THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 9, 1997 TAG: 9702090173
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BOB ZELLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. LENGTH: 74 lines
One look at the Winston Cup inspection bay at Daytona International Speedway lends proof to the theory that as NASCAR has grown, so has its bureaucracy.
It's not so much an inspection bay now as it is an inspection mall.
Terry Labonte's car was the first to pass through the gauntlet of gadgets, gizmos and human fine-tooth combing before Daytona 500 qualifying on Saturday. It took slightly more than 30 minutes.
``The only problem with this is that is is really time-consuming,'' Kyle Petty said. ``All of a sudden, we have a 30-minute inspection procedure. It seems like it would be easier to do it another way.''
But the process quickly picked up speed and fewer complaints - at least about the pace of inspection.
``It wasn't too bad, but we were one of the first ones through and the line was not really that long,'' Ricky Rudd said.
Each car goes through 14 stops during the inspection, passing under the gaze of 40 pairs of eyes.
It starts at the gas pumps behind pit road, where inspectors check the tread width of the tires and the side skirts. At the next stop, the fuel cell is checked, as well as the height of the rear deck and the spoiler.
By the third stop, the cars still have not reached the traditional NASCAR inspection area. Here, the radiators and roof flaps are inspected and the rear shock absorbers are disconnected in preparation for the weight test.
``Once they roll in the inspection building, we add the weight - 75 pounds to both sides of the rear end - to check the rear springs,'' NASCAR spokesman Kevin Triplett said. ``We're trying to make sure they're stiff enough to keep the cars from dropping to a height where they could potentially bottom out in the turns.''
Next, the spoiler is checked again - this time for angle and stiffness.
``Then we move outside again and the air cleaner, pumps and carburetor and manifold are inspected,'' Triplett said. ``Here, we apply the restrictor plate.''
At yet another outside stop, as the cars make a U-turn and prepare to go back inside the inspection building, the long, nose-to-tail template is applied. Then the cars move back inside and are weighed. The roof height also is checked, as well as the height of the air dam and side skirts.
Finally, the cars move back outside for one more stop, where the air dam is riveted to the front end.
``Then we escort them to pit road,'' Triplett said.
NEW PACE-CAR DRIVER: Robert ``Buster'' Auton, a key lieutenant of Winston Cup director Gary Nelson, has been named the Winston Cup pace-car driver.
Auton, 44, of Hickory, N.C., fills the vacancy left when Elmo Langley died of a heart attack while taking a lap around the Suzuka circuit in Japan last November.
Auton became a part-time NASCAR inspector in the former Late Model Sportsman (now Busch Grand National) series in 1975 and joined full-time in 1987 as an inspector in the Busch series. He was promoted to the Winston Cup series in 1989.
HENDRICK NOT HERE: Winston Cup champion car owner Rick Hendrick is not expected to appear at Daytona during Speedweeks.
``He's not going to be down here at all,'' said Jimmy Johnson, general manager of Hendrick Motorsports. ``He's going to be a sick puppy for awhile.''
Hendrick, who faces a federal criminal trial later this year in connection with the American Honda scandal, has begun chemotherapy treatments for leukemia. He was diagnosed in November.
``If there's really something in his favor, it is that his attitude has never been stronger.''
LETTERMAN SPONSORSHIP: The Chevrolet Monte Carlo driven in today's ARCA 200 by Tim Moser is sponsored by Worldwide Pants Inc., David Letterman's company.
Moser, of San Jose, Calif., was Letterman's instructor for several years at the Jim Hall Kart Racing School in California. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
Today's Race
Today's Lineup
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