THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, April 13, 1996 TAG: 9604130457
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BOB ZELLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines
Reporters were trooping up to Richard Petty on Friday at North Wilkesboro Speedway, which means that either his car is running well or another one of his records is about to fall.
On Friday, it was both. Petty's driver, Bobby Hamilton, qualified fourth-fastest for Sunday's First Union 400. And Petty's record of 513 consecutive Winston Cup starts will be tied Sunday by Terry Labonte, who celebrated by winning the pole.
``The only good thing I see about it from my standpoint is the records they're breaking are mine, and that makes me feel good,'' Petty said. ``I'm glad to see Terry break it, at least a driver of Terry's talent. I'll put it that way.
``He don't make a lot of waves, he wins races, he's really smart, he's a money-making driver and he don't tear up a lot of equipment. And that's helped him a lot in the sense that he's not been hurt. He's a very cautious driver, but when that car is there, he goes. And when the car is not there, he knows how far to take that car and still be safe with it.''
Petty said that when he was setting his record, ``I was just doing it and doing it and doing it, and nobody paid any attention to it - until it ended.'' His streak began in 1971 and ended in March 1989, when he failed to qualify at Richmond.
``It was not an easy feat,'' he said. ``It was not an easy feat for me, and it wasn't for him. You gotta figure that one of the things that helped us is that the cars are so much safer today than what they used to be. And so you can have a wreck and still be able to come back.
``I told Terry I'm glad he's breaking it, because Richard Petty's name is in the paper again.''
FELIX'S NEW TEAM: Car owner Felix Sabates, who fields Kyle Petty's Pontiacs, announced here Friday that First Union Bank will sponsor a second Pontiac team with Jay Sauter driving for five races later this season.
Sauter, who has been competing in the SuperTruck series, plans to run the Southern 500 at Darlington and the season's second races at Richmond, Martinsville, Charlotte and Atlanta. Former driver Brad Noffsinger will be the crew chief.
``I have owed First Union millions of dollars for many years, and I figure this is the first opportunity to get some of my money back,'' Sabates said. ``But if you're going to be competitive in the long run, you're going to have to have multiple teams.''
The advantage, he said, is more testing opportunities and economies of scale, especially in areas such as the engine shop.
Sabates said he hopes to expand the second team's schedule to perhaps 15 races in 1997 and a full season in 1998.
``This is a fabulous opportunity for me,'' Sauter said.
COMMEMORATIVE CARS: The Winston Cup fad for the 1996 season seems to be commemorative cars.
Terry Labonte is driving a steel-gray Chevy here and at Martinsville next weekend to commemorate tying and breaking Richard Petty's consecutive-races streak. And Brett Bodine on Friday unveiled a gold Lowe's Ford that he'll drive in the Coca-Cola 600 in May to honor the 50th anniversary of the chain of home-improvement stores.
RUDD OK: Ricky Rudd said he's doing quite well after a hard crash Monday during a test session at Martinsville Speedway.
``I'm fine, and I'm sure I won't need a backup driver,'' he said.
THE MODIFIEDS: Roger Hill of Westfield, N.C., won the pole for today's Lowe's 150 modified race. A 32-car field will take the green flag at 1 p.m. by CNB