THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, June 19, 1995 TAG: 9506190135
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BOB ZELLER, STAFF WRITER NASCAR NOTES
DATELINE: BROOKLYN, MICH. LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines
When Michael Waltrip set upon Lake Speed after the Miller 400 at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday, it was like a football fight - punches to helmets don't do much damage.
Angry about a late-race incident, Waltrip pinned Speed's car on pit road, hopped out, unhooked Speed's window net, shouted at him and then threw two left hooks to Speed's helmeted head.
``Somebody is tapping on my helmet,'' Speed told his team on the radio, according to a team member.
Afterward, NASCAR officials hauled Waltrip into the NASCAR woodshed. NASCAR spokeman Kevin Triplett said the sanctioning body will announce today what, if any, further action would be taken.
Waltrip told Pontiac's Brian Hoagland: ``To me it was pretty obvious he (Speed) didn't mean to give me any room. I've never been that mad before. . . wanted to knock him around a little bit and tell him how mad I was. I want to apologize publicly for what I did. I just lost my cool.''
EARNHARDT CRASHES: The bustle of activity around the infield care center after Rudd's crash soon was followed by a similar scene involving Dale Earnhardt.
Earnhardt collided with Derrike Cope in turn one on lap 128, did a half-turn spin and slammed into the outside wall, pancaking the right side of the car.
``We were both on the throttle driving in the corner and he just chopped down,'' Cope told Estes. ``I don't know what his deal was. He wrecked himself.''
Like Rudd's team before, Earnhardt's crew urgently tried to reach him by radio. But he was out, too.
Earnhardt finally came to and hobbled to an ambulance with assistance. When he emerged from the infield care center, he told reporters: ``I've got a bruised leg and my neck's real sore. It knocked the breath out of me and I couldn't talk on the radio. The guys thought I was hurt pretty bad and I thought I was for a minute, too. My knee is sore. I hit the wall too fast.''
As for the cause of the accident, he said, ``Either (Cope) got into me or I got into him. We got together and it knocked me loose.''
MARLIN TAKES LEAD: Earnhardt's crash let Sterling Marlin, who finished seventh, take over the lead by six points in the Winston Cup championship battle. ``I feel real good about going to Daytona with the points lead,'' said Marlin, who won the Daytona 500 in February. The Pepsi 400, on July 1, is next on the Winston Cup schedule.
BODINE FINED: NASCAR officials fined Geoff Bodine $5,000 and did not score his final three laps after he ignored a black flag at the end of the race.
NASCAR spokesman Kevin Triplett said Bodine scraped the wall with less than 10 laps to go and continued in the race, but was deemed to be going too slow. Bodine was black-flagged with five laps to go but ignored the summons to the pits. His scorecard was pulled after 197 laps and he was credited with a 21st-place finish.
SAWYER'S LONG AFTERNOON: For Elton Sawyer, it was a long afternoon behind the wheel of the No. 27 Ford Thunderbird. He finished 23rd, four laps down. ``The car pushed real bad in the middle of the turns,'' he said. ``We didn't handle the way we needed to.'' ILLUSTRATION: ASSOCIATED PRESS photo
The cars of Ricky Rudd, top left, and Hut Stricklin are damaged as
they hit the wall at Michigan.
by CNB