The Charlotte Observer from Charlotte, North Carolina • 24

68 THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER Friday July 2 1 1 995 NUTS AND BOLTS PICKING THE WINNER WHAT TO WATCH guest pick their DieHard 500 favorites Terry Bowden Auburn top 5: 1 Dale Earnhardt 2 Jeff Gordon 3 Mark Martin 4 Sterling Marlin 5 Bobby Labonte NASCAR WINSTON CUP RESUITS SCHEDULE Who won where they're racing Tom Higgins and a Tom Higgins Observer top 1 Sterling Marlin 2 Jeff Gordon 3 Dale Jarrett 4 Dale Earnhardt 5 Mark Martin QUOTING Your guide to this weekend's NASCAR activity Event: DieHard 500 Race No 18 of 31 for NASCAR Winston Cup cars Sunday 1:15 pm (All times EDT) Where: Talladega Superspeedway Eastaboga Ala Distance: 500 miles or 188 laps on 266-mile trioval Companion event: Humminbird Fishfinder 500K for NASCAR Grand National cars Saturday 2 pm Remainder of schedule: Today 9 am Grand National practice 10:30 am Grand National qualifying for positions 26-40 in 500K (positions 1-25 set Thursday) noon Winston Cup practice 4 pm Winston Cup qualifying for positions 1-20 in 500 Saturday 9:30 am Winston Cup practice 11:45 am Winston Cup qualifying positions 21-38 in 500 4:30 pm (approximate) final Winston Cup practice Winston Cup track records: Qualifying 212809 mph Bill Elliott Ford April 1987 500-mile race 186288 mph Bill Elliott Ford May 1985 Grand National track records: Qualifying 188404 mph Bill Elliott Ford July 1993 500-kilometer race (312 miles) 167473 Ken Schrader Chevrolet July 1994 Defending champions: 500 Jimmy Spencer Ford 500K Ken Schrader Chevrolet May Winner in Winston Select 500: Mark Martin Ford May pole winner Terry Labonte Chevrolet 196532 mph Purses: 500 $1268075 500K $419146 TV: 500 CBS live 500K TNN live Radio: 500 qualifying 500K 500 Motor Racing Network affiliates Ticket information: (205) 362-9064 Before introduction of carburetor restrictor plates to slow the cars in the interest of safety What they're saying years the competitors have listened to everything we've said And now thousands upon thousands of fans are listening So cut my radio stuff down Mark Martin of the two-way radio communication from race car to pits Long an important part of Winston Cup racing for and many other teams being used more and more only in an emergency Date Race Site Pole Winner Feb 12 Busch Clash Daytona Beach Fla Bodine Earnhardt Feb 16 Gatorade Twin 125s (1) Daytona Beach Fla Jarrett Marlin Feb 16 Gatorade Twin 125s (2) Daytona Beach Fla Earnhardt Earnhardt Feb 19 Daytona 500 Daytona Beach Fla Jarrett Marlin Feb 26 Goodwrench 500 Rockingham Gordon Gordon Mar 5 Pontiac Excitement 400 Richmond Gordon Labonte Mar 12 Purolator 500 Atlanta Earnhardt Gordon Mar 26 TranSouth Financial 400 Darlington SC Gordon Marlin April 2 Food City 500 Bristol Tenn Martin Gordon April 9 First Union 400 North Wilkesboro Gordon Earnhardt April 23 Hanes 500 Martinsville Va Labonte Wallace April 30 Winston Select 500 Talladega Ala Labonte Martin May 7 Save Mart 300 Sonoma Calif Rudd Earnhardt May 20 The Winston Select Charlotte Labonte Gordon May 28 Coca-Cola 600 Charlotte Gordon Labonte June 4 Dover Downs 500 Dover Del Gordon Petty June 11 IIAW-GM Teamwork 500 Pocono Pa Schrader labonte June 18 Miller Genuine Draft 400 Brooklyn Mich Gordon Labonte July 1 Pepsi 400 Daytona Beach Fla Earnhardt Gordon July 9 Slick 50 300 Loudon NH Martin Gordon July 16 Miller Genuine Draft 500 Pocono Pa Elliott Jarrett Date Race Site Tickets TV Sunday Diehard 500 Talladega Ala (205) 362-9064 ESPN Aug 5 Brickyard 400 Indianapolis (317) 481-8500 ABC Aug 13 The Bud at The Glen Watkins Glen NY (607) 535-2481 ESPN Aug 20 GM Goodwrench 400 Brooklyn Mich (800) 354-1010 ESPN Aug 26 500 Bristol Tenn (615)764-1161 ESPN Sept 3 Southern 500 Darlington SC (803) 395-8499 ESPN Sept 9 Miller Genuine Draft 400 Richmond (804) 345-7223 TBS Sept 17 Dover Downs 500 Dover Del (800) 441 -RACE TNN Sept 24 Goody's 500 Martinsville Va (703) 956-3151 ESPN Oct 1 Tyson Holly Farms 400 Wilkesboro (910) 667-6663 ESPN Oct 8 UAW-GM 500 Charlotte (704) 455-3200 TBS Oct 22 AC-Delco 400 Rockingham (910)582-2861 TNN Oct 29 Slick 50 500 Phoenix (602) 252-2227 TNN Nov 12 NAPA 500 Atlanta (404)946-4211 ESPN nonpoints event Seasonal FREEZE FRAEVSE silliness flourishes By TOM HIGGINS Staff Writer Another in a series by Observer photographer Mark Sluder WINSTON CUP POINTS LEADERS The chase for the season championship Things you should see Sunday Dale Earnhardt leads all drivers with seven Winston Cup wins at Talladega including five in his past 11 starts He needs another victory to snap a slump in which he has fallen from a 100-point lead toward a possible eighth championship to 164 points behind leader Jeff Gordon finishes in three of his past four races have been 35th 22nd and 20th Gordon has zoomed to a lead of 106 points over second-place Sterling Marlin with four straight finishes of either first or second A Pontiac driver hasn't won at Talladega since Richard Petty took the Winston Select 500 in May of 1983 Of the 52 Winston Cup races at Talladega 25 have been won by drivers starting on the front row That's 48 Seven drivers in the top 10 in the points Gordon Marlin Ted Mus-grave Rusty Wallace Michael Waltrip Morgan Shepherd and Bobby Labonte never have won at Talladega race at Talladega will be 'the fourth and final time this season that Winston Cup teams will use a restrictor plate to slow the 3400-pound stock cars The plates are inserted between the intake manifold and carburetor The thin metal restrictors with their seven-eighths-inch openings are used for qualifying and in the races at Talladega and Daytona International Speedway TALLADEGA Ala the season to be in NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing Presently not the drivers who are being goofy by making plans to jump teams when the season ends in November but members of the media and fans who are starting rumors about supposed changes to come Add Ford star Mark Martin and Pontiac veteran Michael Waltrip to the list of those dispelling reports that be with different teams in 1996 amazes me how stuff so untrue and far out gets Martin said Thursday at Talladega Superspeedway where drive in both the Humminbird Fishfinder 500K on Saturday and the DieHard 500 on Saturday in Thunderbirds fielded by Jack Roush Racing was a rumor out of Charlotte this week that going to leave team and drive for INSIDE NIOTGRSPQRTS A look at this weekend Robert Yates Racing next season I like Robert and all his guys but not about to happen going to be with Jack Roush as they say until the cows come Dale Jarrett driving for Yates while Ernie Irvan recovers from injuries has plans to form his own operation for '96 If Irvan remains unable to come back next year that prized ride will be open Waltrip scotched speculation that be out of the Bahari Grand Prix next year going to back right where I am Waltrip said of the Mooresville-based operation led by majority owner Chuck Rider weird about these rumors because a lot of times the truth is much easier to In recent days drivers Kyle Petty and Ken Schrader also refuted rumors of impending change Petty will be back with the Felix Sabates-owned SABCO team and Schrader returns to Hendrick Mo-torsports Another sign of Winston Cup racing's booming popularity is on the newsstands now For only the third time in 20 years and the first time since 1985 NASCAR is the cover story in Sports Illustrated magazine Titled Behind The Scenes Look At Hottest Sport" the article was written by Michael Silver The cover photo in black and white shows Sterling Marlin and Greg Sacks racing abreast Si's two previous NASCAR covers were of Cale 1977 Daytona 500 victory and Bill triumph at Darlington (SC) Raceway in 1985 Another national publication of considerably less repute than Sports Illustrated also has a NASCAR-related story this week The Star tabloid features a piece with the headline Tucker In Hot New Romance With Stock Car Ace The Bodine is Geoff elder of the three racing brothers Geoff went through a painful unexpected divorce a year ago He and entertainer Tucker have been friends for the last few months NASCAR can list another set of racing brothers next week when Elliott Sadler attempts to qualify for the Ford Credit 300 a Grand National event at South Boston (Va) Speedway on July 29 Elliott is the younger brother of circuit regular Hermie Sadler Elliott has been warming up for his Grand National debut by driving in weekly Late Model Stock division races at South Boston He lists eight victories and 11 other top six finishes in 23 starts NASCAR has this batch of at the Winston Cup level: Rusty Mike and Kenny Wallace Geoff Brett and Todd Bodine Darrell and Michael Waltrip Terry and Bobby Labonte Ward and Jeff Burton Jeff and David Green are regulars on the Grand National tour mm NATIONAL RESULTS What stars have done where to see SCHEDULE them Data Race Winner GBAHO NATIONAL POINTS LEADERS The chase tor the season championship Keeping cool Bobby Hamilton who drives Richard bama for this event at Talladega Pontiacs on the Winston Cup tour takes a drink Superspeedway Hamilton might want to keep during practice recently In hot and humid Ala- the bottled water within arm's reach Separation from race team follows wedding MBRA POINTS LEADERS The chase for the season championship TOM TOP 10 A NASCAR list Talladega Superspeedway Is known for producing spectacularly close finishes often measured in thousandths of a second or inches Here are the 10 tightest in track history dating to 1969: 1 Dale Earnhardt beats Ernie Irvan in the 1993 Diehard 500 by 0005 seconds 2 Ron Bouchard beats Darrell Waltrip in the 1981 Diehard 500 by 001 seconds 3 Buddy Baker beats Earnhardt in the 1980 Winston 500 0015 seconds 4 Buddy Baker beats Richard Petty in the 1975 DieHard 500 by Earnhardt 0025 seconds 5-6-7 (tie) James Hylton beats Ramo Stott by 006 seconds in the 1972 DieHard 500 Baker beats David Pearson by 006 seconds in the 1975 Winston 500 Waltrip beats Baker by 006 seconds in the 1982 DieHard 500 6 Earnhardt beats Bill Elliott by 009 seconds in the 1991 DieHard 500 9-10 (tie) Petty beats Pearson by 010 seconds in the 1974 DieHard 500 Bobby Allison beats Baker by 010 seconds In the 1981 Winston 500 INDYCAB WORLD SERIES POINTS LEADERS The chase for hie season championship By REID SPENCER Special Correspondent Dirk Stephens got married in his native Washington state July 9 during a three-week lull in the Grand National schedule He returned to North Carolina last weekend amid rumors of a shake-up within the Shoemaker Racing team that would leave Stephens without a ride left to go out to Washington to get married and when I came back rumors were flying Stephens said slept on it overnight and decided the best thing for me to do was to pursue some different Monday Stephens resigned his ride in the No 64 Dura-Lube Ford clearing the way for team owner Dennis Shoemaker to hire Randy LaJoie who recently was released from Bill Winston Cup team In a deal that was finalized Tuesday night LaJoie will drive for Shoemaker in Humminbird Fishfinder 500K in Talladega Ala and may finish the season in No 64 LaJoie also will attempt to qualify for DieHard 500 Winston Cup race at Talladega in Dick No 40 Pontiac Stephens meanwhile will travel to Talladega today to further his racing ambitions thoughts are up in the air GRAND NATIONAL stars today now and I've got several different options to consider" he said going to take some time getting everything back underneath me week had more activity on the phone than 1 have all season with people calling to wish me Stephens said like to be back on a race track soon running up front again either driving for myself or somebody Stephens fielded his own team last year and may do so again also been approached about driving in the SuperTruck series and about driving for other Grand National owners have everything down in the (Mooresville) shop to make a turnkey he said If Stephens lands another ride he may consider leasing his operation to someone else In the first 15 races this season Stephens qualified for 13 and posted his best finish April 15 in Hickoiy 13th place is a tough Stephens said "Things gone as well as like this year and I needed to get some confidence back" NASCAR SUPERTRUCK SERIES POINTS IEADERS.