THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, October 26, 1996 TAG: 9610260506
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C8 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BOB ZELLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PHOENIX LENGTH: 111 lines
It took less than 10 minutes Friday at Phoenix International Raceway for the Winston Cup championship battle to take another dramatic turn.
Terry Labonte, the series points leader, fractured a bone at the base of his left index finger when his accelerator stuck and he crashed into the wall in turn 3 at this 1-mile track.
Labonte caught a break when high winds and near-sandstorm conditions forced NASCAR to postpone the first round of Winston Cup qualifying. A single round of qualifying will be held at 1:45 p.m. EDT today to set the field, consisting of 38 cars plus provisionals.
The postponement gave Labonte time to get fitted with a soft cast, have electrotherapy to reduce the pain and visit a specialist Friday night.
``The fracture runs down the inside of his index finger,'' car owner Rick Hendrick said. ``We thought at first he had two broken bones, but it's only one. It's not going to be easy, because whenever he grips the steering wheel, pushing and pulling it, that's where all the strength comes from.
``So we've got some parts coming from North Carolina and we'll just try to modify the steering wheel so he can use different parts of his hand when he's steering.''
Hendrick said Labonte planned to qualify today and race Sunday.
The first Winston Cup practice was only about 10 minutes old on a cloudy, blustery morning when Labonte crashed. His Chevrolet Monte Carlo slammed right-side-first into the outside wall in turn 3 and then rode the wall all the way around to the entrance of turn 1.
There was a flash fire, but it was quickly extinguished by fire crews.
Inside the car, Labonte was wincing. His left hand hurt like the dickens. His steering wheel had jerked hard when he crashed, slamming into his hand between the thumb and index finger.
Labonte went to the infield care center for treatment, and his crew hustled to the team transporter and began unloading the backup car.
As word spread through the garage that Labonte had hurt his hand, a wrecker brought his car back to the garage. It was his silver commemorative car - the one he was driving when he tied and broke the record for consecutive Winston Cup starts and the car he won with at North Wilkesboro in April.
When Labonte emerged from the care center, with that familiar twinkle still in his eye, he had a food storage bag full of ice on his hand and wrist. He kept his glove on his injured hand.
``I'm just carrying this ice around for the drinks,'' joked the driver who is so taciturn he is known as ``the Ice Man.''
``The throttle hung in turn 3,'' he said. ``I went into the corner and let off, and the throttle hung. I cut the switch off, but it was too late.
``I think my hand got caught in the steering wheel and it jerked it when it hit. It's sore. We're going to go get X-rays of it after qualifying.''
Labonte said the flash fire didn't bother him.
``I couldn't get it stopped is what was bad,'' he said. ``I didn't have any brakes.''
Labonte continued to drive his car in practice, but with much difficulty.
``I just can't turn in the corners,'' he told crew chief Gary DeHart at one point. Ron Hornaday was called over as a possible relief driver but was soon released as Labonte became more and more used to driving with his injury.
Friday afternoon, during the Southwest Tour race, Labonte went for X-rays at West Valley Medical Center.
``The doctor here told me he thought it was broken, and I believe him,'' Labonte said. ``It really hurts.''
Labonte didn't have much to say about how it would affect his Winston Cup championship hopes. With only the races at Phoenix and Atlanta left, he's 32 points ahead of teammate Jeff Gordon and 76 ahead of Dale Jarrett.
``It's just one of those deals,'' Labonte said. ``It's too bad. That's
the way it goes.''
PETTY'S PLANS: ``Hey man, come hang out with me in the infield media center.''
With those words on a printed flyer, Kyle Petty spread the word about his Friday press conference to announce plans for his own Winston Cup team in 1997, sponsored by Mattel's Hot Wheels.
Petty said he will own the team along with his father and veteran engine builder David Evans.
``Basically, we're starting off next year with a brand new team,'' Petty said. ``We're going to run Pontiacs. We're going to be working on some things with my father's team, and economically, it's more advantageous for us to run Pontiacs.''
Petty said the team, led by crew chief Bobby Kennedy, is building cars at a shop in Concord, N.C.
``We're going to lease engines from Petty Enterprises for the first 10 or 15 races, whatever it takes. David is slowly starting our engine program.
``People have been asking me for years when I would return to Petty Enterprises. I didn't really have a master plan when the season started, but the pieces fell into place quickly. It felt like the right thing to do.
``My grandfather (Lee Petty) started the family team and my father, the King, took it over. Obviously, at some point in time, it'll be mine. You just get to a point in life when you try to build something for your children, and this is what we felt we had to do to get to that point.''
CHILDRESS HUNTING: Richard Childress said he's not yet begun interviewing for a crew chief to replace David Smith on Dale Earnhardt's No. 3 Chevrolet.
``We will have another crew chief,'' Childress said. ``That's all I can tell you.''
Childress confirmed Friday that David Smith is leaving as Earnhardt's crew chief but will remain with his company as crew chief and team manager of the No. 31 Chevrolet Monte Carlo driven by Mike Skinner.
Earnhardt has won only one race this year and fell from the lead in the Winston Cup points race to fourth place during the second half of the season. His biggest problem, of course, was his crash at Talladega in July that left him with a broken shoulder and sternum.
KEEPING ON: It's hard to keep an old war horse away from the action. Sixty-one-year-old A.J. Foyt, a longtime star in both Winston Cup and Indy-car racing, will race in today's GM Goodwrench-Delco Battery 300 Craftsman Truck race (3:30 p.m., WTBS) on the Phoenix oval.
Foyt's last race was at this same event a year ago. He started ninth and finished 18th. This time, he is starting 21st in the 36-truck field. by CNB