The Atlanta Constitution from Atlanta, Georgia • 43

THE ATLANTA CONSTITUTION OTTfe SECTION Monday, Nov. 12, 1984 500 arnliardt wiener of Jonriia ST5 By Tom McCollister Staff Writer t- HAMPTON Geoff Bodine ran out of engine, Bill Elliott ran out of laps and Dale Earnhardt ran to victory Sunday in the Atlanta Journal 500 at Atlanta International Raceway. The race was marred by the death of rookie driver Terry Schoonover, 32, of Royal Palm Beach, Fla. He was pronounced dead of massive head and internal injuries at 4:27 p.m. at Grady Memorial Hospital, where he was taken by helicopter after crashing into a bank in the third turn on lap 129.

Earnhardt, who won the Coca-Cola 500 at AIR in March 1980, averaged 134.610 mph and took the checkered flag three-fourths of a second ahead of Elliott, who lives in Dawsonville. Ricky Rudd was third, Benny Parsons fourth and Bobby Allison fifth. There were seven caution flags for 45 laps, and other than Schoon-over's tragic crash, there were no serious accidents. Ken Ragan of Unadilla left on the first lap when he hit the wall in the third turn, Lennie Pond went out for the day when he and Greg Sacks got together down the front stretch, and Bob Penrod of Atlanta cut a tire and hit the wall. It was Earnhardt's second victory of the season and he won the largest 1 share $40,610 of the (336,500 purse.

Bodine picked up an extra $10,000 for leading the most laps, See RACE, Page 8-D Uf Art- '-J 1 43'1 i EDGES BILL ELLIOTT Dale Earnhardt Crash claims life of Schoonover rr; a- 4 1 4 1v taken by helicopter to Grady, where he was pronounced dead. According to eyewitnesses, Schoonover, whose helmet wasn't removed at the track, was administered CPR continually, from the time he was lifted from the car and placed in the copter. Eyewitnesses said he never appeared to regain consciousness. Dr. James L.

Jennings, the track physician at the AIR first-aid center, refused comment. "We have instructions from the front office not to discuss this with anybody," Jennings said. "We don't really know anything," said Billy Norton, a member of Schoonover's crew. "The way I understand it is he just lost it." Norton then climbed into the U-Haul that towed Schoonover's car No. 42 from the track.

The battered Chevy was covered with a tarpaulin that was taped onto the car's body. See DEATH, Page 8-D By Jack Wilkinson Staff Writer HAMPTON Terry Schoonover, a 32-year-old NASCAR rookie making his second start on the Grand National circuit, was killed Sunday after crashing in the Atlanta Journal 500. It was the first driver fatality in the 25-year history of Atlanta International Raceway. Schoonover, of Royal Palm Beach, was pronounced dead at Grady Memorial Hospital at 4:27 p.m. The cause of death was listed as massive head and internal injuries.

On lap 129, Schoonover lost control of his Chevrolet coming out of the second turn. He came down the back stretch, hit the outside wall, then crossed the track and crashed into a dirt bank in the third turn. Initially, the crash didn't seem abnormally severe. But rescue workers had to cut the roof off Schoonover's car and it took them nearly 15 minutes to get him out He was then MICHAEL PUGHStaff Rescue workers struggle furiously to extricate Terry Schoonover from his damaged automobile Nose dive: Falcons stumble to fifth straight defeat Kindred i ji r. itkMi ruv visa mm vi mis 'rO -J, Mi in -a I 3 -riLii Atlanta (3-8) loses a chance at winning year By Ed Hinton i Slafl Writer And the beat goes on.

For the first time since 1975, the Atlanta Falcons have lost five games in a row. Not even the troubled and entirely beatable New Orleans Saints could give away a game to get the Falcons out of their rut Sunday. The Falcons outstumbled the Saints and fell, 17-13, before 40,590 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. The game had been a sellout for a month, but there were 20,159 no-shows. By game's end the stadium was a happy place, for all that remained were the 10,000 or so Saints fans who'd made the trip.

And you can get off the edge of your seat, for it's now official: The Falcons mathematically eliminated themselves from a winning season In 1984. They are 3-8. The biggest banner in the stadium Sunday read in six-foot letters! "Bring Leeman Bennett Back." Bennett, fired in January 1983 after six seasons as head coach in which he was 47-44, never lost more than three games in a row. Hoby Brenner, a slow tight end who'd been having plenty of trouble going into Sunday, became the Saints' star of the game, catching touchdown passes of 37 and 17 yards from Richard Todd. Brenner ended the day leading Saints receivers with four catches for 96 yards.

He had caught only five passes for 86 yards in his six previous games, dropping more than he had caught Brenner is the latest in a series of players who has managed to have his best game against the Falcons. In their five straight losses, the Falcons have lost to only one team, the Los Angeles Rams, that had not been struggling entering the game. To make his first touchdown catch Sunday, Brenner loped away from the line of scrimmage on a fourth-and-one from the Falcons' 37 and beat Atlanta cornerback Bobby Butler. "I screwed up," said Butler. "It's as simple as that.

I missed my read, and he took off." Then with 12:11 left and the Falcons leading 13-10, Brenner slipped into single coverage with Atlanta safety Tom Pridemore and leaped to make the 17-yard catch in the end zone. Then with two minutes left and the Saints facing a third-and-three at their 41, Brenner caught a 34-yarder on Atlanta safety Scott Case See FALCONS, Page 7-D mi tff-rtifltniimnVitirffiA inform mini i.itoft uiii i(m wi tt ttlur rm tr-r i.wn Figuring Falcons is hazardous duty The Sunday morning paper rested on the front porch, dry and in one piece. The coffee was steaming. The strawberry jam was sweet on an English muffin. Ummm, good.

On their morning walk, the dogs started neither a fight nor a romance with any neighbor's St. Bernard. The sun shone brightly. What a morning. But at 11 "I'm leaving for the stadium" the sportswriter said.

His wife sounded worried. "Do you have to go?" The sportswriter said, "Hey, it's not Nicaragua. Nobody's shooting at anybody." The Falcons are deadly in their own way now, and 20,159 customers with tickets stayed home rather than ruin another Sunday by risking brain damage certain to come to anyone trying to figure out what in the name of Norb Hecker is going on with these wingless Falcons. Five straight defeats now. The Falcons last lost five straight in 1975.

It has been worse. They lost eight in a row in '74. They lost their first nine in the year of their birth, 1966. Today's Falcons now have a real shot at setting a record of 10 straight losses. An optimist (blush) looking at the schedule before Sunday's game could project the Falcons to an 8-8 finish.

But even that optimist, who believes Dan Henning is a top-flight NFL coach, now sees clearly the spectre of a 10-game losing streak that might put the coach on the street, another in a long list of coaches who haven't won here. shameful to lose to Saints It is one thing to lose honorably in Washington, 27-14 to a Super Bowl team. There your No. 1 quarterback went down with an- injury. It is another thing, shameful, to lose at home to inept NFL impost-ers wearing French flowers on their hats.

The first stadium sound you heard Sunday was CLANG! when the football collided with Mike Moroski's hands and fell to earth, a fumble that led to the Saints' first touchdown that coming on a fourth-and-one pass on which a slow-freight tight end beat the bewildered Bobby Butler from here to Bourbon Street. Some newspapers have a "Bambi" rule. We won't print photographs of deer hunters standing with one foot on the poor little thing's antlers. Pretty soon, the way things are going, we'll need a "Falcon" rule to protect queasy readers who can't ANDY SHARPStatf Falcons cornerback Bobby Butler watches from the ground as Hoby Brenner celebrates his touchdown catch in first quarter If Florida, LSU tie, Sugar leans to Tigers Dogs' destination remains up in air By David Davidson College Editor If Florida and LSU tie for the SEC championship, indications are that the Sugar Bowl is prepared to take the Tigers. Both LSU and Florida have 4-0-1 conference records.

Florida plays at Kentucky on Saturday, while LSU plays at Mississippi State. If the teams tie, the Sugar Bowl is free to choose the team it likes best to serve as host. Bowl invitations can't be extended until Nov. 24. "Right now," Sugar Bowl president Elliott Laudeman said, "we don't know anything.

There are just too many games to be played." Two weeks ago, the SEC was poised to take Florida out of the race and make the Gators ineligible to play in the Sugar Bowl because of findings by the NCAA that the Gators are guilty of 59 violations of NCAA rules. However, new Florida president Marshall Criser is an attorney who has demanded due process before the SEC execu that the league informally has reconsidered its position and will not try to block the Gators from participating in a bowl game other than the Sugar. The postponements of the NCAA appeal deadline (from Nov. 7) and SEC hearing (from Nov. 5) are widely interpreted to mean that Criser wants the Gators team to have the opportunity to play Auburn, Georgia and Kentucky in equitable emotional circumstances, before the conference does anything.

The SEC's Sugar Bowl opponent likely will be Oklahoma State (4-1 in the Big Eight Conference. 8-1 overall). If LSU is chosen for the Sugar Bowl, Florida is a likely candidate to play the Southwest Conference runner-up (preferably Texas) in the Gator Bowl. Georgia's only hope to play in a New Year's Day bowl game is the Fiesta. Meanwhile, the Peach Bowl is interested in luring the Big Ten runner-up for the New Year's Eve game at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium to play either Auburn or Georgia.

See BOWLS, Page 12-D tive committee, and apparently is going to get it. The SEC hearing was postponed when Criser sent a letter to the conference questioning the constitutionality (under SEC rules) of the league's hearing prior to the conclusion of the NCAA appeals process. Also, Criser has cited potential conflicts of interest because faculty athletic chairmen from Georgia (Bill Powell) and Auburn (Wil-ford Bailey) represent schools with a vested Interest in the decision because those teams are still championship contenders. The hearing has been rescheduled for Nov. 20 the Tuesday after Florida completes its SEC schedule at Kentucky.

Although neither the SEC nor Florida officials will comment, there is speculation See KINDRED, Page 7-D.