The Atlanta Constitution from Atlanta, Georgia • 54

it6 gf Atlanta lonraal AM) CONSTTTITION SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 1988.. NASGAE jShepherd 3 gate FGCffy takes pole at Richmond s. By Bill Robinson RICHMOND, Va. NASCAR continues to reel from one crisis to another. Saturday came new shocks: Daytona 500 pole sitter Ken Schrader couldn't even make the Richmond field, while underdog Morgan Shepherd, amid charges of "illegal gasoline," won the pole for Sunday's $359,000 Pontiac 400.

The 400, the last on the tight, tiny Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway, gets underway at 1:15 p.m. before the usual small crowd of 28,000. "We're taking this quite seriously," said Ronald EL Hammerton, motoring editor of the Melbourne Sun. There's a great deal of interest Most of the television networks have been covering (the preparations) for some time." But as for what to expect on the track, "Everybody has absolutely no idea how. it's going to go," said Hammerton.

At 1.12 miles in circumference, the Thunderdome is similar in length to storied old Darlington Raceway in South Carolina. and similar in configuration to the tri-ovaled Charlotte Motor Speedway. But the Thunderdome is approximately 12,000 miles from its "sister" tracks. NASCAR president Bill France who at first had reservations about the event because of the difficulty of shipping two-ton cars so far, now hails the race as "the first step toward stock car racing's answer to the America's Cup. "They have excellent domestic racing now, but previously they've had no large ovals," said France.

"Based on the interest in this country, it should be very good over there." In December, cars for Bonnett, Kyle Petty, Dave Marcis, Michael Waltrip, D.K. Ulrich and David So-sebee were shipped out of Charles I i i Morgan Shepherd Bobby Allison Richard Petty Harry Cant Lineup for today's Pontiac 400 Pos. Driver Car No. Speed Comment 1. Morgan Shepherd Pontiac 97 94.645 The good Shepherd will lead them 2.

Dale Earnhardt Chevrolet '3 94.448 Tries for third straight at Richmond 3. NeilBonnett Pontiac 75 94.311 Making big comeback after injury 4. Rusty Wallace Pontiac 27 94.311 Darkhorse on this short track 5. Alan Kulwicki Ford 7 94.302 New car may have cost him another pole 6. Harry Gant Chevrolet 33 94.156 Trying to return to old Richmond form 7.

Mark Martin Ford 6 94.152 Returns to Winston Cup as a charger 8. Geoff Bodine Chevrolet 5 94.129 Always been a threat at Richmond 9. Richard Petty Pontiac 43 94.120 The King won't let go of 'reign' 10. Terry Labonte Chevrolet 11 94.093 Junior Johnson car always a threat 11. Darrell Waltrip Chevrolet .17 93.898 D.W.

has oftened ruled Richmond 12. Benny Parsons Ford 90 93.993 Surprised he is third fastest of Fords 13. Ken Bouchard Ford 10 93.889 Ron's little brother doing well 14. Sterling Marlin Oldsmobile 44 93.835 One of these days, Marlin's going to win 15. Davey Allison Ford 28 93.790 What's Davey doing way back here? 16.

Bill Elliott Ford 9 93.547 Better yet, what's Bill doing here, too 17. Phil Parsons Oldsmobile 55 93.538 Ready to roll after third place at Daytona 18. Lake Speed Oldsmobile 83 93.489 Tries to improve on good Daytona run 19. Brett Bodine Ford 15 93.453 Driving for Bud Moore now 20. Bobby Hillin Jr.

Buick 8 93.417 Bobby Allison's Buick teammate 21. DerrikeCope Ford 68 93.417 Man from Washington keeps improving 22. Ricky Rudd Buick 26 93.350 Virginian would like win at home 23. DaleJarrett Oldsmobile 29 93.341 Rides in CaleYarborough car 24. BradTeague Oldsmobile 31 93.167 Makes field after practice wreck 25.

Kyle Petty Ford 21 92.998 Wood Brothers car can do better 26 Bobby Allison Buick 12 92.914 Making big adjustment after Daytona win 27. Michael Waltrip Pontiac 30 92.905 'Lemonade Special' not lemon after all 28. Buddy Baker Oldsmobile 88 92.791 Watch him go after Earnhardt 29. DaveMarcis Chevrolet 71 92.650 Not in dynamite car, but could finish higher 30. Jimmy Means Pontiac 52 92.456 Made heroic run in last race here 31.

Buddy Arrington Ford 67 92.173 Old independent keeps on running 32. LenniePond Chevrolet 22 92.404 Looking at a lot of traffic ahead ByEdEintoa Stoff Writer Australia now awaits the landing of the good ol' boys, and there'll be thunder Down Under next Sunday. The Australian International 500, the first NASCAR-blessed race outside North America, is scheduled to become reality Feb. 28, after two years of negotiations with NASCAR and its drivers by Australian millionaire Bob Jane. Near Melbourne, Jane has constructed the Calder Park Thunder-dome, the only paved, high-banked stock-car oval track outside the United States.

Bobby Allison, winner of the Feb. 14 Daytona 500, will lead a pioneer contingent of 23 American drivers, who'll compete against about 20 Australians. Allison believes this is a natural pairing of a people and a sport, and that interest among the fun-and-beer-Ioving Australians "could burst wide open right away. I expect a lot of enthusiasm with big crowds at the first race." To keep the wedding of NASCAR and Aussies from getting out of control, Jane plans to throttle the flow of beer during the event He'll restrict sales to 12-ounce cups, small by Aussie standards, and cut off sales if the crowd gets too rowdy. "Our beer is like rocket fuel," Jane said, "and we have to be careful." Neil Bonnett, Allison's Alabama sidekick, is eager to rse the crowd response.

"Dirt-track drivers who've been down there tell me they draw 30,000 people for a plain old Saturday night dirt show," said Bonnett, "and so their first superspeedway race ought to be incredible." The Australian drivers, accustomed mainly to racing on road courses and short dirt ovals, have been practicing on the big track in what they call "the thunderers." -t! NASCAR finally allowed Shep-yt I herd, 42, the veteran from Conover, N.C., to keep the pole spot he nar- rowly won from Dale Earnhardt But officials first tested the gas i-; for "pills," the controversial addi-' used extensively before NAS-; CAR put in tougher tests for 1987. "The test that NASCAR now is different even from last year's," said Chip Williams, Winston racing spokesman. now used is sensitive to heat, too. That could have been a reason there was a question." Thus, Shepherd and his speed of 94.645 mph will lead Sunday's pa-" rade of 32 racers in his almost "in- dependent" Buick. Booted from the prestigious Quaker State Buick ride of drag racer Kenny Bernstein's I team, Shepherd drives now for Win-; kle Racing.

Said Shepherd, after showing his Buick heels to the rest of the field in Saturday's time trials: "There must have been something in the fuel line, because it (the gas-j oline) sure didn't look illegal. Schrader, 33, from Fenton, lis in only his fourth Winston Cup season. He knocked Elliott off the Daytona pole for the first time in four years. Schrader replaced the controversial Tim Richmond on the rich Rick Hendrick Chevrolet team out of Charlotte, N.C., this season. But from that speed of 193.832 mph barely two weeks past at.

Daytona, ton, S.C., Harbor. Cars for other drivers were shipped from San Francisco. All arrived in Australia early this month. And for the past two years, the Hutcherson-Pagan race car fabricating company near Charlotte, N.C., has been shipping disassembled cars to be put together in Australia. Twenty are now assembled for the Aussie drivers.

Allison's group of NASCAR drivers will depart Richmond, immediately after racing in today's Richmond 400. They'll link up with West Coast drivers in San Francisco, and this curious band will land at Melbourne at noon on Tuesday, Schrader couldn't rev his Chevy past 92 mph Saturday. He couldn't make the "cut" for this field. "In 40 years of racing, I can't remember a car of mine ever failing to make the field," said Harry Hyde, the famed car-and-engine builder who crew chief on Schrader's No. 25 "But.

I believe it was a could only manage a 26th spot, milking but 92.914 mph from his Buick. His son Davey, second at Daytona, wound up but barely a bit better 15th in his Ford. He will sit alongside Bill Elliott of Dawson-ville, who got 93.547 mph out of his Thunderbird, a tad behind Davey Allison's 93.790. combination of three things. 'The team was a little over-confident after Daytona, and I think we were a little too conservative on chassis Then, too, Kenny was sick." 1 There were other stunning results as well; Bobby Allison, who won last Sunday's Daytona 500, 3 Ml i IB DUY THE BEST AIID GET A FREE ATTACHMENT! LAl'ill TRACTOR with ROTAJIYHn stJAPPrjns gas-poughod dlouehg TRimnns FOR A GtJAPPGn, 20" GUP MI-VAC' riding MOWER 1 00 i FREE I I Onlb.box 8PECIAL PRICE INCLUDING FREE CATCHER (o95 rcr'jbrcitl AS LOW AS I r- (( AS LOW AS CATCHER yO5" MODEL LT12ji Choose 1 Deck Model 212 est sUS (If ASLOWAS pH3 -f5 Model 250Wn-iir spicial FRiCi 1 2 rnct- j) PICTURED Shown with 33" Deck Retail Value $270 WITH FREE GRASS CATCHER Retail Value SI GO00 Model 25066 41" ROTARY MOWER 48" ROTARY MOWER For All Models i For hp models Retail vakn $343" Mall Value $S20N GNAPPOR 21" 3.5 HP PUSH uomn SNAPPER 21" 3.5 SOLF-POOPELLGD MOVQtl (6 FORWARD SPEEDS) TILLGtTl VV9)KE 3 IIP PUSH novnn Model IR4000 wnmrwt tni I ASLOWAS ASLOWAS ASLOWAS $20 2000 1 if FREE WCTUMO with ran ORAM CATCHIR Mown with rati QRAeeCATCHIRl HILLER FURR0WER Retail Value $79.95 46" Assembled Serviced Two Year Warranty Dealers Located in Your Neighborhood Trained Mechanics Trade-Ins On Old Movcr Parts Available Revolving Charge FIiiici clirgit iccrae tron it lellviry.

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