ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, July 5, 1996 TAG: 9607050086
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: AUTO RACING NOTES
DATELINE: DAYTONA BEACH
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
Qualifying for Saturday's Pepsi 400 was rained out after only nine drivers made their runs at Daytona International Speedway Thursday, but there was plenty of other news to keep things busy.
Off the track Thursday, Kyle Petty is on his way out, and the sport's first trading card company is struggling to stay alive.
On the track, Jeff Gordon staked his claim to a possible fourth pole position for 1996 with a lap of 188.869 mph before a line of persistent showers ended the day's activities.
Gordon was more than two miles per hour quicker than the second-fastest driver, Darrell Waltrip, whose best lap (of two) was 186.776 mph. Jeff Purvis was third fastest at 186.474, followed by Dale Earnhardt at 186.409 and Lake Speed at 186.100.
The rest of the field will take a shot at Gordon beginning at 9 a.m. today.
Given the cooler temperatures in the early morning hours, at least some drivers should have a good shot at beating Gordon.
There was no immediate decision on whether there would be one round or two rounds of time trials today.
In other news:
PETTY TO LEAVE SABATES: Three years of bottom dwelling was enough for Kyle Petty. Petty and car owner Felix Sabates have announced that Petty will not return to the No. 42 Pontiac Grand Prix next season. Both Petty and Sabates said the split is amicable, with Sabates even stating that Petty was helping interview candidates to replace him.
The announcement started a fresh wave of speculation about driver and team changes for 1997, or even the rest of 1996.
Car owner Gary Bechtel is looking for Steve Grissom's permanent replacement, while Grissom is looking for another ride.
The rumors still persist about an Ernie Irvan/Robert Yates split, although both deny it. John Andretti and Robert Pressley also are said to be shaky in their rides.
Another rumor floating around the garage was that Junior Johnson plans to return next year with a new team.
What is Petty going to do?
``I don't know,'' he said Thursday. ``I don't have a clue. There's about nine million rumors about nine million drivers, nine million sponsors and nine million car owners. Just to keep this [split] from being a rumor, it's not a rumor any more.''
But don't be surprised if he starts his own team with the notion of joining forces in a few years with the family company, Petty Enterprises.
``I'm not above trying to find a sponsor and doing our own thing and combining in three or four years with Petty Enterprises,'' he said.
Petty said he was not interested in driving his father's No. 43 Pontiac because he has no intentions of unseating happily settled Bobby Hamilton.
Petty said he decided it was time to leave Sabates because ``we've not made a lot of progress in the last two or three years and I decided I was going to have to go someplace where I could make some progress and do something.''
As for his record with Sabates, Petty said, ``At times, we've been like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. But I think at other times we've been like Abbott and Costello.''
Sabates was upbeat about the split.
``Kyle is my talent searcher,'' he said. ``This will be the first time in the history of racing where a driver will help hire his own replacement.''
MAXX IS BANKRUPT: Maxx Race Cards, the first company to produce regular issues of NASCAR trading cards, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court and is seeking a buyer.
A press release said Maxx's troubles were due to poor quality on two key 1995 sets of cards which led to heavy returns.
WALLACE STAYING WITH FORD: Rusty Wallace and Ford announced Thursday that they've agreed to a three-year contract extension that will keep him in Ford Thunderbirds through the 1999 season.
He's picked up 13 of his 44 career victories since switching from Pontiac to Ford before the 1994 season.
HAMILTON CRASHES AT INDY: Bobby Hamilton is still sore from a hard lick he took in a crash in turn four at Indianapolis on June 26.
He crashed after blowing a tire. The impact knocked him out for about a minute and he cut his chin when he hit the steering wheel.
LENGTH: Medium: 84 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. Jeff Gordon climbs out of his car after qualifyingby CNBThursday for the Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway.