ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, January 23, 1997 TAG: 9701230054
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: AUTO RACING NOTES
DATELINE: DAYTONA BEACH, FLA.
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
As the General Motors racing teams finished January testing Wednesday at Daytona International Speedway, still lacking the speed of the Fords, the Indy Racing League prepared to race in Orlando with new cars that sound suspiciously like stock cars.
Sterling Marlin topped the speed chart on the final search for speed on the afternoon of the third day of testing at Daytona as the NASCAR Winston Cup teams concluded test runs for the Daytona 500 on Feb.16.
Marlin, a two-time Daytona 500 winner, reached 188.620 mph in his Chevrolet Monte Carlo. Second fastest was Dale Earnhardt, who sorted out his Chevy well enough with new crew chief Larry McReynolds to reach 188.324. Third fastest Wednesday was Ken Schrader at 188.190, followed by Terry Labonte (188.088) and Robby Gordon (187.915).
Gordon had run a lap of 188.182 Monday. But all of the GM speeds were shy of the fast lap of the month, a 189.458 effort by John Andretti on Jan.15 in a Ford Thunderbird.
``Clearly, our best speeds are a little bit short of the Ford speeds,'' said Terry Laise, a General Motors chassis engineer. ``So I don't see any major change in the competitive balance from last year. We've been down on power here, we still are and we need some help.''
The fastest Pontiac driver was Bobby Hamilton, who was 13th fastest in a Grand Prix at 186.432. Laise and several Pontiac drivers said the Grand Prix also needs some individual help, such as a spoiler-height concession, from NASCAR.
``I think the Pontiacs need a little something,'' said Derrike Cope, who was 21st fastest Wednesday, at 185.124.
As the GM teams packed up and left Daytona for a 15-day break before returning for Speedweeks practice starting Feb.7, the sounds of engines much like those of NASCAR stock cars were reverberating through Walt Disney World as the IRL cars prepared for Saturday's opener.
The IRL will be using a new, simpler chassis this year and stock-block normally aspirated engines.
There's been some trouble getting enough new parts, particularly Nissan engines, for the entrants, but IRL Director Leo Mehl said during a news conference near Walt Disney World Speedway that he expected 18 cars on the grid Saturday.
The IRL is the brainchild of Indianapolis Motor Speedway President Tony George, who has been taking cues from NASCAR and its president, Bill France, as George created his oval-track series.
``The relationship is around oval racing,'' said Mehl, the former racing chief at Goodyear. ``I think that the Brickyard racing at Indy was a great cementing factor. Tony George and Bill France had to develop a great relationship to make that big step.''
The IRL, in turn, is taking a big step with its move into NASCAR territory with a race at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway on July 26.
``If we had tried to go to Charlotte 10 years ago, I don't think we could have been successful,'' Mehl said. ``But there's a lot of interest. The race is going to make it because the facility is wonderful and what we're doing is different. We're going to race at night. And I've got to believe [when] we race, most racing people in the United States will be very curious to see what we do in Charlotte.''
LENGTH: Medium: 65 linesby CNB