| | MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- The memory of two giants of NASCAR's infancy was a dominant theme during prerace activities at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday.
Track owner H. Clay Earles, who died Nov. 16 at age 86, and Lee Petty, who died Wednesday, also at 86, were cited for contributions to racing.
Earles was remembered for always being conscious of what was best for the fans and the sport since he built a half-mile dirt track and opened it in 1947.
"H. Clay Earles loved the fans as most of you know," track
president Clay Campbell, also Earles' grandson, told the record
crowd of about 86,000.
"His spirit will live long in this speedway."
Campbell said the track has established the annual H. Clay Earles Award, to be given to those who demonstrate the qualities of honesty and hard work and who are dedicated to racing because of their love for the sport.
The first recipient was NASCAR president Bill France Jr., whose father founded NASCAR 51 years ago. France said he knew Earles to
think about two things:
"He thought about NASCAR, number one, and he thought about Martinsville Speedway," France said in accepting the award. "His definition to me years ago of what a superspeedway was one that had running water restrooms."
Petty, winner of the first Daytona 500 and patriarch of stock car racing's most famous family, was recalled as a strong family man and champion.
Grandson Kyle Petty, the third of four generations of Pettys in stock car racing, said it was comforting to be back at the track after a tough week.
"It puts your focus somewhere other than what's going on with you and what's going on with everything else," he said. "When you leave here, then it comes back. But right now, being at the racetrack definitely helps a little bit."
Tire trouble
The first week of a new rule requiring pit crews to move right-side tires at least halfway toward the pit wall after removing them produced a series of penalties beginning with the first series of stops in the race.
Jeff Gordon and Ward Burton were both forced to start at the back of the field after their crews left tires on the outside half of their pit stalls about 50 laps in, and the crews of Kevin Lepage and Kyle Petty were caught early.
Late in the race, Ken Scharder's crew made a costly mistake when the team was flagged for a tire violation. Schrader, who had emerged from the pits in eighth place, was dropped to 16th in the field and wound up finishing 13th.
The rule was put into effect after several right-side tires that had been removed during last weekend' DirecTV 500 at Texas ended up on pit road.
Teams caught violating the rule under a caution are dropped to the tail end of the longest line. Under green, a stop-and-go penalty is assessed.
Front-row bust
Kenny Wallace said after earning the No. 2 starting spot for the Goody's 500 that it meant nothing if he couldn't back it up on the track.
He couldn't.
On his third trip around the 0.526-mile oval, Wallace was
battling Mike Skinner for second when Wallace's throttle stuck
entering the third turn. Wallace's car slammed into the wall
between turns 3 and 4 and sustained front-end damage.
"I'm majorly disappointed. I hit the wall wide open," Wallace
said. He eventually got his Chevrolet back in the race, sans a hood
and much of the front-end sheet metal, but finished ahead of only
Darrell Waltrip, 204 laps down.
Pit stops
Michael Waltrip has raced 436 times in his Winston Cup career without winning. His third-place finish Sunday was his best finish since another third at Charlotte in May 1995. ... Jeff Gordon ended a 12-race streak without a top-five by coming in
fourth. ... Matt Kenseth (21st) was the top-finishing rookie for the fourth time this season. Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been the best rookie three times, including a victory last weekend in Texas, and Dave Blaney has led the first-year set once. ... Ford has won half of the first eight races in the Winston Cup season, while Chevrolet and Pontiac each have two victories. | |
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