The Tennessean from Nashville, Tennessee • Page 27

www.tennessean.com THE TENNESSEAN Saturday, August 11, 2001 5C SPORTS: MOTOR SPORTS Consistency has Ruttman sitting atop points race rum rioii i a By CHIP CIRILLO Snraeue after the latter strueeled to a jumped out of the pocket up front "A week ago if I had to settle for Ruttman has two victories, nine top five finishes and 14 top 10 showings this season with eight races left. "You shoot for top fives and hope that you hit the thing really close, and take off and win one," Ruttman said. "We were really off in happy hour and the guys did a lot to it" Ruttman moved up to second at one point late in the race, but his Dodge slipped back in the pack after a pit stop and he settled for fourth "Under the circumstances, we did really well," Ruttman said. "A spring "It's very slick here, but if a super facility," Chaffin said. "I really like the old Fairgrounds.

I guess I'll never be politically correct Thaf the greatest racetrack in the world, if you want to know my opinioa I don't think Goodyear has found the right tire yet for the Superspeedway. I don't know if the track needs more grip or we need more grip in the tires. "I think what will eventually happen is Goodyear is going to have to bring a softer Staff Writer GLADEVTLLE Joe Ruttman made his return to the Midstate a memorable one last night, The veteran driver from Brentwood took the unofficial points lead in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series with his fourth-place finish in the Federated Auto Parts 200 at Nashville Superspeedway. Ruttman entered the race second in the standings, but he vaulted ahead of previous leader Jack 21st-place finish Ruttman now has 2,460 points, and Scott Riggs, last nighf winner, moved into second with 2,428. Sprague fell to third with 2,417.

"If I wasn't so tired, I'd celebrate," said Ruttman, 56. "I had two of my three granddaughters with me tonight so I think they brought me good luck. Two of my daughters were here and that gave us a lot of incentive to do the best we possibly could." early in the race and the thing was dragging really bad. I don't know how the Dana Dodge and Bobby Hamilton boys got that thing righted because it was horrible at first" Ruttman has finished among the top four in three of the last four races. He earned $12,050 for his showing last night As for other drivers from the Nashville area, Chad Chaffin of Smyrna finished 14th and Brian Rose of Bowling Greea Ky, took 15th 14th I would have been miserable," Chaffin said "Before the race if you told me 14th, I would have been ecstatic We'll take it We didn't have a good truck at practice and the guys just worked their tails off." Chaffin, 33, has had an up and down season after losing his Busch Series ride earlier in the seasoa But he said he is still trying to adjust to the Superspeedway after spending so many years racing at Nashville Speedway.

Mixed feelings exist over NASCAR safely AwfcM'HPi'S-t---, nw JEANNE REISEL STAFF Scott Riggs (2) passes Coy Gibbs out of Turn 2 during the Federated Auto Parts 200. gs: Dominant from pole 1 Federated Auto Parts 200 Results Lap length: 1.333 miles 1 (1) Scott Riggs, Dodge, 150, $44,645. 2. (3) Ted Musgrave, Dodge, 150, $24,825. 3.

(13) Rick Crawford, Ford, 150, $21,815. 4. (7) Joe Ruttman, Dodge, 149, $12,050. 5. (8) Travis Kvapil, Chevrolet, 149, $1 1 ,775.

6. (6) Terry Cook, Ford, 149, $8,975. 7. (4) Greg Biffle, Ford, 149, $8,875. 8.

(5) Dennis Setzer, Chevrolet, 149, $7,825. 9. (1 1) Lance Norick, Chevrolet, 149, $7,725. 10. (19) Coy Gibbs, Chevrolet, 148, $9,250.

1 1 (9) Ricky Hendrick, Chevrolet, 148, $7,625. 12. (18) Lance Hooper, Chevrolet, 148, $8,01 5. 13. (15) Lyndon Amick, Chevrolet, 147, $7,465.

14. (23) Chad Chaffin, Ford, 146, $6,440. 15. (25) Brian Rose, Chevrolet, 145, $7,915. 16.

(12) Jon Wood, Ford, 145, $7,265. 17. (16) Carlos Contreras, Dodge, 145, $7215. 18. (22) Bobby Dotter, Chevrolet, 144, $7,165.

19. (28) Tom Powers, Dodge, 144, $7,115. 20. (29) Ricky Sanders, Ford, 141, $7,490. 21 (2) Jack Sprague, Chevrolet, 1 41 $6,740.

22. (27) Rich Woodland, Chevrolet, 139, $5,690. 23. (17) Billy Bigley, Chevrolet, 138, $5,640. 24.

(20) Willy T. Ribbs, Dodge, 108, $5,590. 25. (14) Matt Crafton, Chevrolet, 59, engine, $5,965. 26.

(21) Morgan Shepherd, Ford, 46, engine, $5,515. 27. (26) Phil Bonifietd, Chevrolet, 35, ignition, $5,490. 28. (24) Jerry Hill, Chevrolet, 26, engine, $5,465.

29. (31) Phillip Young, Ford, 16, carburetor, 30. (10) Bill Lester, Dodge, 9, accident, $5,415. 31 (30) Michael Dokken, Chevrolet, 3, electrical, $5,390. Waste Management 200 Today 3 pm: Parking lots open.

6:30 p.m.: Pre-race ceremonies begin. 7 pm: ARCA ReMAX Series Waste Management 200. By LARRY WOODY Skiff Writer GLADEVILLE Several Craftsman Truck Series drivers said they feel NASCAR is doing a good job managing safety. "I'm satisfied with what they're doing," veteran driver Ted Musgrave said yesterday. "Things are constantly being developed to improve safety in the sport." Three NASCAR drivers died in crashes last season including Truck Series racer Tony Roper followed by the death of Dale Earnhardt at Daytona in February.

Since then, more drivers have begun wearing some type of head and neck safety device. Owen Kearns, an official with the Truck Series, said about 75 of the truck racers use some manner of head and neck support device. Musgrave does not "I'm waiting until all the reports are in on Earnhardt's death to see exactly what might be needed," he said. Terry Cook recently acquired a HANS device and is having it modified to fit his truck. Meanwhile, he has been using a personalized neck brace and shoulder straps.

"I think it's up to each driver and each team to take safety measures," he said. But Cook also said he'd like to see NASCAR have a regular medical staff that travels to each race. "That way they would be familiar with each individual driver's medical history and have his medical charts on hand," Cook said. Jon Wood, a member of the famed Wood Brothers racing family, began using the HANS device last year. "I just felt it was time," he said.

"I haven't had any problems at all with it, once I got used to it." Roper's death last year at Texas was the second on-track fatality in the truck series, which has run 167 races in its seven-year history. John Nemechek perished at Homestead, in 1997. "I think it's just a matter of coincidence," Musgrave said of the four driver deaths in less than two years. "I think they were just a freak deal. I feel completely safe out there.

But that doesn't mean that everybody shouldn't continue to look for ways to make it even safer." ARCA race: Frank Kimmel yesterday claimed the pole for tonight's ARCA ReMAX Series Waste Management 200. Kimmel was clocked at 158.267 mph, nipping Jason Jarrett and Justin Labonte sons of Winston Cup stars Dale Jarrett and Terry Labonte. Kimmel, of Jeffersonville, is the ARCA points leader with five victories in 15 starts. He plans to enter three Winston Cup races later this season. Area drivers in the 7 p.m.

lineup are Randal Ritter, Tim Mitchell and Chase Montgomery. Coach Gibbs visits: Former NFL coach-turned-NASCAR team owner Joe Gibbs was on hand to watch son Coy race last night. Joe Gibbs will depart this morning to join his Winston Cup teams (Tony Stewart, Bobby Labonte) at Watkins Glen, N.Y., where they race tomorrow. Gibbs, who won three Super Bowls with the Washington Redskins, said he doesn't miss football, but still follows the game closely. He said he likes what he sees in the Titans.

"I think they've done a good job," he said. "Jeff Fisher came up under Buddy Ryan, and he's made them a good defensive team. They have a quarterback who can make plays, and they can run the ball. They seem to be able to do a lot of things very well." Hendrick on hand: Rick Hendrick, another prominent Winston Cup team owner, flew in to watch his son in action. Ricky Hendrick, 21, leads the rookie standings and earlier this season became the youngest winner in the history of the series.

"I'm very proud of him," said the elder Hendrick, "and not just as a race driver but as a son." skipped the wall on lap nine. Lester, who qualified an impressive 10th, finished 30th in the 31-car field. "I don't know what happened," Lester said "All of a sudden the truck got real loose and I couldn't steer it I don't know if I got nudged or if somebody took the air off the spoiler. Ifs very disappointing." Willy T. Ribbs, a Lester teammate, also had mechanical problems during the Lester caution and finished 24th The second and final caution led to a restart on lap 36, which meant that the final 116 laps were run under green aiding Riggs' getaway.

"If there had been more cautions, guys might have been able to come in and make adjustments," said Riggs, who averaged 132.466 mph "With our truck running so well it few cautions definitely worked to our advantage." Rookie Travis KvapiL who finished fifth, hinted the field may have held back just a little at times. "With a new track, everybody was real courteous," he said from third to second with eight races left in the 24-raee season The night was a disaster for former points leader Jack Sprague, a twcrtime champ who last week won his second consecutive race and third of the season to briefly assume the points lead Sprague, starting on the outside of the front row, lost 11 hps with motor problems and was never a contender. 'Tve had a lot of things happen to me in my career but Lve never had a coil wire break," said Sprague, who finished 21st, nine laps dowa Except for the mechanical fizzle, Sprague said his truck, "was pretty good tonight; not as good as it has been in recent weeks, but probably good enough to win." Nashville-area drivers Chad Chaffin and Brian Rose finished 14th and 15th, respectively. Bill Lester, making his first run for Nashville's Bobby Hamilton Racing as part of the Dodge Motorsports diversity program, Black boxes My for Cup in '02 Earnhardt's death inspires work on safety features the works are a driver's seat that crush resistance in the front ends to adequately protect drivers in crashes, the Orlando Sentinel said. The investigation will not blame Earnhardt's death on a broken seat belt, the Sentinel reported, despite earlier NASCAR assertions.

There's also an effort to increase the size of the greenhouse the part of the car from the bottom of the windows to the roof. The goal is to give the driver more room for protection and to slow speeds on tracks like Talladega and Daytona. The use of black boxes likely will be one of the first NASCAR mandates. Safety features immediately around the driver will continue to be left up to each driver. Tennessean News Services When NASCAR's Winston Cup drivers start the 2002 season at Daytona in February, they likely will have "black box" crash recorders bolted to their cars.

The battery-powered electronic devices provide information about the speed and severity of crashes and have been used since 1993 in other racing circuits including CART, the IRL and IROC. The black boxes are just one of the safety features being discussed in the wake of Dale Earnhardt's fatal wreck on the last lap of the Daytona 500 in February. Also in envelops the driver like a cocooa and putting crushable material between the back of the car's front bumper and the engine to absorb energy in a crash. General Motors, Chrysler and Ford have been developing and testing six-way seat harnesses, head and neck restraint systems, safer seats and, most important, cars with front ends that protect drivers better in crashes. Car safety is at the center of the NASCAR's investigation of Earnhardt's fatal wreck.

The investigation found cars don't have enough yflNDERBILT 1 Jarrett on pole, needs a strong run joy 2001 HOME SCHEDULE Aug 30 MTSU Sept 8 ALABAMA Sept 22 RICHMOND Sept 29 AUBURN courses, Jarrett tested here two weeks ago. He hoped to improve on a finish of 26th in June on the other NASCAR road course. "This was a new car at Sears Point, and we were terrible there," he said. Jarrett says his pole gives him an advantage when he needs it most. "It's very important that we do well here this weekend," Jarrett said.

"We know that both Jeff and Ricky should run welL" Sterling Marlin of Columbia will start 16th while Nashvillians Bobby Hamilton and Casey Atwood start 30th and 34th, respectively. Qualifying results, 7C Racing teammate Ricky Rudd, who turned a lap at 12230L "You get to run your race," Jarrett said. "If you're trying to pass all day and you have to run 90 laps here it's hard not to put yourself in a bad positioa" Jarrett, the 1999 series champion, lost the points lead two weeks ago, and fell further behind when Gordon won the Brickyard 400 last Sunday. So he knows he needs to produce this weekend on a track where Gordon's won three times. The fast lap was no accident, however.

Realizing Gordon and two-time Watkins Glen winner Rudd are so good on serpentine Associated Press WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. Dale Jarrett, badly in need of a good finish after falling far from the lead in the Winston Cup standings, got off to a great start yesterday by winning the pole at Watkins Glen International Trailing Jeff Gordon by 160 points, Jarrett will start the Global Crossing 12 positions ahead of him tomorrow. Track position is of special importance on a road course, where passing is difficult. Jarrett drove his Ford around the 11-turn, 2.45-mile layout in 1 minute, L884 seconds at a track record of 122.698 mph He beat Robert Yates Oct 13 GEORGIA Nov 10 KENTUCKY HOMECOMING All home games played at Vanderbilt Stadium All times subject to change. Jtc Quarterback Greg Zolman Second Leading Passer in the SEC $vt Vm Meyhiyl NEW '01 GMC 4x4 YUKON XL SLT L.x..

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