The Press Democrat from Santa Rosa, California • 15

The Press Democrat Bulls one game away from winning their first NBA title Courier storms back to beat Agassi in French Open final SFOITS CO BELOW Santa Rosa, California, Monday, June 10, 1991 3V fflSt. run fca NASCAR takes a step back in time BOB PADECCIV jif A T', 1 hi) k5) SONOMA Just when we thought upscale NASCAR had forgotten its roots, the ol' boys let down their corporate hair Sunday, getting back to a simpler time in stock car Y) 4 .1 iV racing when a man's punch was his word and tlie most colorful thing was his vocabulary and not the paint on his car. 'There was the tender opening scene of Waddell Wilson, the crew chief for Ricky Rudd, standing in front of NASCAR boss Bill France Jr. after the race, saying, "Please, Billy, don't take this race from us. I'm begging you.

Please." His voice was soft, his tone imploring. That lasted about a minute. France repeatedly told Wilson to calm down, to which Wilson began shouting, "If you don't change your mind, I'm going to tell to the whole world what a rotten decision you made!" in fcmji KENT PORTERPRESS DEMOCRAT Davey Allison celebrates his victory in the Sears Point 300, left, while Ricky Rudd, above, who was penalized for rough driving, is consoled by his wife, Linda, as he talks with members of the media. Rudd took the lead on the final lap when he bumped the rear of Allison 's car, spinning it around. He passed Allison and crossed the finish line first.

But officials awarded the win to Allison. CHAD SUHMICKPRESS DEMOCRAT Sears Point 300 penalty costs Rudd apparent win Rudd rips NASCAR decision What's inside Tommy Kendall didn't get penalized after bumping Mark Martin out of the lead, he just got a flat tire and lost the lead himself. C4 Richard Petty is in stable condition in Sonoma Valley Hospital after totalling his car with 10 laps remaining. C4 The race in photos. C4 Complete results.

C5 Driver Don Marcis had a close-up view of the controversial finish, and he says NASCAR made the wrong call. C5 There was another tender scene when Chad Little accused Ernie Irvan of running him into a wall. Irvan hit Little in the face. Little responded by hitting Irvan in the face. Bystanders responded by pulling apart the faces of the two drivers.

And then the moment that summed up the day and made everyone realize that maybe "Days of Thunder" was a movie closer to NASCAR's rollicking truth than we ever realized. Three hours after the race, NASCAR finally officially announced Davey Allison the winner and Rudd second because he spun Allison, then the leader, out of turn 1 1 with a little more than a lap to go. Allison walked up to Banjo Grimm, a tire changer on Rudd's crew. He stood face-to-face with Grimm and while the words didn't say it, his face did. He was asking for forgiveness.

Grimm nodded. Allison grabbed Grimm and gave him the friendliest hug you ever saw from an ol' boy, saying, "We still buddies?" Grimm nodded and the men separated, off to their respective corners to continue you can bet on this talkin' about a race than means more than Rudd giving Allison a love tap on his behind through the hairpin. They will talk of how political NASCAR has become to how strict the organization is in disciplining its drivers. Sunday's race will become a lightning rod for issues, the most pressing of which is how drivers are to act on the last lap of a race. "It's always been my understanding drivers are on their own on the last lap," Wilson said.

That means short of throwing a hand grenade in the other guy's car, men can drive their cars like pin balls. "There's no such gentleman's agreement," Allison said. "It's one thing to go side-by-side, hitting each other. But unless the guy's fender has reached your door, you're first and you take the line through the corner." Rudd clearly took out Allison. Allison had position and entrance around the curve.

That never mattered in the past, however. Contact drew fans, as it does in hockey. NASCAR looked the other way. Not anymore. Concerned more than ever with its public, NASCAR wants to eliminate its low-rent image as demolition drivers.

It wants to attract more sponsors to sell family products and it believes it can't do if See Padecky, Page CS TO 1 By RALPH LEEF Spurts Editor SONOMA In a race that often resembled a Saturday night destruction derby, a little nudge from behind with one lap to go cost Ricky Rudd in a big way in Sunday's Sears Point 300 NASCAR Winston Cup race. More than two hours after the record crowd of 62,000 had gone home, Davey Allison of Hueytown, was officially awarded the controversial victory when NASCAR officials penalized Rudd for using the front of his Chevrolet to knock Allison's Ford off the track and out of the lead on lap 73 of the 74-lap race. Although Rudd, of Chesapeake, crossed the finish line four seconds ahead of Allison, who quickly recovered from the spin at turn 11, a five second penalty imposed by NASCAR made Allison the winner. It was the third win in four outings for Allison, who won $61,950, and broke the Winston Cup road-course domination shared by Rudd and Rusty Wallace since 1987. Until Sunday, Wallace (5) and Rudd (3) had won the last eight races on road courses, including both previous races at Sears Point.

Wallace, who led 55 laps but was slowed by engine problems with 12 laps remaining, finished third. Points leader Dale Earnhardt, who battled engine problems most of the day, finished seventh overall iwiil By MICH AEL SILVER Staff Writer SONOMA Stung by his disqualification for making contact with Davey Allison at the climax of the Sears Point 300, Ricky Rudd had some strong words of criticism for the men who run NASCAR's Winston Cup racing circuit. "This is like the World Wrestling Federation," Rudd said shortly after Allison had pulled into the winner's circle. "This is the best example of how NASCAR makes their own rules. NASCAR needs a Ford in victory lane." Rudd made his charges after crossing the finish line first in his Chevrolet, only to have Allison, the second finisher, pull his Fort1 in victory lane.

Rudd was given a black flag and later penalized five seconds the exact amount required to drop him to second place because NASCAR officials ruled his bumping of Allison from behind on the second-to-last lap exceeded the bounds of competition. The controversy waged throughout the pit area, where Rudd's crew members ranted and raved for several minutes. There were hints from the Rudd camp that two of the sport's prominent corporate sponsors were contemplating an end to their association with NASCAR as a result of the penalty. See Rudd, Page CS 1 1 5 to remain 53 points ahead of Rudd. Allison moved into sixth place in points, only 29 points out of third place.

Although it looked like it might be a Tom Kendall-Mark Martin race to the wire, it was Rudd chasing Allison for the checkered flag when the two collided just before the white flag (signifying the final lap). Frustrated by his inability to get past Allison, Rudd stuck the nose of his car into the rear of Allison's Ford just as Allison was dipping into the hairpin Turn 11. The little tap forced Allison's car to lose traction and spin into the infield. Upon hearing from his pit crew See Sears, PageCS i KENT PORTERPRESS DEMOCRAT Ricky Rudd leads Dale Earnhardt around turn 3 at Sears Point. CHICAGO A's triumph; so do Giants NBA Bulls again Igore Lakers, take 3-1 lead Questionable decision by Torre aids San Francisco Welch's shutout is a Catfish impersonation By NICK PETERS McClatchy News Service By RICH RUPPRECHT Staff Writer OAKLAND On an afternoon honoring a pitcher who used more than just his physical attributes to gain a spot in the Hall of Fame, the A's Bob Welch personified the "thinking man's" pitcher.

"I think Catfish (Hunter) and Bobby share a lot," A's manager TODAY CHAMPIONSHIP GAME 4 RESULT: Bulls 97, Lakers 82. Bulls lead the series 3-1 FOR THE BULLS: Michael Jordan shook off the effects of an injured toe on his right foot to lead the Bulls with 28 points, the 16th consecutive time he's led his team in scoring. OF NOTE: The Lakers made just 30 of82 shots and hit only 29.3 percent of their shots in the middle two quarters as they continued to be frustrated by Chicago's defense, which has allowed more than 100 points only once in 16 playoff games. MORE LAKER WOES: Sam Perkins, who made 22-of-42 shots in the first three games of the Finals, was 1-of-15. James Worthy, nursing an ankle injury that sidelined him for good midway through the second half, was 6-of-16.

The Laker bench was a combined 3-of-1 4. QUOTE: "Man, there in the third quarter, it got scary. I was wondering, 'Are we ever going to hit one shot? Magic Johnson. NEXT UP: No game today. Game 5 is scheduled for The Forum at Inglewood at 6 p.m.

on Wednesday. NBC (Channel 4) will televise the game, beginning at 6 p.m. ST. LOUIS Whether it was good strategy depended on who was doing the analyzing. Yet some San Francisco Giants breathed a sigh of relief as they strode back to their clubhouse after a 3-2 victory over the St.

Louis Cardinals on Sunday at Busch Stadium. "Unbelievable!" reliever Jeff Brantley shouted. Manager Roger Craig merely flashed a sheepish grin and said: "Ten days ago we wouldn't have you can understand why a manager TODAY VS. CARDINALS AT ST. LOUIS 10:30 A.M.

NO TV VS. TIGERS AT OAKLAND 7PM Tony La Russa said after an 8-0 victory over Boston in which Welch SPORTSCHANNEL went tne distance and allowed just By ALAN GOLDSTEIN Baltimore Sun INGLEWOOD It's the same old story in the 1991 NBA Finals. The Chicago Bulls are simply too quick, too athletic and too good for the Los Angeles Lakers, who find themselves on the brink of elimination after they took a 97-82 pounding at The Forum on Sunday night. This third consecutive victory gave the Bulls a chance to end the series and clinch their first title Wednesday night on the Lakers' court. No team in NBA championship history has recovered from a 3-1 deficit.

The pre-game focus was on how Bulls superstar Michael Jordan would respond after he jammed his big toe in Friday night's overtime victory. Jordan was just fine, scoring a game-high 28 points and getting 14 assists. But it was the Lakers, under extreme pressure from the Bulls' trapping defense, who were showing signs of falling apart, both mentally and physically. See NBA, Page C3 won this game has chest pains." five hits. "Bob worked a great pace and had excellent command.

And you can't find better competitors than Welch and Catfish." Hunter, who had his jersey number 27 retired in ceremonies before Sunday's game, used pin-point control to make his mark for the A's championship teams of the 1970s. Welch, whom La Russa and pitching coach Dave Duncan say is pitching every bit as good as he did last See A's, Pag? C3 The strategy in question was a decision by Cardinals manager Joe Torre to allow Todd Zeile to swing at a 3-0 pitch with runners on first and third and one out in the bottom of the ninth inning. Zeile grounded into a double play, preserving the victory, which made the Giants 6-2 in June and 10-5 in See Giants, Poe C3.