THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 5, 1995 TAG: 9511050214
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C16 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BOB ZELLER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 82 lines
Ernie Irvan is well on his way back to his former status as one of the top drivers in the NASCAR Winston Cup series. But he won't consider his comeback complete until the green flag flies at the 1996 Daytona 500.
``I think that's when I'm really going to know I'm back,'' Irvan said last week. ``That's going to be the start of another year. We're all going to start with the same amount of points.''
``Right now it's still a comeback, and I've got to do everything I've got to do to be ready for next year.''
Irvan finished second in the SuperTruck race last weekend at Phoenix and led more than 100 laps of the Winston Cup race before his engine dropped a valve.
Classic Irvan: ``Our strategy was to get in front as soon as we could and hold that.''
Irvan did not use an eye patch in either race. He wore his plastic prismatic glasses that correct his double vision - the only remnant of his near-fatal crash in August 1994 at Michigan.
``When I look through the prism glasses, it gets it where I'm not seeing double,'' he said.
Irvan said his eyesight is not holding him back, but ``I'm just a little bit rusty. Probably the major difference I have right now is I'm not getting the car set up exactly right.
``I feel real good on the race track. Obviously, a little bit of my confidence - I'm lacking a little bit in that. It's just going to take some time to build that up.''
LOOKING FOR A RACE: With his 147-point lead, Jeff Gordon has all but locked up the 1995 Winston Cup championship. If he can avoid last place (in a 42-car field) next Sunday at Atlanta, he wins no matter what.
But behind him, there are some close races for position.
Sterling Marlin, in fourth, needs to gain 23 points on Mark Martin to gain third. Rusty Wallace, in fifth, is 53 points ahead of Terry Labonte.
And the battle for positions eight through 12 is a free-for-all. Ricky Rudd, who has moved from 14th to eighth in the past few weeks, has a 14-point lead over ninth-place Bill Elliott, who is only 10 ahead of Bobby Labonte. Labonte has a 50-point margin on Morgan Shepherd, but Shepherd is only seven points ahead of Dale Jarrett in 12th.
Add all that up and you'll find Jarrett is only 81 points behind Rudd.
SPEAKING OUT, SORT OF: Car owner Felix Sabates issued a statement last week saying his lawyers told him not to comment on the lawsuit filed against him and his team by Ricky Rudd.
Rudd alleges that Sabates enticed his team engineer, Dave Charpentier, to breach contracts with Rudd so that Charpentier could go to work for Sabates, who fields Pontiacs for Kyle Petty. It asks for damages and an injunction to prevent Charpentier from working for Sabates.
While Sabates made ``no official comment,'' his statement ``suggests that it might be worthwhile to reflect upon a well-known historical document issued by the executive branch of the U.S. government in 1863.'' Sabates' statement then reproduced the first two paragraphs of the Emancipation Proclamation.
KYLE'S THUMB: While his car owner battles in court, Kyle Petty is recovering from a mild thumb injury.
Petty suffered a hairline fracture in his left thumb at Phoenix and has had a soft case put on it.
``He should be good to go at Atlanta,'' team spokesman Jon Sands said.
SHEPHERD'S NEW RIDE: Morgan Shepherd says he was not looking to steal Todd Bodine's ride in the Butch Mock-owned No. 75 Ford Thunderbird, but Bodine says he was shocked he lost it.
``My first deal was with Bud Moore, but they were waiting week after week on sponsorship,'' Shepherd told Ford's Wayne Estes. ``I wasn't out to take anybody's job. I think the world of Todd, and I didn't want his job.''
But after talking once with Mock, ``I told Butch I was available if he made a change,'' Shepherd said. ``We made a verbal agreement Tuesday night on the phone.''
``It really took me by surprise,'' Bodine told Estes. ``I thought we had a (long-term) deal. But he's got to do what he has to do. I know I can still drive. I thought strongly that Rockingham proved that I could drive and that I could win races.''
Bodine came from third in the final few hundred yards to win the Grand National race at Rockingham on Oct. 21.
``I thought that gave the team a boost and built their confidence in me,'' Bodine said. ``Obviously, I was wrong.'' by CNB