THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 17, 1995 TAG: 9508170692
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BOB ZELLER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 83 lines
Ernie Irvan is not expected to announce his comeback plans for another week or so, but one thing is certain: He won't be making his return at Richmond International Raceway.
Irvan asked for appearance money from Richmond, and track president Paul Sawyer and his crew were so turned off by the request that they not only denied it, they went public with it.
Irvan's request, made through a business agent, was for $50,000 and a free spot to park his souvenir rig in exchange for a percentage of the proceeds from merchandise sold in connection with a comeback tour.
``It looks to me like it's profiteering from a medical issue,'' track spokesman Dave Fulton said. ``I find it pretty disgusting.''
Fulton said Richmond has never paid a driver to race, adding that it's not about to start now.
``Paul Sawyer does not pay money to drivers to come to race at his racetrack,'' Fulton said.
Irvan told Ben Blake of The Richmond Times-Dispatch: ``I help put people in the grandstands, so why shouldn't I get some of the money? I go to Ford dealers all the time and they pay me X amount of money to sign autographs. That helps them sell cars. This is the same thing.
``These Winston Cup tracks get spoiled because they know we've got to be there. But I'm not on any (NASCAR bonus) program. If I can't come back next year, where's my paycheck going to come from?''
Irvan is expected to announce his return to competition in NASCAR's SuperTruck series, ``but you can bet it won't be Richmond when we come back,'' he said.
The fall SuperTruck swing includes races as companion events to Winston Cup races at Richmond, Martinsville and North Wilkesboro.
$20,000 FINE: Bill Elliott's crew chief, Mike Beam, was fined $20,000 by Winston Cup director Gary Nelson for using an unapproved part at Watkins Glen last weekend.
``We determined Monday after Gary had time to look at it that there was unapproved material on the inner liner of the deck lid. The outer portion of the deck lid was standard,'' NASCAR spokesman Kevin Triplett said.
NASCAR officials confiscated the lid after a magnet failed to stick to the underside of the deck lid, which reportedly was made of carbon fiber instead of steel.
REPAVING INDY: Just about every Winston Cup track could stand a repaving more than the ultra-smooth Indianapolis Motor Speedway. But officials at the world's most famous racetrack have announced that the entire race surface will be replaced.
The old surface, laid after the 1988 Indy 500, has only seen seven years of racing.
The track is also extending the Northeast Vista grandstand, located outside turn three, several hundred feet down the backstretch and is replacing the inside wall along the backstretch, moving it several feet farther from the track.
Before repaving, track officials will strip 3 inches of pavement off the top, install an under-track water-drainage system and put a fresh 3-inch layer of custom asphalt on the surface.
``This effort will improve drainage, eliminate `weepers' (surface water leaks), make the track easier to dry and provide for an even smoother racing surface,'' speedway engineer Kevin Forbes said in a press release.
DOWN IN POINTS: Most of the significant moves in Winston Cup points over the past few months have been down.
The only notable gainers have been leader Jeff Gordon, who was fourth in points after Charlotte, and Bill Elliott, who has moved from 18th after Dover to 10th.
On the way down:
Dale Earnhardt, first after Pocono in July, is now fourth.
Steve Grissom, 13th after Pocono in July, is now 20th.
Bobby Hamilton, seventh after Charlotte, is now 14th.
Bobby Labonte, sixth after winning at Michigan, is now 11th.
Darrell Waltrip, 14th after Charlotte, is now 21st.
Derrike Cope, sixth after Bristol, is now 17th.
But no driver has had a more interesting ride than Dale Jarrett.
Jarrett struggled during the first of the year, but things didn't really get bad for him until the early summer. After all, he stayed in the top 10 in points from the Daytona 500 through Sears Point in May. Three races and three early exits later, he was 17th. Jarrett has since climbed back to as high as 12th. He's now 13th. by CNB