The Charlotte Observer from Charlotte, North Carolina • 16

6B THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER Tuesday May 24 1994 MOTORSPORTS Waltrip got worst of wreck Motorsports TOM HIGGINS 600 Week schedule Today Sportsman practice 14 pm Gates open 3 pm Sportsman qualifying (Positions 1-40 1 lap) 5-7 pm Sportsman practice 8-10 pm Wednesday Winston Cup practice 1-5 pm Gates open 3 pm Legends races 5 pm 600 qualifying (Positions 1-20 2 laps) 7 pm Sportsman 100 (67 laps) 9 pm Thursday Grand National practice 10 am-noon Gates open 11am Winston Cup practice 1 :30 pm Grand National practice pm Winston Cup qualifying (Positions 21-40 2 laps) 2:30 pm Grand National qualifying (Positions 1-30 1 lap) 3 pm Sportsman practice 5-6 pm Winston Cup practice 7-8 pm Friday Gates open 8 am Sportsman practice 8-9 am Grand National practice 9-10 am Sportsman practice 10-11 am Grand National practice 11 am-noon Grand National practice pm Sportsman practice pm Champion Spark Plug 300 qualifying race (Positions 30-42 40 laps) 2 pm Sportsman qualifying (Positions 1-40 1 lap) 2:45 pm Grand National practice pm Sportsman practice pm Saturday Gates open 8 am Winston Cup practice 9-10 am Duron Paints 100 (Sportsman) race 1 1 am Champion Spark Plug 300 1 pm Final Winston Cup practice pm Sunday Gates open noon Pre-race entertainment 1:30 pm Driver introductions 4:30 pm Coca-Cola 600 5 pm private plane near Blountville Tenn Zeck who has a 385 grade-point average will begin attending UNCC in August seeking a mechanical engineering degree a degree Kulwicki held Zeck 18 got his NASCAR driving license in 1992 and was rookie of the year in the mini-stock division at Redwood Acres Raceway He also was top rookie last season in the Late Model Sportsman division "1 began following Alan Kulwicki as he struggled to the top of Winston Cup Zeck said "His life is now a basic outline for me to Retired NASCAR star Donnie Allison will race his son-in-law Winston Cup regular Hut Stricklin tonight at the Charlotte track in a 10-lap match race in down-sized Legends Cars the two will compete as part of co-hosting a telecast of Legends racing on SportSouth from 8-11 pm following Sportsman Division practice and qualifying for the 100 on Wednesday Gates open at 5 pm and tickets are $5 sons Kenny and twins Ronald and Donald built the Legends Cars The feuding" continues Friday night when Winston Select winner Geoff Bodine and younger brother Todd co-host another Legends telecast and run a 10-lap race think got a great car for the 600 decide Wednesday after I practice and see how the shoulder Best performance by a nonwinner in the Winston Select? No contest It had to be Ken Schrader The Chevrolet driver lists $463500 in winnings He has finished second three times 1989-91 and third twice in and again Saturday night Schrader led 10 laps in the most recent running including Laps 65-67 of 70 then both winner Geoff Bodine and Sterling Marlin got by Grand National driver Doug Heveron has been fined $1000 and placed on a three-race probation following an incident in Sunday's Meridian Advantage 200 at Nazareth (Pa) Speedway After being involved in an accident Heveron got out of his car stood on the track and threw his helmet at the car driven by Ronald Cooper The probation does not prohibit Heveron from driving Ryan Zeck a senior at Eureka High in California has been named the first recipient of the Alan Kulwicki Memorial Scholarship The grant was established last year by Charlotte Motor Speedway and UNCC in honor of Kulwicki the 1992 Winston Cup champion who died April 1 1993 along with three others in the crash of a Michael Waltrip remembers the whole grinding wreck until he crawled out of his car Saturday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway Then nothing Waltrip driver of the Bahari Racing Pontiac was the most senously injured among the 1 1 competitors involved in a wild crash in the Winston Open He suffered a broken right shoulder blade that has tempered his hopes for this races at the 15-mile Charlotte track going to have Kenny Wallace standing by to relief-drive for me in the 600 if he's needed" Waltrip said Monday "Jeff Green will be at the track to take over my (Grand National) car if I can't go" Wallace is the Grand National division point standings leader Green a member of Mooresville-based crew finished third earlier this season in a 200-lap Grand National event at Bristol (Tenn) Raceway in a Pontiac personally fielded by Waltrip The big wreck that hurt Waltrip came on the 30th of 50 laps in the qualifying race leading to the Winston Select Ward tap spun Dave Marcis as the lead pack barreled into Turn 1 full bore and a cham-reaction crash resulted "I was running about 12th up from starting 27th and felt I had a good chance to finish in the top six and advance to the main event" Waltrip said "Then all of a sudden my spotter was yelling 'Go low! Go I got down there and barely hit Wally Dallenbach 1 was OK 1 thought then Dave came off the wall and hooked me I went straight into the wall hard "I let my window net down so the rescue crews could go to someone else in case they were badly hurt I decided 'Well I might as well get out of this and went out the window When I stood up for some reason things went It was a chilling sight Waltrip stretched out on the asphalt alongside his crashed car and passed out "Next thing I remember was a driver buddy Dale Jarrett looking down at me" Waltrip said come to the infield medical center to see if I was doing OK think I can dnve this weekend I went to the shop today and felt comfortable in the cars I really want to run the 300 because the defending champion And we Young drivers lack style Sorensen Continued from page IB Tire war could be a more even battle for 600 segment of the three-increment Select "We think we have a great tire for the Charlotte Newton said Newton returning to Winston Cup racing for the first time since mid-1989 essentially withdrew his tires from the season-opening Daytona 500 Drivers complained that their cars handle well on Hoosiers In the intervening nine regular-season races Hoosier has had only a few customers mainly the teams of Bodine the Burton brothers and Sacks Waltrip withdrew from the Hoosier fold at the Hanes 500 at Martinsville (Va) Speedway in April and has since been a "free agent" think now where we want to be for the rest of the year said Newton who also provides tires for many of the short-track series across the country including small-town weekly shows feel have half the field before the season is He might have almost half of it as soon as the 600 Ward Burton ninth and Nemechek 10th The results have a lot of teams thinking about using Hoosiers rather than longtime Winston Cup tire supplier Goodyear for 600 They must make a decision by Wednesday when qualifying for the third of the Big Four races is scheduled to begin at 7 pm Teams are required by NASCAR to use the same brand of tire in a race that they mount for time trials Teams are limited to three sets of tires for practice and qualifying Many almost certainly will buy two sets of one brand and one set of the other compare their the speed and durability in practice and then decide which tires to use for the longest Winston Cup race Some of rivals who have Goodyear contracts already are conceding the 600 pole to the winner of the all-star show However they feel the Goodyears will be competitive in the race citing Ernie strong run on that brand prior to crashing Saturday night while trying to pass Bodine at the finish of the second By TOM HIGGINS Stall Writer Bob Newton founder and president of Hoosier Tires envisioned the spring Charlotte races the Winston Open Winston Select and Coca-Cola 600 as "the break-over point" for his return to big-time NASCAR racing It appears Newton may have called his shot Team ownerdriver Geoff Bodine won Saturday Select all-star event at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Hoosiers and afterward raved about their performance Rookie Joe Nemechek also on Hoosiers took the pole for the Open at 181519 mph a one-lap record for the 15-mile track The three other top qualifiers also were using that brand of tire Four of the six drivers advancing from the Open to the Select main event Nemechek Greg Sacks Jeff and Ward Burton had Hoosier tires on their cars Darrell Waltrip finished fourth in the all-star show on Hoosiers while Jeff Burton was sixth things happen and making a move days are just about over he says you go as hard as you can and hope your car wear out" not his style but he still prefers the car to the desk "I love to race I love to drive the car 1 love working on the car being with my guys my crew going to the track not anything about it I dislike" he says "But not as much respect as like to Waltrip says the sport has undergone a "changing of the guard and the caliber of drivers where in their career they are they lack the experience never been there before There are a lot of drivers in cars on established teams but they are not driving to that level And everybody has to pay the price He makes the wrong moves the whole team Waltrip says that on faster tracks such as Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Super Speedway he no longer trusts drivers enough to go into the corners with them trust racing that close at that speed" he says "I get real emotional at those tracks 1 use the analogy the eye of a storm The eye of the storm can tear you to pieces and why at Daytona or Talladega I want to be in front And if 1 run in front I want to be in Who do you trust? "(Bill) Waltrip says right away "Rusty he adds "Harry Gant Mark Who you trust? "The Waltrip says He has parlayed his success into his own team DarWal Inc It might be the only garage on the circuit with a floor so clean a gentleman could eat off it On Waltnp's desk are a bnefcase a calendar a manila folder a legal-sized notebook a cup full of pens and four remote control devices The desk suits him He is comfortable there am developing a team here" Waltnp says "This is our fourth season and real close If somebody can build a better car my off to This is everything I know how to do" The plan is for the team to endure when the driver retires But the driver is not ready to retire What he asks for what he hopes he can attain this season if not this Sunday is a car that enables him to compete He wants to be with the leaders at the end they see me in their rearview mirror they have a different attitude" Waltnp says "They check their guns have I fired four shots or have I fired five? that Clint Eastwood But he admits the style that won him so many races the waiting game he calls it no longer is effective Fifteen years ago only a few cars were capable of winning Now there are many more too many to wait out being patient letting It Takes Your Satisfaction Guarantee with his 100 satisfaction guarantee Whatever it takes what do to make sure got the best products and the best service for your indoor comfort needs built most efficient cooling products on the market and superior 24 hour customer service A Carrier Master Dealer also gives you total peace of mind When it comes to cooling your home your Carrier Master Dealer has made the ultimate commitment to customer satisfaction with extensive training more product choices the best Danny Phillips Ross Witmer in Charlotte 392-6188 Bud Parks Parks Heating Cooling Inc in Charlotte 596-8200 Brian Houser Reinhardt Heating AC Inc inLincolnton 735-4919 Bill Calloway Ralph Furr All Temp Co Inc in Charlotte 53 1-9986 System accessories only Call for details nt We JustTake Care Of CarsWeTake Care Of PeopIeWho DriveThem cellular 4UDICFOX "PRT9000" MXWOX "MVX525" 92 oz with Hi Cap Battery 1 00 MiniTalk Time New Nmh Battery Technology 101 Alpha Memory 2 one touch speed aial 3 Yr Mfg Limited Warr MOTOROLA "THE FLIP" Ext life battery Signal strength meter 30 memory -Call timers New steef gray color STARTER KIT: Only Spare Battery Case Cig 95 Lighter Battery Eliminator mmG IBSTABUYA 1 00 Memory Free 1 Yr Mfg Limifed Warranty Redial BATTERY A CHARGERS WPUKHA REG 95 Reg $295 00 tJtoichargeiDurlngMay! 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