DATE: Wednesday, November 5, 1997           TAG: 9711050842

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C3   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY BOB ZELLER, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   39 lines

SPEEDS A CONCERN AT ATLANTA SPEEDWAY BUT NO RULE CHANGES ARE EXPECTED.

Seventeen drivers practiced on the reconfigured track at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Tuesday to take advantage of the last days of practice before the facility closes to prepare for the season-ending NAPA 500 on Nov. 16.

Speeds were down from the 193-plus-mph laps two weeks ago, but there is still plenty of concern about high speed and the nature of the new ultra-grip asphalt on the track, which is still a 1 1/2-mile oval, but has been reshaped into a D-shaped track similar to Charlotte and Texas.

ARCA driver Tim Steele, practicing in Bud Moore's Ford, was the fastest on Tuesday, reaching 192.166 mph. Todd Bodine reached 191.635 mph in a Pontiac. Grand National driver Buckshot Jones was at 190.843 in a Pontiac. Darrell Waltrip clocked 190.058 mph in a Chevy and Rusty Wallace was fifth-fastest at 189.668 mph in a Ford.

Others who participated Tuesday included Terry Labonte, Ward Burton, Ricky Rudd, Steve Grissom and Robert Pressley. Practice for the season-ending race concludes today.

The speeds are expected to be a major subplot to the main story that will unfold at Atlanta - the battle for the Winston Cup championship between Jeff Gordon, Dale Jarrett and Mark Martin. Gordon leads Jarrett by 77 points and Martin by 87 points.

There was no word from NASCAR Tuesday about any rule changes to slow speeds at Atlanta. NASCAR Winston Cup Director Gary Nelson was in Atlanta Tuesday and will be there part of the day today to watch. But no one in the garage was expecting any changes. There are a couple of reasons for this.

First, it would be unfair to mandate changes now that nearly every team has spent considerable time and money practicing at the new track. Second, this is probably the only time the speeds will be this high.

``It won't be as fast next year and the year after that,'' said Martin. ``As the asphalt hardens and wears down some from races, the speeds will start easing back down again.''

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