ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, April 23, 1997 TAG: 9704230047
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: AUTO RACING NOTES
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER THE ROANOKE TIMES
Two more NASCAR Winston Cup car owners, Rusty Wallace and Joe Gibbs, are trying to decide whether to create two-car teams.
The rumor last weekend at Martinsville was that Gibbs was creating a second team for Indy car driver Tony Stewart with sponsorship from Shell, currently an associate sponsor for Gibbs and the Interstate Batteries Chevrolet driven by Bobby Labonte.
Gibbs said he's made no decisions on a second team.
And he said, ``No,'' when asked if a deal with Stewart and Shell was locked up.
``We've been considering it for two years and [crew chief] Jimmy Makar, Bobby and I have talked about it, but it would have to be the right sponsor and the right driver,'' he said. ``We don't want to do anything to hurt what we have now. If it was the right situation, we might.''
Wallace, a part-owner of his team with Roger Penske and Don Miller, last week said ``the possibilities of it are good, although we haven't made our mind up to do it.''
Wallace said he would probably make a decision in the next few weeks for 1998.
``Everything is in place to do two cars if we want to,'' he said. ``Right now we are in the middle of trying to make our mind up. Is this something we want to do, is this going to be a help to our team or is it going to be a hindrance?''
Wallace said if it wasn't for the testing advantage that multi-car teams receive (each team gets seven tests a year), he wouldn't do it. ``I've seen teams where it's been good and it's been bad,'' he said.
NASCAR currently has no plans to alter the testing rules, spokesman Kevin Triplett said.
Greenville-Pickens Speedway in South Carolina is a non-Winston Cup short track and teams test there because the session does not count as one of seven allowable tests.
``We're not sure what can be done about it,'' Triplett said. ``We know there are loopholes. But it's difficult to corral a giant. And it's hard to make a rule you can't police. Greenville-Pickens Speedway has a cottage industry going on with all the teams heading down there to test.''
MINORITY-OWNED TEAM? Basketball great Julius Erving and former NFL running back Joe Washington are working to form a NASCAR racing team next year that would be the only minority-owned squad on the Winston Cup circuit.
The two former athletes along with Raleigh businessman Fields Jackson Jr. and Kathy Thompson of a Greensboro-based marketing group are talking with car manufacturers about what cars it would run.
``Julius and Joe are wild about the idea and are really ready to get going,'' Thompson said Tuesday.
``They want to hire a top 15 driver, and I told them that's expensive,'' Thompson told The Charlotte Observer. ``These guys are very competitive.''
Washington played football for then-Washington Redskins coach Gibbs, who owns the team that fields Pontiacs for driver Bobby Labonte.
Thompson has handled some motorsports marketing accounts, and Jackson introduced her to Washington, who has been friends with ``Dr. J'' for more than 20 years.
Thompson said NASCAR President Bill France Jr. is excited about having Erving and Washington in the sport.
``The diversity of this group is what is making the biggest news,'' she said. ``This can be a big thing for NASCAR.''
NOT FOR CHANGE: Jeff Gordon made it clear Tuesday he's not a Dale Earnhardt-style driver who excels with a loose car.
He is against suggestions that NASCAR mandate a smaller spoiler and a higher air dam at Daytona and Talladega to make handling more of a factor.
``I want as much grip as I can get,'' he said during the weekly Winston Cup teleconference. ``To me as a driver, the last thing I want is for the cars to not handle well. I think we could cause more accidents by having ill-handling cars.''
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