THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, August 20, 1994 TAG: 9408200383
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BOB ZELLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BROOKLYN, MICH. LENGTH: Medium: 67 lines
Bobby Allison's long, frustrating search for a sponsor is over.
Straight Arrow Products Inc., which manufactures shampoo and other hair products for horses and people, has signed up to sponsor Allison's No. 12 Ford Thunderbird for the rest of this year, as well as 1995 and '96.
``I can't believe it,'' Allison said while preparing for Sunday's Goodwrench 400 at Michigan International Speedway. ``I'm so afraid that it's not all the way real. We really needed them to come on.''
Allison's car is already decked out in his new sponsor's colors - turquoise, blue, yellow and green - but the team hasn't yet had time to decorate its all-black hauler.
``We've had a lot of crashes recently and really used up our equipment,'' Allison said. ``And then, wouldn't you know it, we go to Watkins Glen and a brand-new part breaks. So we're hoping all of that is behind us.''
Allison said his new driver, Derrike Cope, will remain with the team through this season and will return in 1995.
TEXAS TRACK TO CHILDRESS? Richard Childress, Dale Earnhardt's car owner, said he's still uncertain whether his bid to buy Texas World Speedway will be successful.
Childress and two partners he declined to name have made a proposal to buy the two-mile oval in College Station from Dick Conole.
``We made an offer, and we're prepared to buy it at what we felt it was worth,'' Childress said. ``We had a business plan and went in there in good faith to try to purchase a piece of property. We made an offer, and that's where it stands.''
The speedway, a clone of Michigan International, hosted NASCAR Winston Cup races in the late 1960s and early 1970s and again from 1979 through 1981. But it has a long history of financial problems and needs many improvements.
``The place has potential, but it's going to take a lot of revenue to get it where we think it should be,'' Childress said.
The track was scheduled to be auctioned Thursday, but the auction was canceled and the owners began exclusive negotiations with Childress' representatives.
Asked if the speedway would get a NASCAR race if his group bought the track, Childress said: ``That would be great, but I don't see that anywhere in the future. Right now we've got 35 Winston Cup races, and if you add California, that will be 36, and we just can't physically do more races.''
FAMILY CHANNEL CONTRACT: The Family Channel cable television network has extended its sponsorship of the Jack Roush-owned No. 16 Ford Thunderbird driven by Ted Musgrave, signing a new multiyear agreement, the team announced Friday.
SPENCER IFFY FOR SUNDAY: Jimmy Spencer, still hurting from the broken shoulder he suffered in the Brickyard 400, was 33rd in first-round qualifying Friday but said he may not be able to run Sunday's full race.
``I don't know if I can drive,'' he said. ``My shoulder hurts pretty good.'' Spencer still plans to start the race, but he said he didn't know who would be his relief driver.
RULES INFRACTIONS: NASCAR forced several teams to modify the body work at the rear-wheel wells after pre-practice inspection Friday morning.
About 10 cars, including those driven by Ernie Irvan, Rusty Wallace and Sterling Marlin, had to add sheet metal to the wheel wells after NASCAR determined that the measurement between the edge of the wheel and the edge of the wheel well was greater than the required eight inches. The rationale behind having a larger-than-allowed opening in the rear-quarter panels is that it allows air beneath the car to escape more efficiently. by CNB