THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 12, 1995 TAG: 9510120481
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BOB ZELLER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines
Ricky Rudd announced Wednesday that he's hired veteran mechanic Richard Broome to become general manager and crew chief of his Tide Ford Thunderbird team, replacing departing Bill Ingle.
Broome, 51, who was in the same position on Kenny Bernstein's Quaker State Ford team, has three Winston Cup victories, all with Ken Schrader at Hendrick Motorsports in 1990 and 1991.
``I'm not going to change everything,'' Broome said in a statement released by the team. ``Ricky already has a super team and I think I can add to that and help him achieve some of his goals.
``I was approached by a lot of teams and I considered every offer, but Ricky is the only driver I thought could get the job done and win races.''
Said Rudd: ``We worked together a couple of times while testing when I drove for Hendrick Motorsports and I was really impressed with the way his cars handled. I was even more impressed with the job he did with a very difficult situation at the start of this season at King Racing.''
Broome suffered with sprint car driver Steve Kinser early in the season, who was ill-equipped for NASCAR racing. Things improved dramatically with Hut Stricklin, and they developed a rapport. But then Bernstein announced he was selling the team.
Bernstein was unsuccessful and once the season ends, Broome will help with the auction of the assets before he joins Rudd.
Rudd said he thinks the responsibilities ``are too much for one person to handle right now,'' so we'll be doing a little reorganizing so things won't slip through the cracks.
Rudd said Broome will be a manager more than a boss and other key team members will be in charge of chassis setups, engine tuning, springs and shocks.
FOYT RETURNS: A.J. Foyt is 60 years old, but he still hasn't had his fill of racing yet.
Foyt announced Tuesday he'll try to qualify for the Phoenix race on Oct. 29 in a Ford Thunderbird with crew chief Barry Dodson turning the wrenches and Motorola paying the bills.
And he wants to step up his involvement in NASCAR racing.
``This has kinda been a one-race thing, but I'm hoping to put something together with Motorola and run more races next year,'' Foyt said. ``The big race tracks is where I would try to participate.''
Foyt tested his NASCAR Supertruck at the one-mile oval on Monday and hadhis Winston Cup car out on Tuesday. He also had two Indy cars there to test potential drivers for 1996.
``I just want to get back in shape and really enjoy racing again,'' he said. ``I've always enjoyed running with the NASCAR guys and I just see it sliding way ahead of the Indy group.''
IRVAN TO CALIFORNIA: Ernie Irvan continues his comeback this weekend inthe NASCAR Supertruck race Sunday at Mesa Marin Speedway in Bakersfield, Ca.
``It's going to be great to race at Bakersfield again, but it's been a long time since I ran there - the late '70s, maybe early '80s,'' he told Ford's Wayne Estes.
Irvan's next Winston Cup race will be Rockingham, and he was testing there Wednesday with teammate Dale Jarrett.
Irvan, by the way, said at Charlotte last weekend that his decision not to run there was based not on a lack of cars and preparation time at Robert Yates Racing, but a conscious decision on his part to avoid making his comeback too fast.
From the 5/8-mile oval at North Wilkesboro, Irvan will advance to two one-mile ovals (Rockingham and Phoenix) before heading to the 1.5-mile Atlanta oval and eventually winter testing at Daytona.
15TH AND OUT: All Jeff Gordon has to do in the final three races of theseason is finish 15th and he will win the Winston Cup championship, no matter what Dale Earnhardt does.
Gordon lost 97 points to Earnhardt at Charlotte, but still has a healthy lead of 205 points. by CNB