The Charlotte Observer from Charlotte, North Carolina • 28

iWMyiy iiyin 22A THE IARLOTTF ORSFR VFR ThnreHau k4i i nn-i 6 THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER Thursday Mav 26 1W4 MOTORSPORTS UPDATE WOGKEHI Tension builds for John Andretti as he races toward daily double Paul fiosner Ala -BKmmgham 8-1 8-1 Brandon Coupe Sen Jos 9t Peter Kuhn South Alabama 8-1 81 Joakim Appelgvist Mississippi Sargis Sargsian (4) Arizona Si 82 8-2 Arl Nathan Pepperdm Phil Cooper Wtchria 8t 81 6-2 Ivan Keskmov Fresno SI Mb-hash Bhupathi Mississippi 83 3-0 retired Laurent Orsmsi (6) Mississippi St Dan Brakes Michigan 6-3 80 Pedro Braga Louisiana St Herman Vandecasleele BYU 83 82 Jamie Laschmger Georgia Roger Pettersson UNLV 7-8 (7-5) 82 Mark Merkleln (5) Florida Jeff Salzenstein Stanford 81 7-8 (8-6) Chris Mahony Tennessee Maxsy Jimenez South Carolina 7-8 (7-1) 81 Srdan Muskatirovlc Miami Robert Devons Stanford 82 8-4 Michael Flanagan Stanford Rosa Nwachukwa Drake 82 83: Jon Leach Southern Cal Bobby Mariencheck Georgia 8-4 82 Wayne Black (1) Southern Cal Carlos Engel Auburn 6-3 6-1 Ward gets to front stays there 1 knar vs Gam 2 losar noon Game 5 Game 1 winner vs Game loser 4 pm Game 6 Game 2 winner vs Game 3 winner 8 pm SundayMonday Pairings TBD Midwest II Regional At Wichita Kan Friday Gama 1 Georgia Tech (43-15) vs Connecticut (30-16) noon Game 2 Long Beach Stale (39-17) vs Washington (42-16) 330 pm: Game 3 Wichita State (45-15) vs Santa Clara (39-18) 8 Saturday Game 4 Game 1 loser vs Gama 2 loser noon Game 5 Game 1 winner vs Gama 3 loser 330 Game 6 Game 2 winner vs Game 3 winner 8 pm SundayMonday Pairings TBD College World Series At Rosenblatt Stadium Omaha Neb (Double elimination) Friday Jun 3 Game 1 Team A vs Team 3 36 Game 2 Team vs Team 7 36 Saturday June 4 Game 3 Team vs Team 1 06 Game 4 Team vs Team 7 36 Sunday Jun 5 Game 5 Game 1 winner vs Game 2 winner 3 36 Game 6 Game 1 loser vs Game 2 loser 7:36 Monday June 8 Game 7 Game 3 loser vs Game 4 6 pm Game 8 Game 3 winner vs Game 4 winner 736 Tuesday June 7 Game 9 Game 5 loser vs Game 6 winner 338 Game 10 Game 8 loser vs Game 7 winner 7 36 pm Wednesday June Game 1 1 Game 5 winner vs Game 9 winner 7 36 pm Thursday Jun 9 x-Game 12 Game 8 winner vs Gama 10 winner 3 36 or 7 36 pm Friday Jun 10 Game 13 Game 11 teams or Game 12 teams 3 36 if necessary Game 14 Game 12 teams 736 If necessary Saturday Jun 11 Championship Bracket winners 106 By LIZ CLARKE Stall Writer As he waited to run his qualifying laps at Charlotte Motor Speedway Wednesday John Andretti help but wish kept his plans to himself Afterward he was ready to tell the world he intends to make history this weekend as the first driver to run the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 the same day lap of 178542 mph sealed his dream guaranteeing him the ninth starting spot Coca-Cola 600 in Earlier Sunday start 10th in the Indy 500 COLLEGE first of two laps He bottomed out on his second lap sending sparks flying in the cool night air a race-car-driving son-of-a-gun" a crew member said as Andretti climbed from his car beaming like a baby Team manager Gene Wilson hugged his neck man!" Wilson said "Good Andretti's wife Nancy videotaped the moment as TV cameras radio announcers and newspaper reporters gathered around There had been serious doubt about whether Andretti would make the race He had failed to qualify at Bristol Tenn in April and his best previous start had been 15th at Daytona NASCAR officials worried by the possibility were poring over their rule book trying to figure out what to do if a relief driver were needed to qualify car for him in second-round qualifying today when Andretti flies to Indianapolis for Carburetion Day the last chance for Indy 500 practice Even Andretti mulled the possibility sitting alone in the back of his truck nervous about tonight" he said I'm always nervous when there are so many good cars It takes nothing to mess up in one of these cars" Between practice laps the questions kept coming: Who would fill in for him if he make the 20-car cut? Was he worried? Were his sponsors worried? sort of like getting asked when I got started about being an Andretti there any he said prefer nobody talked about it until it was over Now with 1100 miles of racing ahead of him Sunday the question of pressure remains going to be extremely difficult as competitive as it said Andretti who has been following a heavy diet of carbohydrates to prepare for what he expects will be the toughest day ever spent in a race car you got a good night's sleep and are having the best day of your life hard to run at the front When you've already run a race probably giving up a bit know find out You never know until you PROFESSIONAL Stanley Cup Playoffs CONFERENCE FINALS (Bestof-7) EASTERN CONFERENCE New Jereey ve NY Ranger Serial lied 3-3 8un-New Jersey 4 Rangers 3 20T Tue-N Rangers 4 New Jersey 0 Ttru-NY Rangers 3 New Jersey 2 20T Set-New Jersey 3 NY Rangers 1 Mon-New Jersey 4 NY Rangers 1 Wed-Rangers 4 Jersey 2 Mey 27-N Jersey at Rangers 73Bpm WESTERN CONFERENCE Vancouver va Toronto Vancouver wins eerie 4-1 Mon-T oronto 3 Vancouver 2 OT Wed-Vancouver 4 Toronto 3 Frl-Vancouver 4 Toronto 0 Sun -Vancouver 2 Toronto 0 Tu-Vancouver4 Toronto 3 20T STANLEY CUP FINALS (Best-of-7) Tue-Vancouver at NY RangersNew Jersey TBA Jun 2-Vancouver at NY RangersNew Jersey TBA June 4-NY RangersNew Jersey at Vancouver TBA June 7-NY RangersNew Jersey at Vancouver TBA iJune 9-Vancouver at NY RangersNew Jersey TBA aJune 11 -NY RangersNew Jersey at Vancouver TBA (June 14-Vancouver at NY RangersNew Jersey TBA Playoff Scoring Leaders QP A PTS PIM Glmour Tor 18 6 22 28 42 Bure Vat 17 13 10 23 25 Linden Van 17 9 11 20 12 LeeftJi NYR 14 5 15 20 2 Messer NYR 14 7 11 18 14 LanonovSJ 14 5 13 18 10 ElettTor 18 3 15 18 31 dark Tor 18 9 7 16 24 Lemeux NJ 18 6 10 16 42 MacLean NJ 18 6 10 16 22 MronovTor 18 6 9 15 6 Courinal Van 17 5 9 14 40 IHL Playoff Glance CHAMPIONSHIP (Best-ol-7) Atlanta vs Fort Wayne Atlanta wins series 4-2 Sat-Atlanta 7 Fort Wayne 4 Sun-Atlanta 1 Fort Wayne 0 Tue-Fort Wayne 3 Atlanta 1 Thu-Atlanta 7 Fort Wayne 6 Sun-Fort Wayne 5 Atlanta 3 Wed-ASanta 1 Fal Wayne 1 AHL Playoff Glance CALDER CUP (Best-ol-7) Portland leads senes 2-1 Fri-Portland 5 Moncton 1 Sat-Moncton 6 Portland 2 Mon-Portland 4 Moncton 3 Wed-Portland at Moncton late Fri-Portland at Moncton 6 30 xSun-Moncton at Portland 7 pm xTue-Moncton at Portland730 x-if necessary NCAA 1 Championships Leading scores Wednesday after the first round of the NCAA women's golf championships played on the 5985-yard par-73 Oregon Golf Club course In Weat Linn Or: Caroline Peek Furman Emlee Klein Arizona St 3336-68 Jenrvler Behn Southern Cal Stephanie Sparks Duke 3636-71 Wendy Ward Anzona St 3636-72 Jennifer Chrx UCIA 3636-72 Nadre Ash Texas 3638-73 Mara Dunn unattached Mhan McKay Stanford Stephanie Nel WfeF 3736-73 Lisa Wallon San Jose St 3439-73 Laura PhtoWakeF 3736-73 HedVoothees Southern Cal Shannon Hare Oregon Mana Bank Tiisa 3836-74 Meredith Tucker No CarrSna 3737-74 Ebabelh Horton unattached Jenny Paik UCLA Abb Pearson Term Knstma Edlors unattached not like having your first baby but pretty Andretti said of the pressure to make stock-car event just know going to happen All that goes through your mind is what bad things can happen" Andretti made the field in his rMwtmn ARENA LEAGUE Arena Football Glance American Conference Texas Tulsa San Jose St Oregon TmpaBay 0 1 000 39 44 Today's Gam Massachusetts at Las Vegas Friday's Games Charlotte at Miami Orlando at Milwaukee 305 305 306 306 Florida St 311 Oklahoma 312 Indiana 313 Stanford 314 OkahomaSt 315 North Carolina 316 Tennessee 317 Florida 325 MOTORSPORTS NASCAR HOLE-IN-ONE PROFESSIONAL Monty Williams scored a hole-in-one on the 171-yard hole No 11 at Raintree Country Club's South Course Monday using a 4-iron Maury Casey aced the 130-yard No 1 1 hole at Charlotte Golf Links Wednesday using an 8iron TRANSACTIONS NBA Playoffs CONFERENCE FINALS (Best-ot-7) EASTERN CONFERENCE New Yorii vs Indians New Yorii leads senes 1-0 Tue-New York 100 Indiana 89 Today-lndiana at New York 8 Sat-New York at Indiana 3 30 Mon-New York at Indiana 330 pm xJune 1-lndiana at New York 9 xJune 3-New York al Indiana 9 pm xJune 5-lndiana at New York 7 pm WESTERN CONFERENCE Houston vs Utah Houston leads senes 2-0 Mon-Houston 100 Utah 88 Wed-Houston 104 Utah 99 Fri-Houston at Utah 9 pm Sun-Houston at Utah 330 pm xMay 31 -Utah at Houston 9 pm xJune 2-Houston at Utah 9 pm xJune 4 or June 5-if Saturday Utah at Houston 3 30 pm If Sunday Utah al Houston 7 pm Gordon charges ahead in car reassembled after weekend crash Sportsman 100 Final order of finish Wednesday in the Goody's 100 NASCAR Sportsman race at Charlotte Motor Speedway: I (2) Marly Ward Chevrolet 67 $3200 118818 mph 2 (10) Lester Lesneski Chevrolet 67 $2800 3 (3) Ronnie Sewell Chevrolet 67 $2400 4 (4) Gary Laton Chevrolet 67 $2100 5 (7) Jerry Rector Chevrolet 67 $1 800 6 (1) Shari Minter Chevrolet 67 $1600 7 (13) Tim Neighbors Chevrolet 67 $1400 8 (8) Gary Everett Chevrolet 67 $1200 9 (5) Tom Shenll Chevrolet 67 $1100 10 (11) Bobby Fox Jr Chevrolet 67 $1000 11 (12) Mike Gault Chevrolet 67 $900 12 (20) Andy Thurman Chevrolet 67 $800 13 (37) RC Hixson Chevrolet 66 $700 14 (15) David Smith Oldsmo-bile 66 $650 15 (18) Jeff Ninne-man Chevrolet 66 $600 16 (27) Don Satterfield Chevrolet 66 $550 17 (9) Curtis Miller Chevrolet 66 $500 18 (17) Steve Clark Chevrolet 66 $455 19 (35) Charlie Shotf-ner Pontiac 66 $1415 20 (25) Ronald Grinestaff Chevrolet 66 $385 21 (24) Sherry Blakley Buick 66 $355 22 (31) Rounder Savetartce Chevrolet 66 $335 23 (28) Alex Howard Chevrolet 66 $320 24 (36) Steward Ramseur Chevrolet 64 $310 25 (33) Ricky Baxley Chevrolet 61 $300 26 (38) Henry Benfield Ford 60 $290 27 (22) Don Wagner Chevrolet 54 $285: 28 (6) Paul Shaver Chevrolet 51 oil pressure $280 29 (26) Robin Caldwell Oldsmobile 28 oil leak $275 30 (23) Russ Galindo Chevrolet 25 bearing $270 31 (34) Pat Dunn Oldsmobile 18 transmission $265 32 (29) Robert Wooten Chevrolet II wreck $260 33 (32) Donnie Mergard Buick 3 wreck $255 34 (21) David Owens Oldsmobile wreck $250 35 (16) Glenn Darnell Chevrolet 1 wreck $245 36 (14) Mickey Hudspeth Chevrolet 1 wreck $240 37 (19) John Stroud Chevrolet 0 wreck $235 38 (30) Victor Kicera Oldsmobile 0 wreck $230 Foie By LEONARD LAYE And LIZ CLARKE Staff Writers If Marty Ward was to have any chance of winning Wednesday 100 he needed to be pretty much of a loner at Charlotte Motor Speedway Given the tightly packed and accident-laced history of the sportsman stock car racing division that figured to be a chore Yet Ward had the answer taking the lead on the first of 67 laps and never giving it up for a $3200 win car (a Chevrolet) ran real good as long as it was by said Ward It ran real loose in a draft We had it set too loose" Ward 29 from Marietta SC started second and took the lead from pole winner Shari Minter on the first lap He made it fine through two multicar accidents that brought out the caution flag for a total of 1 2 laps and he had few challenges The most serious came from eventual third-place finisher Ronnie Sewell of Shelby who twice got side-by-side with Ward but never could push ahead After his second bid with 1 5 laps remaining Ward sprinted ahead and maintained a lead of several car lengths the rest of the way he ran close to me it got me said Ward got up by me Then when we ran into slower cars he had to back Two former winners of the Coca-Cola 600 became more permanent parts of Charlotte Motor past Joe Lee Johnson winner of the first 600 in 1960 and Benny Parsons who won the event 20 years later put their autographs and footprints on cement pads to be placed on the Court of Legends Drivers previously on the court are Richard Petty brothers Bobby and Donnie Allison and the late Alan Kulwicki Felix $1 million challenge to Rusty Wallace went nowhere Wallace who switched from Pontiac to Ford before the season got attention with his response to Pontiac complaints that NASCAR rules handicapped their cars Wallace was quoted as saying he could get in a Pontiac and lap the field within 50 laps Sabates miffed challenged Wallace to get in one of his Ponti-acs and try it in the 600 promising to pay him 1 million if he succeeded "We extended the deadline for the $1 million challenge to Rusty Wallace until 6 pm said Sabates were not notified in any manner from Penske South Racing Team so we are considering this offer as being Legends drivers Jay Barber and Kirk Hanson sustained minor injuries in separate incidents in competition on the quarter-mile flat asphalt Legends track at the speedway They were checked and released from Cabarrus Memorial Infield Care Center Winners in the Legends events which utilize part of the front straightaway and pit road were John Crow pro division Bobby Decola semi-pro di vision Mike Wike Masters division and Greg Scholz Charger division The Legends cars will compete again Friday night from 5 to 1 1 pm and Saturday from 5 to 9 pm program will include a 10-lap match race between brothers Geoff and Todd Bodine Michael Waltrip was back in the seat despite a broken right shoulder blade suffered in an 1 1 -car pileup in Winston Open Select the car is like the least painful Waltrip said between practice runs really comfortable in the car Getting in and out of it is a little Waltrip plans to drive Champion Spark Plug 300 and Coca-Cola 600 although relief drivers have been lined up for both (Jeff Green David brother for Saturday Kenny Wallace for Sunday) athletic department extended a helping paw to rookie Loy Allen who bruised some ribs in the crash that collected Waltrip Saturday The Tigers sent Allen several styles of flak jackets and rib-wraps to ease his discomfort for 600 Charlotte Hornets forward Kenny Gattison was at the speedway taking in Winston Cup practice from the top of Dale hauler COLLEGE ft I took only one lap because I want to chance wrecking during a second one in the rain We running fast anyway but get some practice Thursday and get better Dale Earnhardt who was 24th fastest in qualifying truism PROFESSIONAL car securely in the Charlotte field Andretti can go to Indianapolis Motor Speedway today for Carburetion Day knowing that if he can jet back to Charlotte in time after the 500 he's in the 600 really more than 1 could have asked for" said Andretti whose best previous Winston Cup starting position in his rookie season was 15th really been worried about missing this race Now a lot of the pressure is Ernie Irvan leading the point standings toward the $125 million Winston Cup championship qualified a Ford 14th run was decent for the time of day we had to go said Irvan who drew to qualify third It was about 83 degrees when trials began shortly after 7 pm Among those failing to make the field in the first round were Rusty Wallace and Dale Earnhardt the latter tied with Irvan for the season lead in victories with three Wallace was 21st in a Ford Earnhardt 24th in a Chevy Sprinkles were falling when Earnhardt went on the track took only one lap because I want to chance wrecking during a second one in the said Earnhardt the defending champion running fast anyway but get some practice Thursday and get The 27 drivers who get a spot Wednesday night may either qualify again today at 2:30 pm or stand on their first-round time Also scheduled today at 3 pm is qualifying for positions 1-30 in Champion Spark Plug 300 a Grand National race Continued from page IB the teams of Gordon Ken Schrader and Terry Labonte said he felt his 22-year-old pole winner would have been tough regardless of when he ran of the credit goes to the young guy in the seat" said Hendrick Gordon in turn praised his crew led by Ray Evernham The team worked around the clock to replace the nose and sides of the Lumina damaged Saturday night in The Winston Select all-star race when Gordon was swept into a crash with Rusty Wallace and Dale Earnhardt Gordon had advanced to the main event by winning the Winston Open He continued in the Select after the accident finishing 14th Additionally Charlie Seegers rebuilt Saturday engine for Gordon to use in 600 qualifying owe this pole to my crew for sure" said an excited Gordon car may be even better than it was before the wreck They worked in shifts to get it ready Ray told me they finished up at 2 am (Wednesday) morning" the second straight regular season Winston Cup pole for the GordonHendrick team at its Charlotte home track Gordon also was fastest qualifier for the Mello Yello 500 last fall Gordon was timed at 29762 seconds just off record run of 29749 Tour of Italy Standings Wednesday after fourth stage of the Tour of Italy cycling race a 1268-mile leg from Montesilvano to Campitello Overall Standings (After Four Stages) I Eugeni Berzin Russia 182045 2 Gianni Bugno Italy :57 3 Wladi-mir Belli Italy -58 4 Armand De Las Cuervas France 1 00 5 Miguel In-durain Spam 1 05 6 Oscar Pelli-cioli Italy 1 06 7 Marco Giovanettl Italy 1-31 8 Stefano Della Santa Italy 132 9 Pavel Tonkov Russia 1 33 10 Marco Pantam Italy 1 43 II Andrew Hampsten Boulder Colo 153 12 Francesco Casa-grande Italy 2 07 13 Davide Rebel-lin Italy 214 14 Moreno Argentin Italy 2 55 15 Massimo Podenzana Italy 3-14 The pole made Gordon eligible for next Busch Clash at Daytona International Speedway a race he won this year Gordon qualified on Goodyear tires Nemechek had Hoosiers on his Larry Hedrick machine Qualifying third was pre-time trial favorite and Winston Select winner Geoff Bodine The Ford ownerdriver was the only other competitor in the 29-second bracket with a lap of 180036 mph Completing the top five were Schrader in a Chevy and Brett Bodine Schrader held the former 600 qualifying mark of 177352 mph set May 26 1993 Overall the top 23 topped that as positions one through 20 were decided Placing sixth through 10th Greg Sacks Ford Rick Mast Ford Ward Burton Chevy John Andretti Chevy and Labonte Chevy surprisingly strong effort improved his chances of running both the Indianapolis 500 and the 600 on the same day With his Baseball National League Suspended Allen Watson St Louis for eight games for intentionally hitting Orestes Destrade Florida IB with a pitch Destrade for tour games for charging the mound and hitting Watson and Bernard Gil-key St Louis LF for four games for making contact with an umpire during the brawl in a game on May 22 Activated Gary Sheffield OF from the 15-day disabled list Designated Orestes Destrade IB for assignment LOS Placed Darryl Strawberry OF on waivers for the purpose of giving him his unconditional release American League Placed Andre Dawson DH on the 16day disabled list Recalled Luis Ortiz 3B from Pawtucket of the International League Placed Chris Na-bholz on the 15-day disabled list Recalled Julian Tavarez from Charlotte of the International League Placed Tom Henke on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to May 17 Activated Bill Ripken INF from the 15-day disabled list Basketball CBA Approved the sale and relocation of the La Crosse Catbirds to Pittsburgh and the Rochester Renegades to Harrisburg Pa Approved the sale and relocation of the Fargo-Moorhead Fever to Mexico City pending a follow-up inspection of the facilities and area GRAND Announced the resignation of Jeff Burkhamer assistant coach to become men's basketball coach at Santa Fe Community College SIOUX Fired Roger Lyons coach USBL CONNECTICUT-Activated Corey Taylor from the taxi squad Placed Willie Sublet on the taxi squad Signed Nathan Higgs Placed Melvin Simon on the taxi squad Released Darel Washington Activated Lenear Burns and Lorenzo Duncan from the taxi squad Placed Greg Dennis on the taxi squad Football NFL Agreed to terms with Kenny Davidson DE on a three-year contract Terminated the contract of Tom Thayer LB Waived J'Karl Barnett and Leevary Covington LBe Jimmie Hopkins DE and Sean Richardson FB NEW ENGLAND-Signed Ervin Collier Joe Burch John Burke TE and Steve Hawkins NEW Named Bruce Lemmerman director of college scouting CFL Signed Reggie Thornton WR and Johyn Writ LB Signed Kevin O'Brien and Jerry Dillon LBs and Malcolm Frank CB Hockey NHL Suspended Jeff Beuke-boom New York Rangers DEF from Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals tor hitting New Jersey Devils RW Stephane Richer from behind Game 5 end knocking him unconscious ECHL RALEIGH Announced the resignation of Kurt Kletnendorst coach to become an assistant coach tor the San Diego GuNs of the International Hockey League LATEST LINE" Basketball NBA Playoffs NEW YORK 5W over Indiana Baseball National League PITTSBURGH 6W-7W over New York San Francisco Pick am SAN DIEGO Cincinnati Pick am COLORADO ATLANTA 6V-7W over Houston American League DETROIT 7-8 over California KANSAS CITY 5-6W over Texaa BOSTON 6-7 over Cleveland Home Team in CAPS mililLi' COLLEGE NCAA Div I Playoff Glance Regional (Double elimination) Atlantic I Regional At Miami Friday Game 3 Kent (33-15) vs Minnesota (40-19) noon Game 2 Florida (37-21) vs West Virginia (39-19) 345 Game 1 Miami (44-12) vs Rider (33-16-2) 7 30 Saturday Game 4 Game 1 loser vs Game 2 loser noon Game 5 Game 1 winner vs Game 3 loser 345 Game 6 Game 2 winner vs Game 3 winner 7 30 SundayMonday Pairings TBD Atlantic II Regional At Tallahasies Fla Today Game 1 Ohio State (48-7) vs Brigham Young (35-18) 11 a Game 3 Kansas (39-16) vs Jacksonville (38-22) 3 pm Game 2 Florida Slate (48-20) vs Central Michigan (38-19) 7 pm Friday Game 4 Game 1 loser vs Game 2 loser 11 am Game 5 Game 1 winner vs Game 3 loser 3 pm Game 6 Game 2 winner vs Game 3 winner 7 pm SaturdaySunday Pairings TBD East Regional Clemson SC Today Game 3 Old Dominion (39-12) vs Notre Dame (44-14) 11 a Game 2 Auburn (40-19) vs Virginia Tech (32-24) 3 pm Game 1 Clemson (55-16) vs Citadel (31-32) 7 30 Fnday Game Game 1 loser vs Game 2 loser 11am Game 5 Game 1 winner vs Game 3 loser 3 pm Game 6 Game 2 winner vs Game 3 winner 7 30 SaturdaySunday Pairings TBD Midaast Regional At Knoxville Tenn Today Game 3 Arizona State (39-16 vs Western Carolina (45-16) 11 am Game 2 North Carolina State (44-16-1) vs Wright State (38-19) 3 pm Game 1 Tennessee (49-12) vs Northeastern (35-14) 7 30 pm Friday Game 4 Game 1 loser vs Game 2 loser 11 a Game 5 Game 1 winner vs Game 3 loser 3 Game 6 Game 2 winner vs Game 3 winner 7 30 SaturdaySunday Pair-mgs TBD South Regional At Baton Rougs La Today Game 3 Tulane (40-22) vs Fresno State (36-25) noon Game 2 Southern Cal (38-18) vs UNC-Greensboro (37-16) 4 pm flame 1 LSU (42-18) vs SE Louisiana (34-28) 8 30 pm Fnday Game 4 Game 1 loser vs Game 2 loser noon Game 5 Game 1 winner vs Game 3 loser 4 pm Game 6 Game 2 winner vs Game 3 winner 8 30 pm SaturdaySunday Pairings TBD Cantral Regional At Austin Texas Friday Game 1 Oklahoma (42-17) vs Arkansas State (37-23) 1 Game 2 Nevada (40-13) vs Texas-San Antonio (39-16) 5 30 pm Game 3 Texas (40-19) vs Stanford (36-22) 30 minutes after previous game Saturday Game 4 Game 1 loser vs Game 2 loser 1 Game 5 Game 1 winner vs Game 3 loser 5 pm Game 6 Game 2 winner vs Game 3 winner 30 minutes after previous game Sunday'Monday Pairings TBD Midwest I Regional At Stiltwater Okie Friday Game 3 Texas Christian (37-20) vs Memphis (50-9) noon Game 2 Cal State-FuUerion (41-13) vs NW Stale La (44-13) 4 pm Gam 1 Oklahoma Slate (46-15) vs IHtnois Slate (30-27) 8 Saturday Game 4 Gama NCAA Championships Results Wednesday in the NCAA Men's Division I Individual Tennis Championships at the University of Notre Dam (seeding and tiebreak scores in parentheses) in South Bend Ind: Grand National tour tightens up First Round Marcus Hipert (2) Arkansas Remi Feneon Mississippi 63 63 Tad Berkowitz New Mexico Ian Williams Texas 7-6 (7-2) 62 John Amos Ball St Jan Anderson Arizona 7-8 (7-4) 61 Mashika Washington Michigan St Ivan Spinner Penn St 3-6 7-6 (7-4) 64 Chris Pressley (7) Duke Gil Ko-valski Miami 67 (66) 64 64 Charles Auffray Pepperdme Adam Mandell Yale 61 61 Mike Sell Georgia Dan Coakley Dartmouth 7-6 (7-1) 61 Robert Jane-cek (3) UCLA Rob Qivone Georgia Tech 63 64 Vaughn Snyman Ala -Birmingham Jerry Ledzinski Air Force 63 64 Johan Hede Mississippi Johan Sandberg South Carolina 63 7-5 Joe Simmons Mississippi St Fredrik Eliasson Va Commonwealth 64 67 63 David Caldwell North Carolina Marco Mazzotta Alabama 63 63 Jan Hermansson South Alabama Mark Weaver Texas AAM 6-2 63 Brian Stanton Florida St Paul Robinson Texas Christian 7-8 (7-5) 62 Cecil Brandon Alabama Paul Pndemore Minnesota 64 64 Chad Clerk (8) Texaa Brett Zeuschner Oklahoma 62 63 Damon Henkel Florida Wynn Criswell SW Missoun 63 63 Andy Zurcher Notre Dame Michael Hril California 4-6 62 63 Marshall Burroughs Harvard By TOM HIGGINS Staff Writer While NASCAR fans wonder about Winston Cup Series parity lost the Grand National division is in one of its most competitive seasons Through the first 11 Grand National races there have been nine winners And eight drivers have won poles In contrast the first 10 Winston Cup events have produced five race winners and seven pole winners for 11 races counting Coca-Cola 600 Competition is so even on the Grand National circuit that Kenny Wallace leads the standings toward the points championship without having won David Green driving a Chevrolet owned by Winston Cup regular Bobby Labonte is the season the 15-mile Charlotte track almost consider it an accomplishment just to make the race" said mechanic Jake Elder crew chief on the Mac Martin-owned team that fields a Chevrolet for driver Larry Pearson a lot of good equipment Added John Ervin crew chief for former 300 winner Dale Jarrett: man you want to be in the 30 fastest Thursday Running the qualifying race works on your Twelve Winston Cup drivers are entered including Martin Dale Earnhardt Ernie Irvan and Michael Waltrip Although nursing a right shoulder blade broken in a crash during the Winston Open at the Charlotte track Saturday night Waltrip said he felt no pain in practice Wednesday and plans to run in the 300 leader in Grand National poles with three Winston Cup star Mark Martin has two Martin is the favorite today as qualifying opens at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Champion Spark Plug 300 set Saturday One-lap runs against the clock begin at 430 pm for positions 1-30 Drivers with provisional opportunities will fill slots 31-32 in the 300 field The remaining 10 spots will be decided Friday in a 40-lap qualifying race at 2 pm The pressure was intense in the garage area even Wednesday as teams began preparing for 7 am technical inspection There are 67 entries for the $321309 race meaning 25 make the show that is part of a weekend doubleheader with Coca-Cola 600 It's the richest pise for a spring 300-miler at.