ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, September 8, 1996 TAG: 9609090139
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C12 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: AUTO RACING NOTES
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
There may be as many as eight new Winston Cup teams on the circuit in 1997 and two of those efforts were solidifying this weekend at Richmond International Raceway.
Busch Grand National points leader David Green and his car owner, Buz McCall, announced Saturday they were moving into a full Winston Cup schedule in 1997 with sponsorship from Caterpillar, which sponsors the Grand National car.
``Some might say that it's an awful big jump up, but you've gotta make that move sooner or later,'' said Green. ``It's time for me to make that move.''
Green won the Grand National championship in 1994, but elected to stay in the series another year and suffered through a miserable season.
``You've got to get your ducks in a line,'' he said. ``It took the kind of year I'm having this year to get my confidence back up.''
Veteran crew chief Kirk Shelmerdine, officially a consultant for the team, will be directing race-day operations, while Butch Enders will manage the team at the shop.
Meanwhile, Wally Dallenbach has reportedly signed a letter of intent to join the new so-called Myrtle Beach team, which is also being called the fourth Rick Hendrick team. The owner of record, however, is Myrtle Beach auto dealer Nelson Bowers and the team will be based in Harrisburg, N.C., at least temporarily.
Dallenbach said he couldn't confirm anything, but he'll be driving Pontiacs in 1997 with factory support. Hendrick will provide the engines.
Other new teams for 1997 are Richard Childress' team with driver Mike Skinner, and Morgan-McClure's new team. A driver hasn't been named for that ride yet. Kyle Petty, Morgan Shepherd, Chad Little and Mike Wallace also are said be organizing their own efforts.
There have been suggestions that car owner Richard Jackson, who owns the Pontiacs driven by Rick Mast this year, was leaving the series. But Jackson said that's not true.
``I've heard the rumors that I'm supposed to be quitting, but I'm not going to do it,'' Jackson said Saturday. ``We're still searching for a sponsor, since Hooter's won't be back with us next year.''
Jackson also is looking for a driver, since Mast is departing to drive the No. 75 Ford Thunderbird owned by Butch Mock in 1997.
In another announcement, David Green's brother, Mark, and his Grand National car owner, Clarence Brewer, Jr., announced plans to run a full Grand National schedule in 1997 with sponsorship from the Timber Wolf brand of smokeless tobacco. Green has been running a limited schedule.
MARTIN WINS FOURTH POLE: Mark Martin had the fastest car in the single qualifying session for Saturday night's race, running a lap of 122.744 mph in his Ford Thunderbird.
``We just got an excellent lap,'' Martin said. ``It felt a little bit better than practice, but we weren't very good in practice. I was real concerned about getting a good starting spot, but we got a real good lap.''
Jeff Gordon was second fastest at 122.605 mph in a Chevrolet Monte Carlo. Also in the top 10, in order of speed, were Jeff Burton, Bobby Labonte, Ward Burton, Joe Nemechek, Bill Elliott, Dale Jarrett, Ted Musgrave and Rusty Wallace.
Provisional starting spots went to Ricky Rudd, Morgan Shepherd, Hut Stricklin and Bobby Hillin, while Stacy Compton, Jay Sauter and Gary Bradberry failed to make the show.
MORE RULE CHANGES: NASCAR unveiled yet another set of rule changes for spoilers and front air dams that are designed to give help to the Chevys and take away from the Fords.
At Dover next week, the Chevys will be allowed to lower their front air dams from 4 inches to 3.75 inches and raise the heights of their spoilers from 5.75 inches to 6 inches.
The Fords, however, will have to lower the heights of their spoilers from 6.5 to 6.25 inches and raise the ground clearance of their front air dams a full half-inch from 3.5 to 4 inches.
The changes are designed to improve the aerodynamics of the Chevys and have the opposite effect on the Fords.
``If you look at the races over the last eight or 10 weeks since we made our last major changes, we've made significant strides in achieving the close competition we want, but there's still some areas of a little imbalance, and hopefully this will take care of that,'' said NASCAR spokesman Kevin Triplett.
The latest changes did not go over well with the Ford teams, as you might expect. But there have been so many this year, the reaction was not as strong as it has been.
``It's inconsistent with what they told me they were going to do,'' said Ford motorsports official Preston Miller. ``But we've bought into this process, so we'll live with it. Since we bought into this, we have to believe NASCAR has data to support what they're doing.''
Said Ford driver Dale Jarrett: ``It's going to hurt. It's going to hurt bad. I just don't understand it. They're [Chevy] leading the points and they won the last race.''
ANOTHER RULE CHANGE: NASCAR teams often have complained that the three sets of new tires they're allowed from the beginning of practice to the end of qualifying is not enough, particularly for teams that choose to participate in the second round of qualifying.
Beginning with the race at Dover next weekend, teams that elect to participate the second round will be allowed to use an extra, fourth set of tires for the qualifying run.
NASCAR used to sometimes allow teams an extra set on a case-by-case basis; now it will be a rule.
LENGTH: Long : 102 linesby CNB