Samsung/Radio Shack 500 notebook

Rain, fast conditions allow for spring rubber exception

By Denise N. Maloof, CNNSI.com

FORT WORTH, Texas -- After the rains washed away Saturday’s final two Winston Cup practices, crew chiefs shrugged, drivers fled to motor coaches and the mental contemplation of Sunday’s race conditions began.

With Texas Motor Speedway’s new paved surface and worries about the effects of plus-190-mile-per-hour speeds in mind, NASCAR officials granted teams an extra leniency: crew chiefs will be allowed to install up to one-half of a spring rubber in either or both front springs prior to the start of Sunday’s Samsung/Radio Shack 500.

"They’re allowing some extra cushion," said Bill Wilburn, Rusty Wallace’s crew chief. "We need some options. This a totally repaved surface."

Or a "green" surface, in garage jargon.

Teams can’t start races with spring rubber in the front of their cars; they may only add them during pit stops. Spring rubbers are allowed in the rear springs at the start of the race, and Wilburn said Saturday’s allowance gives teams more of mental and physical cushion against the unknown.

A worthy cause

NASCAR’s annual visit to Texas is a significant one for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. The charitable organization is headquartered in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area, and defending race champion Dale Jarrett and his wife, Kelley, are major players in the foundation’s Race Fans for a Cure fundraising campaign.

The Jarretts became involved with the 20-year-old Komen Foundation in 1998, and since then, one of Dale’s associate sponsors, Ford Credit, has donated $585,000 based on his on-track performances and season’s-end bonuses. The racing campaign also links up with the Komen Foundation’s yearly, national series of 114 5K road races. Despite Saturday’s rain, one of those 5Ks was run in downtown Fort Worth.

At the track, fans can look for a giant pink tent and donate any amount of money; $1 nets a small pink ribbon, $5 an enameled pink-ribbon pin, and $20 nets two diecast cars in a pink tin -- Jarrett’s usual UPS-colored No. 88 Ford, and a specially-designed blue and pink car with the Komen Foundation’s signature pink ribbon on the hood.

For any monetary effort, fans are rewarded with a pink ribbon that’s personalized in tribute to whomever they wish, and is pinned to the booth wall. At season’s end in 2001, there were between 9,500 and 10,000 ribbons displayed at the Atlanta race.

Linda Kay Peterson, chairman of the Komen Foundation, says the racing affiliation is a natural one, and so far, it’s resulted in an approximate total of $800,000 in donations.

"And that’s nothing short of phenomenal," Peterson said. "But I think what is even more surprising and appealing is the number of pink ribbons that you will see at the end of the race season."

Junior leading the votes

It shouldn’t be any surprise that Dale Earnhardt, Jr., leads the first round of voting for the Grands! NMPA NASCAR Winston Cup Most Popular Driver Award.

First-round results were announced Friday, and fans can continue to vote at www.nascarpopulardriver.com for the rest of the season. Friday’s totals were gleaned from more than 130,000 votes.

The annual award is sponsored by the National Motorsports Press Association, and is sponsored by Grands!, a product of Pillsbury.

 

Related information
Stories
New pavement talk of drivers at Texas Motor Speedway Notebook: Parrott's return as crew chief helps Jarrett Changes to team paying off for Kyle Petty
Multimedia
Visit Video Plus for the latest audio and video
Search our site	Watch CNN/SI 24 hours a day
	Sports Illustrated and CNN have combined to form a 24 hour sports news and information channel. To receive CNN/SI at your home call your cable operator or DirecTV.