Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, June 2, 1990 TAG: 9006020009
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
"You didn't drive a green car, and you didn't eat peanuts in the garage," Pearson said.
"If somebody had brought a green car into the garage back in the 1960s, people would have been running to get away from 'em. You didn't dare get near a green car, much less drive the sucker in a race.
"And peanuts? Man, if somebody started eating peanuts in the garage they were asking to be shot. You just didn't do that stuff."
Obviously, today's NASCAR drivers aren't quite as superstitious.
"There are green cars everywhere now. And, shoot, I saw a boy carrying a can of mixed nuts through the garage not long ago," said Pearson, shaking his head in disbelief.
Still, there are some drivers who believe in superstition and lucky charms.
"I'm superstitious," Kyle Petty said. "Hey, I used to have this pair of lucky underwear. I wore them when I won the Coca-Cola 600 in 1987.
"It seemed like whenever I wore them, we either won or finished well. But after one race I left them in the truck back when I was driving for the Wood Brothers. They cleaned the truck after the race and tossed them out.
"I drove all the way to the shop in Stuart and climbed into the trash dumpster to look for those things. I finally found them, but they were covered with oil and grease and dirt. I took 'em home and dropped 'em in a bucket of bleach.
"I guess I left them too long, because after I washed them, all that was left was the elastic waistband. For a few races after that, I put on the elastic band underneath my uniform. I don't know if it was the bleach, but I didn't seem to have the same luck."
Sterling Marlin doesn't tempt fate.
"I won't take a motel room when I'm traveling if the number equals 13," Marlin said. "The number on my car is 94. That equals 13, and I really don't like that.
"Somebody gave me a four-leaf clover. I carry it in my pocket. I didn't see how it could hurt."
Richard Petty, who has had more good luck than any NASCAR driver, winning a record 200 races, laughed at the beliefs of his son and others.
"I don't know what underwear and that kind of stuff has to do with racing," Petty said, grinning.
"The only superstition I know is under the hood of the car. Is that engine going to run all day long, or is it going to quit halfway through the race. Now that's superstition. Real superstition."
Michael Waltrip, a non-winner in 139 career Winston Cup starts, says his time is coming.
Following a solid fourth-place run Sunday in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway, Waltrip appeared elated with his team's prospects for the remainder of the season.
"It was a lot of fun to be that close to winning," Waltrip said. "I felt I could almost reach out and touch the winner [Rusty Wallace]. I could see that first victory out there.
"At Talladega [Ala.], we were fifth and now we're fourth. In about three or four weeks, it wouldn't surprise me if you found us in victory lane."
Waltrip's fourth-place run was his second-best career finish. He took second in the 1988 Miller 500 at Pocono, Pa.
How physically demanding is a 500-mile race at Dover (Del.) Downs International Speedway? Listen to Geoff Bodine.
"Don't drink a lot of fluids before you get in the car," Bodine said. "Several years ago, I stocked up on water and juice before getting in the car and it really got to me in the race. It was agony. It was the only time I wished an engine would just blow up.
"I stuck it out, but when they dropped the checkered flag I drove as fast as I could to the garage, literally crawled out of the car straight to the restroom."
Rusty Wallace said the final 100 miles of the 4 1/2-hour marathon are the toughest in stock car racing.
"It's a test for car and driver and endurance, I'll tell you," Wallace said. "There's a big strain on your neck. Your arms get tired. Everything gets tired. You're just going and going and going and you think, `Boy, it's getting harder to turn the wheel.' "
\ LUGNUTS: Insiders say Davey Allison has told car owner Robert Yates to hire a full-time crew chief. Yates, who also builds engines, has been serving as the Ford team's crew chief. Rumors have Robin Pemberton, current crew chief for Jack Roush's Ford operation, possibly moving to the Yates team. . . . Car owner Richard Jackson will field a second entry in road-course events June 10 at Sears Point, Calif., and Aug. 12 at Watkins Glen, N.Y. Two-time road racing champion Irv Hoerr will drive the car. . . . Stan Barrett will drive Rick Hendrick's fourth car at Sears Point. Greg Sacks drove the car in the team's first two races at Talladega and Charlotte. . . . If the speculation proves true and Dale Jarrett leaves the Wood Brothers Ford team at the end of the season, the Stuart-based operation will need a new driver for 1991. Early best bets to fill the seat include Larry Pearson, who is without a full-time ride this season, and Marlin, who is working the final year of his contract with the Billy Hagan Oldsmobile team.
by CNB