Fort Worth Star-Telegram from Fort Worth, Texas • 81

-MotorsportsPro BasketballColleges Section Page 6 I Star-Telegram Friday July 12 1996 Texas your Winston Cup runneth over NBA opens bidding but deals scarce A 62 k- Tom Sorensen VIESITE73 ENTARY CHARLOTTE NC There's no way to prepare you for a Winston Cup race There's nothing like it not even a Super Bowl A Super Bowl attracts ce lebrities A race attracts people with pickups and gun racks who drink Ameri' can beer and shoot not billiards but pool That it does is one of racing's strengths Sports has too many ce- -'rebrities and not enough fans In racing the drivers are the celebrities They might live in million-dollar houses drive a fleet of cars own their own airplanes But the drivers talk like the fans who -buy their T-shirts The drivers dress like the fans who scream and swear when come roaring around the track don't wear mink They do wear boots sunglasses and on occasion owboy hats 1 Because the drivers have public relations people who make more money than the drivers themselves did 20 years ago they will undoubtedly be told to wear cowboy hats when they race in Texas Even the drivers from Iowa and New York will for a week answer to Tex But despite all the PR people and the sponsors and the suits and the cellular telephoners racing embodies some of what sports used to be There are no unions Fans don't have to worry about a caped and landed on the head of Bruton Smith who owns our speedway and yours All three of the hairs on Smith's head briefly caught fire Gossage turned red Smith smoldered and fans cheered They thought it was part of the show Smith kept his composure and Gossage kept his job Explosions have to be seen because the cars make too much noise for explosions to be heard No matter how many races you attend you will always jump when somebody fires up an engine the size of your sofa Expect explosions In fact you will see more explosions than you will wrecks You will see an explosion after a motorcycle jumps over a pack of school buses Charlotte has You will see explosions as well as helicopters airplanes soldiers and smoke during simulated wars Charlotte has Gossage will re-enact battles from all the big wars and when he runs out of big wars small wars too Who can forget the Sunday when the Falkland Islands were captured in the speedway infield? The speedway took some liberties with the facts but racing is like that In most sports rules are typed In racing they are written in sand If the sport's ruling body or promoters can make a race more interesting by changing a rule they'll do it The drivers have wars of their own In the old days they threw punches Now they throw water bottles Rusty Wallace did that to Dale Earnhardt after a race On race day you will see women go topless in the infield You will see adults throw chicken bones at the fence next to the track You will see fans get into minivans and accelerate as if they are Jeff Gordon And if you're lucky you won't hear excuses The best thing about racing is that the drivers don't always make excuses When a rod or a tire or an engine blows they don't always blame Chevrolet or each other They say "That's racing" "That's racing" is a beautiful phrase It means that nobody (not an owner not a coach not the media not the fans not the Dallas police force) is to blame It means that in racing as in life things simply don't always work out the way they should And in what other sport are you going to hear that? Tom Sorensen is a columnist for the Charlotte Observer race being interrupted by a walk-out or a lockout or a squabble between management and labor When the man says "Gentlemen start your engines" the gentlemen start their engines It has always been that simple and still is Even if you think that watching cars go in a circle for four hours is boring (and it often is) racing is not In racing you still get to be outrageous Ask Eddie Gossage Gossage is general manager of Texas Motor Speedway Before that he was director of public relations at Charlotte Motor Speedway Before the first night race at Charlotte Motor Speedway Gossage set off an explosion It was intentional Before a race there are always explosions A spark es By DWAIN PRICE Star-Telegram Start Writer After two moratoriums and a brief lockout yesterday was finally open season for more than IN free agents in the NBA But while NBA phone lines across America may have been jammed with potential trades only two deals were consummated by late last night The big one saw the Los Angeles Lakers trade center Vlade Divac to the Charlotte Hornets for high school rookie guard Kobe Bryant The deal helped the Lakers free up more salary-cap money in their pursuit to sign Orlando Magic free-agent center Shaquille O'Neal Yesterday's other deal was a minor one It involved Minnesota sending center Andrew Lang to Milwaukee for a 1997 first-round draft pick After much haggling over money the NBA and its players signed a collective bargaining agreement that extends through the 2000-2001 season That enabled the NBA to continue its claim as the only major pro league never to have any games halted by labor problems Many thought the NBA would set league records for the amount of millions exchanging bank accounts yesterday But apparently high-profile free agents such as Michael Jordan Alonzo Mourning Gary Payton Reggie Miller and O'Neal will have to wait a little longer before they can back up the Brinks truck Like their NBA peers Mavericks representatives also were burning up the telephone lines trying to free up salary-cap room that would put them in an advantageous position in regard to signing quality free agents The Mavericks want to shore up their inside game by acquiring personnel who would give them an inside defensive presence But the aggressi14e Mavericks management went home last night unable to pull the trigger on a deal "We had good meetings on free agents" said Keith Grant the Mavericks' vice president of basketball operations "We made numerous calls Now we get to kind of see what happens" The Mavericks did not renounce the rights their four free agents: center Lorenzo Williams forward David Wood and guards Lucious Harris and Scott Brooks If that happens it would clear $2 lion under the salary cap lion under the salary cap ir Tobacco sponsor will help resolve Race From Page 1 I Wilkesboro" said Eddie Gossage 1 vice president and general manager of Texas Motor Speedway "But they call it 'progress' It's the food I Wilkesboro" said Eddie Gossage vice president and general manager of Texas Motor Speedway "But they call it 'progress' It's the food drag strip conflict (-----N1Its it oms 11zrt) h4 c1 1 (ki 1 Chain The strong survive and I don't say that flippantly Vegas We need tracks like Homestead (Fla) and like Roger Penske is building in California But still it's sad when it takes away from the likes of North Wilkesboro" Fellow driver Michael Waltrip said fears for the elimination of short-track racing from the Cup series were unfounded "We're going to race at Bristol and Richmond for the next 100 years Those are great short tracks" said Waltrip driver of the Citgo Ford Thunderbird "The track at Loudon is a mile 1058- mile and if they race twice there next year that's great "Losing North Wilkesboro you might have a lot of purists that say 'This is just terrible' In my opinion it's not It's just growth And when something grows it hurts one thing and helps another We're fortunate that Bill France has had the vision to carry this thing this far I don't think they're going to screw it up now "I'm glad that we're moving into a track like this" Native Texan Bobby Hillin Jr of 0 lo fo of Ci es Li So 01 er tr is an PC as cc CC to 1 re R4 th Sc re wi as ba er ha in co 01 I fo C( PE se 1 flu itE th fr( er th da I de di sic UE sil lui in or an be ha fo 'm thl da CI -thi NI I toi 1 5: co le se gu th en an 4 tic 4 cc 1 re us Jr us 1 I 1 "Losing North Wilkesboro you might have a lot of purists that say 'This is just terrible' In my opinion it's not It's just growth" By JOHN STURM StarTelegram Staff Writer FORT WORTH The president of RJ Reynolds Tobacco Co's multimillion-dollar NASCAR and NHRA drag-racing marketing programs said yesterday that he will work to resolve the scheduling conflict involving April 6 1997 in North Texas Wayne Robertson also denied that yesterday's awarding of the first NASCAR Winston Cup race date to developer Bruton Smith at Texas Motor Speedway on April 6 was done to spite Billy Meyer owner of the Texas Motorplex drag strip in Ennis "Some folks have said they're starting a rivalry between the drag strip and the round track That's not true at all" Robertson said after the "Mission: Impossible" news conference at the Fort WorthTarrant County Convention Center "Texas Motor Speedway as a matter of fact did not pick this date The date was given to them by NASCAR Unfortunately it was on top of one of our other events" Eddie Gossage vice president and general manager of Texas Motor Speedway also sought to defuse speculation about bitter feelings between Smith and Meyer stemming from the latter's earlier attempt to build a super-speedway in this market "You take what you get from NASCAR" Gossage said "It was not deliberate There's no purpose in us doing something like that If the Texas Motorplex thrives that's good for us Billy's got a quality drag strip and the awareness of motorsports has been heightened here by what we've been doing" Last March Meyer's Motorplex was awarded its first National Hot Rod Association spring race on the April 3- 6 1997 weekend The Motorplex has played host to the Chief Nationals in the fall for the past 10 years The Motorplex's sister facility Houston Raceway Park in Baytown also has been awarded a second national event in 1997 on Oct 16-19 one week after the 12th annual Chiefs race The four national events in Texas are being marketed by the NHRA as its "Texas Tour" "Without a doubt it would be best for all parties irthe races are not on the same date" Robertson said "Unfortunately this has happened in a hurry as far as getting this Winston Cup date We will try to work it out so it will be amicable to all parties and most importantly to where the motorsports fans in the area have the ability to attend both events if they like to" Robertson said he spoke with NHRA president Dallas Gardner and Meyer on Wednesday Denny Darnell the NHRA's director of communications said he has been working on alternatives for the Motorplex's spring race since A suggested scenario would be to move the Motorplex's spring race to March 6-9 placing it third on the schedule and ahead of the traditional mid-March date in Gainesville Fla "We want to be fan-friendly" Darnell said "It's not that we can't compete The bottom line is what is important to the fans We don't want to make a decision that is going to jeopardize our relationship with the fans or the growth of motorsports in Texas "We'll work around this deal" Grant said those players' rights would not be re- nounced unless the Mavericks plan on using th6ir cap money to sign someone else So in essence the Mavericks arc only million under the salary cap which is the cap money they received in the Cherokee Parks trade to Minnesota Although the Lakers won't admit it Bryant 17 was used as the pawn in the deal that the Lakers hope would put O'Neal in a Lakers uniform In the Divac-Bryant deal the Lakers were out to erase the $85 million they owed Divac over the next OW years Still Lakers vice president Jerry West tried to pump up the acquisition of Bryant "We're very excited to get a player with KoWs talent and ability" West said "We feel his pot6- tial in this league is unlimited but we'll be pati6nt in letting him develop "On a sad note we're sorry to have to part ways with Vlade He's been a key player for us for sewn years as well as a wonderful person We'd liketo thank him for his contributions to the Lakers and we wish him the best of luck with the Charlotte Hornets" In other developments those much-publicized trades involving Charles Barkley Dikembe Sam Cassell and Larry Johnson did not ilia) terialize Barkley was expected to be part of a three-team trade that would send him toHouston In retuin Denver would sign Mutombo and trade him Phoenix and the Nuggets were supposed to receive the Rockets' Robert Horry and Cassell The Detroit Pistons were also expected to make a run at Mutombo Michael Waltrip NASCAR driver "The sport has a good problem on its hands" Movement of the North Wilkes' boro dates was requested by its co-owners Bruton Smith the Texas Motor Speedway developer and president of Speedway Motor sports Inc and Bob Bahre who also owns New Hampshire Interna- tional Speedway in Loudon NH Gossage said Bahre's stated in- tent to move the date he controlled to his facility forced Smith to re-Think his original plan for North Wilkesboro Smith purchased his 50 percent of the track in May 1995 "Since Mr Bahre had every intention of taking one race to New Hampshire it made it easier for us with a clear conscience to move a race date from North Wilkesboro" Gossage said Buddy Jobe the Phoenix International Raceway owner called the deal swung by reluctant partners Smith and Bahre "the coup of the year" "For being Southern men supposedly wearing bib overalls I've got to tip my hat to them" said Jobe referring to Smith's Charlotte NC-based organization "It was a good buy I think there's a lot of us around right now kicking ourselves in the rear" The politics of the move were not lost on the Winston Cup drivers who attended the elaborate "Mission: Impossible" news conference at the Fort WorthTarrant County Convention Center yesterday "Progress sucks when it takes people out of the business" Geoff Bodine said of the residents of Wilkes County who have supported the series at the 625-mile track founded by Enoch Staley since 1947 "I'm bummed out I love that little track" But as the ownerdriver of his QVC-sponsored Ford Thunderbird Bodine said the relocation of race dates was inevitable "We need this track" he said referring to the 150061-seat 15-mile Texas Motor Speedway in southern Denton County "We need Las StarTelegram I ALLISON SMITH Texas Motor Speedway chairman Bruton Smith hopes the track will get a second Winston Cup date scheduling standpoint As far as the concept of coming to Fort Worth that was never an issue" Smith remains hopeful his Texas track will be awarded a second Winston Cup date for the fall on its own merit perhaps in 1997 The last Winston Cup race in the state was run at Texas World Speedway in College Station in June 1981 The first racing weekend at Texas Motor Speedway also will include a 300-mile NASCAR Busch Grand National race scheduled for Saturday April 5 Gossage said the purse for the Winston Cup race would range between $35 million and $4 million Gossage said that would make it the series' third-largest behind the $42 million awarded at the Brickyard 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the $36-million payout at the season-opening Daytona 500 at the Daytona International Speedway in Florida "It has the potential to be the largest" Gossage said "It's not set in stone At a minimum it'll be $4 million" Gossage said an exact purse breakdown would not be possible until television contracts have been negotiated Both April races here will be televised Wayne Robertson president of RJ Reynolds Sports Marketing Enterprises said the spring stop here will be welcomed by all the corporate sponsors involved in Winston Cup And he predicted a sellout "We just hope the fans will enjoy it as much as they think they will" Robertson said "and we think they will" Staff writer Kristin Sullivan contributed to this report Midland said he was claiming Texas Motor Speedway as his "home racetrack" "We're fighting to get our team competitive" said Hi llin partownerdriver of the Jasper Engines Ford Thunderbird "This will be one more thing to give me that incentive to say 'Bobby you've got to get up there and win that first race'" In addition to the changes announced here yesterday France said that plans are to include Penske's under-construction California Speedway outside Los Angeles on the 1997 schedule That race reportedly on June 22 will increase the Cup schedule to 32 dates the limit France announced at the season-ending banquet in December 1994 "That's where we're at today" said France sporting the white Stetson hat he had been presented as a gift "It was a matter of time to work things out in Texas from the Bowl alliance Rose near deal Fans From Wire Reports NEW YORK A true national championstiip game in college football the game everyone warts but nobody seems capable of creating could finally become a reality within 60 days and be played as early as January 1999 Jack French executive director of the Tobrilament of Roses Association said yesterday that the Rose Bowl is "very close" to a proposal with the bowl alliance that would integrate the Big Ten and Pacific 10 conferences into the national-title mix1 "What we're trying to do is accommodate the pig Ten and Pac-10" French said of the Rose Bokv1 which matches the champions of the two conferences but is not in the alliance "We've made gclod progress and we're hoping something will happen From Page 1 Archer reflects the enthusiasm generated by yesterday's announcement Area race fans are already screaming "Gentlemen start your engines!" "This is nothing short of huge for the DiFW area the state of Texas and NASCAR racing" said Fort Worth's Adam Mize who along with friend Rick McKinna is already on the ticket list "There are a lot of great racing fans in this area in this state "NASCAR is such a competitive sport just like the people of Texas It gives me chicken skin just thinking about it" OK goose bumps if you're wondering Texas Motor Speedway souvenir sellers took in thousands of dollars from the droves of T-shirt- and cap-seeking fans 15-mile oval Three-time Indianapolis 500 champion Johnny Rutherford of Fort Worth predicts that support for two NASCAR races here will not be a problem even at say $70 a pop per race "This is going to be very big" said Rutherford who attended the news conference "It's very exciting and it has a great following in the country So we're going to see a lot of those folks coming in here as well as the folks from around here that go to the race "The people of Fort Worth can definitely support two races It's going to be something people can look forward to and save up to be able to go or whatever they have to ill "Make no mistake this is big-time auto racing" The camper-style stand parked strategically in front of the convention center sold caps for and T-shirts for $20 TMS vice president of finance Dick Cerza said all 1000 Inaugural Texas 500 T-shirts and 500 caps were sold within two hours "The people are real excited as you can see by our sales this afternoon" Cerza said "This is just the tip of the iceberg The city doesn't really understand what's going to happen once the race gets here -Just look at Charlotte Indianapolis and Atlanta and you can just tell this is going to be biggest thing Fort Worth has ever seen" There are rumblings of yet a second Winston Cup date at the state-of-the-art TMS made official its eagerly anticipated Winston Cup series date for the under-construction 150061-seat facility in southern Denton County The second-largest track in the country and third-largest in the world is set to be completed this fall "This is just great" said Archer who along with her 12-year-old sister Jennifer persuaded their uncle Keith Archer to skip an afternoon of work to take the girls to Fort Worth "1 can't wait for the race I can't wait to see Jeff I've been a huge rut' fan practically all my life you know" in the best interests of college football" French said he believes that an agreement eould be reached "within 60 days" The bowl alliance is composed of the Atlantic Coast Conference Big East Southeastern Cqnterence Big 12 Big Ten and Pac-10 conference and Notre Dame Since the Rose Bowl takes the Big Ten and Pac-10 champions the alliance matches the hiAhest-ranked leamslvailable to play idiither the Fiesta Sugar or Orange bowls 1.