DATE: Tuesday, March 4, 1997                TAG: 9703040492
SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C2   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY BOB ZELLER, STAFF WRITER

                                            LENGTH:   59 lines

A DAY LATER, WALLACE GETS THE WIN THE COMPRESSION RATIO, TESTED AGAIN, WAS RULED TO BE CLOSE ENOUGH; RICHMOND VICTORY STANDS.

Twenty-four hours after Rusty Wallace won the Pontiac Excitement 400 at Richmond International Raceway, NASCAR officials confirmed the results and found his team not guilty of any engine hanky-panky.

Wallace's engine, however, still failed, at least technically, to meet the requirement of 14-to-1 compression ratio.

Further tests Monday showed a compression ratio of 14.011-to-1, NASCAR spokesman Kevin Triplett said, and ``that meets what is stated in the rule book,'' which is 14-to-1.

``It was not 14-point-1,'' Triplett said. ``When you get down below tenths, we're satisfied that this car was in compliance with the rules.''

Of course, 14.011-to-1 is still more than 14-to-1. What matters is whether Wallace had any advantage. NASCAR said he didn't, and Winston Cup engine builders said he didn't.

``Something that small didn't make a difference,'' said Tony Santicola, engine builder for car owner Cale Yarborough. ``It's so close, it's not even worth talking about.''

The compression ratio is a measurement of the amount of air squeezed into the combustion chamber of a cylinder when the piston makes its upstroke. It's how tight the piston squeezes the air. The tighter the air is squeezed, the higher the compression ratio. A higher compression ratio means more power.

During the course of a race, carbon builds up on the pistons. Thus, engine builders routinely set the compression ratios at 13.8-to-1 or less because they know by the end of the race, the carbon buildup will make their engines test at a ratio of almost 14-to-1.

NASCAR this year mandated the lower 14-to-1 compression ratio for all races to reduce power and slow the cars somewhat.

Before the limits were mandated, Winston Cup engine builders were reaching compression ratios of 18-to-1 and higher on each of the eight cylinders.

Triplett said he did not know what the compression ratio of Wallace's engine was Sunday night after the race and probably won't be able to release that figure. ``But it was enough for us to check it again,'' he said.

The announcement of further tests, which raised the possibility that Wallace's team would be penalized or might even be stripped of the victory, came at 8 p.m. Sunday. The effect was to leave sports news shows hanging without a result Sunday night and all day Monday, which generated even more interest than usual in the race.

Wallace's engine was taken to an undisclosed shop in the Charlotte area on Monday, where NASCAR Winston Cup director Gary Nelson, the inspectors who checked the engine, crew chief Robin Pemberton, engine builder Mike Egge and others gathered for the further tests.

The not-guilty ruling came at about 4 p.m..

``If this had made an impact, we would have done something,'' Triplett said. ``We're satisfied we took the measures we needed to take and we're satisfied with what we found. The case is closed.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Photo]

Carbon buildup during the race may have pushed Rusty Wallace's

engine's compression ratio over the limit.

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