have the opportunity to utilize my skills to their full potential,'' Kennon said in a statement released by the team.
JEFF GREEN IN FIELD: Busch Grand National regular Jeff Green will make his fourth Winston Cup start here Sunday after running 26th fastest in qualifying Friday in a car owned by Dale Earnhardt.
``We're just trying to get some experience on the off weekends with this deal,'' Green said. ``I've run before at Richmond, North Wilkesboro and Atlanta.
``We're going to run as many as Earnhardt allows us this year.''
DEATH IN THE FAMILY: Richard and Kyle Petty were at Pocono on Friday, but Richard left before qualifying and Kyle just after time trials to return to North Carolina for the funeral of Richard's mother-in-law.
Helen Case Owens, 79, of Randleman, N.C., the mother of Richard's wife, Lynda, died Thursday after a long illness.
LENGTH: Medium: 73 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: Rudd (headshot)by CNB