Notebook

Spring change slows Cup cars a bit

TALLADEGA, Ala. (AP) -- In yet another step to keep its Nextel Cup teams from getting too creative, NASCAR handed out rear springs Friday to be used in qualifying for the EA Sports 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.

Once qualifying was finished, NASCAR officials collected the springs and will reissue them randomly for Sunday's race.

"We've supplied the shocks at the [restrictor] plate tracks, Daytona and Talladega, for competition in qualifying and in the race for several years now," said John Darby, NASCAR's Nextel Cup director. "This is just an extension of that with rear springs."

The reason for the changes was to stop teams from developing shocks and springs that allow the rear of the car to measure legally during inspection but ride lower to the track at speed. When the car rides lower, it allows less air to hit the rear spoiler and causes less drag, making the cars faster.

NASCAR did extensive testing to ensure that the springs are as perfectly matched as possible.

"We've pre-rated them all, so we know exactly what all the springs are, and they're very equal," Darby said. "It takes all of the perception of all the trickery, the springs that automatically lose height and lower the car, and everything that has been happening the last couple of years, out of the picture."

Ricky Rudd, who won the pole here in April with a lap of 191.180 mph, was second on Friday at 190.609 with the new springs.

"That new spring rule is just another one of the quality control checks that they have to make sure that someone doesn't have a little advantage over the others," Rudd said. "But it definitely slowed the cars three-tenths (of a second).

"I really don't think it's going to make a great deal of difference one way or the other in the race. I think the biggest change is when you're out there by yourself because the stiffer rear springs hold the rear spoiler up in the air more. It puts more drag in the car."

New rides: Ricky Craven, Kerry Earnhardt and Chad Blount are in the mix at Talladega Superspeedway.

Craven, whose last race with PPI Motorsports was two weeks ago in New Hampshire, was back on the track Friday, driving a third Chevrolet for Joe Gibbs Racing.

The NASCAR veteran qualified 20th for Sunday's race.

"I thought it was really good," Craven said. "I've come here enough that I don't take anything for granted."

Earnhardt, the older stepbrother of Dale Earnhardt Jr., qualified 22nd in a Richard Childress Racing Monte Carlo. It is only his third Cup race of the season. He finished 35th here in April and 28th in July at Daytona.

"The car raced good here the last time," Earnhardt said. "I'm looking forward to coming back and maybe getting up to the front and maybe racing Dale Jr. a little bit more."

Blount, driving a fourth Penske Racing South Dodge, qualified 31st for the first Cup start of his career.

Raising money: The Tony Stewart Foundation will stage a benefit concert Wednesday in Paducah, Ky., to raise money for several local charities and Kyle and Pattie Petty's new Victory Junction Gang Camp in Randleman, N.C.

The concert, the first big event put on by Stewart's foundation, will feature country stars Diamond Rio and Trace Adkins, along with guest appearances by NASCAR stars Stewart, Petty and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

"We're making sure that anyone who comes to the concert is going to have a good time," Stewart said.

"Having Tony's support has been huge for Victory Junction," Kyle Petty said. "He was one of the first drivers to get on board with us and, beyond the money he and his foundation have donated to the camp, he's brought notoriety, which has helped fuel interest in the camp.

"It's just one more example of how when we're on the track we're fierce competitors, but off the track we're all united in trying to improve the lives of others, especially children."

The concert at Paducah's Four Rivers Center will be filmed by Great American Country, a 24-hour country music video network with 27 million customers nationwide, for airing in mid-November.

Spark plugs: The ARCA RE/MAX Series, which closes its 2004 season Saturday, announced a 23-race, 12-state schedule for 2005, starting at Daytona in February and ending at Talladega on Oct. 1. ... The only active Cup drivers with multiple victories at Talladega are Dale Earnhardt Jr. (4), Jeff Gordon (3), Bill Elliott (2), Sterling Marlin (2) and Mark Martin (2). ... Bobby Labonte is the last driver to win at Talladega from the pole, taking the race in May 1998.