The State from Columbia, South Carolina • 38

SOUTH CAROLINA'S HOME PAGE C12 FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2005 THE STATE, COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA WWW.THESTATE.COM SPORTS Wheeler never likes to stand pat WHEELER FROM PAGE C3 "I told Humpy in his office that Tony had just crashed in the first few minutes of testing and was mad," said Jerry Gappens, the senior vice president of events at LMS. "Humpy said, 'You go down there and tell him to improve his attitude or I'll come down and whip his The 66-year-old Wheeler has accomplished a lot since he became president of Lowe's Motor Speedway 30 years ago. He was the first track president to install lights at a superspeedway for night racing, and the first to offer VIP suites and condominiums. His pre-race entertainment has been so creative that many call him the P.T. Barnum of stock car racing.

But every now and then he does something that does not work out the way it was planned. And, judging by the criticism Wheeler has received of late, grinding the track surface at LMS apparently falls in that category. Drivers fear another race like the Coca-Cola 600 in May, when there was a NASCAR-record 22 cautions. "There have been a lot of things that I've tried that didn't work," said Wheeler, a former football player and boxer at the University of South Carolina, where he earned a degree in journalism in 1961. "Most of my mistakes people don't see.

You swing the bat and you're going to miss balls every once in a Wheeler does not think grinding LMS's track is as egregious a mistake as others make it out to be. He blames the wrecks during last month's testing session on an unusually hot day and a lack of rubber on the track. But if altering the track's surface was a mistake and one that will be remedied when the track is repaved before next year's all-star race Wheeler said it is not close to being his biggest. When Wheeler thinks of big mistakes, the October race of 1987 comes to mind. That is when he invited 5,000 members of high school and college bands to the track to assemble the world's HAROLD ASSOCIATED PRESS Humpy Wheeler has been criticized for deciding to grind the track surface at Lowe's Motor Speedway before Saturday night's Nextel Cup race.

largest marching band. It was a disaster because Wheeler failed to pay attention to the weather forecast which, for him, is like a banker forgetting the combination to the safe. "I knew i it wasn't going to rain," he said. "What I didn't see was that a heat wave was moving in and it was going to be over 85 degrees." That translated to nearly 100 degrees because of the heat rising off the asphalt surface where the band performed. "People started passing out," Wheeler recalled.

"They had these wool suits on, which are OK for Friday night football but not for a hot Sunday afternoon. "About eight of them hit the deck, and Jay Howard (the prerace show producer) looked at me and asked what were we going to do. I said, 'The show must go A few minutes later, when 20 more band members were on the ground, Howard turned to Wheeler with the same question. "I said, 'The show must be Wheeler recalled with a laugh. "We ended up having to treat one-day ticket sale that close to a race," he said.

Wheeler, who was born in Belmont, N.C., has been obsessed with selling tickets since the day he arrived at LMS. He is as proud of some of the promotions he has put on to attract fans as he is of the races they have seen. One of his favorite promotional feats was getting into the Guinness Book of World Records in 2001 for gathering 5,000 firefighters, including four from New York City, three weeks after the Sept. 11 tragedy. But perhaps Wheeler's greatest accomplishment was the installation of lights at LMS in the early 1990s, allowing it to become the first superspeedway to host night racing.

"Now tracks all over have them," Wheeler said. "Even Daytona is lit now." There have been other accomplishments, but Wheeler does more looking ahead than he does looking back. He levigated the track in an attempt to promote better and faster racing, not to stir up controversy. And if there is any this weekend, he is sure to meet it head on, just as he did during testing. "Like I told them, 'Don't hold back (with criticism); that sells Wheeler said.

"Tony Stewart, he'd been barking about it, so I told him he didn't want to get whipped by a 66-year-old man." As for Stewart, he is not so sure Wheeler could back up his boasts. "He's a boxer, so he's not real scared to get in a fist fight with anybody," Stewart said. "But nobody has been able to tame me yet. I don't think Humpy Wheeler is the guy that is going to." Still, if it would help sell tickets, the LMS president probably would schedule a bout with the Nextel Cup points leader as a prerace event. He would, of course, take care of the fight promotion personally.

"Tony?" Wheeler scoffed. "He couldn't lick a postage stamp." Reach Newton at (803) 802-2091 or COMPARE SEATING CAPACITY COMPARE SAFETY FEATURES a hundred of them at the infield hospital for various stages of heat (exhaustion). Fortunately, none of them were serious." Wheeler does not remember much about his first race at LMS, the 1975 October race won by seven-time Winston Cup champion Richard Petty. But he remembers with great anguish the days leading up to the 1976 race in May. "We were way behind in ticket sales," he said.

"I thought I had totally failed as a track operator." Much of Wheeler's concern was caused by Janet Guthrie, who was attempting to become the first woman to compete in the Indianapolis 500 on the same day as the 600 in Charlotte. Guthrie's misfortune in not making the Indy field became a boon for Wheeler when she traveled to Charlotte and became the first woman to compete in a NASCAR Winston Cup event. "A lot of drivers didn't like it," Wheeler said. "There was a lot of grinding of teeth." Wheeler was not among them. Guthrie, who finished 15th, was a promoter's dream.

"We had the single-largest COMPARE INTERIOR PHOTOS SEARCH CARS.COM Midlands LAKE GREENWOOD: Largemouth Bass: Fair, using Zoom worms on a Texas or Carolina Rigs in 6 to 20 feet of water around structure. Good catches reported on floating worms around docks and sea walls early in the morning. Stripers: Good, behind the dam using Bombers, Charlie plugs, and flukes. White Bass and White Perch: Good, schooling activity reported over the lake. Crappie: Good, best catches at night.

Use small to medium minnows, mini jigs and Slider jigs around brush in 15-20 feet of water. Catfish: Good, try using redworms in 6 to 8 feet of water. Bream: Good, with redworms and crickets along shoreline structure and docks in 4 to 6 feet of water. LAKE WATEREE: Largemouth Bass: Good, casting spinnerbaits early and late and deep-running crankbaits. Striped Bass: Good, lower part of lake fish deep live shad.

Schooling activity early morning and late afternoon. White Perch: Good, casting and jigging Twister-tail grubs and live minnows. Crappie: Good, shallow water in the creeks, along edge old river channel. Catfish: Good, using earthworms, nightcrawlers, shrimp, small pieces of cut bait and live shad. Bream and Shellcrackers: Good, using crickets, worms and artificial lures fished around piers, structure and brush.

LAKE MURRAY: Largemouth "Bass: Fair, using green pumpkin plastic worms and lizards, trick worms and Carolina rigs, Texas rigs around shrubs and brush in 15 to 20 feet of water. Striped Bass: Good, early fishing is best with free lines and down fishing to 30 feet. Fishing with freelining live bait, Sammy's, Striper Delight and Pencil Poppers. Recommended fishing around Beaver Dam and Susie Ebert Island. Crappie: Fair, using minnows and jigs around brush piles in 8 to 15 feet of water and casting jigs.

White Perch: Good, jigging with small spoons in 8 to 20 feet of water jigs and using worms. Catfish: Good, using cut herring and nightcrawlers on the bottom 8 to 20 feet deep. Bream and Shellcrackers: Excellent, using redworms, baby nightcrawlers, crickets, Beetlespins and crickets around green grass in 20 feet of water and around Santee Cooper System LAKE MARION: Largemouth Bass: Fair, using artificial worms, Carolina rigs and live shiners, fishing along drops and creek banks, especially in morning. Crappie: Good, using small and medium minnows over deep brush piles, bridge pilings and piers. Catfish: Fair, using cut shad, herring and live shiners off bottom.

Bream and Shellcrackers: Fair, using redworms, crickets and waxworms in 4 to 6 feet of water and fishshallow and on the borrow pit. LAKE MOULTRIE: Striped Bass: Good, casting and trolling Stretch 25s early morning. Catfish: Good, 9 to 15 feet deep using cut herring, stink bait, chicken livers and shiners 9 to 20 feet deep near the bottom dike edges and around the dam. Mountains LAKE JOCASSEE: Largemouth Bass: Very good, FISHING REPORT FRESHWATER TRENDS morning and late evening casting Carolina- rigged worms, Gary Yamamoto watermelon purple plastic worms and jerkbaits. Trout: Fair, at 100 to 115 feet with Bad Creek spoons, Sutton, Doctor and Apex spoons.

Smallmouth Bass: Good. Casting Yozuri plugs deep and drifting minnows around rocky points. Catfish: Good. Try nightcrawlers or cut bait on bottom. Bream: Excellent, fishing with redworms, popping bugs and crickets around banks and brush.

LAKE KEOWEE: Largemouth and Spotted Bass: Good, doodling with drop-shot rigs in 30 to 40 feet of water. Bass are hitting topwater plugs in schools. Schooling early morning. Crappie: Fair, under bridges early in the day and night as days are too hot, minnows at night and jigs in 10 to 15 feet of water around brush piles and bridge pilings. Catfish: Good, using minnows, nightcrawlers and cut bait on the bottom.

Bream: Good, using redworms and crickets around brush piles, stumps and bridge pilings. LAKE HARTWELL: Largemouth Bass: Fair, casting spinnerbaits and crankbaits off points and With over 1.4 million vehicle listings, we have the right car for you. The State.com cars.com Click on Cars Find the right car for you." Classified Ventures, LLC. All rights reserved. 180925 Solunar Table AM PM Date Day Min.

Maj. Min. Maj. Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri 3:11 9:24 3:36 9:49 3:55 10:07 4:20 10:32 4:39 10:51 5:03 11:15 5:26 11:39 5:51 6:17 12:03 6:43 12:30 7:12 12:59 7:38 1:25 8:12 1:58 8:39 2:25 9:12 2:58 9:39 3:26 jigs around structure. Fair catches with live large minnows, white flukes and topwater flukes in morning and evenings.

Crappie: Fair, some catches at 25-30 feet with small to medium minnows. Catfish: Fair, using cut herring, large shiners, nightcrawlers, shrimp and chicken livers on the bottom. Bream: Fair. Try using redworms and crickets under boat docks and bridges and brush piles. Piedmont LAKE RUSSELL: Striped and Hybrid Bass: Good, using bucktails, cut and live herring and jigs below the dam when water is running.

Crappie: Good, using minnows and jigs around brush piles and bridge pilings at 5 to 7 feet. Catfish: Good, using cut bait and nightcrawlers on the bottom and around the riprap at bridges. Bream: Good, using crickets and earthworms around bridge pilings and structure. LAKE THURMOND: Largemouth Bass: Fair, casting plastio worms, Rattletraps, CountDown lures, deep-running Rebels, ShadRaps, Yozuri plugs and Challenger plugs. Striped and Hybrid Bass: Fair, using medium and large minnows, Sidewinder spoons, and and ounce Cleos.

Crappie: Fair, mostly using small minnows and greenish mini- jigs and Wobbly -eye jigs around deep brush tops. Catfish: Fair, using cut bait and nightcrawlers fishing on the bottom. Bream and Shellcrackers: Fair, using earthworms and crickets around banks and brush. LAKE WYLIE: Largemouth Bass: Good, casting spinnerbaits and medium-running crankbaits along points close to the bottom. Striped Bass: Good, using spoons and bucktails behind Lake Wylie dam.

White Bass: Good, below the dam casting smaller bucktails and spoons. Crappie: Good, using small minnows and jigs around docks, piers and brush tops in 15 to 20 feet of water. Catfish: Good, fishing on the bottom with a variety of baits. Shellcrackers: Good, using redworms and crickets on the bottom. Bream: Good, using earthworms and crickets around the banks.

SALTWATER TRENDS Piers CHERRY GROVE: 7 a.m.-11 p.m. SundayThursday: 7 a.m. to 2 a.m., Friday-Saturday. Some croaker caught with bloodworms, shrimp. Bluefish with gold hook rigs and shrimp.

APACHE (Myrtle Beach North): 6 a.m.-11:30 p.m.. Bluefish caught with mullet. Spottail caught with sand fleas. Also some whiting and flounder caught. SPRINGMAID (Myrtle Beach): 6 a.m.

midnight. Spottail caught with bottom rigs and worms. Bluefish caught with bottom rigs and gold hooks. MYRTLE BEACH STATE PARK (Myrtle Beach South): 6 a.m.-9:30 p.m. A few spottails caught with redworms.

SURFSIDE: 6 a.m.11 p.m.. Trout caught with cut bait. Whiting caught with shrimp. Also some flounder and pompano caught. GARDEN CITY: 24 hours.

Flounder and spottail being caught. Spanish mackerel caught with gold hooks. FOLLY BEACH: 6 a.m.-11 p.m. April-October. Black drum and whiting caught with shrimp HUNTING ISLAND STATE PARK: 24 hours.

Black sea bass red drum both caught with shrimp. Sheepshead caught with fiddler crab. 6 4,.