The Atlanta Constitution from Atlanta, Georgia • 57

MARCH 1 9, 1 990 gfrr Atlanta 3mmtal AND CONSTITUTION D-7 AUTO RACING: MOTORCRAFT 500 Motorcraft 500 order of finish Elliott can't make sense of AIR woes Po. Driver Car Lapa Statue Eamlnga 1. Dale Earnhardt Chevrolet Lamina 328 Running $85,000 2. Morgan Shepherd Ford Thunderbird 328 Running $36,000 3. Ernie Irvan Oktemobile Cutlass 328 Running $31,957 4.

Ken Schrader Chevrolet Lumina 328 Running $22,900 5. Mark Martin FordTnundertwd 328 Running $20,850 6. Kyle Petty Pontiac Grand Prix 328 Running $15,075 7. Geoff Bodine Ford Thunderbird 328 Running $19,250 8. Alan Kulwicki Ford Thunderbird 327 Running $11,625 9.

Harry Gant Oktemobile Cutlass 327 Running $13,600 10. Sterling Marlin Oldsmobile Cutlass 326 Running $12,300 11. Brett Bodine Buick Regal 326 Running $9,495 12. Bill Elliott Ford Thunderbird 326 Running $13,875 13. Davey Allison Ford Thunderbird 326 Running 14.

Dick Trickle Pontiac Grand Prix 326 Running $9,935 15. Jimmy Spencer Pontiac Grand Prix 325 Running $8,680 16. Bobby Hillin Jr. Buick Regal 325 Running $8,545 17. Rick Wilson Oldsmobile Cutlass 324 Running $8,235 18.

Neil Bonnett Ford Thunderbird 322 Running $7,625 19. Chad Little Ford Thunderbird 322 Running $4,415 20. Butch Miller Chevrolet Lumina 321 Running $4,970 21. Buddy Baker Ford Thunderbird 319 Running $4,135 22. Dave Marcls Chevrolet Lumina 317 Running $7,050 23.

Mike Alexander Buick Regal 317 Running $3,965 24. Rusty Wallace Pontiac Grand Prix 316 Engine failure $14,930 25. Richard Petty Pontiac Grand Prix 315 Running $4,645 26. Darrell Waltrip Chevrolet Lumina 312 Running $12,755 27. Ricky Rudd Chevrolet Lumina 307 Running $6,545 28.

Mark Stahl Ford Thunderbird 300 Running $3,660 29. Derrike Cope Chevrolet Lumina 255 Engine failure $8,625 30. Jack Pennington Oldsmobile Cutlass 253 Engine (allure $4,290 31. Jimmy Means Pontiac Grand Prix 251 Running $4,230 32. H.B.

Bailey Pontiac Grand Prix 214 Engine failure $3,480 33. RobMoroso Oldsmobile Cutlass 149 Engine failure $3,670 34. Larry Pearson Buick Regal 135 Piston $6,095 35. Rick Mast Pontiac Grand Prix 113 Engine failure $6,050 36. KenRagan Ford Thunderbird 101 Valve $3,350 37.

Hut Strtaklin Pontiac Grand Prix 84 Valve $3,330 38. Michael Waltrip Pontiac Grand Prix 53 Camshaft $5,960 39. Mickey Gibbs Ford Thunderbird 40 Valve $3,285 40. Terry Labonte Oldsmobile Cutlass 4 Engine failure $6,580 By Bill Robinson Staff writer HAMPTON, Ga. BIH Elliott, lapped by race winner Dale Earnhardt on lap 97 of Sunday's Motorcraft 500, can't explain his recent slump at Atlanta International Raceway (AIR), his home track.

Elliott hasn't won a pole or a race at AIR since the 1987 Journal 500. Sunday, he and his Ford Thunderbird finished 12th, two laps back. Notebook "We just weren't right," he said. "I mean I didn't feel good about the car Saturday evening after an abbreviated practice, and we changed a bunch of stufi this Sunday morning. But we were just off a little bit.

A couple of caution flags would have helped, we could have made some changes, but we didn't get any." Shepherd: Kulwicki got in way Lapped car blocks move as Earnhardt pulls away ByMattWinkeljohn Staff writer HAMPTON Dale Earnhardt won Sunday's Motorcraft 500, but runner-up Morgan Shepherd thinks he might have won if another driver had gotten out of his way. Shepherd said Alan Kulwicki, who was a lap down, blocked him in the next-to-last lap as Earnhardt bolted into the lead. It happened in the first turn as the field came out of the third and final caution of the day. "He Kulwicki slowed me up and let Earnhardt go under me," Shepherd said. "He should have let me have the hole, since I was the leader and he was a lapped car." Kulwicki may have simply been stuck in the wrong place Although he was a lap behind Shepherd and Earnhardt, Kul-wicki's Zerex Ford led them out of the caution with nearly a car length separating them.

As they entered the first turn, however, Earnhardt, with fresh tires, dropped down near the track's apron and charged past both cars and into the lead. Driving the Motorcraft Ford, Shepherd wanted to drop down to prevent the move, but Kulwicki was in the way. "With two laps to go there, I could have done a lot with my mirror to block Earnhardt, but Kulwicki took that away from me," Shepherd said. After finishing eighth, Kulwicki refused to accept any blame. "All I did was hold my line," he said.

"It's not like I ran him up to the wall or something. I don't think I cost him the race. Earnhardt made a decision to go down WBmmwmmwmw Mmt mmW mMR' 9 a Jonathan NewtonStaff Fans standing outside the winner's circle reach for a hat thrown by Motorcraft 500 winner Dale Earnhardt. Time of race: Margin of victory: 0.32 seconds; Caution flags: 3 tor 10 laps; Lead changes: 21 among 9 drivers; lap leaders: Rusty Wallace 1 Dale Earnhardt 2-56; Schrader 57-60; G.Bodine 61-64; D.Waltrip 65; Earnhardt 66-1 10; G.Bodine 111-121; Marlin 122-123; Earnhardt 124-165; Schrader 166; G.Bodine 167-184; Earnhardt 185-219; Shepherd 220-227; Schrader 228-231 G. Bodine 232-234; Irvan 235; K.Petty 236-238; Earnhardt 239-275; G.Bodine 276-320; Shepherd 321-326; Earnhardt 327-328.

PAIN IN THE NECK: Davey Allison and his Ford finished 13th, right behind Elliott. "The car was just great," said Allison. "It was just me. I almost gave out 100 laps from the finish, so I had Derrike Cope standing by to relieve me. My neck was hurting awful bad.

But I stayed out there, and it kept us from finishing maybe three, four laps back." Allison was hospitalized March 2 after passing out during a practice session break before the 500 at Rockingham, N.C. MAKING POINTS: Earnhardt came into Atlanta leading Winston Cup defending champion Rusty Wallace by eight points in the standings. He left leading runner-up Morgan Shepherd by 58. Wallace, finishing in 24th place, fell to third, 97 points behind. NASCAR: Earnhardt wins with help from Kulwicki and he made it.

I can't just park the car and get out of the way." Shepherd eventually passed Kulwicki high in turn two, but it was too late. With worn tires and a blown head gasket that was costing him horsepower on the straightaways, Shepherd never did make up the difference. "I just couldn't believe another Ford driver would do that," Shepherd said in his trailer after the race. "I assure you Ford will talk to him. "We were kind of holding him Earnhardt off by blocking there the last few laps, and we were kind of holding back because the car's water temperature was about 250 degrees," Shepherd said.

"We didn't need that last caution." Bobby Hillin's spinout brought the last caution flag of the day, and Bud Moore, team owner of the Motorcraft Ford, said that was the beginning of the end. "We didn't get a shot because Kulwicki ran us all the way up to the wall," he said. "We'd have had a chance if Hillin didn't spin out" Hummer: Earnhardt's 6th AIR win Continued from Dl engine on lap 319, bringing out the second caution flag of the race, just nine laps from the finish on the 1.522-mile track. When they restarted on lap 322, Shepherd led, with Mark Martin's Ford second, followed by Earnhardt. Six laps later, Bodine wrecked with Bobby Hillin and a third yellow flew on lap 325.

With just three miles remaining in the race on the restart, Kulwicki, although a lap down, was at the front with Shepherd beside him on the outside. Going into the first turn, Shepherd attempted to pass Kulwicki high on the right as Earnhardt aimed his car low, almost to the track apron, and shot past both and into the lead he would keep. "He took my driver up the hill the first turn and out of it," said car owner Bud Moore. "I can't believe a Ford driver would do this to another Ford driver especially when Kulwicki was a lap down." Said Shepherd: "I just couldn't believe Kulwicki would drive up on me like that. I don't know what Kulwicki was thinking about He should have let me have the hole, since I was the leader and he was a lapped car, instead of running me off in the corner.

I assure you that Ford will talk to Alan about this." Said Kulwicki: "Well, you can't just park a car out there. I was holding my line. Morgan was. behind me and on my right, and; Earnhardt just took a chance and just shot down there beneath both of us." Earnhardt's last victory at AIR was Nov. 19 in the Atlanta Journal 500, when he finished 25.71 seconds ahead of Bodine.

Earnhardt won $85,000, Shepherd $36,000 for second. Ernie Irvan, in his inaugural ride in Larry McClure's Oldsmobile, finished a surprising third, followed by Ken Schrader (Chevy), Mark Martin (Ford) and Kyle Petty (Pontiac). Earnhardt set an average speed record for an Atlanta race of 156.849 mph, breaking his mark of 152.523 for winning the 1986 Journal 500. low flag, they both retired to the pits. This time, Earnhardt would charge out ahead, a minor victory for those guys with grease beneath their nails.

"We definitely redeemed ourselves a little bit there," said the winning crew chief, Kirk Shel-merdine. In the maneuvering, Earnhardt now was looking up the tailpipe of Morgan Shepherd. One final yellow flag, and Earnhardt would have two laps left on the restart to pass Shepherd. He blew by Shepherd on the first turn of the restart Later, the second-place driver would complain of interference by a lapped car; but he was destined to be dusted by Earnhardt There was nothing out of line in Shepherd collecting place money. So, Sunday passed as slight reparation for what happened to Earnhardt at Daytona.

It also strenghtened in Earnhardt the notion that he can drive with a little bit of pain. He still didn't look any too good 30 minutes after the race, grimacing as much as smiling Ask a driver what is wrong with his car, and he'll give you the diagnosis precise to the last bolt But Earnhardt had no idea what was going on inside of himself. "Maybe I'm pregnant" he said. In that case, congratulations all around. Braves believe young arms can rebound By Joe Strauss Staff writer WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.

-The Atlanta Braves believe that their abundance of young pitchers will enable them to emerge relatively unscathed from baseball's lockout, which was resolved late Sunday night. "We've got a lot of young guys. They could bounce back a little quicker. We might come out of this OK. It all depends on what kind of shape they've kept themselves," said general manager Bobby Cox.

Management and players agreed to a new four-year collective bargaining agreement at a marathon negotiating session inside commissioner Fay Vincent's New York office, ending the second-longest work stoppage in the game's history at 32 days. "This whole thing has been like an elevator ride. It's been up and down every time you hear about a possible breakthrough. It's gotten sickening, really," said Braves catcher Ernie Whitt. "I'm tired of riding an elevator.

I want to get off and start playing." The Braves anticipate a flood of players arriving as soon as possible. Pitchers Tom Glavine, Pete Smith, Marty Clary and Charlie Leibrandt have been in town the past week, while Derek Lilliquist lives less than 70 miles away in Vero Beach. "I want to play ball. The whole thing became ridiculous," said Lilliquist. Rookie second baseman Mark Lemke, who twice quietly visited the Braves' minor league camp, is also in town.

"I think the first thing we'll do is sit all the pitchers down for an interview to find out what they've been doing," Nixon said. The possibility of an opening day starter going only three innings is considered real. Nixon has decided to carry 14 or 15 pitchers on his opening day roster, two of whom may come from the minor league camp, which has been under way since March 1. Nixon and Cox continue to ponder the idea of including Steve Avery, 19, on the major league roster for the season's first few weeks. Commissioner Fay Vincent said the season would start April 9, a week later than the previously scheduled opening day of April 2.

Spring training will begin Tuesday. The Braves were awaiting word from the Player Relations Committee before deciding on such issues as spring training games and optioning players from their major league roster to the minor league camp. Under normal circumstances, today would be the first day clubs could begin moving players from their protected 40-man rosters into the minor leagues. Continued from Dl thing Sunday up to and including a possum strolling out into his path. Starting on the pole on the basis of his Winston Cup standings qualifying having been rained out Earnhardt would lead for 216 of 328 laps Sunday.

He is the horse for this course. Earnhardt simply picked up this race from four months ago, when he won Atlanta Journal 500 by more than 25 seconds. He may still be out here today, running in the lead, getting a jump on the next race here. "Don't change a thing about this place," pleads Earnhardt, who now has won six races at AIR. That ties him with Richard Petty for number of victories here, just one behind all-timer Cale Yar-borough.

At 36, he has time to win enough more that they'll have to name at least a muddy spot in the infield after him. "This track suits me," he said. "I like to run loose, run wide open. If you get too tight here, it really slows you down in the corners." Earnhardt would have to earn this one at the end, more than he did in the Journal 500. It would turn exciting; and he would forget all about that medicine ball in his belly.

First an awkward pit stop, featuring an air wrench that wouldn't, put Earnhardt nearly seven seconds behind Geoff Bo-dine 33 laps from the finish. He bore down on Bodine, cutting that lead by two-thirds until, on a yel HAIR LOSS? ARE YOU UNHAPPY WITH I YOUR HAIR TRANSPLANT? I EXPERIENCE THE DIFFERENCE AT: CHAMBERS HAIR INSTITUTE FIRST 5 GRAFTS FREE gstfHBfegssl NO BANDAGES MICROSINGLE HAIR GRAFTS SPECIALIZING IN HAIR UNES WE HAVE BEEN FEATURED ON: OPRAH DONAHUE GERALDO NOON DAY NEWS FREE CONSULTATIONS 1-800-634-8557 Habersham at Northlake, AM. OA. SPECIAL PURCHASE ON OUR BES1U mm. mm imi aw AiiAaimAiAU i Steinbrenner blackmailed, report says TAS SPORTS BASKETBALL-COLLEGEPRO WEEKDAYS -6PM EST WEEKENDS-1 1 AM3 6PM EST CALL AND WIN 1 900 999 4949 20 COMPARE OUR PRICES UUAUIY rULL SUSPtNSlUN VERTICAL FILES ON SALE! Drawers have thumb latch label holders and bright chrome handles.

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"I honest to God felt that I could help this young man to get his life straight," The News quoted Steinbrenner as saying. Spira told the AP: "Steinbrenner is a sick liar. This man promised me the world and kept me isolated in this house with his promises. He is trying to frame me and put me in jail. This man is so two-faced and sees out of his head two sides at once." American-Made Cars $275 The Associated Press NEW YORK New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner has been blackmailed by an unemployed gambler who was involved in his legal battle with outfielder Dave Winfield and to whom he paid $40,000, according to The New York Daily News.

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