Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, October 1, 1995 TAG: 9510020124
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C12 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. LENGTH: Medium
But none of these teams has made any changes yet.
``It's winding down,'' Rudd said. ``Hopefully after Charlotte we'll have it squared away.''
Rudd has talked to Richard Broome, the general manager/crew chief on the No. 26 Ford driven by Hut Stricklin, and Jeff Hammond, the veteran crew chief on the Pontiac team of Dick Brooks, among others.
Rudd is seeking to replace Bill Ingle, who said Saturday he hopes to announce his 1996 plans next Friday at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Ingle said he expected to sign a deal that would make him general manager and crew chief of a Winston Cup team, but with opportunities to drive both Grand National cars and NASCAR trucks.
Childress is considering mechanics already on his team as well as outside candidates. ``We're visiting all the angles,'' he said.
Michael Waltrip and the Wood Brothers officially announced their alliance for 1996 in a press conference Friday. And Morgan Shepherd, dropped by the Woods, is still looking for a ride.
And they're still at work at Bud Moore's No. 15 Ford team trying to find a sponsor and perhaps a driver. Crew chief Greg Moore has talked to Shepherd and former Grand National driver David Green among others, but also hasn't ruled out the return of Dick Trickle.
``We're talking with different people and we're exploring different sponsors,'' Moore said. ``What we have to do is put it all together at once. And that's the hardest thing to do.''
NASCAR ON IRVAN: NASCAR sought written assurances from Ernie Irvan's doctors before deciding to let him return to racing, NASCAR Vice President of Competition Mike Helton said Saturday.
Among the issues NASCAR considered, Helton said, was Irvan's recovery from his near-fatal head injury, his physical limitations and how they would affect his on-track performance, the level of his healing, his motor skills, his rehabilitation and whether his injury would make him more susceptible to being injured again.
NASCAR had its own doctors involved in the case, but they did not examine Irvan.
``We really didn't hire any doctors, although we used doctors to interpret some of the medical and technical terminology,'' Helton said. ``It was mostly getting the assurances of his doctors, because they're the ones who know Ernie's situation better than someone wandering in off the street and looking at him.''
Said Irvan, ``Mike Helton was great to work with. He talked with my doctors and gave a lot of effort to enable me to come back. The doctors and NASCAR, they could have said, `We don't want to touch it with a 10-foot pole.'
``But they all made it as smooth as they could. I feel real good that we gave everything enough time.''
Irvan said his doctors have told him that he is no more susceptible to another head injury, or a worse head injury, than he was before he crashed at Michigan on Aug. 20, 1994.
Irvan's primary physician in Michigan, Dr. Errol Erlandson, was here Saturday to watch Irvan's return to the track.
Erlandson said he believes he played ``a relatively minor role'' in certifying Irvan's return, but said he told NASCAR he was convinced Irvan had regained the skills to race, that Irvan wouldn't return to the track if he felt he was a risk to himself or others and that ``there's a real passion there and that passion would carry him beyond his limitations to do this.''
Whether Irvan is more susceptible to another head injury now, ``I don't think I can really honestly tell you,'' Erlandson said. ``I don't think anybody can answer that.''
GOING HOME EARLY: It was a rough day for a surprising number of Winston Cup regulars, who found themselves headed home for a rare Sunday off after failing to make the Holly Farms 400 field during second-round qualifying Saturday.
Flunking out from time trials were Todd Bodine, Greg Sacks, Jeff Burton, Jeremy Mayfield, Ward Burton, Mike Wallace and Jay Hedgecock.
Rick Mast and Kyle Petty were fastest in the second round, nailing down the 26th and 27th starting positions. Mast's lap of 117.444 mph would have earned him the 11th starting position had he done it on Friday.
Mast and Petty were the only drivers to make the field on their times. Provisional starting spots went to Derrike Cope, John Andretti, Lake Speed and Robert Pressley.
NO PROBLEM: Ted Musgrave, who starts on the pole in today's Holly Farms 400, echoed the sentiments of just about every driver in the Winston Cup garage when he was asked whether he was concerned about racing with Irvan.
``Am I nervous? Not a bit,'' he said. ``I gotta believe right now that if Ernie says he's ready to come back, I'll believe him that he's ready. And I'll go wheel to wheel with him lap after lap if that's what it takes.
``I have absolutely no problem running with Ernie. I wouldn't worry about him a bit.''
by CNB