Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, May 26, 1990                   TAG: 9005260154
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: RANDY KING SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: CONCORD, N.C.                                LENGTH: Medium

IT'S CHUCK BOWN, B-O-W-N, AND FEWER WILL BE FORGETTING

"I don't think they'll be misspelling my name from now on," Bown said with a smile Friday at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

After winning three of the past four weeks on NASCAR's Grand National tour, Bown no longer should have to worry about being misidentified.

"All last year, track announcers kept calling me Chuck Brown," Bown said, laughing.

The case of mistaken identity didn't end at the race track. Bown is identified as Chuck Brown in Pontiac's 1990 promotional photo package, as well as on his '90 Maxx racing card.

Bown's hot streak has raised the price of the tainted card from 25 cents to $5, said Mark Garrow, public relations director for the team based in Ridgeway, Va.

"I'd definitely say my stock as a driver has risen some, too," Bown said.

No doubt. Through 11 races, Bown heads the Grand National tour in races won (three), poles won (three) and laps led (525). Heading into today's Champion 300 at Charlotte, he leads Virginia neighbor Jimmy Hensley by 54 points in the chase for the GN championship.

"Ain't that something? The national title could come down to two teams out of Horsepasture," Bown said. "Who would have thought that?"

Bown and Hensley, who is the nephew of Bown's car owner, Hubert Hensley, are neighbors in tiny Horsepasture, or as Bown jokingly calls it, "a suburb of Ridgeway."

Bown's season has been no joke, though. The 35-year-old former Winston West champion said he knew the Hensley team would come on strong in 1990.

"We ran well last year at a lot of places, but something always happened that kept us from getting that first win," said Bown, who is in his second season with the Hensley team.

"But there was never any question in my mind that this team could win races. Jeff [crew chief] and Hubert Hensley have been winning races too long for it to not have happened."

Bown's hot streak began April 28 at Gainesville, Ga. He made it two in a row the next Saturday at South Boston, Va. After finishing third to Jimmy Hensley at Nazareth, Pa., Bown made it 3-for-4 last Saturday at Hickory.

Bown is quick to praise the Hensleys.

"They gave me a chance and I'm glad it's finally paying dividends," he said.

"We were able to come up with a sponsor [Nescafe] so we could buy some parts, and we've got the good Buick motor. Everything has fallen into place."

Hubert Hensley, no stranger to the racing game, attributes the hot streak to a run of good luck.

"I've been around this stuff for 40 years," he said. "When you've got luck riding with you, it's hard to be beat. I'd rather have luck than a license to steal."

Jeff Hensley said Bown and the team eventually want to graduate to NASCAR's major-league Winston Cup tour.

"It's definitely in the works," Jeff Hensley said. "That's what I'm here for. I'm young and I've got ambition.

"Ideally, we'd like to run the full Grand National circuit and five to eight Winston Cup events next year. We could possibly go full-blown Winston Cup in 1992."

One thing is certain. When and if it happens, everybody will know how to spell Chuck Bown's name.

If Bown is to make it 4-for-5, he will will have to hustle today at Charlotte. He starts 32nd in the 42-car field.

Dick Trickle starts on the pole for the 300-mile race. Harry Gant, who qualified second, will start at the rear of the field after crashing his Buick on Friday in the final practice session; the car is owned by Ed Whitaker of Abingdon, Va.

The race, which takes the green flag at 1 p.m., more than likely will be won by one of the 12 Winston Cup interlopers. Big-league drivers start 1-5 in the field.

\ Winston Cup driver Jimmy Spencer has been suspended indefinitely from the GN circuit for an altercation that occurred Saturday night at Hickory, N.C.

Spencer allegedly spun the car of Dana Patten near the end of the race.

"He's sitting out this race because of the infraction," said GN director Robert Black. "He's on indefinite suspension."

Spencer said he was told NASCAR officials are reviewing the suspension.

Keywords:
AUTO RACING