The Daily News-Journal from Murfreesboro, Tennessee • 22

EC Daily News Journal, Murfreesboro, Friday, April 13, 2001 Auto Racing, NBA, From 1C Family and Mend help young tirby By Greg Pogue Executive sports editor GLADEVILLE It isn't cheap to sponsor a race car. But that's what the parents of Stuart Kirby are "doing until a major sponsor can come on boarcL But Kirby, who will run the No. 75 Ford today in the AFC Lester 150 ARCA ReMax Series race at Nashville Super- t- i FFG Lester ByTbt Associated Press After Thursday's qualifying; rat today At NashvlHs Superspeedway Gladevflie 1. (46) Frank Kimmel, Jeftersonville, Ford, 151.453. 2.

(22) Mike Swam, High Point N.C., Chevrolet 150.986, 3. (15) Stanton Barrett, Spartanburg, S.C., Ford, 150235. 4. (53) Robert Burroughs, Laurel, Pon-tiac, 149.883. 5.

(67) Jason Jarrett, Hickory; N.C., Pontiac, 149.458. 6. (8) Shawna Robinson, Des Moines, Iowa, Ford, 149.398. 7. (88) Philip Kranefuss, Mooresville, N.C., Ford, 149254.

8. (75) Stuart Kirby, Bowling Green, Ford, 149.054. 9. (99) Ken Schrader, Concord, N.C, Pontiac, 148.685. GLADEVILLE While Nashville Superspeedway will be christened today with the running of the PFG Lester 150 race on the ARCA ReMax Series, one of the circuit's more successful drivers will be sitting on the pole when the green flag drops at 4 p.m.

Getting around the 1.33-mile oval at 151.453 miles per hour at an elapsed time of 31.685 seconds for the pole was Frank Kimmel, the ARCA points champion in 1998 and last year. "The car has been really, really good all weekend," Kimmel said of the mmmm. mmt DNJ photo by Jim Davis Driver Frank Kimmell, with his car in the background, meets the press after winning the pole Thursday for today's ARCA race at the Nashville Superspeedway. 4- cxi me" said Robinson, who is the only woman to win the pole for a Busch Series race. Robinson had taken some time off to start a family before returning to racing last year for the ARCA team of Michael Kranefuss.

SKINNER RUNNING: Winston Cup driver Mike Skinner, who drives the No. 31 Lowe's Home Improvement car on the Winston Cup series, is among the field for Saturday's Pepsi 300. He'll drive the No. 21 Rockwell Chevrolet owned by Richard Childress Racing, subbing for Mike Dillon, who was injured during the March 24 race at Texas Motor Speedway. "It's pretty hard to tell how we're going to do this weekend," said Skinner, who will drive Busch Series races when they coincide with Winston Cup events.

"I had to deal with going to a lot of new tracks when I was racing in the Truck Series in '95 and '96." As for driving on the first off-week-, end for Winston Cup, Skinner said he was happy for the chance to race. "A lot of Cup guys would be pointed that they don't get the weekend off," he said, "but I'm actually looking forward to this." Greg Pogue changes 10. (lyAndy BelmclTtrPenreirPaTFoir 148.354. 11. (25) Billy Venturing Concord, N.C, Chevrolet 147.970.

12. (6) Chase Montgomery, Nashville, Chevrolet 146.546. 13. (51) Joe Cooksey, Centralia, Chevrolet 145.758. 14.

(17) A. J. Henriksen, Mooresville, N.C, Chevrolet 145.467. 15. (05) Rick Carelli, Englewood, Chevrolet 144.861.

16. (95) Steadman Marlin, Columbia, Ford, 144.817. 17. (23) Ron Cox, Soddy Daisy, Chevrolet 144.712. 18.

(60) Rick Markle, Mooresville, N.C, Chevrolet 144.695. 19. (16) Tim Steele, Coopersville, Ford, 144.177. 20. (83) Mark Gibson, Winder, Ford, 144.151.

21. (10) Anthony Hilt, Carrollton, Ford, 144.078. 22. (38) Greg Sarff, Columbus, Ohio, Ford, 143.256. 23.

(84) Norm Benning, Pittsburgh, Chevrolet 142.877. 24. (19) Cavin Councilor, Naples, Chevrolet 142.440. 25. (48) Donny Morelock, Clearwater, Ford, 141.462.

26. (24) Chuck Weber, Mesquite, Texas, Chevrolet 141.278. 27. (91) Jeff Falk, Chesapeake, Chevrolet 141.179. 28.

(28) Mike Buckley, Ann Arbor, Chevrolet 140.670. 29. (7) Mike Harmon, Birmingport, Ford, 140.562. 30. (21) Todd Bowsher, South Vienna, Ohio, Ford, 139.723.

31. (31) Randal Ritter, Franklin, Chevrolet 138.250. 32. (06) Nate Monteith, Bluff City, Pontiac, 135.851. 33.

(42) Randy Briggs, Kansas City, Ford, 132.640. 34. (50) Kevin Belmont, Feasterville, Ford, 113.273. 35. (5) Dion Ciccarellt, Severn, Ford, provisional.

36. (4) James Hylton, Inman, S.C., Ford, provisional. 37. (26) Brad Smith, Dearborn, Ford, provisional. 38.

(03) Jeff Streeter, Vinton, Iowa, Ford, Wo46dvance JVuto Parts -EordJWe didn't get a chance to test here, so we're pretty happy that we came off as good as we have." Should Kimmel'win today's race, it. would not be a surprise, considering he has 23 career ARCA victories and is the all-time series money winner. That's not to mention 95 top-five finishes and 130 top-10 finishes. And of new Nashville Superspeedway, Kimmel said, "I liked it when I first went on the racetrack. There are a couple of slick spots, but that's some-; thing that a new racetrack is going to have." Qualifying second at 150.986 miles per hour was Mike Swain in the No.

22 Dynatek Communications Chevrolet, followed by Stanton Barrett (150.235), Robert Burroughs (149.683) and Jason Jarrett (149.458). Other notables: Winston Ken Schrader (148.685) in ninth, Nashville Chase Montgomery (146.546) in 12th and Columbia's Steadman Marlin (144.817) in 16th. BUSCH PRACTICE TIMES: Greg Biffle apparently has the fastest car among the Busch drivers after posting the best times in both of Thursday's practice rounds. During the first round, he posted a time of 154.625 miles per hour, following that with 157.772 miles per hour in the late session. Only one other driver, Kevin Har-vick, eclipsed 157 miles per hour, doing it in the late session at 157.503.

Rounding out the top five in the late session were Jay Sauter (156.603), Bobby Hamilton Jr. (156.338) and Shane Hall (156.326). Following Biffle in the first session were Elton Sawyer (154.521) and. Jeff Green (154.302), Randy LaJoie (154.223) and Harvick (154.129) ECONOMAKI IN HOUSE: You know Nashville Superspeedway has arrived on the national scene when Racing Notebook legendary auto racing commentator Chris Economaki is in attendance. He made an appearance in the infield media facility late Thursday afternoon and plans to stay through Saturday's Busch race.

"I keep going to new tracks" he said, "and each new track is nicer than the last new track, and that's the case here." Economaki said he was most impressed with the magnitude of the facility that sits on 3,000 acres. "The facility is beautiful and everything seems to be well-planned" he said. The ingress and egress (of traffic) is better than any racetrack I have ever seen. And if you think of the parking lot of a thousand acres, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway the whole property is 550 acres. It shows you about the size and scope of this place Economaki talked about the surface on which the drivers will be driving at Nashville Superspeedway.

"Concrete is apparently in the thinking of people who build racetracks," he said. It looks beautiful. We have to see how it lends itself to the competition and the tires and so MTSU looks to NBA approves major rules speedway, also nas a nnanciai stake in his future. Yt. "He signed a note for his mora and I for some money to come out of our retirement to help his future," said Kevin Kirby, Stuart's father.

"This is his college. He's getting a master's degreed This is what he wants to do for a living, so you have to help your kid." Also stepping to the plate for sponsorship on a one-race basis is MTSU graduate Wayne Bryant, whose Nashville-based Benefits Solutions Inc. hooked up with the Kirbys to assist in expenses for this weekend. "The enthusiasm of racing is the main thing" said Bryant, whose company logo will flank both rearside panels. "But looking at some of this young talent who are out there trying to real- ize tneir dream, vou nave 10 nna a way to help people make their dreams come true." And it also makes good business sense, Bryant contended.

"It's good business for me because my clientele are employ ees of employers who attend these raises," he said. "So, there is a match between the need for the product and the services we provide and an advertising medium that I think is very cost effective." As for the Kirby family, well, a friendship was made for life. "It's very important because every little bit that we can get to help get that car out there and get this boy more seat time on the track means the more he will improve the elder Kirby said. or Baseball Standings Team Conf. Ovr.

Florida International 8-4 32-9 South Alabama 8-4 28-7 New Orleans 7-5 16-16 MTSU 6-6 25-8 Louisiana-Lafayette 6-6 21-16 Western Kentucky 6-6 21-15 Arkansas State 6-6 13-21 Arkansas-Little Rock 5-7 1 5-1 3 Louisiana Tech 4-7 15-15 New Mexico State 3-8 25-14 This weekend's series MTSU at Arkansas-Uttle Rock No 20 Fla. International at New Orleans Louisiana Tech at Arkansas State Western Kentucky at N. Mexico State league guys tell me it's easier for a team to come off of grass and play on turf than it is a turf team coming off and playing on grass" Peterson said. "We'll find all of that out. It's a challenge that should excite our in-fielders.

"You will learn a lot by watching the opposition position in the field and how they play it. Our batting practice will be huge in that infielders will be learning how to play the turf during that time." Elsewhere around the Sun Belt this weekend, No. 13 South Alabama is at LouisTuna-Lafayette, New Orleans plays host to No. 20 Florida International, Western Kentucky is at New Mexico State, land Louisiana Tech travels to Arkansas State. forth." It was an honor for Nashville Superspeedway to issue a media credential to Economaki, the executive editor of National Speed Sports Weekly, according to Nashville Superspeedway media relations director Sean Dozier.

"We took him on a tour of the entire facility," Dozier said, "and he seemed to be extremely impressed with the future expansion that we are expanding, including the other parts of the project like the drag strip, the short track and the dirt track." ROBINSON'S BACK: The only female driver in today's ARCA race and Saturday's Busch Race is Shawna Robinson, who'll drive the No. 8 Aaron's Ford today and the No. 99 Aaron's Chevrolet Saturday for Michael Waltrip Racing. Tm looking forward to being a part of the Aaron's 'Dream Machine' team and I'm excited about the entire program," said Robinson, who ran the No. 99 in the Busch race two weeks ago at Texas.

She will also drive in the series a week from Saturday at Talladega. "I had the second-fastest time in practice (Wednesday) and I really feel this Friday the 13th will be lucky for "It definitely surprised me," Kirby said of the Daytona finish. "I knew I had a good car and a good car owner. Just being out there in the draft with other cars, it was different. I had never done anything like that, going 200 miles per hour.

"I was looking at a top-15 finish or, really, just to even finish the race. And to come home with a top five finish, that was awesome" But it didn't surprise Schacht, who plans, on running Kirby in several more ARCA races this season before tackling the Busch Grand National Series. "Ideally, we want to run him in four or five more ARCA races to give him some more experi VV" 1 Pi If cn Ercsd Street I fnMM kW9 But the their coming. "Our and the that needed chaired the changes. sense that evolved our satisfied The scrapped, any defense The player lane for than an violation "That from Colangelo more think." players and coaches didn't vote; employers did.

And the changes are belief is that the game has evolved, product we have presently was one attention," said Colangelo, who a select committee that proposed "The game has changed in the we've lost a lot of fluidity. We've into an isolation game because of defensive guidelines, and we weren't with the way the game looked." current illegal defense rules will be and teams will be allowed to play they choose. one exception is that a defensive will not be permitted to stay in the more than 3 seconds if he is more arm's length away from his man. A will result in a technical foul. will prevent and out-and-out zone being played in the pure sense," said.

"There's going to be a lot man-to-man defense than people guidelines. Establishing a defensive 3-second rule, limiting the amount of time a defensive player may stand in the lane when he is not closely guarding someone. Reducing from 10 seconds to 8 seconds the amount of time a team will have to advance the ball past midcourt. Eliminating touch fouls by allowing brief contact initiated by a defensive player if it does not impede the progress of the player with the ball. The NBA did not release the result of the vote.

A two-thirds majority was required for passage, meaning at least 20 of the 29 teams were in favor. "We had more than 20," Colangelo said. Several players and coaches were opposed to the changes, believing the NBA is making too big of a move in response to lower scores, declining television ratings and flat attendance figures. "I don't think it's good at all. Zones will bring the games to a grind," Charlotte forward P.J.

Brown said. League will allow zone defenses next season NEW YORK (AP) NBA owners approved a package of four rules changes Thursday, including the elimination of the long-standing ban on zone defenses. "This is a bold move on the part of the NBA to change the rules and allow something that we've spent many years hiding from zone defenses," Phoenix Suns owner Jerry Colangelo said. "This may be one of the most significant changes since the imposition of the 24-second shot clock." Designed to improve the flow and pace of the game and reduce teams' dependance on isolation plays, the new rules will be tested during summer league play before officially taking effect next season. The changes are: Eliminating all existing illegal defense (Continued from page 1C) up 24 runs in the final two games of the series.

Left-handers Kris Lammers (3-3, 3.89) and John Williams 4.68) will start Saturday and Sunday, respectively, and round out a pitching staff that is seventh nationally with a 3.23 earned run average. The Trojans are coming off a three-game sweep at New Mexico State last weekend in which they averaged right at 20 runs a game. Shortstop Miguel Miranda led the offensive onslaught with a .611 batting average, 11 RBIs, and 10 runs scored to earn Sun Belt Player of the Week honors. "I don't know that Little Rock is that type of offensive team," Peterson said of the gaudy offensive numbers. "I would be shocked if we gave up 60 runs in three games.

Little Rock scored a ton of runs at New Mexico State, but that might've had something to do with the elements. I believe Little Rock will be a team that likes to run and put pressure on the opposing pitcher and defense." Adjusting to a new turf also will be key for the Blue Raiders, who will play on an artificial infield for the first time this season. The turf has been good for the Trojans, who are No. 8 nationally in team fielding Second baseman Derin Mc-Mains (.992 fielding) has one error all season and has been flawless in the field in the four conference series. He leads the team with a .364 batting average.

"I expect a difference with the astroturf, but I've had big Kirby on fast ence in the big cars" Schacht said. "Then, we would like to run him in about 10 or 11 Busch races and then decide then if we want to run Winston Cup or go on with some more Busch stuff or whatever." For now, though, Kirby is all about rising on a learning curve that includes possibly driving three different cars in the same year Late Models, ARCA and Busch. "It's just seat time and more experience in a heavier car with more horsepower," Kirby said. "If you want to move up Busch and Winston Cup, it's just getting used to that kind of car. It makes for good experience if you're looking for the future." standings for two-thirds of the season and racked up five top-10 finishes.

But it began even earlier than that for Kirby, who started rasing go-karts around the country at age 11. By 1997, he was ranked No. 1 by the World Karting Association and remained in the top 1 0 fpr two straight years. But that was then and this is now, and now has Kirby racing among the sport's elite. "I just want to take it step by step and win some races in these different series and then keep moving up and just keep gaining experience as much as I can" Kirby said while noting that his impressive run at Daytona turned many a head, including his own.

(Continued from page 1C) too. "Racing at Nashville Speedway is definitely the best place to learn," said Kirby, who currently ranks fifth in points standings there. "It's the toughest short track in the nation, competitive-wise. With that, it gives you the experience to be able to move up into Busch and ARCA pretty quick." Kirby's ascent is on schedule. At age 16, he raced his first stock car at Highland Rim Speedway, winning four Late Model races and six pole positions in his first season.

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