THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, February 13, 1997 TAG: 9702130569
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BOB ZELLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. LENGTH: 84 lines
Although two-time Daytona 500 winner Sterling Marlin was only 35th-fastest in time trials, his yellow Kodak Chevrolet Monte Carlo may be a factor in Sunday's Daytona 500.
Pole winner Mike Skinner says Marlin has been a good drafting partner in practice.
``Us and the 4 car (Marlin) seems to be a good combination,'' Skinner said Wednesday afternoon. ``Sterling and I are pretty quick, so I hope that works out.''
Said Marlin: ``I know some people have already counted us out, but they shouldn't ever count out Ol' Yeller down here.''
What about Skinner's teammate, Dale Earnhardt?
``We haven't hooked up at this point in time,'' Skinner said. ``We're in different (Twin) 125s, so there's no sense in us trying to work together right now. We need to get our two cars together Friday and see if we will work.''
Skinner is in the first of today's Twin 125 qualifying races; Earnhardt is in the second.
Skinner also said John Andretti, whose car will start third in the second race today, is running well.
``That 98 car is awfully fast,'' he said. ``If he gets up front, he's going to be hard to pass.''
Jeremy Mayfield's Ford was the fastest car in the afternoon practice, reaching 190.900 mph. He was followed by Wally Dallenbach, Earnhardt and Ted Musgrave.
TIDE STICKS WITH RUDD: Ricky Rudd announced Wednesday that Procter & Gamble has extended its Tide sponsorship of his car through 1999.
Tide became Rudd's sponsor when he joined Hendrick Motorsports in 1990 and stayed with him when he formed his own team in 1994.
``This is the earliest that we've ever been able to sign up a sponsorship agreement,'' Rudd said. ``We're really pleased about that. From an owner's side, that really gives us a foundation to build for the future. It's hard to make investments and it's hard to make business plans when your sponsorship is not secured and squared away.''
FAST GRAY HAIR: A well-known fact in the Winston Cup series is that it takes experience to do well among stock-car racing's elite.
Many of the sport's top drivers are in their upper 30s or 40s, which prompted outside pole winner Steve Grissom to tell Chevy's Ray Cooper: ``It's hard to beat gray hair.''
BUSCH FIELD SET: A 45-car field has been set for Saturday's Gargoyles 300 Busch Grand National race that includes nine regular Winston Cup drivers.
Jeff Purvis led second-round qualifying, improving about 1 1/2 mph to 188.107 but moving up only from 27th to 26th on the grid.
Fourteen drivers failed to make the field on their speeds, but seven made it into the race with provisional starting spots. Those who are going home are Mark Day, Jimmy Foster, Kenny Irwin, Jr., Chris Diamond, Ron Barfield, Jeff McClure and Dennis Setzer.
THE FDA BATTLE: While the Winston Cup cars have been busy on the track this week, lawyers for the series sponsor, the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., have been busy in court doing battle with the Food and Drug Administration, which wants to regulate tobacco, including tobacco advertising in motorsports.
RJR Vice President and General Counsel Guy Blynn said he expects a ruling from U.S. District Judge William Osteen in five to 10 weeks on the latest skirmish in federal court in Greensboro.
Blynn was in court Monday arguing on RJR's motion for summary judgment, which basically is a request to have the case thrown out before it goes to trial.
RJR's primary argument is that the FDA cannot regulate tobacco or tobacco advertising because it has no jurisdiction to do so. The FDA is arguing that it does have jurisdiction because tobacco is a drug.
HENDRICK DRIVE: Although car owner Rick Hendrick is undergoing chemotherapy and is not planning to come to Daytona this week, he is not being overlooked.
NASCAR's heaviest hitters, including president Bill France Jr. and drivers Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon and Rusty Wallace have called a press conference for 9 a.m. today to announce on his behalf a campaign to fight leukemia. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Daytona 500 pole-sitter Mike Skinner checks wear patterns on a tire
after a practice run. The rest of the Daytona field, from third
position back, will be set today after the Twin 125 qualifying
races.