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HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL
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Mark Martin crosses the finish line at Dover in 2004. Sunday will mark the last time
he races the No. 6 AAA Ford at the Monster Mile.
Childress continues resurgence
DAYTONA BEACH,
Fla. - The resurgence of
Richard Childress Racing
took another giant step
Sunday at New Hampshire
International Speedway.
Kevin Harvick’s (No. 29
GM Goodwrench Chevrolet)
dominant performance
in Sunday’s Sylvania
300 moved him atop the
NASCAR NEXTEL Cup
Series point standings for
the first time in his career.
It was also the first time
a Childress-owned car has
led the standings since
Mike Skinner on March 14,
1999.
More impressive than
the fact that Harvick won
the race was the fashion
in which he won. Harvick
led 196 of the 300 laps,
had an Average Running
Position of 1.490, ran 100%
of all Laps in the Top 15
and had 63 of the Fastest
Laps Run (25.8 percent).
;That all resulted in Harvick
a Driver Rating
*:of 148.9 - a score of 150.0 is
perfect.
The win is Harvick’s sec
ond in a row, and third in
the last six races. He has
out-scored all other drivers
;in the past 10 races by over
;100 points. All of this with
out taking into consider
ation Harvick’s recent per
formance in the NASCAR
• Busch Series.
• The Bakersfield, Calif. -
• native has led the point
■ standings in the NASCAR
■ Busch Series since the sec
iond race of the season. He
• has finished outside the
-top 10 three times all year.
.And his on-track success is
I finally carrying over to the
(NASCAR NEXTEL Cup.
( If Harvick can find a way
; to win the NASCAR Nextel
| Cup championship, and hold
(on to his NASCAR Busch
(Series points lead, he will
/become the first driver to
; ever win two national series
{titles in the same season.
; Leaving New Hampshire
; in first place bodes well for
-Harvick’s title chances. In
■each of the first two sea
sons of the Chase for the
£ NASCAR NEXTEL Cup,
the eventual champion had
." at least a share of the points
(lead after New Hampshire.
’ Final Dover Race For
CLEATS
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Mark Martin In Familiar
No. 6 Ford
Sunday’s Dover 400 will
be Mark Martin’s (No. 6
AAA Ford) 41st race at the
Monster Mile. Martin, who
has yet to announce his
plans for 2007, has acknowl
edged that he will not be
back in the No. 6 Ford that
he has piloted since 1988.
( NEXTEL )
NOTEBOOK
Don Coble
Morris News
Service
NEXTEL Cup Series.
Martin has outperformed
all of his competitors at
Dover during his tenure in
the No. 6 Ford. He has four
Budweiser Poles and four
victories at the track - both
lead all active drivers there.
Martin also leads all cur
rent drivers with 19 top
five finishes and 25 top-10
finishes at Dover.
Although Martin’s lon
gevity has helped his career
numbers at Dover, he has
not slipped in recent years.
His current streak of five
consecutive top 10s is the
longest among his peers.
He finished first, second,
third and fourth in four
consecutive races in 2004
and 2005.
Pre-race Loop Data fur
ther illustrates Martin’s
dominance at. Dover. He
leads all drivers with a 5.237
Average Running Position
and is third with a Driver
Rating of 113.9.
Keys To Victory At
Dover: Find The Right
Groove
Dover International
Speedway is a high-banked
one-mile concrete track that
has many characteristics of
a superspeedway.
Throughout the track’s
38-year history, it has
wreaked havoc on many a
driver earning it the nick
name “The Monster Mile.”
What are the keys to get
ting around Dover?
■ Find your groove. The
Dover racing surface has
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NASCAR This Week
for the latest news, updates
matured over the years. As a
result, there are several rac
ing grooves to choose from,
including as many as four
different grooves through
the corners. Finding the
groove that works best with
your car and your driving
style is necessary to ensure
success.
■ Know the track charac
teristics. Some in the garage
tend to associate Dover
with the track they just
raced at - New Hampshire
International Speedway
- because of the similarity
in distance.
This is a big mistake that
will hinder a team’s chance
to win the race because of
the difference in the two
tracks’ characteristics. The
high speeds at Dover pro
vide it with a superspeed
way feel which is not pres
ent at other 1-mile tracks.
Aerodynamics will play an
important role in the race.
■ Qualifying is crucial.
Pit road at Dover is very
tight which makes pit selec
tion an integral part of a
team’s strategy. A strong
qualifying effort is neces
sary to ensure your team
gets an early pit selection.
In addition, six of the last
seven races at Dover have
been won from a top 10
starting position.
In The Loop At
Dover: Speed Through
Corners Outweighs
Straightaways
The NASCAR NEXTEL
Cup Series is making
its fourth trip to Dover
International Speedway
since NASCAR started
tracking the new loop data,
leaving many new stats
to evaluate teams’ perfor
mances at the high-banked
oval.
Not surprisingly, four of
the top six drivers in Driver
Rating at the track are also
competitors in the Chase
for the NASCAR NEXTEL
Cup.
Greg Biffle (No. 16
National Guard Ford) leads
all drivers with a driver rat
ingofll6.B, narrowly edging
Kyle Busch (No. 5 Kellogg’s
Chevrolet) (116.6). Mark
Martin (113.9), Jimmie
Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s
Chevrolet) (110.5) and
See NASCAR, page ioB
The 19-
year union
between
Martin
and car
owner
Jack
Roush is
the lon
gest cur
rent streak
in the
NASCAR
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SPORTS
Cavs freshman QB
to start against Tech
ATLANTA - Georgia
Tech’s defense is not one
most quarterbacks should
make their starting debut
against.
Ask Auburn’s Brandon
Cox, who threw four inter
ceptions, lost a fumble and
was sacked three times in
his first start versus the
Yellow Jackets last year.
Virginia will start fresh
man Jameel Sewell in
Thursday’s game anyway.
Coach A 1 Groh announced
the move Tuesday. Sewell
had shared snaps with
veteran Christian Olsen
and Kevin McCabe in the
Cavaliers’ first three games.
Olsen and McCabe com
bined to throw five inter
ceptions - three of them
returned for touchdowns
- in 93 attempts during the
Cavs’ 1-2 start.
“This is a pretty substan
tial opponent for a guy to
get his first considerable
playing time against, but it
was going to come sooner or
later,” Groh said. “You can’t
hide in the shadows. You
have to come out sooner or
later.”
The move complicates
Georgia Tech’s preparation.
Sewell was solid in his lim
Just don’t look Verdun Wheeler in the eye
ATHENS - Being brought
down to the turf by Georgia
leading tackier Danny
Verdun Wheeler might not
be what opponents need to
fear most. It could be the
reaction if Verdun Wheeler
gives them his own version
of the evil eye.
“Dude, what’s wrong with
your eye,” UAB running back
Dan Burks asked Verdun
Wheeler after he was tack
led Saturday in Georgia’s
34-0 victory, according to the
Bulldogs senior linebacker.
“I didn’t say nothing to
him. I just walked back to
the huddle and after the
game he said, “you got con
tacts in?’ I said, “yeah, these
are the new Nike contacts.’
He said, “man, I’ve got to
get me some of them.’”
Verdun Wheeler is wear
ing orange tinted contacts
that give his eyes a reddish
hue with an orange outer
layer. They still frighten
even his buddies who know
he’s wearing them.
“It still freaks my team
mates out a little bit,”
Verdun Wheeler said.
The prescription contact
lenses block out the sun’s
glare, Verdun Wheeler said.
“It intensifies the color
green, the white lines,”
Verdun Wheeler said. “I can
see the ball better. I might
look back, at the sun and
catch a glimpse of the sun
and still keep going and it
won’t hurt my eyes.”
Verdun Wheeler wears
them about twice a week
in practice and during day
games. So while he will
wear them Saturday against
Colorado, he won’t wear
them at Mississippi the fol
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Catch all of tonight's game highlights in 1 WGA.-FM I
tomorrow's Mvueimt Baily journal BpKOtKtOOKtOtKMOKKKOKtm
V7ew sfafs, pictures and a variety of Pregame radio show
sports related information. Starts at
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Phtl Clark and ffidk /olinsfone are the most experienced
high school play-by-play announcers in middle Georgia, with over
fifty years of combined time behind the sports mikes. Enjoy every
game this season on If W* 100.9, with each broadcast beginning
thirty minutes before kickoff. /Vftx 100.9 encourages you to
support the Hornets in person if possible, but if you can't, be sure
to join us on game night. Take your transistor radio to the game
and get the inside scoop on what's going on.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2006 ♦
ited playing time in the first
three games, completing 7 of
11 passes without an inter
ception.
And Sewell’s style is dif
ferent than the other two
as well, Georgia Tech coach
Chan Gailey said. Sewell is
a more mobile quarterback
than Olsen
or McCabe,
both pocket
passers.
“It makes
it tough to
prepare
both ways
because you
have differ
ent types
of guys,”
Gailey said.
NOTEBOOK
By ADAM VAN
BRIMMER
Morris News
Service
“It would be like us playing
Taylor (Bennett) and Reggie
(Ball) in the same game.
You’d have one game plan
for Taylor and one game
plan for Reggie.”
CALVIN JOHNSON
REMAINS
QUESTIONABLE: Georgia
Tech’s All-American wide
receiver remains question
able for Thursday game
because of a leg contusion
suffered early in last week’s
victory over Troy.
The injury limited Johnson
lowing week for a night
game.
“It’s like wearing shades
in a football helmet,” Verdun
Wheeler said. “Hove them. I
wish more guys would get
some. They’re prescription
because I’m already blind
anyway so I have to wear
something out there.”
Going outside the
region now the norm
Saturday’s game is the
first of several Georgia has
scheduled in recent years
with BCS conference teams
west of the Mississippi.
Georgia will play Arizona
State in
2008-09,
Colorado
again
in 2010,
Oregon in
2015-16 and
is likely to
add Oregon
State as
the season
opener next
season.
NOTEBOOK
By MARC
WEISZER
Morris News
Service
“We are trying to get out
of the region,” coach Mark
Richt said of Georgia’s non
conference scheduling phi
losophy with 12-game sched
ules that still include the
annual game with Georgia
Tech. “We’re looking for one
of those (BCS conference
schools) per year and then a
possibly a I-AA opponent.”
Georgia isn’t going to
jump at any major confer
ence program.
“If Southern Cal came up,
I’d probably be like. O'l’m
not [sure] I want to do
that,”’ Richt said. “Southern
Cal might be saying O'l’m
not sure I want to do that.’
That didn’t happen, but we
in practice Tuesday, a
Georgia Tech spokesperson
said.
JACKETS EXCITED
FOR THROWBACK
THURSDAY: Georgia
Tech will don early-1970s
uniforms for the Virginia
game as part of “Throwback
Thursday.”
The Yellow Jackets will
wear gold jerseys, white
pants and white helmets
reminiscent of the uniforms
worn by teams from 1969
through 1971.
The Jackets can only hope
the uniforms don’t reflect
the play of that era. Georgia
Tech posted a 19-15 record
over those three seasons,
although the 1970 team
did go 9-3 under coach Bud
Carson.
GEORGIA TECH TO
PLAY ELON IN 2013: The
Yellow Jackets will open the
2013 season against Elon, a
Division I-AA school located
in Burlington, N.C.
Elon competes in the
Southern Conference along
with Georgia Southern. The
Phoenix will visit Bobby
Dodd Stadium on August
31, 2013. It will be the first
meeting between the two
schools’ football programs.
haven’t really turned down
many opportunities. It’s hard
to schedule sometimes.”
Richt looking for more
from tight ends
Starting tight end Martrez
Milner “has been up and
down,” according to Richt,
but nobody behind him is
pushing for snaps.
Milner’s blocking at the
end of the UAB game left
something to be desired,
Richt indicated, and “he’s
been hot and cold catching
the ball. We need him to
take off. We need him to
take off to really make this
thing go.”
Richt also would like for
Milner to have some com
petition, but back-up Tripp
Chandler isn’t ready to chal
lenge. The sophomore from
Woodstock had four catches
for 87 yards in the spring
game, but is still looking for
his first collegiate catch.
“He’s young still and he’s
got to be more physical,”
Richt said. “He hasn’t had
many opportunities to catch
the ball so that hasn’t been a
factor. To hold up down after
down after down, he’s got to
continue to get better.”
This and that
Starting offensive guard
Chester Adams missed his
second straight practice on
Tuesday because of an ill
ness. Offensive line coach
Neil Callaway is hopeful
that Adams can return to
practice today.
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