The Charlotte Observer from Charlotte, North Carolina • 84

10D THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER Sunday June 25 1989 Hard Luck Hits Petty Team 5 Badly Crashed Cars Biggest Claim To 001 Fame So Far SUMMER GOLF SAVINGS Renaissance Golf Course "Charlotte's Legendary New Championship Golf Course" Weekday Special for $28 (Reg Weekend Afternoofel-2 for $30 (Reg Couples" Weekday Special Vor $28 (Reg Weekend'Afterre-2 $30 Meg Couples' Spetia tio41 kkt Ao044 -A 0 motorsports Tom Higgins tt Motorsports Tom Higgins $40) $48) Super pm) 2 for $20 All Specials Include 91gettFees Cc Power Carts tut Do Not 'Include Weekday Specials Exclude tiolidays Oner lune 30 1980 CALL: NOW 3573375 To Reserve Your Tee Time' i BROOKLYN Mich Considering the rec1 ord it seems the team of driver Kyle Petty and crew chief Gary Nelson would be seeking a way to run fewer races a Through 1989s first 14 events it has been a -Is shell-shocker of a NASCAR 4titi 1 Winston Cup Series season Zi for the Charlotte-based oper- I dr----1 14 ation owned by Felix Sa- '4 bates and Ted Conder :41 iv 1 Here's how it has gone 111 4 during the team's "rookie" year: '1': Daytona 500 Didn't i k- make the field after the team's Pontiac was de- A stroyed in a 125-mile quail- Petty fying race when Petty was swept into a multicar crash triggered by others i :40111 I TranSouth 500 Was running a solid fifth 17 laps ii its 4' from the finish when taken I out by a crash that destroyed the car 1 Winston 500 Run- 4 fling in top 10 when in- 11 volved in a 13-vehicle chain reaction crash that destroyed the car with 18 laps remains- I Nelson ing Coca-Cola 600 Nelson Coca-Cola 600 Ask about our TournapleritLeaque Package I City of Charlotte American Ootticoorporation "Partners in Golf" Ask About Our Speirtii'enior Play Tickets Redeem Course our biggest concerns has been about Nelson said nodding toward the third driver 29 grandson of three-time champion "Papa" Lee Petty and son Winston Cup victory leader Richard were afraid that all the trouble him to getting down on his driving that hasn't happened" among his sport's most pleasant personalities managed a smile about the first half season although the crash in The Winston him with a cracked sternum and a knee injuries that are still nettlesome him more than a month later been able to stay positive about our 'cause I know that when trouble us on the track we have run really Petty winner of the 1987 Coca-Cola at Charlotte Motor Speedway "Atlanta Motorcraft 500 in March) is an We finished fourth And in the 600 we were able to finish 17th despite borrowed Monte Carlo which Chevy out" season-opening Daytona 500 Petty team maintained a "presence" by Olds of Eddie Bierschwale After started the race Petty crawled in the fourth lap and brought it in 10th all 500 miles It's the car's best year flashes of potential have flickered this season Petty's average finish in season starts in SABCO's cars is The team has $40330 in winnings today's race the first half record" said Petty back The ingredients are there for lot of races We just need some luck we're going to start getting it On ran a Busch Series race at Orange Speedway and missed two really big said right then our trouble was over luck finally was going to turn our when it clicks for us I really believe to click big" Save thousands Save $6047 And they're confident of making the second half of the NASCAR tour as good as the first half was bad "We feel so sure it's going to work that we will run practically all the remaining races rather than the limited schedule we originally planned" said Nelson a highly regarded innovative engineer credited with 19 victories and a Winston Cup championship "The only ones we aren't set for are the Goody's 500 at Martinsville (Va) and the Holly Farms 400 at North Wilkesboro and we'll probably wind up running them too "We're pretty much ready for that undertaking On the surface we've wiped out five cars that's true But during the adversity our owners have given us more and more support and behind the scenes we've built a very strong team We've given Felix and Ted a tough rookie test and they've come through "We've got four cars ready to go a big accomplishment in the face of all that trouble There are many other teams that if they'd had the problems we have would be talking about cutting back for the rest of the year and laying people off But we're very optimistic "I've been around awhile and it's my contention that this sport constantly cycles If you're on the bottom keep heart you'll eventually be on top If you're on top get prepared for a tumble" Nelson 36 looked toward the stall in the garage area where Petty was joking with teammates around the No 42 Peak-sponsored Grand Prix he'll start 22nd in today's 400-miler after qualifying Saturday at 171518 mph T3 1989SterbngMotar t9439 stegmotar )1989StertingMotar Didn't get to run his Pontiac because it was destroyed in a crash during an open practice day when the only other car on the track ruptured an oil line and dumped the fluid in Petty's path The Winston Crash on the first lap I destroyed the car when water pouring from a car ahead caused Petty to lose traction That's five count 'em five new Pontii 1 acs wrecked beyond repair for the newly formed SABCO Racing team already faced with the task of trying to get a stable of cars built 7 With such a run of bad luck and bent sheet metal many competitors relatively would be turning tail But not Petty and Nelson Approaching the halfway point of the 29-race season both driver and crew chief remain 47 optimistic and upbeat about their association AO 4044 ltlr''': 44- aiiOszotkovvol A- PI FSchrader Earns Pole Shot Now just $21371 moves you up to a Sterling OMINIMMINIIIIMMIll contentment after winning the 400 at Michigan International a Chevrolet Lumina Schrader's nominal teammate was fifth in a Lumina at 173515 Martin went out 35th Bodine 39th None of the first five starters have won a race this year Schrader seeking his first triumph this year and only the second of his career said that although the money is impressive it isn't the mos important thing today "Winning is" he contended firmly "That's still the highlight of any racing weekend no matter if you're running for $500 on some short dirt track" "Winning is especially important here because so many executives of auto manufacturing companies attend the race At Michigan you run every lap of the race as hard as you can" Starting sixth through 10th are "One of Kyle" generation national of all-time Petty "We would lead ability "Thankfully Petty of the left banged-up to "I've situation doesn't find good" said 600 (th2 example last month running a had phased In the and his renting the Bierschwale the car on completing finish this But the fleetingly four regular only 1925 going into "Forget "We'll come us to win a and I think June 3 I County wrecks I with that way "And it's going Hard to but true Now Factory incentives let us offer you incredible savings on the fun of driving with grace under pressure Available APR financing as low as 49 call save you even more All on the exhilarating performance handling and luxury that only the British know how rirlw'-ers---- '''t''-': 4s1'' 1 eN'''''' "'10'Zi 114 17i si' rwftgat' kt i g-''' 4z ''A 1-4-i'47- -1-- i it- -'7 401:: 'q 41 7F: 7- A i 't J' io''1 4T 1: 11 I If lilt jfr reP' 24'i 7''i' 01' tr- i 7 4'0' -i 1 i 0: ii' ---mt1444 ::4 4 0 Ik Ae A ao "111ot Eb Associated Press STERLILIG OF CHARLOTTE 6625 INDEPEHDENCE BLVD 537-2336 Outside of Charlotte 1-800-476-6150 to build 24-valve V-6 power touring suspension elegant interior and more You must take delivery by June 30 1989 Istcm1 Hurry in And move EST up to Sterling STERLING MADE IN EN(ilAND B1 KOS ER By TOM HIGGINS Staff Writer BROOKLYN Mich The "drawing" talent of mechanic Jake "Suitcase" Elder was credited Saturday with giving driver Ken Schrader a chance at a bonus $91200 in today's Miller 400 stock car race Elder who has made Hen- 's7 drick Motor- f' sports his most Arti i fr recent stop in a virtual tour of NASCAR Win- ston CupSeries "11 teams was as- signed the duty at Michigan In- ternational Speedway of at- Elder tending a blind draw to pick the position in which Schrader would line up for qualifying Elder pulled No 10 and Schrader said later that was pivotal in putting him on the pole with a lap of 174728 mph in a Chevrolet Lumina It's the first pole for the Lumina which replaced the Monte Carlo as Chevy's race car of choice in May "Qualifying started at 11:30 so it was important to go out early to beat the heat which was getting hotter and hotter real fast" said Schrader who lives in Concord "If Jake hadn't come through for us and we'd had to run later like a lot of pole contenders did then the high temperature probably would have slowed us down too "I wasn't about to draw myself I'm terrible at it and I didn't want the responsibility" In leading the 40-car field to the green flag at 1 pm (CBS WBTV channel 3 in Charlotte) Schrader will be the only entrant eligible for Unocal's rich "Skins Game" prize going to drivers who start first finish first The "skin" has "rolled over" 11 times at $7600 per race or since Rusty Wallace won an extra $15200 in March's Good-wrench 500 at NC Motor Speedway If Schrader scores today on the 2-mile track in the Chevy owned by Charlottean Rick Hendrick he'll collect approximately $157000 overall Baker Gets iy Dop-Ci tar emani ONE MoRE WEEK! 4 CELEBRATES 4 I7 YEARS AS THE WORLD'S LARG EST CELEBRATES AC YEARS AS THE WORLD'S LARGEST it i '1 a i i' 1 I At Bonus Today's Lineup Saturday's qualifying results for the Miller High Life 4001 1 Ken Schrader Chevy 174728 mph 2 Bill Elliott Ford 174516 3 Alan Kulwickl Ford 174495 4 Mark Martin Ford 173846 5 Geoff Bodine Chevy 173515 6 Dale Earnhardt Chevy 173490 7 Harry Gant Olds 173314 8 Sterling Marlin Olds 173277 9 Rusty Wallace Pontiac 173206 10 Davey Allison Ford 172969 11 Terry Labonte Ford 172720 12 Rick Wilson Olds 172608 13 Brett Bodine Ford 172563 14 Darrell Waltrip Chevy 172534 15 Lake Speed Olds 172286 16 Derrike Cope Pontiac 172253 17 Nell Bowleg Ford 172080 18 Dale Jarrett Buick 172043 19 Hut Stricklin Pontiac 171850 20 Jimmy Spencer Pontiac 171653 21 Greg Sacks Pontiac 171645 22 Kyle Petty Pontiac 171518 23 Morgan Shepherd Pontiac 171310 24 Ronnie Thomas Ford 171156 25 Dick Trickle Buick 171103 26 Larry Pearson Buick 171086 27 Bobby HUHN Buick 170916 28 Michael Waltrip Pontiac 170531 29 Eddie Bierschwale Olds 170181 30 Ernie irvan Pontiac 170000 31 Richard Petty Pontiac 169960 32 Phil Parsons Olds 169647 33 Ricky Rudd Buick 169169 34 Dave Marcia Chevy 169093 35 Rodney Combs Pontiac- 169042 36 Butch Miller Chevy 168689 37 Mike Miller Chevy-- 168531 38 Bill Venturini Chevy 168185 39 Jimmy Means Pontiac 167469 40 HB Bailey Pontiac 167034 Dale Earnhardt Harry Gant Sterling Marlin Wallace and Davey Allison Terry Labonte winner of last Sunday's Miller 500 at Pocono (Pa) Raceway lines up 1 1 th Darrell Waltrip tied with Wallace for the season victory lead with four starts 14th and 200-race winner Richard Petty is 31st The top 11 drivers broke the event qualifying record of 172687 mph set last year by Elliott Schrader just missed Elliott's overall speedway mark of 174940 established prior to the Champion 400 last August Earnhardt enters the 400 with a commanding 190-point lead over Wallace in the chase for the million Winston Cup championship CART-PPG series 22 races ago late in the 1987 season The pole win by the March-Porsche broke a string of 16 consecutive pole victories for Chevrolet-powered cars Mario Andretti also failed to improve on his Friday lap and fell from second to third at 119334 Geoff Brabham filling in this weekend for former track record holder and defending champion Danny Sullivan solved a Friday engine problem and moved all the way from 13th to fourth at 119276 followed by Arie Luyendyk who jumped from 10th to fifth at 119251 Rounding Out the top 10 for Sunday's race are Rick Mears at 119196 Michael Andretti 118946 Bobby Rahal 118776 Al Unser Jr 118717 and Scott Bray ton 117844 The race which is scheduled to start at 4 pm will be televised later today by ESPN on a tape-delayed kiasis UTO P8EVER Fabi Speeds To Pole For Race In Portland Kenny Schrader folds his arms in pole Saturday for today's Miller Speedway The pole is the first for That would be a winner's prize exceeded only in the regular season by that of the Daytona 500 the sport's richest event "The bonus is really neat it has created a lot of excitement" said Schrader after his second pole this year and the fourth of his career "Spending it would be no problem The bills are already there" Schrader overtook Ford drivers Alan Kulwicki and Bill Elliott who were first and third in the time trial line to qualify quickest Elliott got the other front row spot at 174516 mph Kulwicki is to start third after a run of 174495 After being listed as the two speediest drivers in prequalifying practice Mark Martin logged the fourth fastest lap in his Ford at 173846 and Geoff Bodine Opportunity he'd sustained in a Coca-Cola 600 crash in May had turned into a blood clot on the brain Baker underwent surgery almost immediately for removal of the clot Until Saturday he had been back in the cockpit of a race car only once since then for a couple laps at Daytona International Speedway during a January testing session to help another driver with his chassis setup Baker whose last start was the Talladega (Ala) 500 last July 30 was getting the car race-ready Saturday for Jimmy Spencer who he hired on Tuesday as full-time driver for the 15 Winston Cup races remaining this season Spencer who qualified 20th couldn't do it himself because he had to leave the track early to fly to Louisville and fulfill a commitment to race Saturday night in the Granger Select 200 4 52nd ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL 0 5 SI ocs OUR ANY FAMOUS CA PAINT JOB 3 YEAR WRITTEN GUARANTEE AGAINST FADING IF YOUR CAR FADES' I'LL PAINT IT FREE REE ESTIMATES ON BODYWOR WE DO INSURANCE WOR 937 1989 OVER 20 MIL ION CARS PAIN ED OVER 00 COMPANY OWNED IN THE IS AND CANADA ANNIVERSARY 3 YEAR WRITTEN GUARANTEE AGAINST FADING IF YOUR CAR FADESII'LL PAINT IT FREE REE ESTIMATES ON BODYWOR WE DO INSURANCE WOR OVER 20 MIL OVER 00 COMPANY OWNED IN THE IS AND CANAD SPECIAL ION CARS PAIN ED To Get In Saddle Again 33444441 3234013 2752117111 234-8216 723-799 i ii it a CHARLOTTE 24011 NORTH TRYON St FAYETTEVILLE 7011 RAMSEY ST GREENS8ORO BIS SOUTH ELM ST RAI11014 1274 SOUTH SAUNDERS ST WINSTON-SALEM 840 NORTH UBERTY ST By TOM HIGGINS Staff Writer BROOKLYN Mich Buddy Baker's grin in the garage area Saturday at Michigan International Speedway made the summer sun seem dim by comparison The veteran stock car racer was driving his NASCAR Winston Cup Series car again after months of self-exile Baker 48 was shaking the No 88 Pontiac down in the final practice session leading to today's Miller 400 "God it feels good out there!" said Baker bouncing from the Grand Prix in delight "I actually caught two people that I could outrun before" "Before" is when Baker was still driving the cars full-time "Before" is that time prior to last Aug 15 when Baker found that the "bump on the head" f' Associated Press PORTLAND Ore Teo Fabi drove a Porsche-powered March to a track record and the pole for today's Budweiser-aL Joe's 200 Indy-car race at Portland International Raceway The 34-year-old Italian earned the seventh pole of his Indy-car career his first since 1983 as he turned a fast lap of 57634 seconds 120054 mph in Saturday's qualifying session on the 1922- mile nine-turn road circuit Provisional pole winner Emerson Fittipaldi of Brazil had problems with the fuel pump on his Penske PC18-Chevrolet and failed to improve on his Friday lap of 57884 119536 that stood as the track mark for less than 24 hours Fabi was third after provisional qualifying and he improved by three-tenths of a second His quick lap on the sun-baked slippery course gave the Quaker State-Porsche Indy-car team its biggest stkcess since it entered the Starter Homes To Luxury Estates In One Prime Location 0 sewer seivermpN 44 44 g1 PSN4P57T'Z' 711IMIIMWtVff me.