THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, September 10, 1994 TAG: 9409100400
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BOB ZELLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium: 83 lines
The long-rumored switch to a concrete racing surface at Dover Downs International Speedway will, indeed, happen.
Dover officials have announced they will begin resurfacing the one-mile oval in concrete the day after the Splitfire 500 on Sept. 18.
Track spokesman Al Robinson said the turns will remain banked at 24 degrees, but the transitions from the straightaways to the first and third turns will be redesigned to eliminate the dips.
``The objective will be to make a smooth transition from the straights to the turns,'' he said Friday at Richmond International Raceway. ``The tire companies tell us that the stresses on the right front tires at Dover are greater than any other track because of the abrupt transitions.''
To supervise the project, the track has hired the firm of Campbell and Paris, which specializes in the design and construction of surfaces subject to extreme loads, such as airport runways.
Bristol International Raceway currently is the only all-concrete track in the Winston Cup series, although the lower parts of the turns at Martinsville Speedway are also paved in concrete.
IRVAN UPDATE: Although Ernie Irvan still has a long road to recovery, he's itching to get out of the hospital and Mark Martin's crew chief, Steve Hmiel, said he wouldn't be surprised to see Irvan visit at Charlotte Motor Speedway during next month's race weekend.
``He's doing really good,'' said Hmiel, one of the many NASCAR mechanics and drivers who have spoken on the telephone with Irvan at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital outside Ann Arbor, where he was taken after suffering critical head and lung injuries in an Aug. 20 accident at Michigan. ``He'll be walking around Charlotte, I bet.''
``He's way ahead of schedule, but he's still got a long, hard road ahead of him,'' said Mark Martin. ``He's going crazy on the telephone, calling all of his friends. He wants out of there real bad. And it won't be too much longer.''
Martin said he and Irvan have talked about a lot of subjects - motor homes, airplanes, race cars, horses - and he is often able to converse normally.
``Then he'll be a little bit out there and he'll not be sure what he's talking about,'' Martin said. ``And he'll get tired and get frustrated. A walk down the hall exhausts him.''
JUNIOR'S UNCERTAIN PLANS: Junior Johnson says he still doesn't know whether he will have two teams in 1994 and if he does, who will be driving his second car.
Speculation still focuses on Brett Bodine joining Jimmy Spencer in the Johnson stable, but Johnson says Bodine ``is in a deal where several people are talking to him.''
Johnson said he has a meeting Monday with representatives of the North Wilkesboro, N.C.-based Lowe's home improvement chain, but doesn't know if it will lead to a sponsorship or if the company, in fact, plans to get into racing.
``They've got a tremendously large expansion project going on,'' he said. ``I just don't really know much of anything to comment on. I'm just guessing like everybody else.''
CHEVY'S WOES: The Chevy teams have won only one race since May, and top Chevy racing engineer Terry Laise isn't happy about it.
``Our teams are real good, but we're not doing it,'' he said. ``Something's wrong.''
Laise personally believes that NASCAR has given the Fords an aerodynamic advantage over the Chevys.
``I think we're a little behind in aerodynamics,'' he said. ``I don't think we're behind on the chassis.''
Laise said NASCAR rejected Chevy's request for aerodynamic concessions in the spring.
What he would like to see, he said, is ``anything that could generate front downforce. We have an aerodynamic push in our cars and that lets the other guys get on the throttle sooner than us coming out of the corners.''
Jeff Gordon's victory in the Brickyard 400 is the only Chevy win since Gordon won the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte in May.
Of course, if you're only going to win one, Indy was the one to win. Dale Earnhardt has won three races in his Chevy this year, Terry Labonte won at North Wilkesboro and Sterling Marlin was the Daytona 500 winner.
With its new Monte Carlo, Chevy will have a new Winston Cup car in 1995.
``I think the car will be very competitive,'' Laise said. ``But I don't look for NASCAR to let us do anything that will make it a rocket, but it's going to be a good car.'' by CNB