ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, October 27, 1996 TAG: 9610280156
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-13 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: AUTO RACING
DATELINE: PHOENIX
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER
His hand was covered by a well-padded, red-and-white glove, and Terry Labonte held it protectively at his side after he got out of his No. 5 Chevrolet Monte Carlo on Saturday after qualifying for today's Dura-Lube 500 at Phoenix International Raceway.
An autograph seeker approached. Labonte gazed at him for a moment with almost an awestruck look, as if to say, ``You've got to be kidding.'' He spoke softly to the fan and walked away.
The autograph seeker turned to his friend and said, ``He says his hand is hurt.''
Obviously, this guy had just dropped in from Planet Clueless. Or at least some remote habitat north of the Arctic Circle.
This was Saturday afternoon, after all, and by this time, more than 24 hours after the fact, every NASCAR fan in the contiguous 48 states surely must have heard that the Winston Cup points leader, in the teeth of one of the tightest championship battles in history, had broken a bone next to the index finger of his left hand after crashing in the no-pressure realm of Friday morning practice.
It has been the big story of the weekend. But racing injured is nothing new for the drivers in the NASCAR Winston Cup series.
In fact, three out of the top four drivers in the points - Labonte, Dale Jarrett and Dale Earnhardt, have competed this season with fractured bones. Two of them, Jarrett and Earnhardt, have competed with multiple fractures.
At Pocono in June, Jarrett broke a bone in his right leg just below the knee and cracked his sixth left rib after crashing during qualifying. He was on crutches for a couple of weeks, but after breaking a crankshaft and finishing 38th at Pocono, Jarrett reeled off a string of six straight top 10 finishes, culminating with his huge victory in the Brickyard 400.
``Injuries are just part of the business,'' Jarrett said. ``I know Terry Labonte. He will probably come out more determined than ever to make this work and to try to win this championship.
``I think you can get through it mentally. You've got to be pretty strong mentally to do anything out here. But I think the physical pain and being able to do what you need to do in the race car, that's the difficult part. It just limits what you can do physically.''
Earnhardt broke his shoulder and sternum in a crash at Talladega in July. Amazingly, only two weeks later, he won the pole at Watkins Glen and finished sixth in the race. Unfortunately for Earnhardt, that was the only top 10 finish he posted in the eight races following the crash.
``It affected everything - practice, setup, qualifying - the whole thing,'' said Earnhardt. ``It hampered things. It's tough to play hurt. Terry is driving that car with a broken hand, but he's got to do what he's got to do.''
Playing hurt is part of the sport, especially when the imperative is to run every race. Jarrett missed no races and used no relief drivers. Earnhardt took relief at Indy - something he now regrets doing - but he missed no races.
Labonte will do the same. He has no intention of even having a relief driver available.
``I'm probably about 80 percent, but I'm going all the way. No question. We won't have anybody standing by,'' Labonte said a few minutes after qualifying 30th in the 44-car field.
Labonte's team modified a steering wheel to help him steer the car with less pain and discomfort. Among other things, they installed a large lug nut on the left side of the wheel so Labonte could use the bottom side of his hand to push the wheel.
``It feels kind of clumsy right now,'' Labonte said. ``My hand is swollen so bad now I can't get it around the steering wheel, so we had to make the steering wheel smaller and that seemed to help a little bit.''
``If I get through here, I'll be OK for Atlanta. I don't really use my left hand that much, but you've got to keep it on the wheel.''
He has been using a Sport TX stimulator, which shoots electronic impulses into the hand to block the pain. He also received a shot of painkiller in his rear end Saturday morning. It was a real pain in the you-know-where to get it, but once the medicine kicked in, his hand felt better.
``We're going on three hours right now and it's still working,'' Labonte said after qualifying.
He has been warned that if he continues to put stress and pressure on the fracture, it may separate. Then he will probably need surgery to have a pin installed to secure it.
But right now, the only thing that matters is staying in the game. He is 32 points ahead of Jeff Gordon, 76 ahead of Jarrett.
``You've got to go out there and perform,'' Labonte said. ``It doesn't matter under what conditions. I still think we have a chance to win it.''
LENGTH: Medium: 87 linesby CNB