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HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL ... NASCAR.com 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 CM PI(?GT I WAE> LUCKY TO J OOT-OF-TOWM w PIMP A MOTEL TAAT jITOURMAMEMTI JJ\ COULP TAKE THE 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 rtME COLLEGE HERE IE. MAVIMG A BIG GAME, TMERE'G OOI? MUGE SOCCER TOOffMAMEDT AMP K , [tMEKS'E- A TREKKIE COMVEMTIOM. £ : ' TPEKKIE COMVEMTIOM? TMAT'?> MOT GOIMG TO BE M 3 ' < AT TMIG PLACE, |» IT? /y | [‘V/^ . (JAW, THERE'S. A GAIEG \ t3l3^ Bill Hinds Dist by Universal Press Syndicate 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 : - 4^ j f^ml) ii frALEyy V "/ ~^“S^ www gocomics com e mail Cleatsmail@aol com 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 ulSKiilfioo*/ 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 v i- # '> ' - *<*> . gggMj • s '4^ mAMarm m+ rmmpm mpm CAATDI f f ▼f mdJp m m MmZmutmM m m mw/mßum* z , , s f ' < 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. Best Cooks In Perry! 3B 0003/816