THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, March 5, 1996 TAG: 9603050314
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BOB ZELLER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 59 lines
Dale Jarrett, who lost a Busch Grand National race last year in postrace inspection, said Monday that he was satisfied with the way NASCAR handled Sunday's decision to not penalize Pontiac 400 winner Jeff Gordon, whose car was found to be too low after the event.
The Chevrolet Monte Carlo driven by Gordon and the Ford Thunderbirds driven by fourth-place finisher Jeff Burton and fifth-place finisher Mark Martin were all found in postrace inspection at Richmond International Raceway to be less than an eighth of an inch below the 51-inch minimum roof height required by NASCAR.
But NASCAR determined that the infraction was ``insubstantial enough to not create a competitive advantage,'' spokesman Kevin Triplett said, and thus decided against penalties.
Triplett said the cold weather may have been a factor because it may have caused the tires to lose pressure more quickly than they normally would. But Jarrett, who finished second, had the same Goodyear tires, and his car didn't fail the height test.
Jarrett, who had his Michigan Busch victory taken away last August when the intake manifold on his engine failed inspection, had this to say about Sunday's controversy:
``I think what happened here is more like the way NASCAR handled situations in the past. The explanation of it being cold, I didn't really understand. The weather was the same for everybody. But I expected very little if any action, and that's just because of the way things have gone in the past.
``I thought my situation last year at Michigan was completely out of character with the way they handled things. But as far as I'm concerned, I got beat on the racetrack. I can't see to where the lower height made any difference.
``It's more of the principle of thing - that everybody's car should be high enough. But as far as an advantage, I don't think it had anything to do with where the cars finished.''
Even though fractions of inches can translate to aerodynamic differences on racetracks, Jarrett said he doubted that the discrepancy - less than an eighth of an inch - made any difference on the shorter, 3/4-mile Richmond track.
Triplett said NASCAR was concerned that the teams might be using bleeder valves on the tires, which are not allowed. A thorough inspection of all the tires and a reinflation test ruled that out, he said.
But there's still no ready explanation as to why the cars of Gordon, Burton and Martin failed the height test while the cars of Jarrett and Ted Musgrave, who finished third, passed.
Meanwhile, NASCAR on Monday fined John Andretti $2,000 for ``actions detrimental to the sport'' after Andretti rammed the back of Bobby Hamilton's car several times during the cool-down lap after the race.
Andretti was mad at Hamilton after Hamilton rooted him out of position late in the race while making a pass, forcing Andretti high on the track and costing him about four positions. by CNB