The Charlotte Observer from Charlotte, North Carolina • 50

6C THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER Sunday October 4 1992 MOTORSPORTS Award nominees embody 25 years of greatness 4-" 11 oi 4 tkuf What an evening it should be And whoever Cuyler announces as the winner will have warm memories to last a lifetime For not only was he selected by a national panel of 12 auto racing journalists but the top 10 nominees were given a vote too So were the 16 living members of the driver of the year award They could not vote for themselves Think of what's that's going to mean to the man that walks up there to that podium to have been chosen the best by his peers This is one of those cases were it's too had that Cuyler can't open the envelope and say "And the winner is Oh my goodness we have a 10-way-tie" Every driver is deserving The 10 final nominees have accounted for 13 Indianapolis 500 victories 15 Daytona 500 wins and a total of 13 driver of the year awards It goes on Earnhardt is the leading money winner of all time with $16 million dollars but he never has won the 500 at Daytona NASCAR's biggest race And Gar fits The "Big Daddy" who made drag racing so popular How can his contributions be discounted? So the drama when Cuyler steps to the microphone will be deep Proceeds from the dinner for which a few tickets remain will benefit the speedway's 600 Children's Charities the National Head Injury Foundation and the Driver of the Year Foundation The latter will benefit families like those of driver Clifford Allison who died in a crash in August at Michigan International Speedway in practice For the Detroit Gasket 200 Information on reservations is available by phoning Kathy Ebert at (704) 455-6814 Monday 9 am-5 pm How important is this dinner rated among racers? Among those scheduled to attend is actor Paul Newman co-owner of Mario Andretti's team At the risk of sounding provincial I'm going to reveal my vote I was honored to be a member of the media panel My ballot went to Petty And not just because of his record 200 Winston Cup victories and seven championships think Richard Petty is the driver of the quarter century beyond the checkered flags his sport contributed to him He earned it because of the humanity and the smile and the availability to fans that certainly in someway drew spectators to all forms of motorsports It's my guess though that either Mario Andretti or Al Foyt will be the winner Probably Andretti The little likable Italian from Pennsylvanian has won at the top level in every type of car he ever has driven No other driver in the world can claim such an accomplishment Still it's a shame that only one man will be acclaimed as the best to push a medal in the last 25 years Godspeed to every one of them tA rs'L ''t 1171 r- 1 44 1 t5 A I ot '7p 9 4r A 0 t' 'N 1 0 kik 1 ve''' 444' e' f9 i 4 4e' i-' 1tr 1-it- It 44 1 4: it 4-7J ''1(0 ''f''' lif Sten 1- i 'y 1' i '-'''t ''''N Ns Associated Press point Winston Cup points lead despite a 30thplace finish last week at Martinsville had plenty to holds a 112- North Wilkesboro: il Charlotte race week: A Best days to go Wednesday is Pole Night when Winston Cup drivers qualify for positions 1-20 for Sunday's race Drivers run two laps alone Their fastest lap typically the first counts as their qualifying time and determines the order they'll start Sunday's Mello 500 Saturday is the All Pro Auto Parts 300 which figures to be critical in the Grand National points race currently a battle between Todd Bodine and Joe Nemechek It's a chance to see racing's stars of tomorrow like Jeff Gordon plus catch some Winston Cup drivers in action Sunday is the Mello Ye Ito 500 which could help settle the race for the Winston Cup championship Bill Elliott holds a 112-point edge on Davey Allison before today's North Wilkesboro race going in It's also Richard Petty's last race in Charlotte What's happening Wednesday Gates open at 3 pm Winston pole qualifying begins at 7 pm followed by the Winston Sportsman 100 race at 9 pm It's the first time a sportsman race which features weekend drivers has been run at night Thursday The second-round of Winston Cup qualifying to set positions 21-40 starts at 1:30 pm Grand National drivers follow at 2 pm each driving one lap to determine the starting lineup for Saturday's All Pro Auto Parts 300 Friday At 2 pm the remaining Grand National drivers race 40 laps to determine starting positions 33-42 for Saturday's race Sportsman Division drivers qualify at 2:45 pm and the grandstands clear at 5 pm Gates reopen at 6:30 pm for all sorts of night racing: an MR0 Grand Championship Kart Race Legends Car race motorcycle race and Shelby Can Am Race Saturday The Duron Paints Sportsman 100 Race begins at 11 am followed by the All Pro Auto Parts 300 at 1:10 pm Sunday Pre-race festivities begin at 11:40 am Drivers are introduced at 12:20 pm and the race begins at 1:10 pm Fighting the traffic Leave early and plan to arrive by 11 am Sunday in time for the pre-race show This year's theme "Racing's Royal Circus A Show Fit for a King" Expect an explosive finale in typical Speedway style What to bring Most seats have backs cushions make them more comfortable suntan lotion a hat or visor coolers are OK as long as they're small a stopwatch is the best way to follow the action binoculars Undoubtedly the greatest assembly of auto racing greats ever to gather in the Carolinas will break bread together Tuesday night at the Speedway Club Who's going to be at the swank Charlotte Motor Speedway facility on the eve of qualifying for the Mello Ye llo 500 scheduled Sunday at the I5-mile track? Let's list them alphabetically: Mario Andretti Dale Earnhardt Foyt Don Garlits Rick Mears David Pearson Richard Petty Darrell Waltrip Cale Yarborough Al Unser Sr would be there too but he'll be away keeping a previous commitment in the Far East The occasion is selection of the driver of the quarter century More than one title on the line Race Continued from page 1C track and gets a little help from a General Motors nameplate other than Chevrolet it would clinch the NASCAR Manufacturers' championship for the Thunderbird troupe That's a title that Ford has not won get this since 1969 and the trophy is coveted by the company's top brass Ford appeared en route to a rout this season winning the first nine races Then the General Motors teams caught up and made it interesting again Geoff Bodine's victory Monday in the rain-delayed Goody's 500 at Martinsville Speedway gave Ford a 20-point lead with five races left Should a Thunderbird win at North Wilkesboro and a Pontiac or Olds finish ahead of the top Chevy Ford would clinch Ford would have a 25-point lead with four races to go starting with the Mello Ye llo 500 next Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway and Chevy could gain no more than 24 points It's a rather complicated scoring system but a fair one Here's how it works: Only the highest finishing driver of each manufacturer's entries earns points for his make of car on a 9-6-4-3 point system For example Geoff Bodine earned nine points for Ford at Martinsville Rusty Wallace six for Pontiac Rick Mast four for Olds and Ricky Rudd three for Chevy The season breakdown is this: Ford 167 points 12 wins Chevy 147 points 8 wins Olds 108 points 2 wins Pontiac 106 points 2 wins Now back to that chase for the individual championship which Elliott won in 1988 and which Allison and Kulwicki never have taken Elliott in his first season as driver for the nearby Ingles Hollow-based team of local legend Junior Johnson has a 112-point lead toward the Winston Cup that will be awarded in December His advantage was 131 until Monday when the seemingly "bulletproof" No 11 Ford had an engine problem at Martinsville and Elliott finished 30th in a 31-car field That not only renewed the hopes of Allison who had led Signups Send information about signups to: Signups Brad Johnson Observer Sports PO Box 32188 Charlotte NC 28232 Please be sure to include date of signup phone number and hours it may be called Signups calendar is for nonprofit organizations Only and will run every Sunday Baseball Clark Griffith: Teams wanted for Clark Griffith fall league for 16-year-olds Call David McManus at 542-1705 Basketball Stanley Youth: Signups Nov 21 for ages 6-9 (co-ed) 10-12 (boys and girls) 13-15 (boys) 16-18 (boys) Call David Smith at (704) 263-4779 Starclaira Athletic: Signups Oct 10 17 24 31 (9 am-noon at Montclaire Elementary) and Nov 7 (9 am-noon at Smith Jr High) for boys and girls ages 5-18 Call Bill Eldridge at 552-2763 (after 6 pm) Weepark Youth: Tryouts Oct 10 for boys and girls ages 6-12 at Nations Ford Road Elementary at 10 am-1 pm Call Larry Tyson (704) 588-1058 Mecklenburg Parks and Rec: Youth (ages 5-15) registration through Nov 7 Call (704) 568-3363 3-on-3: Registration deadline for a 3-on-3 tournament Oct 31 at Mt Holly Jr High is Oct 26 Entry fee is $45 Call Danny Jackson at (704) 364-7810 Woman's tournament: Registration is going on for Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation women's invitational tournament to be held Nov 13-15 at Grady Cole Center Entry fee is $100 Call Cynthia Smith-Perkins at (704) 336-2095 Cheer leading Starclaire Athletic: Signups Oct 10 17 24 31 (9 am-noon at Elementary) and Nov 7 (9 am-noon at Smith Jr Car Speed St No 117133 17 17 116877 18 25 116550 19 1 116369 20 66 116321 21 43 116309 22 45 116267 23 30 116219 24 68 116093 25 55 116057 26 10 116039 27 16 116009 28 33 115932 29 41 115753 30 90 115699 31 12 115628 32 71 Driver Darrell Waltrip Ken Schrader Rick Mast Jimmy Hensley Richard Petty Rich Bickle Michael Waltip Bobby Hamilton Ted Musgrave Derrike Cope Wally Dallenbach Harry Gant Dave Marcis Hut Stricklin Jeff Purvis Jim Sauter Motorsports TONI HIGGINS All this came about last December in New York when Michael Andretti the Indy Car driving champion became the first second generation driver of the year honored in an undertaking sponsored by Pittsburgh businessman Ki Cuyler It was the 25th anniversary of the award "Hey" Cuyler said "Why don't we pick the top guy for the last 25 years?" The Charlotte black-tie dinner is the result They're chasing Bill: Bill Elliott has smile about this season He still It Today's lineup The lineup for today's Tyson 400 at Car St No 1 7 2 2 3 15 4 42 5 5 6 22 7 94 8 4 9 21 10 18 11 26 12 8 13 3 14 28 15 11 16 6 Driver Alan Kulwicki Rusty Wallace Geoff Bodine Kyle Petty Ricky Rudd Sterling Marlin Terry Labonte Ernie Irvan Morgan Shepherd Dale Jarrett Brett Bodine Dick Trickle Dale Earnhardt Davey Allison Bill Elliott Mark Martin the point standings all season until experiencing a horrifying crash in July in the Miller 500 at Pocono (Pa) Raceway that left him with serious arm and hand injuries But Kulwicki suddenly has a mathematical chance too Kulwicki is 191 points behind and he's starting on the pole today after qualifying Friday at I 17133 mph "Realistically Bill and Davey would have to have their cars break a bunch for us to catch up" said Kulwicki who tied Elliott's nominal teammate Sterling Marlin for the season pole lead with High) for girls ages 5-14 Call Bill Eldridge at 552-2763 (after 6 pm) Mecklenburg Park and Rec: Registration through Nov 7 for ages 4-15 at Methodist Home Recreation Center Call (704) 568-3363 Crew Charlotte Crew Offers both Sweep Rowing and Sculling Team competes locally and regionally Season runs from March 1-November 1 Call (704) 334-4068 Soccer Special Olympics: Officials and line judges (high school age and up) needed for the NC Special Olympics State Games being held at UNCC Oct 16-18 Call David Lail at (704) 563-6203 Charlotte Mecklenburg Special Olympica: Registration for youth and adults Volunteers also needed Call (704) 529-1699 Methodist Home Rec: Coaches need for ages 5-6 10-under I2-under and 14-under Call (704) 568-3363 Charlotte United Lions White '111: Tryouts Monday at 5:30 pm at McAlpine Creek Park Call Tom Fennimore at 372-1091 Charlotte United U176: Tryouts for classic travel team Saturday at 9 am at Car mel Park Call Steve Deshevich at 542-1697 Over-30 Leagues: Men's women's and co-ed leagues for players (30-over) being formed in Charlotte Call Jim Glauser at (704) 846-0676 -v-6 League: Charlotte six-vs-six teams and players needed for adult league in Charlotte Also teams needed for full-size match league Call (704)374-1115 Softball All-Star team: WD Construction seeking players (16-year-olds) tor traveling team Call (704) 392-4913 iA I 14 A -4c- 1 ii 'it 'K ii' 1 g'' Car Ford Pontiac Ford Pontiac Chevy Ford Olds Chevy Ford Chevy Ford Ford Chevy Ford Ford Ford at Is fee Jr at fee Nov fan's guide IMI are essential With a $25 headset radio you can tune in commentary and cut out noise If you can do without commentary a pair of earplugs do the trick Tickets In racing the higher the seat the better That's where you can best see all the action Unfortunately what's left for the Mello 500 is close to the track: Rows 1-3 on the front stretch $45 and $56 Rows 13 and below on the back stretch $30 and $40 Children 6-12 are admitted for $3 children under 6 are admitted free Unreserved seats in the family grandstand where no alcohol is allowed are $30 and go on sale the day of the race If it's a party you're looking for consider the infield It opens Thursday at 8 pm Infield prices: $15 per car for one or two days $20 per pick-up or camper one or two days $45 per person for both Saturday and Sunday $30 per person for Sunday only $10 per child ages 6-12 'both Saturday and Sunday $5 per child ages 6-12 Sunday only For Saturday andor Sunday $40 per recreational vehicle each person in an RV must pay $45 for two days (Saturday and Sunday) or $30 for Sunday only in addition to the RV charge More tickets remain early in the week: Pole Day tickets (Wednesday) are $10 in advance $15 at the gate Seats are unreserved Children 6-12 get in for $1 children under 6 free Wednesday tickets are good Thursday too Tickets for Friday's qualifying races are $7 in advance $10 at the gate Children 6-12 $1 under 6 free Tickets for Saturday's All Pro Auto Parts 300 range from $15 to $45 for adults for children Call (704) 455-3200 for tickets Getting autographs Fans in the infield sometimes stumble upon drivers and most are happy to oblige with autographs What to bring home The season's hottest souvenir has been Petty cars a series of die-cast cars commemorating each of Richard Petty's races this season They're $15 cash only Special-issue tickets to Pole Night commemorating Petty's final qualifying run make good souvenirs Same goes for this year's program which costs $10 and comes with a free die-cast race car that normally sells for $15 He has also approached the US Tennis Association about bringing a national junior tournament to the club next summer Teaching staff Herrmann claims to have assembled the best teaching staff in Charlotte all of whom worked with his Charlotte Junior Tennis Program in the past They'll work with youngsters ages 4-6 on a five-to-one student-teacher ratio and as small as three-to-one with advanced players "I'm a stickler about keeping those ratios small because I want to make sure these kids learn to hit the ball" Herrmann says "We're not a baby-sitting service with 20 kids on a court out there The parents pay a couple of extra bucks for it but they feel it's worth it" Herrmann's staff consists of: Penny Brawley and Don Cline UNCC's women's and men's coaches Melissa Smith head pro at Barclay Downs Swim Club Patricia Dunlop a former UNCC player and Linda Collins who has coached juniors in the Queen City Junior Leagues 1 Car Speed Chevy 115562 Chevy 115503 Olds 115373 Ford 115213 Pontiac 114995 Ford 114978 Pontiac 114972 Ford 114849 Ford 114831 Chevy 114778 Ford 114667 Olds 114387 Chevy 114376 Ford 113820 Chevy Prov Chevy Prov Laborite Olds Ernie Irvan Chevy Shepherd Ford and Dale Jarrett Chevy The Winston Cup schedule will be expanded to 30 races in 1993 The new event with be held at New Hampshire International Speedway a 1-mile track in Loudon NH The race will be held July 11 filling a current open date following the Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway Grand National races have been held at the New Hampshire track the past two seasons Herrmann will restart By LIZ CLARKE Staff Writer After an 18-month's absence a familiar face in Charlotte junior tennis is back Only this time teaching pro Ken Herrmann is at the Charlotte Tennis Club where he has taken over the duties of tennis director Herrmann 26 built a name for himself at Olde Providence Racquet Club where he developed and directed the Charlotte Junior Tennis Program Open to all youngsters the program offered five levels of tennis instruction based on age and ability Herrmann left Olde Providence to pursue a modeling career which took him to New York Paris Milan and beyond Back to Charlotte Earlier this summer he decided to move back from Chicago his temporary home base and get involved again in Charlotte tennis "I maybe have a good six or seven years left in the modeling business but even though I'm pursuing that I'll be based in Charlotte" Herrmann says returns to Charlotte junior tennis program five "But were going to go for it this is our best-ever season and we want to finish it with a flourish "I think we can win Sunday If we do maybe that'll make the windup of the season a little more interesting for the fans and they're the ones who count the most" Only Kulwicki a pole winner for the 23rd time in his career qualified in excess of 117 mph Starting second through 10th: Wallace Pontiac Geoff Bodine Ford Kyle Petty the circuit's most consistent driver recently Pontiac Rudd Chevy Marlin Ford Terry UPCOMING TOURNAMENTS Friday-Sunday Faith: USSSA Women's Class A-D tournament at Faith Jaycee Park Entry fee is $150 Call Kermit Cruse (704) 786-1692 Saturday-Sunday Rockingham: Fall Bash open tournament at Bloomfield field Entry fee is 685 Call (919) 997-6454 Oct18-18 Faith: USSSA Men's Class tournament at Faith Jaycee Park Entry fee $150 Call (704) 786-1692 Oct 16-18 Salisbury: USSSA Mixed tournament at Salisbury Park and Rec Entry is $150 Call (704) 786-1692 Rugby Charlotte Rugby Club: Tryouts Tuesday's and Thursday's at 7 pm at Old Berryhill School grounds Call George Miller at (704) 358-0595 Running Charlotte Athletics: TAC running organization hold cross-country practice every Monday Tuesday and Thursday at McAlpine Park at 6 pm for all ages Call Jim Parrish at (704) 339-0030 Also off-season conditioning program for sprinters and field event athletes on Monday's Wednesday's and Friday's at 6 pm at Cochrane High Call (704)347-5732 UPCOMING RACES Saturday Charlotte: Any Man's Triathlon 15-mile bike 112-mile run 200 yard swim) Harris YMCA starting at 7:15 am Entry is $10 for YMCA members and $20 for others To register call (704) 552-9622 Volleyball Junior Olympic: Tryouts for Queen City Rivals for 18-under and 18-under divisions 15 at 2 pm at Charlotte Latin Call Suzie Pignettl at (704) 362-7207 4 INSIDE TENNIS "I'll take Charlotte over Chicago any day as far as the winters go" Herrmann's forte is junior development and he has worked with many of Charlotte's top juniors: David Britt Brandon Brookshire Brian and Laura Cowman Elizabeth Megordan Jennifer Overstreet Ashley Shaw Stuart Sheri II and Donna Williams He'll continue working with juniors at Charlotte Tennis Club where he plans to base the third season of his Charlotte Junior Tennis Program It's open to all children and juniors who want to enroll Herrmann will also work with the club's adults He'll coach some as well as organize more activities Among his ideas is a fund raiser for UNCC's tennis team planned Nov 14 Sixteen players from UNCC's men's and women's teams will take on 16 adults at CIC who'll pay $20 to enter Proceeeds benefit the 49ers' tennis team i i I I.