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By JOANNE KORTH
© St. Petersburg Times, published July 24, 2001
Well, he tried.
Hoping to make the New England 300 a safer and more entertaining race, track owner Bob Bahre spent about $250,000 to grind down the bumps and put a sealant on the surface of the 1.058-mile oval at New Hampshire International Speedway.
And what did he get?
More complaints.
"They've got to do something to this racetrack," said Sterling Marlin, who finished 17th in the No. 40 Dodge. "You can't race."
At the track where young stars Kenny Irwin and Adam Petty were killed last summer, no one got hurt during the most recent three-day visit. But NHIS remains a mismatch with Winston Cup racing, one that cannot easily be fixed.
"It needs about 10 degrees of banking, in my mind," said Jeff Gordon, who finished second to Dale Jarrett. "A flat, tight, long-straightaway racetrack for Winston Cup cars is not suitable. These are not the kind of conditions that we need to put on a side-by-side race."
Restarts were especially tricky.
"Every restart was a close call," said Ricky Rudd, who finished third. "If (the track) was mine, I'd keep the bottom groove like it is, and I would take out the entire second lane of the track and resurface it."
The sealant was intended to provide additional grip, but it backfired, creating slippery rubber "gum balls," as Rudd termed it, when it wore away during the race.
Jarrett, ever gracious, tried to argue that part of being a Winston Cup driver is rising to the challenge of difficult conditions. But even he said, "If at some time banking could be added, that would be nice."
But more than 100,000 fans fill the NHIS grandstands twice a year, and NASCAR isn't likely to pull out of a lucrative, non-traditional market.
GIRL POWER: Angelle Savoie became the winningest female driver in NHRA history Sunday, earning her 19th Pro Stock Motorcycle win to overtake former Top Fuel champion Shirley Muldowney.
Savoie won the Mile High Nationals in Denver, beating Antron Brown in the final with a track-record pass of 7.595 seconds, 171.01 miles per hour.
"When I started my career five years ago, I never in my wildest dreams expected to have this kind of success," said Savoie, 30, the 2000 points champion. "This is such an amazing accomplishment, to move past Shirley.
"Shirley paved the way for women in motorsports and I have all the respect in the world for what she means to our sport. I never thought this record would mean as much to me as it does, but this is one of the biggest thrills of my life."
Savoie is one of only six women in history to win an NHRA national event, joining Top Fuel drivers Muldowney (18 wins), Lori Johns (4), Shelly Anderson (4), Lucille Lee (1) and Cristen Powell (1).
SOUTHERN STYLE: The Indy Racing League was a hit Sunday in its debut at Nashville Superspeedway.
Track officials, not sure how fans would respond, made available only 31,500 seats, much fewer than the 50,000 available for a NASCAR Busch series race in April. But the sellout crowd at the Harrah's Indy 200 made up for its size with enthusiasm.
"I could see them always on their feet, cheering, hands in the air, and that gives me that extra bit of motivation," winner Buddy Lazier said. "I love racing in the South."
Lazier promised to play the Gibson guitar he received as a trophy at the end of the season. No word on if it will be a country music selection.
CREW MEMBER INJURED: Derek White, 38, of Penske Racing remained in Concord (N.H.) Hospital on Monday, listed in fair condition after falling from the team's transporter while loading Jeremy Mayfield's No. 12 Ford after the New England 300. White sustained a sub-arachnoid hemorrhage (bleeding near the brain) and fractured his left scapula, left clavicle, skull and a rib, doctors said.