The Times Leader from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania • 42

The Times Leader, Wilkes-Barre, PA, Sunday. Jurte 20, 1999 1 6C POC0NO500 Year later; defending champ still By DAVID PENCEK Times Leader Sports Writer LONG POND With his dominating performance at last year's Pocono 500, Jeremy May-field picked up his first career Winston Cup victory. He never thought a year later that he would be defending his only Winston Cup victory. Because of erratic performances since that win, that's exactly what Mayfield will be doing in today's Pocono 500 at Pocono International Raceway. "You never forget your first win, but we were pretty much hoping it would be one of a blur of victory lane memories right now," said Mayfield, who led 122 of the 200 laps last year.

"It's definitely time to win again. "I had a lot of people tell me the first win was the hardest, but I wonder about that Right now, the second win is the hardest. The first win is easy because we've already done that." Mayfield's biggest problem Of course, thing seemed to be going in the right direction for Mayfield when he left Pocono last June. The Owensboro, Ky. native surprised many with his performance during the first half of last season.

He held the points lead four times in the first 16 races and was ranked first or second for 13 consecutive events. The week after his win. May-field finished 18th at Sonoma, and dropped out of the points lead for good. He didn't finish in the top 10 again until the Aug. 16 Pepsi 400 in Brooklyn, Mich.

In the final 18 races. May-field finished in the top 15 only six more times, and ended up seventh in the points race. It was still a career-best for May-field, but not where he expected to wind up after a promising start, "We went up and down after we won the race," Mayfield said. "We've been through some bad luck, but that's the same thing has been a lack of consistency that started after last year's win. Entering last season's Pocono 500, Mayfield was the model of steadiness.

He finished in the top 15 in the first 16 races. This season, he has finished in the top 15 in only half of the first 14 events. The wavering performances prompted the firing of crew chief Paul Andrews, who had been with Mayfield since 1997. Peter Sospenzo was promoted last month and helped Mayfield to a fifth-place finish in The Winston, NASCAR's all-star event. In the three points races with Sospenzo as crew chief, Mayfield has finished 10th, ninth and 17th.

He was running as high as eighth at last week's Kmart 400, but a late stop for fuel dropped him to a 17th place finish. "We've been doing a little rebuilding," said Mayfield, who will be starting 23rd in today's race. "Things are heading in the right direction." a lot of guys go through." Mayfield continued to go through those same problems at the start of this season. Before changing crew chiefs. May-field had as many finishes of 20th or worse as top 15 finishes His best showing this season was a second-place finish at Darlington.

His worst was a 41st in Martinsville. The more consistent showings during the last three races have helped Mayfield make a slow climb back in the points standings. He is 11th heading into today's race, two points behind Terry Labonte for 10th place. i Mayfield said the team has found the consistency that led it to its only victory. "(Sospenzo) has three races now as crew chief and we've been solid and consistent," Mayfield said.

"You have to finish consistently in the top 10 before you can consistently finish in the top five, and you have The Times LeaderDON CAREY Jeremy Mayfield, right, talks to Rusty Wallace as he gets out of his car during practice runs Friday afternoon. Mayfield is the defending champion of the Pocono 500. come consistently again. We're going to be back winning. We know that" to do that before you're winning consistently.

"The top 10s are starting to Tow truck Jarrett is special to Schrader By DICK BRINSTER AP Sports Writer LONG POND On this Father's Day, Ken Schrader will be thinking about a truck a tow truck! And it has nothing to do with anything that might happen today at Pocono International Raceway. NOTES Fx -y 'J (Continued from Page 1C) race. "If we had one caution flag last week, that could have been a totally different race," Jarrett said. "Nobody got a chance to work on their race car. There's not much you could do in 16 or 17 seconds (during a green flag pit-stop).

You don't want to give up a lot of time doing anything major." All crew chief Todd Parrott and the rest of the Robert Yates-owned team did to Jarrett's winning No. 88 Ford Quality CareFord Credit car was clean it up, pack it up and transport it to Pocono. However, they can't expect another caution-free race. Nor do they. There has been an average of five cautions in the last 10 Pocono races, including nine in last year's Pocono 1 500.

(Two were for rain). "The fun starts now," said Jarrett who finished third in last year's race. "I wouldn't say it's lot of fun qualifying. You have to do-m4iiffeFent things to-quali- fcfjr. andthHtniakeslt kind of hair-raising.

As far as racing, I love to race here (because) the challenge it presents." The 2 12-mile Pocono track has the second-longest front stretch, 3,740 feet in Winston I Cup. It leads into a 14-degree banking in turn one, then a straightaway followed by what's known as the tunnel turn. The tunnel turn and turn three are connected by a straightaway. Pocono has been called a su-perspeedway that drives like a road course and Wally Dallen-bach's qualifying effort may support that notion. Dallenbach is an accomplished road-course racer and qualified a season-best ninth.

The track also leads to debate among drivers as where their car needs to be handling best Some say the tunnel turn. Others, like Jarrett say the third turn leading into the long front stretch. "We're going to try to make our car as good as we can in all three corners," Jarrett said. "If you're going to pick a corner you want your car the best at you're going to say turn three to use the front straightaway to your advan-' tage." The vehicle in question is his late fathet's 1955 Ford, which Schrader rediscovered a few years ago in a Midwest salvage yard. Schrader, originally from Fenton, had been looking for the truck for some time.

"My daddy got rid of that tow truck a long time ago," Schrader said. "Since I had so many great memories of the times I spent with my father in that tow truck, I decided to track it down and get it back in the Schrader family. Schrader's father. Bill, who died in 1994, left an impression on his son that old was good. "Back then, I couldn't afford to own a new car, and I was forced to drive all these beat up old cars," Schrader said.

"Now, I choose to drive old cars and tinker on them in my free time." Times Leader PhotosDON CAREY Race driver Sterling Marlin, left, talks with a crew member in the garage area at Pocono International Raceway. Tennessee football psyches up Marlin Pocono 500 pole-sitter never afraid to volunteer an opinion about his favorite sports team. LABONTE FASTEST: Two-time Winston Cup champion Terry Labonte will extend the NASCAR record for consecutive starts to 617. But it took him two days to make the field for the Pocono 500. Labonte posted the fastest speed in the second day of qualifying for the race, turning a lap Saturday at 167.885 mph.

He will start 33rd today. The winner of this race in 1995, Labonte was one of nine drivers who attempted to qualify Saturday. Derrike Cope, Loy Allen and Hut Stricklin didn't make the 43-car field. By JERRY KELLAR 5 I tive Mike Motil said. "He gets pretty intense." Marlin and his crew have a satellite dish on hand every weekend during football season so they can watch college football games in between practicing for Sunday's races.

Not surprisingly, the Vols are always the game of choice. One year, when rain postponed a qualifying session, Marlin planted himself in front of the set and watched UT take on Georgia in a key SEC battle. "Everyone else wanted to get out on the track," one crew member recalled, "but (Sterling) wanted it to keep raining so we could finish watching the game." And they say racing fans are crazy. Tve always loved football," said Marlin, who currently is 19th in the Winston Cup points standings. "I wasn't good enough to play college ball, but I just always enjoyed the sport and always enjoyed watching Tennessee football.

I really enjoy it" His support of the team has no bounds. Marlin even displayed UT's logo on the hood of his Busch Series car. "That was real cool," Motil confessed. Marlin, who will turn 42 in two weeks, has become good friends with several members of the Tennessee's coaching staff, including head coach Phil Fulmer. "They're big race fans, and I'm a big football fan," Marlin said, "so we kinda work together." Even though the Vols lose some key members of last year's national championship team, Marlin said his team will be right in the thick of the hunt come December.

"Everybody's always shooting for No. 1, but they should be pretty good," he said. But then, what did you expect him to say? Times Leader Sports Writer LONG POND It's a good thing Sterling Marlin's Friday ended on a good note (he won the pole for today's Pocono 500), because it sure didn't start OK. And no, it had nothing to do with the performance of his Team SABCOCoors Light Chevrolet This was serious stuff. This was Tennessee football.

Imagine having to be told by a reporter that a national sports publication rated your favorite college team pnly third-best in the nation. "They put 'em where?" asked Marlin when informed of The Sporting News' preseason rankings. TSN had the Volunteers behind Penn State and Florida State, For now, anyway. Marlin smiled. "That's a good place to start," he said.

"Last year, I think they were maybe 10th." Of course, Marlin's beloved Vols made up all 10 spots by the end of the 1998 season and, following a victory over Florida State in the Jan. 4 Fiesta Bowl, finished as the undisputed No, 1 team in the country. For Marlin, the Vols' coronation felt better than all six of his Winston Cup career victories combined. "I'm a big fan," the Columbia. native declared before Friday's practice session Lottery introduces NASCAR game LONG POND (APJ State lottery officials are hoping that Pennsylvanians' love for car racing will pay off at the lottery counter.

The Pocono 500Pennsylvania 500 scratch-off ticket is the state's newest lottery game, named in honor of the two NASCAR races at Pocono International Raceway. The Pocono 500 is today. Officials 1 said Saturday it is one of the first partnerships between a state lottery and a NASCAR racetrack. "NASCAR is just so hot in Pennsylvania, we're always looking for things that people are interested in," lottery spokesman Scott E. LaMar said.

thing is that Gov. Ridge wants us to have more games that have Pennsylvania themes." The $1 tickets went on sale April 30. Over $4 million in cash prizes are available, plus a second-chance drawing for the race's pace car. PIT STOPS: Starting at or near the front is advantageous at Pocono International Raceway. The winner has pome from the first two rows in 24 of 42 Pocono races Although Ken Schrader is winless on the circuit since 1991, he is the best qualifier ever at Pocono with five poles the most recent in 1995 Hendrick Motorsports leads all teams in victories at Pocono with eight Jeff Gordon and the late Tim Richmond won three times apiece for Hendrick, and Geoff Bodine and Terry Labonte once each one has won consecutively at the track since June 1987, when Richmond got the last of his three consecutive victories There will be six sets of siblings in the field today for the Pennsylvania 500.

They are Geoff and Brett Bodine, Ward and Jeff Burton, David and Jeff Green, Terry and Bobby Labonte, Rusty and Kenny Wallace, and Darrell and Michael Waltrip. Sterling Marlin will start from the pole for today's Pocono 500 at Pocono International Raceway. at Pocono International Raceway. "A big fan." It's a status Marlin makes sure to remind friends and co-workers of about once an hour during the fall. "Sterling's gotta have the TV working all the time to get all the scores and things like that" SABCO crew member and Hazleton na 3.