The Daily News-Journal from Murfreesboro, Tennessee • 19

i Thursday, June 22, 2000, Daily News Journal, Murfreesboro, Tenn. A 7C NASCAR Richard Petty talks about grandson's death 66 family so visible on the NASCAR stage. Popularly known as "The 'When things King," Petty had are Supposed 200 career victo- napptn, they Ever the professional, Petty smiled broadly for fans who gathered to metf their hero outside the San Francisco Giants' new Pacific Bell Park. Some brought faded photographs for him to autograph. One presented him with hand-drawn sketches of wildlife.

"Thanks for all the years," another fan said. Andretti said Adam's death was a blow to all of NASCAR, because in a way, all the teams are part of a family. "I think Richard said it best," Andretti "It doesn't matter what you're doing, when your time comes up, your time comes up. You might as well be doing what you love." Winston Cup driver for 20 years. Although he's never matched his father in terms of victories, he's proven extremely popular among fans.

Kyle spoke of his son last month in Dover, Del. "We were really close," he said, unable to hide the tears behind dark sunglasses. "We used to joke about being a father and son, and best friends. And I think we were." On Wednesday, Richard Petty reflected just briefly on his family's losses, keeping his emotions in check behind his ever-present sunglasses. "When things are supposed to happen," he said, "they happen." SAN FRANCISCO (AP) Right after Adam Petty's fatal accident, stock car legend Richard Petty questioned whether he should have encouraged his grandson's racing in the family's tradition.

But that night when he got home, he saw on the news that some young boys had drowned that day. He realized that everyone's time is limited. "It could happen when you're walking down the street," Petty said. Adam's death, he added pragmatically, "just happened to come up in a race car." Petty did not dwell on his family's recent tragedy during an appearance in San Francisco on Wednesday. NASCAR's winningest driver was touting his long-time alliance with STP along with John Andretti, a driver for Petty Enterprises.

Petty's father, Lee the patriarch of the four-generation racing family died in April of complications from a stomach aneurysm. He was 86. Then, on May 12, 19-year-old Adam Petty, an up-and-coming star on the racing scene, was killed in a wreck during a Busch series practice at New Hampshire International Speedway. Petty and his son, Kyle, a stock car driver and Adam's father, have mourned as privately as possible for a ries over the course of a storied career from 1958 to 1992. In one season, he Richard Petty 111 had a still-record 27 victories, including 10 consecutive wins.

Kyle, known for his ponytail and penchant for motorcycles, has been a Foyt still optimistic of Cup team there." Mast is hopeful about that future. "As long as A.J. Foyt owns it, at the end of the day, no matter how long it takes, it will be a successful race team." The wheel turns right for first time this season Rick Mast is optimistic, and a lot of the reason for that optimism is the fact that he is driving for straight-shooter A.J. Foyt. "There is no favoritism or politics with A.J.," Mast said.

"If you don't know where you stand with A.J., you just weren't listen TURNING RIGHT, TOO: Most stock car drivers are trained only to make left turns. But twice a year, those who make it to the Winston Cup series have to figure out how to make right turns as well. The schedule includes two road races Sunday's Save Mart-Kragen 350-kilomter race at Sears Point Raceway in and the Aug. 13 race at Watkins Glen Interna UPt WiLl UMJi. U-J III -'-vUHWm .11.

-7 I i7 cPam ti I hk a tional in Watkins Glen, N.Y. ing." Foyt, an all-around guess you either like road courses or und racing star in his ff TmJml 1 "I become a successful i f7' you racing star in his I driving days, has don't," said Kyle Petty, one of only nine team owner in the Indy Racing League, winning a share of one championshij active Winston Cup drivers to have won on a road course. "It basically boils down to this you have to learn where the race track is and in ft and another one outright. The first man to win the Indianapolis 500 four times then stay on it. Pretty simple, huh?" Petty said road racing involved a mental process.

"You have to show these road courses some affection," he said. "You can't walk in there telling the place how much you hate it and how much you wish you had a bulldozer to dig it up and how that fifth-mile at Yancey Hollar Speedway in Wherever, Mississippi, is a heck of a lot better deal than this. You have to get your mind right and you have to have some fun with it." AP photo NASCAR Winston Cup leader Bobby LaBonte, left, eats a lollipop while he and second place leader Dale Earnhardt sit In the garage area of Pocono International Raceway in Long Pond, Friday. iiiiioFM iiiiiiw also won the race as an owner with Kenny Brack in 1999. Still, when Foyt decided last winter to start a Winston Cup team, the hurdles were huge.

In such a competitive atmosphere, it is considered virtually impossible to find the right combination of people and equipment in the first year or two in NASCAR's top stock car series. The naysayers appeared to be right when Foyt's team, then with rookie Mike Bliss, failed to qualify for three of the first four races. Things improved a bit when veteran Dick Trickle temporarily took over the driving chores in the No. 14 Pontiac in the fifth race and qualified for three straight events. But Foyt was looking for a driver to help his team grow and improve over the next few years, and he chose the 43-year-old Mast.

Again things looked bleak for a while as Mast failed to make three of the first four races in Foyt's car. But things are beginning to look up for Foyt's team, which now has qualified for four straight races. "Basically, we had three problems," Mast said. "We had some geometry problems with our chassis; we had aerodynamic problems and we had horsepower problems In an effort to solve those problems, Foyt reorganized his team shortly after Mast arrived. He brought Tommy Lamance, his nephew, over from the Indy-car team to run the stock car operation, as well as hiring Philippe Lopez as crew chief and David Evans to build his engines.

Already Lopez had produced one car that Mast says is better than anything the team had before. "Now we've got a long ways to go with our aerodynamic program, and the motor Rrogram is going to be an ongoing process," Mast said. "But the team has a lot of plans. They a lot of things they are going to do. It's just going to take time to get CROSS COUNTRY: Thanks to Sunday's rain in Long Pond, and the fact that the Pocono 500 was run on Monday, the toughest job in NASCAR this week was driving the teams' transporters.

With one day less than expected, the drivers had to get the trucks back to the race shops in North Carolina so the equipment for Sears Point could be loaded after the equipment from Pocono was taken off. "We lose our cushion when this happens. You can't have a flat, you can't have scale trouble, can't have car trouble," explained Peter Jellen, truck driver for Joe Gibbs Racing. "It makes for a nerve-wracking trip. "It always is anyway, but this just makes it a little tougher." Knowing the quick turnaround and the logistical problems involved, the teams tried hard to have all the cars and engines for the California race ready to go even before the rain delay.

"This will just go to show which teams have got their act together," Jellen said. STAT OF THE WEEK: The furthest back in the field a race winner has started at Sears Point was 13th by Davey Allison in 1991. Four of the 11 races at the Northern California track have been won from the pole and nine have been won from the top 10. By Mike Harris AP motorsports writer Dale Earnhardt was supposed to be getting old, mellowing out, becoming an elder statesman of stock car racing. He was supposed to be nurturing the careers of the drivers on his team, Dale Earnhardt Jr.

and Steve Park. Instead, The Intimidator is having a great season of his own, making old look young. And mellowing-out drivers rarely make obscene gestures as he did after being tapped on the final lap and losing to Jeremy Mayfield on Monday in the Pocono 500. As his dark eyes glinted above his trademark black mustache, the seven-time Winston Cup champion grinned and shook his head. "Yeah, those people who thought I was done, I guess they were wrong," Earnhardt said.

Nearly halfway through the 2000 season, the 49-year-old Earnhardt is a force once again. IVInsionCup Grand National sure what he thought I was going to bring to Earnhardt," Hamlin said. "But whatever it was, we were going to start it The chemistry was instant. In their 69 races together, Earnhardt has won four times raising his career total to 75 with 19 top-fives and 41 top-10s. That includes one win and 12 top-10s in 15 starts this season.

"It's been a tremendous success all the way around," Childress said. "Dale and. Kevin have really worked well together, as have Mike and Larry. "Kevin is right for Dale. They have the same demeanor and understanding of what they want and need from a race car to be successful." Earnhardt gives the unassuming Hamlin, in his seventh year as a crew chief, considerable credit for the No.

3's renewed success. "We have a good understanding of each other," Earnhardt said. "It reminds me of the connection firk and I had. "If I'm thinking about going one way or the other with the car, he's thinking that same direction. You don't always have that and we've seen many teams that never find it." Earnhardt believes the best is yet to come.

Meanwhile, he has to keep things going in the right direction. "You struggle at times through your career," he said. "The ideal situation, what you Top 10 Points Top 10 Points Top 10 Points 1. Jeff Green 2,493 1. Bobby Labonte 2,240 1 Greg Biffle 1,892 2.

ToddBodine 2,194 2. Dale Earnhardt 2,183 2- JackSprague 1,863 3. Jason Keller 2,028 3, DaleJarrett 2,125 3. Mike Wallace 1,838 4. RonHornaday 1,995 4 Ward Burton 2,096 4.

Andy Houston 1,798 5. Kevin Harvick 1,990 5. Jeff Burton 2,019 5. Kurt Busch 1,667 6. Elton Sawyer 1,917 5 Rusty Wallace 1,999 6.

Dennis Setzer 1,622 7. Randy LaJoie 1,874 7 Tony Stewart 1,976 7. Randy Tolsma 1,598 8. David Green 1,796 3. Ricky Rudd 1.975 8.

Steve Grissom 1,594 9. Matt Kenseth 1,788 9. Mark Martin 1,958 9. Bryan Reffner 1,584 10. Casey Atwood 1,738 kj.

Jeff Gordon 1,874 10. Rick Crawford 1,550 to beat at age 24. In 1996, the seemingly invincible Earnhardt crashed in Talladega, breaking his sternum and collarbone. By the end of 1997, the once-feared driver was locked in a 59-race winless streak. Worse, he was no longer considered a threat to win.

"I never thought I was finished;" Earnhardt said. "For a while, I was hurting, and things just weren't going the way we wanted." The resurgence began with Earnhardt winning the 1998 season-opening Daytona 500 the one big race win that had eluded him the previous 19 years. "That meant a lot to us," Earnhardt said. "We had something to build on." That victory came in Larry McReynolds' first race as Earnhardt's crew chief. McReynolds, considered one of the best in the business, had moved to Richard Childress Racing over the winter, forming what appeared to be a super team with Earnhardt.

But the magic that Earnhardt had found with previous crew chiefs Doug Richert, Kirk Shelmerdine and Andy Petree all of whom guided him to at least one championship was missing. Childress, Earnhardt's car owner since 1984, recognized it. Midway through 1998, Childress switched McReynolds to the car of Mike Skinner and moved unheralded Kevin Hamlin to Earnhardt's shop. "His thinking was that Skinner needed someone with Larry's experience and I'm not too just 57 points behind Bobby Labonte entering Sunday's Save MartKragen 350k in Sonoma, Calif. Although Earnhardt hasn't finished worse than eighth in the points since 1991, this season has been considered a turnaround year for him.

When he won championship No. 7 in 1994, Earnhardt, driving his intimidating black No. 3 Chevrolet, was the scourge of NASCAR, a swashbuckling, nasty driver. The image began to fade in 1995 when he finished second, losing to newcomer Jeff Gordon, who suddenly was the man work for, is to get in that car ok tISlGDOIfi) Sunday and go race. To be abH to go race and be a contender is fun." If The Intimidator is having fun again, look out.

AM 560 WNSS Nashville (Continued from page 1C) Speedway. "Being born and raised in Middle Tennessee this is really special. This track is for real. It's going to be big. Big league racing is going to be here in Middle Tennessee for a long time." For the 1990 track champion Jeff Green, he did a little reminiscing, but admitted the move to the new track was an important one.

"Going from the fairgrounds to what we're going to have here is going to be another step another right in the right direction for NASCAR racing," said Green, who followed with an optimistic premonition. "Hopefully, we'll be out there next year trying to take the inaugural race." Even more optimistic was Columbia's Sterling Marlin, driver of the No. 40 Coors Light Winston Cup car, who suggested that NASCAR brass such as Bill France and Mike Helton, NASCAR's senior vice president and chief operating officer, make a trip to the new track and reserve as Winston Cup date for the new speedway. do want to run a Winston Cup race here Marlin said, followed by a large applause from the crowd. While a Cup race may still be in the works, the new Nashville Superspeedway does have guaranteed Indy Racing League, Busch and Craftsman Truck dates set for next season.

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