ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, February 9, 1997 TAG: 9702110005
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-2 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: AUTO RACING NOTES
DATELINE: DAYTONA BEACH, FLA.
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
One look at the Winston Cup car inspection bay at Daytona International Speedway lends proof to the theory that as NASCAR has grown, so has its bureaucracy.
It's not so much an inspection bay now as it is an inspection mall.
Terry Labonte's car was the first to run the gantlet of gadgets, gizmos and human fine-tooth combs Saturday before qualifying for the Daytona 500. It took slightly more than 30 minutes.
``The only problem with this is that it is really time-consuming,'' said driver Kyle Petty. ``All of a sudden we have a 30-minute inspection procedure. It seems like it would be easier to do it another way.''
Each car passes under the gaze of 40 pairs of NASCAR eyes.
It starts at the gas pumps behind pit road, where inspectors check the tread width of the tires and examine the side skirts. At the next stop, the fuel cell is checked, as well as the height of the rear deck and the spoiler.
At the third stop, the cars still have not reached the traditional NASCAR inspection area. Here, the radiators and roof flaps are inspected and the rear shock absorbers are disconnected in preparation for the weight test.
``Once they roll in the inspection building, we add the weight - 75 pounds to both sides of the rear end - to check the rear springs,'' said NASCAR spokesman Kevin Triplett. ``We're trying to make sure they're stiff enough to keep the cars from dropping to a height where they could potentially bottom out in the turns.
Next, the spoiler is checked again - this time for angle and stiffness.
``Then we move outside again and the air cleaner, pumps and carburetor and manifold are inspected,'' Triplett said. ``Here, we apply the restrictor plate.''
At yet another outside stop, as the cars make a U-turn and prepare to go back inside the inspection building, the long, nose-to-tail template is applied. Then the cars move back inside and are weighed. The roof height also is checked here, along with the height of the air dam and side skirts.
Finally, the cars move back outside for one more stop, where the air dam is riveted to the front end. ``Then we escort them to pit road,'' Triplett said.
NEW PACE CAR DRIVER: Robert ``Buster'' Auton, a key lieutenant of Winston Cup director Gary Nelson, has been named the NASCAR Winston Cup pace car driver.
Auton, 44, of Hickory, N.C., fills the vacancy left by the death of Elmo Langley, who suffered a fatal heart attack behind the wheel of the pace car while taking a lap around the Suzuka circuit in Japan in November.
Auton became a part-time NASCAR inspector in the former Late Model Sportsman (now Grand National) series in 1975 and joined full-time in 1987 as the truck driver and an inspector in the Busch series. He was promoted to the Winston Cup series in 1989.
HENDRICK NOT HERE: Winston Cup champion car owner Rick Hendrick is not expected to appear at Daytona this year during Speedweeks.
``He's not going to be down here at all,'' said Jimmy Johnson, general manager of Hendrick Motorsports. ``He's going to be a sick puppy for a while.''
Hendrick, who faces a federal criminal trial later this year in connection with the American Honda scandal, has begun chemotherapy treatments for leukemia. He was diagnosed with cancer in November.
``If there's really something in his favor, it is that his attitude has never been stronger,'' Johnson said.
LETTERMAN SPONSORSHIP: The Chevrolet Monte Carlo driven in today's ARCA 200 by Tim Moser is sponsored by Worldwide Pants, Inc., David Letterman's company.
Moser, of San Jose, Calif., was Letterman's instructor for several years at the Jim Hall Kart Racing School in California. ``This is the third year he's been helping me out as a sponsor,'' said Moser, who starts 35th in a 40-car field.
LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines KEYWORDS: AUTO RACINGby CNB