Sadler gets pole, focuses on Heels
The new qualifying rule allows drivers to relax today and tend to other matters

By Ed Hinton
Orlando Sentinal,April 2

Now this is what Elliott Sadler calls a nice weekend -- full of fun and relaxation, on the job.

All thanks to NASCAR's new rule, which impounds cars after qualifying.

(AP)

Sadler won the pole Friday for the Food City 500, parked his Ford, walked away and won't have to give it another thought until race time Sunday. He planned to sleep late this morning and watch his beloved North Carolina Tar Heels play in the NCAA basketball semifinals tonight.

Come Sunday, he's sure, his pole run of 127.733 mph on half-mile Bristol Motor Speedway will carry a lot of meaning into the race.

"We're 100 percent in race trim," Sadler said.

Before the impoundment rule, teams used all sorts of special qualifying gimmicks and parts for time trials. Then they had to rework the cars and go through more practice sessions, to prepare for racing conditions. So, qualifying results didn't necessarily predict who would do well in a race.

But because the cars are locked up between qualifying and the start of the race, teams know they'd better prepare totally with the race in mind. All Sadler's Robert Yates Racing team did Friday for qualifying was tape up the grille for better downforce on the front and fully inflate the tires. Sunday they'll just remove the tape and deflate the tires a little, to allow for pressure buildup in the heat of the race.

Sadler said he doesn't miss the old way.

"It's tough to come with the car in qualifying trim and qualify Friday, then worry Friday night about what you're gonna do for Saturday's practices, then practice all day Saturday, then worry yourself to death on Saturday night, thinking about last-minute changes to get ready for Sunday," he said.

"It's so much better just to come here, go through race trim, run it for two hours, and what you've got is what you've got. I've got the best car I've ever had here in my life, as far as on race trim."

Amid a Difficult Start, Earnhardt Seeks Calm

by Viv Bernstein
New York Times, April 2

It is not the team that Dale Earnhardt Jr. wants everyone to know. It is not the hotly debated off-season crew swap with his teammate Michael Waltrip - or the chemistry with the new crew chief Pete Rondeau - that has led to Earnhardt's free fall in the Nextel Cup points standings this season.

It is just not that simple.

Earnhardt acknowledged Friday that the problems at Dale Earnhardt Inc. run much deeper, and he said he was not sure if the fix would come in time for the team to qualify for this year's 10-race playoff for the Cup title.

"We are not competitive like we want to be," Earnhardt said before qualifying 19th for the Food City 500 on Sunday at Bristol Motor Speedway. Elliott Sadler won the pole with a lap of 127.733 miles an hour.

"We're not performing as good as we want to be," Earnhardt said. "That's all right there in front of you in the numbers."

For Earnhardt, the most popular driver in Nascar, the numbers are grim. Heading into the fifth race of the season, he is in 26th place in the Cup standings. He has never finished that low in five years of Cup competition. Earnhardt has been in the top 10 in three of the past four years, and he was in the hunt for the title in the final race last season before ending up fifth over all.

Plenty of excuses exist for this year's drop. After finishing third in the season-opening Daytona 500 on Feb. 20, Earnhardt had tire troubles at California Speedway and ended up 32nd in the Auto Club 500 on Feb. 27. A crash on Lap 11 at Las Vegas on March 13 left Earnhardt 42nd for the day. And two weeks ago at Atlanta, two pit-road speeding penalties led to a 24th-place showing.

But it is more than a run of bad luck for Earnhardt, and he knows it. After starting fifth at Daytona, he started 40th, 34th and 35th in the next three races.

That has to do with speed, not bad fortune.

Childress: don't punish drivers
Owner decries docking points as a penalty for the actions of other
By Jill Erwin
Richmond Times Dispatch,April 2

Richard Childress is more than prepared to be held responsible for the regressions of his race team. He just doesn't think his, or anyone else's, drivers should be.

After three teams were found guilty of infractions at the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 at Las Vegas last month, including RCR's No. 29 driven by Kevin Harvick, numerous penalties were handed out. Among the fines and the suspension of Harvick's crew chief, Todd Berrier, was a docking of 25 points for each of the drivers.

Childress said that should never have happened.

"I totally disagree from taking away points from the driver in any situation unless the driver has something to do with it," Childress said. "If he gets out and jumps on the hood of somebody's car, he should lose points.

"But I think they should penalize the owners more, whoever is accountable for that car, and 99 percent of the time, the driver never has a clue what happens."

Childress also took issue with the fact the team was docked points despite its infraction happening during qualifying, when no points are awarded. He said the team already was penalized by starting 42nd, and he expected a fine and a suspension (he held Berrier out of a race before his appeal was even heard).

However, Childress said he will not appeal.

"I've been in too many appeals," he said. "I can say I'm batting 1.000 in that: We've never won one."

Childress was upset that the two-race suspensions for crew chiefs Chad Knaus and Alan Gustafson were overturned, saying there has to be a line of truth.

"You're right, you're wrong," Childress said. "You're legal, you're illegal. There's a right or a wrong and what's the old saying? You're pregnant or you're not."

The suspension also brought a new problem to Childress: having to explain the decision to sponsors. GM Goodwrench officials called him to see why it was a four-week suspension and how that would affect their car and the race to be in the Chase.

Childress is reasserting himself to the team. He will be on Harvick's pit box tomorrow for the Food City 500, helping interim crew chief Scott Miller, the first time Childress has been on a pit box for a race since the 2001 season.

Truex hopes to keep rolling in today's Sharpie 250
By Allen Gregory
Bristol Herald Courier,April 2

Even the most experienced drivers search in vain for the secret to success at Bristol Motor Speedway. Martin Truex, Jr. is a quick learner. The driver of the Chance 2 Motorsports Chevrolet won at BMS in just his second start last spring.

"I think it surprised a lot of people, but I knew my team gave me a car capable of winning," Truex said. "I just had to stay patient and not be over aggressive, but aggressive at the same time."

Relying on his short-track experience and the advice of crew chief Kevin Manion, Truex led a whopping 134 laps en route to victory in the Sharpie 250. It was his first career win in the Busch Series.

"It certainly was a great confidence builder, just get to that first win is hard enough," Truex said. "I don’t know if anyone thought it would happen at Bristol.

"That win was a key factor in our championship quest last year. It really started the ball rolling."

Truex, currently fourth in Busch points, hopes to keep rolling in today’s Sharpie Professional 250.

"Every driver has a track they just love to race, and Bristol is mine," said Truex, who also earned his first career top 10 at BMS in 2003. "The track is so fast, and you are always racing someone every lap either for position or caps a lap down.

"It’s NASCAR version of a fight where only the strong survive."