ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, April 2, 1997 TAG: 9704020052
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER THE ROANOKE TIMES
Winston Cup driver Ernie Irvan and his wife, Kim, were involved in a parking-lot fight Sunday.
An evening out for NASCAR Winston Cup driver Ernie Irvan and his wife, Kim, ended with a fight in the parking lot of a nightclub in Cornelius, N.C., early Sunday, but none of the parties involved sought to file criminal charges.
Cornelius police were called to Twisters nightclub on Highway 73 West at 2:08 a.m. Sunday by the manager, who said there was a fight in the parking lot.
A Cornelius Police Department report on the incident listed seven people as being involved, including Ernie and Kim Irvan, but indicated no one received anything other than minor injuries.
``It was an unfortunate situation that's now resolved,'' said Irvan's team publicist, Brian VanDercook, speaking on behalf of the driver. VanDercook said he could say nothing more about the matter.
Irvan was in San Diego on Tuesday for an appearance and was unavailable for comment. Kim Irvan, reached by telephone Tuesday, declined comment on the matter other than to say, ``It's bad enough to have to be the victim twice.''
One of the others listed on the police report as having been involved, Mark Marlowe, 26, of Kannapolis, N.C., expressed regret the incident happened at all.
``The whole thing shouldn't have happened,'' he said. ``It should have been avoided. It was a big mistake. It had nothing to do with racing.''
Marlowe said the dispute was primarily between Kim Irvan and a woman with his party listed as the primary victim on the police report, Joy Montgomery, 29, of Albemarle, N.C. Montgomery could not be reached for comment.
Marlowe said a disc jockey at the club had announced the presence of the Irvans, who were reportedly there to celebrate Kim's 31st birthday, which was Tuesday. Marlowe said his group had said hello to the Irvans and mingled with them in a friendly and cordial way.
But an argument started between the two women, Marlowe said, and his party decided to leave. In the parking lot, as his group was about to drive away, Kim Irvan confronted Montgomery again and the fight ensued.
Marlowe said he was ``trying to keep the peace'' and a stranger came out of the club and put him in a headlock.
The fracas was over by the time police arrived.
Cornelius Police Capt. Ed Gemes said there were ``conflicting reports'' as to what started the dispute.
In other racing news:
ANOTHER RULE CHANGE: NASCAR on Monday took some more spoiler away from the Ford Thunderbird in an effort to make the General Motors cars more competitive in the Winston Cup series.
``Effective immediately, the height of the rear deck spoiler for the Ford Thunderbird will be reduced from 5.75 inches to 5.50 inches,'' said a NASCAR bulletin.
It marked the third race in a row with new rules for the Thunderbird. For the Atlanta race, NASCAR gave Ford a 1/8th inch concession on the front air dam. But after Atlanta, NASCAR did another comparative wind tunnel test on the three makes.
And it's clear now that the Thunderbird was aerodynamically superior in that test, because NASCAR took a quarter-inch off the Ford spoiler two weeks ago and now has taken another quarter-inch.
LENGTH: Medium: 66 lines KEYWORDS: AUTO RACINGby CNB