THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, July 27, 1996 TAG: 9607270381
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C13 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BOB ZELLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: TALLADEGA, ALA. LENGTH: 64 lines
The hottest design trick in the Winston Cup series is the commemorative car.
Teams have rolled out special cars for the Olympics, for sponsor anniversaries and for Terry Labonte's consecutive-race streak, among other reasons.
This weekend, the Joe Gibbs Racing team and driver Bobby Labonte arrived at Talladega Superspeedway with a Chevrolet Monte Carlo decked out in the burgundy and gold of the Washington Redskins.
The car honors Gibbs's induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, tonight. Gibbs won three Super Bowls as the Redskins' coach.
A large Hall of Fame decal adorns the front hood of the car. And just above the back bumper, a decal reads, ``Way To Go, Joe.''
After the induction ceremony in Ohio, Gibbs will fly to Alabama.
``Joe will be here Sunday,'' crew chief Jimmy Makar said.
CHECKING IT OUT: The Gibbs team has been busy in recent weeks building and testing a Pontiac Grand Prix.
Labonte and the team tested the car at Pocono on Monday, the day after the Miller 500.
``They built it for themselves to see if they want to switch,'' Pontiac spokesman Brian Hoagland said.
Said Makar: ``We just wanted to evaluate the Pontiac for General Motors. Plus, you always want to see what somebody else has got.''
But, he added, ``We haven't seen anything yet that says there's a reason to switch right now.''
UNEMPLOYED DRIVER: Steve Grissom, who was booted from the driver's seat of the Gary Bechtel-owned Chevrolet Monte Carlo last month, says that even if a one-race deal came up, he can't take it because of his contract.
``I have talked to some people and there's a race here and a race there, but the problem is Diamond Ridge (Bechtel's company) won't release me from my contract, so I can't drive,'' he said.
Team spokesman Keith Parsons said Bechtel can't fire Grissom under the terms of his contract but can replace him. And Grissom has not asked for his release from the contract, Parsons said.
BUSCH SECOND ROUND: Only two races ago, Buckshot Jones won his first Busch Grand National event after a final-lap shootout with Mike McLaughlin.
But there will be no shootout at all for Jones this weekend. He failed to make the 42-car field for today's Humminbird 500K in Friday's second round of time trials.
Randy LaJoie, a three-time winner this year in the Busch series, was fastest in the second round with a lap of 187.309 mph in a Chevrolet.
On Thursday, Joe Nemechek won the pole for the race with a lap of 192.878 mph, which was significantly faster than any other qualifying lap here so far - Busch series or Winston Cup.
The provisional starting spots for today's race went to Jason Keller, Mike Wallace, Bobby Dotter and Tim Fedewa.
Besides Jones, others who failed to make the race were Randy Porter, Peter Gibbons, Dennis Setzer, Ron Barfield, Tommy Houston and Kevin Ray. ILLUSTRATION: ASSOCIATED PRESS
Jeff Gordon left his car thinking he had the pole for Sunday's
DieHard 500, but Jeremy Mayfield took the top spot Friday. by CNB