The Charlotte Observer from Charlotte, North Carolina • 20

THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER On the Air Focus On 2B WEDNESDAY AUGUST 1997 TV Major League Baseball Legends accident sparks Jackson to title MOTORSPORTS CUBS AT SAN FRANCISCO (WGN) 4 pm FLORIDA AT HOUSTON (ESPN) 7:30 pm PITTSBURGH AT ATLANTA (FOXSS) 7:30 pm MONTREAL AT LOS ANGELES (ESPN) 10:30 pm Motors ports USAC MIDGET SERIES (ESPN2) 9:30 pm Soccer BRAZIL AT JAPAN (ESPN2) 10 am Tennis PILOT PEN INTERNATIONAL (ESPN) 1 pm RCA CHAMPIONSHIPS (ESPN) 3 pm i Ex-Wingate player may be Gator QB PILOT PEN INTERNATIONAL (ESPN2) 7:30 pm RADIO Major League Baseball By DAVID POOLE Staff Writer The wheel came off for Brian Sockwell Tuesday night as Darrell Jackson of Concord rallied to win the pro division title of the Legends Summer Shootout series at Charlotte Motor Speedway Sockwell came into the final night with the points lead but he made contact racing with Doug Van Den Brink and had his right front wheel knocked loose Sockwell tried to continue but he was forced to stop as sparks showered from underneath his car Jackson meanwhile finished third and won the title by seven points over Sockwell Greg Scholz of Huntersville the 1996 pro division champion won Tuesday race with Nick Pistone second Davin Scites who made a five-hour drive from Wayne WVa each week to race in the semipro division finished 1 1th in the final race but still held on to win the title Shawn Parker was Tuesday winner John Freeman of Charlotte wrapped up the masters division by finishing fifth in Tuesday race James Himes of China Grove was Tuesday winner Jeff Jordan and Sam Beam won the chargers division features while Eddie Mishue won a World Karting Association race PITTSBURGH AT ATLANTA 730 WFNZAM (610 Charlotte) WCSL-AM (1590 Cherryville) WEGO-AM (1410 Concord) WGNC-AM (1450 Gastonia) WLON-AM (1050 Lincolnton) WCAB-AM (590 Rutherfordton) WSTP-AM (1490 Salisbury) WOHS-AM (730 Shelby) WSVM-AM (1490 Valdese) WBZK-AM (980 York C) Minor-league baseball Bobby Isaac Memorial race Late model stock car drivers will compete in the feature Isaac who won 37 races and 50 poles during his career retired from the Winston Cup circuit in 1 976 A year later he was racing at Hickory his home track and suffered heat exhaustion He died of a heart attack at a Hickory hospital STILL RUNNING: Alfred Hill of Jonesville still racing at age 60 got his 29th career feature victory Saturday night at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem Hill won for the third time this season in one of two 25-lap modified stock car races at the track Tim Brown of Yadkinville got his fourth win of the season in the other feature AROUND THE TRACKS: Stephen Christian of Sugar Hill Ga won NASCAR All Pro series race at Caraway Speedway in Asheboro Jeff Fultz finished sixth and leads the standings by 97 points over Hal Goodson with six races left Freddie Query outdueled Bobby Gill to win the 150-lap late model sportsman feature at Concord Motorsport Park Mike Herman Jr won the late model stock feature his fourth victory of the year and his second in the Big 10 series Concord races again Saturday at 8 pm James Galloway won his third straight late model feature at Carolina Speedway in Gastonia Buddy Smith second to Galloway in that race won the late model stock feature Smith also won Friday night at Thunder Valley Speedway in Lawndale Joe Robinson won the thunder and lightning feature at Metrolina Speedway Doug Sanders won in the late model main with Chris Steele first in super stock East Lincoln Speedway late model points leader Shane Braf-ford got his fourth victory of the season edging Donald Wilkes and Gene Sanders Nathan Black got his sixth straight mod-4 victory Gordon Ervin picked up his fourth win of the season in pure stock V8 Phil Hall of Mount Airy got his seventh super late model victory of the season at Friendship Speedway in Elkin while Blake Shores led all the way for his fourth limited late model win in five weeks Bryan Nance won in super street Tim Wyatt won in semi-modified fours and Mark Blankenship win in mudsligners Dean Ward got his 10th late model stock win of the season at Ace Speedway in Altamahaw Roy Cook won in a photo finish in a 35-lap modified feature Brett Bodine edged Mike Wallace and artist Sam Bass defeated radio personality Paul Schadt in match races LINING IT UP: Winston Cup drivers Mike Skinner and Steve Grissom were at Darlington Raceway with paint brushes Tuesday No they were not moonlighting as construction workers as the track continues its renovation They were there to paint a white stripe over the blacktop on what used to be the backstretch marking the new start-finish line The Aug 31 Southern 500 will be the first race using the new configuration with what used to be Turn 3 becoming Turn 1 PENALTY BOX: NASCAR Grand National Series officials got into several pockets this week levying fines for violations at the Kroger 200 at Indianapolis Raceway Park Shane Hall was fined $1000 for using illegal fuel Drivers Dale Shaw and Buckshot Jones and Ricky Pearson and Eddie Pearson of race team each were fined $500 for their conduct in an altercation A BIG NIGHT: Hickory Motor Speedway will honor a former Winston Cup champion with Sat TOLEDO AT CHARLOTTE 12:30 pm WNMX AM (1480 Charlotte) WAVO-AM (1150 Rock Hill) WTLI-AM (550 Statesville) Gordon prefers one-car team SABCO Continued from page IB Your Voice LENNOX McCLENDONAssociated THE KING AND THE SHOWGIRL nascar legend Rich News Makers KrTMFBBan a Favre says he and NFL lied about status of alcohol ban Observer News Services GREEN BAY Wis In his forthcoming book Brett Favre details the depths of his addiction to painkillers and says the NFL lied at the Super Bowl by saying it was still reviewing his request to have his alcohol ban lifted In For the (Doubleday $2295) the two-time MVP quarterback of the Green Bay Packers acknowledges publicly for the first time that with the approval he drank alcohol during Super Bowl week The NFL was upset that week after agent told journalists that alcohol ban had been lifted league too thrilled with his comments so it put out a statement of its own It said the NFL rule on my status until the Favre said in the book an excerpt of which appears in Esquire Favre wrote that been cleared in December to dnnk but that he too lied about his status to avoid distractions Favre who was banned from drinking alcohol after he admitted he was addicted to Vicodm and spent 46 days at a drug rehab clinic before the 1996 season said he had a few drinks on the Friday night before the Super Bowl but that he was discreet about it GEHRIG AWARD: Brett Butler has won the 1996 Lou Gehrig Award The award is presented by the Phi Delta Theta international fraternity to the major league player who best exemplifies the character of Lou Gehrig the New York Yankees Hall of Famer Butler a Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder is heavily involved in community help organizations ANNOUNCER DIES: Rex Barney 72 who pitched a no-hitter for the 1948 Brooklyn Dodgers and enjoyed widespread popularity as the Baltimore Orioles' longtime public address announcer was found dead of unknown causes at his home Tuesday IRL PARTNER: Colts quarterback Jim Harbaugh has joined a partnership that will field an Indy Racing League team Noah long journey to become the replacement for Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Danny Wuerffel at Florida this season has 'aken him from Florida to North Carolina and back The 6-foot-3 217-pound Fort Myers-Fla native originally signed with NCAA Division II Wingate after a successful but not spectacular high school career But a preseason injury forced Brindise to red-shirt his first season and a bad case of homesickness sent him home after the first semester SPRINGS TO LIFE: He enrolled at Florida in 1994 walked-on the football team and sat on the bench two seasons until he blossomed during spring football practice when he shared the most improved quarterback award and was awarded a scholarship Monday he received the biggest sign yet that his final season of football may be spent quarter-backing college defending national champions When Florida coach Steve Spurrier blew his whistle to initiate the first 7-on-7 passing drills Monday Brindise not favorite Doug Johnson was the quarterback who lined up with the starting backfield and receivers QB DERBY: obviously will play whoever is the best Spurrier said announce one this week Maybe next week Maybe the week of the game We still have competition Johnson a sophomore from Gainesville was penciled in as the No 1 quarterback after a solid spring and even better Orange and Blue Game SUMMER JOB: However because of a SEC rule that allows scholarship athletes to play professionally in sports they participate in for their school Johnson spent the summer playing minor-league baseball in the Tampa Bay Devil Rays organization His time there cost him his preseason conditioning regimen In the week to 10 days Johnson says will take him to get football-ready Brindise and freshman Jesse Palmer figure to have a say in who gets starting QB job Brindise thought as much while he worked out with his teammates over the summer if I was pretty much settled at No 21 figured if I had a good two-a-days I could change things said Brindise who has dropped about 25 pounds since last season not focusing on winning the job as much as being the best player I can be and doing what Coach Spurrier ard Petty tries to assume the pose of The showgirl Aki after Las 1998 Winston Cup race was announced Las Vegas wins race for Winston Cup date Richmond vacates 3rd weekend of season By DAVID POOLE Staff Writer The track is a 15-mile superspeedway located in a 1500-acre ref camps were beneficial to sport In response to articles about camps run by ACC supervisor of basketball officials Fred Barakat: I am fortunate to be a member of the ACC staff I came up through the Barakat system of summer camps Mr Barakat has done a tremendous job for basketball He has changed the image of ACC basketball no longer referred to as a finesse league Through his camps he has been able to share his philosophy with his staff and campers and has allowed everyone to on the same Not only has he helped officials on the floor but he has touched many lives personally with his outlook on life He has been a very positive influence in my life In addition it is extremely unfair to say that last year were several high-profile mistakes due to fatigue from working consecutive games Mistakes happen because human and we happen to work in a high-profile league where honest mistakes can be compounded by media attention However to attribute mistakes to fatigue is way to back at the I can say this because I was one of those officials punished for a in the Virgin-iaDuke game This avocation requires 100 percent concentration Sometimes you prove human But the true test is to bounce back from a mistake and be successful We did this by refereeing one of the best ACC tournaments I've seen The ACC is the best basketball league in the country One reason for this is Fred Barakat I mentioned this when I was interviewed sorry my comments printed Zelton Steed Charlotte because his Sabates said other Winston Cup drivers whom he did not identify had expressed interest in taking a Team SABCO ride if Gordon leaves Sterling Marlin is reportedly the leading candidate Gordon said he would remain in Winston Cup racing with Sabates or another team in the right situation has to be with the equipment and the people that I can win Gordon said have nothing against Winston Cup racing It has to do with being in a seat that I feel is competitive to win races and win a championship think everybody got the wrong impression of me not that I am difficult to work with I only want the best for the team I want the good stuff the best equipment to help the driver at the race track There are only so many guys out there who can put that equipment Gordon in Team three-car operation with Joe Ne-mechek and Wally Dallenbach does not believe a multi-car team is the path to success are so many competitive racing series going on right now so hard to find good he said you take your pool of people and split them up into two or three teams do you have enough good people to have good race cars? we had done a one-car deal like I was told in the beginning I think it would have taken as long to have a competitive race After an early-season personality clash between Gordon and crew chief Tony Glover Sabates swapped Gordon over to Mike Hillman and his crew while Ne-mechek who had been working with Hillman came to crew relationship with Robby gone off course because still driving for Sabates said it had gone off course with me I would have fired him He went off course with Tony Glover not with me the one thing I might do differently is I would have forced Robby to stay with Tony Glover Eventually I think it could have been a winning motorsports complex about 20 miles north of The Strip and the massive hotel-casino complexes that help make Las Vegas the top travel destination Almost 32 million visitors will come to Las Vegas this year filling up the 106000 hotel and motel rooms in the city Las Vegas Motor Speedway opened last year and was host to its first Grand National series race earlier this year It also has been host to NASCAR Truck Series events and to an Indy Racing League event were out here with a Grand National race and a truck event earlier this year and the facility is first-class in every NASCAR President Bill France said you take in the ambience that Las Vegas brings to the table I think race fans are going to have an exciting experience here next Las Vegas becomes the fifth track to be added to the Winston Cup schedule in five years New Hampshire International Speedway got its first date in 1993 followed a year later by the addition of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Texas Motor Speedway and California Speedway hosted their first races this year France would not comment on other potential changes to the 1998 Winston Cup schedule Texas Motor Speedway has been particularly vocal in its campaign for a second date With all of the glitz and glitter that made Las Vegas famous Winston Cup racing made it official Tuesday The first Winston Cup race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway will be held March 1 1998 Surrounded by showgirls and an oversized slot machine officials made the announcement at the Fremont Street Experience a pedestrian mall covered by a mu-tli-million dollar light show in the gambling downtown The race sponsored by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority will be part of a weekend doubleheader Cars from Grand National series will race at the 102000-seat track Feb 28 The Winston Cup date falls two weeks after the 1998 Daytona 500 the season-opener scheduled for Feb 15 Although the full 1998 schedule has not been announced a race at North Carolina Motor Speedway in Rockingham usually comes the weekend after Daytona Richmond has had the third weekend but that track confirmed Tuesday that its dates for the 1998 season will be June 6 and Sept 12 both Saturday nights Cup racing in Las said Richie Clyne chairman of the board of Las Vegas Motor Speedway the prettiest sentence I have heard in a long time We feel we now have the crown jewel for our I am Call 377-4444 and enter one of the following codes 6765 Sports headlines 2015 NL Report 2034 AL Report 6766 Baseball schedules 6775 NFL update 6767 NFL schedules 6780 NHL update 6785 NBA update 6790 College update 6772 Tennis update 6795 Motorsports update 6773 Golf update 6774 Pro wrestling update Send letters to Mailbox Observer Sports PO Box 30308 Charlotte 28230-0308 fax them to (704) 358-5110 ore-mail us at: obsportschaiiottecom Phone number and town or city of residence must be included Letters may be edited for brevity clarity and grammar Staff writer Jim Utter and Orlando (Fla) Sentinel I I ForgetimeRestcWJoininieBest JVArjr WHERE SMART SHOPPERS START Curt for the Summertime Blues 1 Uptown i 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