Newspaper Page Text
2B
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2003
Kenseth suddenly
looks vulnerable
If he chokes, it would be
the worst in Winston
Cup history. Matt
Kenseth’s dominating lead
was whittled down for the
second straight week after a
36th-place finish Sunday at
Kansas.
In swerving to avoid
Michael Waltrip, who
brushed the wall, Kenseth
ultimate
ly did the
same and
his crew
was
forced to
scramble
to get
back in
the race
and avoid
a Did Not
Finish.
KH
UAW-GM Quality
500
When: Saturday,
7:20 p.m.
Where: Lowe’s
Motor Speedway
TV: NBC
As a result, he lost some
serious ground to Kevin
Harvick in the points battle.
The driver of the No. 29
entered the race 436 points
back and left 177.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. is third
with 3,957 points, Ryan
Newman fourth (3,918),
Jimmie Johnson (3,902),
Jeff Gordon (3,862), Bobby
Labonte (3,645), Tony
Stewart (3,616), Kurt Busch
(3,576) and Terry Labonte
(3,511).
Counting this week’s
Saturday night race at
Charlotte, there are only six
left on the schedule.
LIGHTS, CAMERAS,
ACTION: Ah yes, under the
lights. How the drivers love
it. Every time it happens,
they just ooze with praise.
“The racetrack's much
more consistent at night
and race fans like it better,”
said Rusty Wallace.
“Everything's better at
night. Everything's cool.
Everything's more dramatic.
I can't think of anything
negative about a night
race.”
With The Winston run
ning under the lights since
1992 and the Coca-Cola 600
starting in the evening and
ending at night, track offi
cials had been working with
NASCAR and television offi
cials for several years in an
effort to move the 500-mile
fall classic from Sunday
afternoon to Saturday night.
This year all the pieces fell
into place.
“Night racing has become
extremely popular with race
fans everywhere,” said H.A.
“Humpy” Wheeler, presi
dent and general manager of
Lowe's Motor Speedway.
“Running The Winston and
Coca-Cola 600 under the
lights certainly took those
events to a higher level in
the 19905, and we think it
will do the same for the
UAW-GM Quality 500.
“There is something very
special about the atmos
phere surrounding any
night race-even at the local
short tracks,” Wheeler con
tinued.
“We've been thinking
about moving the October
s***^. ' -*<&- J(^y&
NASCAR notebook
Compiled by Don Moncrief
races for several years and
cooperation from NASCAR
and NBC has made it possi
ble.”
FIRST NIGHT: It the
catchphrase to the left is
not just a single by Grammy
award winning singer
Monica, it will effectively
describe her first trip to a
NASCAR race. The 22-year
old singer/superstar will
sing the national anthem
prior to the race.
Currently she has more
than 10 million album sales
to her credit.
Her biggest hit to date
and she has been in a couple
of movies has been the
1998 release/duet with
Brandy of “The Boy Is
Mine,” which spent 13
weeks at No. 1.
BASS IS BACK: Maybe
they should change it to the
Sam Bass 500. After all, he
and his work will be
very visible this weekend.
For starters, anyone visit
ing will receive a free fine
art poster created by him.
Second, they’ll bet a chance
to meet him in person dur
ing a round of autograph
sessions (from 5:30 p.m. to 7
p.m. Thursday and Friday
and 6 to 7 p.m. Saturday).
Third, his “Shades of
Greatness,” a trio of paint
ings to commemorate Dale
Earnhardt, will be displayed
prominently displayed in
the gallery at the track for
viewing and finally, his art
makes up the race track’s
program booklet that will be
on sale.
Because Gordon and
Earnhardt were such fierce
competitors, Bass chose to
use them as the dominant
figure.
“The fall Charlotte race is
always an exciting one,”
Bass said, “but I think the
spectators will take home in
their heads the image of two
historical rivals making that
‘Victory Lap’ together.
That's the type of emotional
charge I wanted to put on
the cover.”
FIRST AT THE PUMP:
Ever the vocal one, Tony
Stewart was perhaps the
first to climb on the gas
mileage bandwagon, albeit
in a strange way.
“A guy wins it on fuel
mileage again,” said Stewart
who finished fourth and
moved into eighth place in
the points. “We drove away
from Ryan Newman all day,
so track position means
everything, and his win just
proves it.
“But we have a lot to be
proud of, because we had
one of the best cars today. I
hate to say anything bad
about these fuel mileage
races, but some guys would
rather win than finish
fourth.”
You don’t say?
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From page 1B
crispy cocoon I was dismayed
by my discovery that the
cookie was without fortune. I
was reeling a little bit after
such a period of anticipation
but my attention turned back
to the game.
Just then Falcons running
back T.J. Duckett rolled up a
big 55-yard run to set up a
Falcons score to take the lead.
In the aftermath of my food, I
pondered the enormity of
what the vacant cookie might
mean.
While doing so I stumbled
onto some irony.
The announcer on Fox was
getting pumped after the
Falcons defense sacked
Vikings quarterback Gus
Frerotte on third down and
said, “Watch the crowd go
wild!” The camera panned to
the crowd after those words
hung in the air and observed
a collection of about 30 fans.
Three had Falcons jerseys on
and the other 27 were
dressed in what looked like
Sunday church clothes.
Point is, none of them were
cheering. Most were chatting
as if they were in line at a
restaurant waiting for
Sunday brunch.
Then, all of a sudden, it hit
me in my MSG-induced,
reclined state: Without Mike
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SPORTS
Vick, the passion for the
Falcons so celebrated in the
pre-season is now as hol
lowed out and empty as my
fortune cookie.
Could it be that there real
ly aren’t that many Falcons
fans around? Instead, the
host of crimson 7’s flying off
the shelves is due more to
fashion whim than team alle
giance. Perhaps there are
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more Vick fans than Falcons
fans.
There is certainly a lot of
evidence to support that.
Why were there plenty of
empty seats Sunday then? No
Vick, no love. Where’s the
passion? Where’s the fervor
found during the dirty bird
years? Or even the attitude in
pre-season? Can one player
really make this big of a dif-
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THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
Diggin’ it
The Warner Robins Recreation
Department began its volley
ball season Monday at the cen
ter with a tip-off between the
Straight Down and the Diggers.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP:
Diggers head coach Shawna
Camit, left, Christina Phelps
and Dathan Tharpe listen to
instructions, while Straight
Down players Andre Calar (25)
and Tyler Giddens warm up.
HHJ/Don Moncrief
ference in a sport where team
play is emphasized?
In a year where Cubs fans
are rewarded for their
patience Falcons fans should
be completely ashamed.
Maybe the real question is
whether or not the city of
Atlanta even deserves suc
cess. .
They sure haven’t handled
it well with the Braves.
COLISEUM MKDICAI
CENTERS