THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, March 13, 1996 TAG: 9603130644
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BOB ZELLER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 50 lines
No word yet from NASCAR on the latest wind tunnel tests or on repercussions from the postrace dispute Sunday between NASCAR officials and Terry Labonte and his crew chief, Gary DeHart.
But team spokesman Bill Armour is playing down the incident, insisting that tempers flared only because NASCAR officials were pushy about taking the team's No. 5 Chevrolet for the tests - conducted Monday and Tuesday at Lockheed's wind tunnel in Marietta, Ga. - and would not answer questions.
``We didn't take any exception to them taking the car,'' Armour said. ``But if NASCAR was going to take your car, wouldn't you want to know what's going on? I'd want some things answered.''
Instead, Armour said, the command from NASCAR, repeated about eight times, was, ``Get off pit road, go to your truck.''
Armour said Labonte did not throw a water bottle at anyone as much as he ``pitched it down and left, like kicking dirt on an umpire.''
``The whole thing got way blown out of proportion,'' he said.
THE ``A'' LIST: NASCAR has invited 30 drivers, including 20 from the Winston Cup series, to take part in the Nov. 24 demonstration race at Suzuka Circuitland in Japan.
The Winston Cup invitees are Johnny Benson Jr., Ricky Craven, Wally Dallenbach Jr., Dale Earnhardt, Bill Elliott, Jeff Gordon, Steve Grissom, Bobby Hamilton, Ernie Irvan, Dale Jarrett, Terry Labonte, Sterling Marlin, Mark Martin, Kyle Petty, Ricky Rudd, Ken Schrader, Rusty Wallace and Michael Waltrip.
Other invitees include David Green, Ron Hornaday Jr., Jason Keller, Herschel McGriff, Mike Skinner and an assortment of Winston West drivers.
That list may change depending on the response, NASCAR spokesman Ken Triplett said.
Left out of the mix: the three Bodine brothers, both Burton brothers, Bobby Labonte, Rick Mast, Derrike Cope, Ted Musgrave, John Andretti and Jimmy Spencer.
DARLINGTON PRACTICE: Jeff Burton, who had a rotten weekend in Atlanta, was the fastest driver during practice at Darlington Raceway.
Burton's Ford zoomed around the 1.366-mile oval at 168.410 mph. Burton failed to make the field for last Sunday's Purolator 500.
Other drivers at the track Tuesday were Martin, Grissom and Geoff Bodine.
The TranSouth 400, at Darlington on March 24, is the next race on the Winston Cup circuit. by CNB