DATE: Saturday, July 19, 1997               TAG: 9707190644

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C3   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BOB ZELLER

LENGTH: 81 lines

NASCAR REPORT Ford loyalist Roush may dip his toe in Pontiac's pond

LONG POND, Pa. - Nothing has challenged Jack Roush in his racing life as much as his quest for a Winston Cup championship.

He won multiple championships in sports-car racing. He dominated in IMSA and SCCA. But after a decade of toil, the Winston Cup title has still eluded Roush, even with three Ford Thunderbird teams, two of them solid winners.

Would this Ford loyalist, in his drive to be the most competitive he can be, switch brands and race a General Motors car?

This prospect surfaced as rumors swirled this week that Roush had bought the No. 97 John Deere Pontiac driven by Chad Little.

No, Roush said Friday, he hasn't bought the team. He simply is exploring the possibility of building engines for the team and possibly providing consulting work.

As far as winning Winston Cup championships, ``it does not matter to me'' what make of car he wins it in, Roush said.

During the past two years, Roush has been one of the most vocal in his criticism of NASCAR for rules that he believes gives the Chevrolet Monte Carlo an aerodynamic advantage over the Ford Thunderbird.

Roush doesn't see that changing.

``The Chevrolet Monte Carlo today is the best car in Winston Cup racing,'' he said. ``It's my belief that NASCAR has no intention of allowing Ford,'' and the car that will replace the Thunderbird, to eclipse the Monte Carlo.

If NASCAR did allow that, he said, more teams would want to change to Ford.

``Today, there are too many Fords,'' he said. ``There are half again as many Fords as what NASCAR would like to see.''

On the other hand, he said, NASCAR does want Pontiac to be on an equal level to the Chevys. Pontiac has a longtime affiliation with NASCAR, sponsors races and has provided pace cars for the events and cars for executives. Yet, there are few Pontiac teams, and they are currently not on the level of Ford and Chevy.

That doesn't mean Roush will switch. But he's certainly keeping his options open.

When he bought Dick Moroso's racing facility in Mooresville, N.C., it came with an engine shop and two engine builders, Bob Rinaldi and Joe Tryson, who have vast experience building both Ford and General Motors engines.

They're already building engines for GM teams as well as Jeff Burton's Grand National Ford, Roush said. They'll be the ones to build the GM engines for Little's team if that deal is signed, he said.

Roush said his primary motivation in discussing the possibility of providing engines and other help to the No. 97 team stems from an opportunity to help a good sponsor stay in the sport and help a capable team and driver improve their lot.

But should Roush ever consider a switch to Pontiac, it would make sense to first become involved peripherally.

Childress takes the wheel

Although he never won a Winston Cup race, car owner Richard Childress knows how to win a bet.

During dinner Monday after testing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Dale Earnhardt bet Childress that he couldn't run a lap in the 55-second range (163 mph) at Indy.

Childress took the bet.

``I just took it and went out and ran a 55.40 on my fourth lap, and on my fifth lap I ran a 54.998,'' Childress said. ``What can I say? They said they'd give me 50 laps to do it, and I broke 55 seconds on my fifth lap. It was a piece of cake.

``That's the first time I've been in a race car in a long time. It's the first time I've ever been on radial tires, and the first time I ever drove with power steering.

``Just to go out there and make a lap around Indianapolis Motor Speedway was a big day. I can always say I made a lap around Indy in the 54s.''

Pit patter

Danny ``Chocolate'' Myers, who as Dale Earnhardt's gas man is one of the best-known crewmen in the Winston Cup series, will switch to Indy-car racing for one race when he gasses Affonso Giaffone's car in the Visionaire 500 Indy Racing League event on July 26 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. . . . Starting at or near the front is advantageous at Pocono. The winner had come from the first two rows in 21 of 39 races. . . . No one should expect to see a first-time winner Sunday. No driver has attained his breakthrough victory at Pocono.

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