DATE: Friday, October 3, 1997               TAG: 9710030860

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C5   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER

                                            LENGTH:   60 lines

NASCAR REPORT

It's not what he said but how he said it that cost Wallace

CONCORD, N.C. - NASCAR to Rusty Wallace: Accuse us of anything you want, just keep it clean.

NASCAR on Thursday fined Wallace $5,000 for comments he made immediately after the Hanes 500 at Martinsville Speedway on Monday. Wallace lost a chance to win that race when he was given a stop-and-go penalty for jumping a restart while leading late in the event.

His postrace comments were laced with profanity, and he accused NASCAR of giving him the penalty because an unnamed official ``has had a grudge for me for a long time.''

NASCAR issued a two-paragraph statement saying that the fine ``was a result of comments made during a postrace interview.''

But before anyone could accuse NASCAR of squelching free speech, spokesman Kevin Triplett came to the media center and said Wallace was being fined for using profanity, not for what he said.

``Everyone is entitled to their opinion; we just ask that they use a certain decorum in expressing it,'' Triplett said.

Wallace's reaction: ``To me, it's just kinda like adding insult to injury. I still feel like the win got taken away from me. Now, I get fined.

``Sometimes when you get down and in bad shape and you are laying on the ground with your face up, they stick their heel right in your face. So I got that again.''

Nemechek on GN pole

Joe Nemechek won the top starting spot for Saturday's All-Pro 300 Busch Grand National race with a lap of 176.378 mph in his Chevrolet.

Dick Trickle was second-fastest at 176.188 mph in a Chevy. Mark Martin, Jimmy Spencer and Jeff Burton rounded out the top five.

``Getting ready for Winston Cup qualifying and then (having) qualifying and then practice today all contributed to being able to get in that Busch car and being able to go fast that first lap,'' Nemechek said.

The first 28 starting spots were determined by speeds Thursday. The four provisional starting spots were assigned to Randy LaJoie, Todd Bodine, Tim Fedewa and Hermie Sadler.

The final 10 spots will be won in the so-called `hooligan'' race at 2 p.m. today. Twenty-five drivers will compete, including Terry Labonte, Mike Skinner and Jason Jarrett, who hopes to race against his father, Dale, for the first time.

Out of the race

Darrell Waltrip wasn't the only Winston Cup driver who will find himself on the outside looking in on Sunday.

Rick Mast stood on his Friday speed and then watched as he dropped from 38th to 41st - and out of the race. Greg Sacks failed to make the race in Bud Moore's Ford. Rookie Mike Skinner failed to make the field, as did Steve Park, Elliott Sadler (driving the Coors Light No. 40 Chevrolet) and Dave Marcis.

``We didn't make it for lack of trying,'' Mast said. ``We just never found the speed we needed. The guys worked really hard.''

Send Suggestions or Comments to webmaster@scholar.lib.vt.edu