THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, May 7, 1995 TAG: 9505070207
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BOB ZELLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SONOMA, CALIF. LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines
Ernie Irvan was reported in excellent condition Saturday at the University of California-San Francisco Medical Center after undergoing surgery to repair a circulatory problem related to his near-fatal crash at Michigan last year.
Team spokesman Brian VanDercook said the operation, which was performed Friday, had two objectives: to cure a psuedoaneurysm located below Irvan's brain and to preserve the left carotid artery.
The surgery was unrelated to the vision problem in Irvan's left eye, VanDercook said.
VanDercook said he doubted that the operation would deter Irvan from returning to racing, ``but it may change the pace of it,'' he said. ``If anything, it may have cleared the path to a more complete recovery.''
VanDercook said Irvan might be released in time to attend today's race.
``I can tell you Ernie is in excellent spirits,'' VanDercook said. ``He's wisecracking a bunch, and I think that's usually the litmus test for Ernie.''
SAWYER GOES HOME: The ax finally fell on Elton Sawyer in his ongoing debut in the Winston Cup series.
After qualifying for the short-track race at Martinsville and the superspeedway race at Talladega, Sawyer came up short during the second round of time trials for today's Save Mart 300 on the 2.52-mile road course at Sears Point International Raceway.
``We spun off turn seven,'' crew chief and team manager Mike Hill said. ``It's the toughest race track to go to when you're a rookie.''
Sawyer was 49th-fastest among the 50 cars that made qualifying runs Friday or Saturday.
There was quite a bit of shuffling in the bottom of the 43-car lineup after the second round, and Greg Sacks and Jeremy Mayfield also failed to make the race, chiefly because two Winston West drivers managed to make it on their speeds.
Provisional starting spots went to Bobby Labonte, Ricky Craven, Rick Mast and Dick Trickle. The field consists of 37 qualifiers, four Winston Cup provisional starters and two Winston West provisional starters.
ROUSH'S TRUCK PLANS: Winston Cup car owner Jack Roush announced Saturday that he will not only have Todd Bodine in a Roush-prepared SuperTruck for seven races this year, but that he also will field a second truck in 1996.
``We'll have a `Gong Show' contest to select a driver for a full program in 1996,'' Roush said.
A `Gong Show' contest?
``It's a lot like putting a half-dozen homeless cats in a room with one piece of fish and turning the lights off,'' he said.
Roush said the auditions would involve about six candidates and would last two or three days.
TESTING AT DOVER: Derrike Cope, who has participated in two Goodyear tire tests on the new concrete surface at Dover Downs International Speedway, said Goodyear seems to be getting a better handle on the course.
In the first test, which occurred several weeks ago, the tires were worn to the cord after only about 15 laps, he said. But last Wednesday, the second test ``went pretty well,'' Cope said. ``We ran 50 laps and still had tire left.''
Cope said track officials still need to grind a few rough spots, but he expects conditions to be better by the time the series arrives for the June 4 race. by CNB