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Notebook Newman sustains minimal damage after brushing wallPosted: Wednesday February 12, 2003 6:53 PMDAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- A day after a practice crash sent three Winston Cup drivers scrambling to backup cars, Newman brushed the wall in Turn 2 while in heavy traffic. Damage to Newman's Dodge wasn't too significant, and he returned to the track for the final session of the day. "I just got caught three-wide on the high side coming off Turn 2 and I didn't expect it," he said. "Whoever it was inside me got me real, real tight, and I had to crank a bunch of wheel to it. The next thing I knew, I was up in the wall." Jeff Burton, Elliott Sadler and Mike Skinner, involved with Steve Park and rookie Jack Sprague in Tuesday's accident, got their backup cars on the track for the first time. Burton was sixth-fastest in the late practice, turning a lap of 189.278 mph in the draft. "We did manage huge improvement from the first practice to the second practice and found a lot of speed," Burton said. "The other car was good at testing but it wasn't good when we got it here. So it's hard to tell what this car is going to be like. "I'm a firm believer you never expect what you expect." Sprague never made it to the track Wednesday. His crew worked furiously on the Pontiac damaged in the wreck, but didn't get done in time to practice.
Elliott bows outBill Elliott, voted NASCAR's Most Popular Driver a record 16 times, bowed out of contest for 2003. "I've had such a loyal fan base for so many years, it's been incredible," Elliott said. The only other driver to interrupt Elliott's run in the past 12 years was Dale Earnhardt, who won in 2001 -- the year he was killed. Online voting begins Thursday.
Kinser, Lasoski up front for IROCSteve Kinser, back in the International Race of Champions for a second time, won the pole for Friday's event in a blind draw. Fellow World of Outlaws competitor Danny Lasoski will start second. Kinser scored one of the biggest upsets in series history in 1994, nipping a field full of Winston Cup drivers at Talladega. Two-time defending IRL champ Sam Hornish Jr. took third, with Winston Cup driver Jimmie Johnson and IRL driver Felipe Giaffone rounding out the top five. Giaffone had never been in a stock car until Tuesday, when he ran some practice laps. "The car seems like it's going loose all the time," he said. "But it's just moving around that much." Drivers also drew the color of their cars, and defending NASCAR Craftsman Truck series driver Mike Bliss, who starts sixth, provided the highlight of the sessiion. He picked the pink car -- although IROC lists the color as rose -- but was able to switch with anyone starting in front of him. After careful deliberation, he took Johnson's red car.
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