Earnhardt highlights Hall class

Thu., Nov. 3, 2005

From wire reports

at a glance

They're all Intimidator imitators

Pre-match smack in boxing is often more entertaining than what occurs in the ring.

So as the races wind down in the Chase and a tight battle builds between Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson, maybe it should be no surprise that barbs between the Nos. 20 and 48 are flying faster than Ryan Newman on a qualifying run.

But the spitting and cussing contests in the garage these days sound more like junior high school girls fighting over some boy on the playground than contenders with a championship on the line. Stewart and Johnson would cower if they had to do battle against the master, Dale Earnhardt.

There's a reason Earnhardt carried the name The Intimidator. He earned it.

The sight of the black No. 3's bumper closing in a driver's rearview mirror was enough to send chills through the thickest of firesuits.

But the mind games began long before the green flag fell. Earnhardt would slip something to the press or whisper a mild warning in another driver's ear or even have his crew guys do it for him. In 1989, there was talk that Richard Childress had hired a "hit man" to come to Phoenix to take points leader Rusty Wallace out of contention during the race. Although Stan Barrett's altercation with Wallace was "accidental," the seed had been sown before the race started.

Childress' favorite story involves the final race of the 1990 season. Earnhardt had a dominant run the previous week in Phoenix and entered Atlanta – the final race of the year – with a six-point lead over Mark Martin. Earnhardt and Childress were on the way to one of their famous hunting trips, but they dropped into Atlanta long enough for a practice run that put the fear into the competition. Earnhardt ran five hot laps, parked the car and left the track. That's all he needed. On race day, Earnhardt finished third, Martin sixth and the No. 3 car won the championship by 26 points.

Today's disturbers can't compare to Earnhardt. No one has the presence, let alone the chutzpah, to intimidate by fear or performance.

Lee Spencer, Sporting News

The late Dale Earnhardt, a seven-time NASCAR champion, heads the latest class of inductees to the International Motorsports Hall of Fame at Talladega, Ala.

Earnhardt is joined by team owner Jack Roush, NASCAR ace Harry Gant, female racing pioneer Janet Guthrie and racing executive H.A. “Humpy” Wheeler in the class to be inducted April 27.

“This is one heck of a class for 2006,” Jim Freeman, executive director of the Hall, said Wednesday.

Earnhardt became one of the most popular drivers in NASCAR history, posting 76 victories and 281 top-five finishes en route to winning more than $40 million. He was a three-time Driver of the Year who also won 21 Busch races and four IROC Series championships.

He was killed in a crash at the 2001 Daytona 500.

Roush Racing team has claimed championships in the Nextel Cup, Busch and Craftsman Truck series. Roush’s five-car team has won the last two Cup titles.

Gant won more than 300 short-track races, including 21 in the NASCAR Sportsman series, now the Busch series. In 1977, Guthrie became the first woman to compete in the Indianapolis 500 and in the Daytona 500. She finished ninth in the 1978 Indianapolis 500 with a team she formed, owned and managed.

Wheeler has been the innovative president and general manager of Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., for nearly three decades. The track was the first to use an advanced lighting system to host night races and offer extensive VIP suits and condominiums.

Teams line up for Labonte

At least for now, Bobby Labonte is the most popular driver in the garage when it comes to teams that need drivers. What team wouldn’t want to tease potential sponsors with a former champion? He has been mentioned as a candidate to drive the Nos. 43, 42 and 22.

If Labonte drives the No. 43 for Petty Enterprises, Shell looks good as the sponsor. If Labonte jumps into the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing ride, that opens the door for Jamie McMurray to move to Roush Racing to drive the No. 97.

Kurt Busch could in turn take over the No. 2 Penske Racing car after Rusty Wallace retires. Roger Penske admitted in Atlanta that he had spoken to Ricky Rudd about possibly doing a one-year deal if Busch were not released, but the surest bet in the driver’s roulette would be on Busch being in the No. 2 at Daytona.

Notes

Hall of Fame Racing – a new team owned by Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman – will announce its lineup at Texas Motor Speedway today. Two-time Cup champ Terry Labonte will pilot the car for the first seven races to enable the team to qualify for races with the champion’s provisional. Tony Raines is expected to assume driving duties after that. … Although Mark Martin would rather not think about it, he’s locked in for another year with Roush Racing behind the wheel of the No. 6. But expect a new look on the Ford as AAA Auto Club takes over sponsorship responsibilities. … Denny Hamlin will be named as the driver for the No. 11 Chevrolet for Joe Gibbs Racing. Hamlin, who is fifth in Busch Series points, has been auditioning for the ride in the past four races. He has two eighth-place finishes in that time. … Jeff Gordon, who finished second in Atlanta, said his 2006 season started at New Hampshire. Last week he added his vote of confidence for Steve Letarte, saying Letarte will be the No. 24’s crew chief in 2006.

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Earnhardt highlights Hall class

Teams line up for Labonte

Notes

Jesse Tinsley

Jim Meehan

Molly Quinn

Rob Curley

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