SATURDAY, JUNE 19, 1999
Section C
BEHIND THE WHEEI
No Narcissus
complex
Auto racing glance
for Marcis
NASCAR
Winston Cup
racing team ^
Pocono 600
Site: Long Pond, Pa.
Schedule: Friday, first-round
qualifying, 3 p.m.; Saturday,
secomkound qualifying, 11:30
a.m.; Sunday, race (TNN, 1
on empty
Track: Pocono International .-•
; Raceway (triangle oval, 2.5
; miles, 14 degrees banking in
•turn 1 , 8 degrees In turn 2 , 6
•degrees in turn 3). ' • . • ' - . .
ftace ifatanee: 500 miles, 200
: : i a p s .
• - ; • • ;
•••
•'-.
':
.•:
'
,
Cast year. Jeremy Mayfleld raced
; to his first victory, holding off
•Jeff Gordon by 0.341 seconds,
tart race: Dale Jarrett took the
• lead from Gordon on the 53rd
- of 200 laps in the Kmart 400 r
- in Brooklyn, Mich., and easily
i held on for his 20th career
.:yfctory:
-, :.. ^
Next face: Save Mart 350k, June*
; 27, Sonoma, Calif.
Busch Grand National
Last race: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
passed Jeff Green with 70 laps
' to go to win the Textjlease- .
Medique 300 at South Boston
Speedway. It was the defending
series champion's second
straight victory. Earnhardt, who
started on the pole, didn't lead
' a Jap until he passed Green oh
:•; the 23ist.
•Next race: Lysol 200, June 27,
>WatkinsGleri,N.Y
Driver standings
1. Date Jarrett
2. Jeff Burton •
& Bobby Labonte
4. Mark Martin
5. Tony Stewart
6. Jeff 'Gordon
7. Ward Burton
8. Dale Earnhardt
9. Rioty Watoce
10. Terry Labonte
11; Jeremy Mayfleld <
12. MlkeSkkuw
13. Ken Schrador
14. John AndrettJ
15. Bobby Hamlton
16. BBHkrtt
lT.WalyDalenbach
18. Michael Wattrip
19. Sterling Marto
20. Kemy Irwin
21. Chad UWe
22. Johnny Benson.
23. Kevin Lepage •
24; Kenny Watace
25. Steve Park
26.RfckMatt
:.:-:
27. Ernie Irvan
28.JenyNadeau ...
29. Jimmy Spencer
30. Ted Musgrave
2,169
2,103
2,075
1,993
1,838
1,820
1,738
1,723
1,719
1,643
1,641
1,624
1,573
1,561
1,424
1,422
1,411
1,400
1,387
1,366
1,354
1,303
1,268
1,226
1,220
1,203
1,201
1,196
1,162
1,150
Pensions, benefits unlikely
for NASCAR drivers
;
By pop Coble
'
Morris News Service '-:
Bernard Troncale/Birmingham News
Despite having to put up his house for auction In 1396, former Winston Cup
driver Bobby Allison was been able to get the house back In Hueytown, Ala.
•
. BROOKLYN, Mich.
acing gave. Bobby Allison
everything he ever wanted.
Then racing took it away.
The fall; was ^unceremonious.- Hte<:areer as a driver ended in
anawful accident at the Pocono (Pa.)
International Raceway 11 years ago
this weekend. His family life, was
ripped to shreds, by the deaths of his
two sons, Clifford in a racing accident in 1992 and Davey in a helicopter crash 13 months later Then
came a divorce, followed by bankruptcy.
' Two years ago, Allison, the thirdwinningest driver in Winston Cup
history, was back living with his
mother. At night, she left milk and
cookies by his bed, just like she did
50 years ago.
.
There have been small gigs as a
spokesman for Allison since he
limped away from racing, enough to
get his house back in Hueytown,
Ala., next door to his mother and
across the street from brother.
Donnie, another former'driver. But
there has been no help from racing
itself.
Despite its role as the fastest, growing sport in the United States,
the NASCAR circuits do hot have
any contingency plans for life after
racing. Thereare no pension plans,
. no emergency funds, no benefits.
' And for most, that's all right
"Racing^doesn't owe, me anything,^ AlU^on said.
Professional baseball, basketball,
. football and hockey each have,
retirement plans established for
stars who've stepped away from the
main event Racing not only has
failed to address the need of a pension plan, but it has no intention ofy
getting involved with the personal
lives of its warriors.
"We don't have an employeeemployer relationship," said Mike
Helton, NASCAR's chief executive
officer "I dont want to sound cold,
but our issue - beyond safety, - is
being competitive. Our people work
as independent contractors.
"The great salvation for our situation is this garage operates in the
same way that makes America great
You can make your own World.
R
See EMPTY, Page 2C
Mark Foley/The Associated Press
Bobby Allison, center, says auto racing doesn't owe Mm, even though there are no pension plans for drivers.
All GMC Thic
In Stockll
OMC Jimmy or
Pontiac
BLUFFTON
OlMC
>r
' "'•
BROOKLYN, Mich,
n the far end of the Michigan
Speedway garage area, a
football field away from the
autograph seekers and the point-' •
and-shoot cameras of star-struck
. race fans, four men with hands v v
hardened by thankless work loaded
their tools without fanfare.
•
It is Saturday, a day of practice, a
day of fine-tuning in the Winston ^ ;•
Cup Series garage area. But for tins four men loyal to Marcis Auto " '.'•"•••
Racing, it is a day to load the truck ".
and head for home.
-.•'_
Dave Maix'is, who for the last 32 years has been the epitome of loyalty and stubbornness on the'stock V
car circuit, continues to thibw "r%
everything he knows at the sport •'< I
without any significant results. Byv missing the jstarting lineup for the1; >
Kmart 400, Marcis has made seve^f; 'races this year and failed to make ;
the cut once. •
;;
. Moreover, it continued anardu- <~
ous run of only one top-iO finish "J
since 1991.
At the other end of the garage •*;.;
area, .12 crewmen wearing matching"
uniforms with ra?or-sharp hems • ':
huddle around Jeff Gordon's car.
and talk strategy. Their concern- " _
isnt making the starting lineup, itV.
how to make the fastest car from '.'•'
pole qualifying a little faster for the"!
;
main event .
. ••'. t;.
(Before Marcis drove away from .-_
the speedway, he called the local - ~
motel and canceled his Saturday
night reservations. No race means
no paycheck, and cutting the. travel
short by a day "may help Marcis feed
. his smallish group of mechanics'
.
this weekend at the Pocono (Pa.)
International Raceway. .. :
Gordon doesn'tJiave to worry
about reservations. He sleeps in a '
$500,000 motot coach in the infield
that comes complete with satellite..
television and a fUlltime driver.
• I n 32 years of racing, Rfarcis has
never wavered. He's won five races,
the last coming in 1962. Now he ' *
fights even harder to make the :
show. In 32 years, Marcis has made
nearly $8 million.
Gordon has been around the .
Winston^ Cup Series for seven years
as a fulttime driver. He made more/
than $9 million last year alone and
has collected about $28 million in
his career.
Jeff Gordon, the man with three
championship rings, a fleet of work;
ers, $10 million worth of sponsors, a
motor coach, a Leer Jet and more ^
money than he can ever spend, is
on the top end of racing's evolutionary chain,
Dave Marcis, who files coach,
eats ham and cheese sandwiches
Ntw Ifff «••€ Htm Rtf- Ce* 1500
MOTORCAR COMPANY
ByDoriCoMe
Morris News Service -
8OO
39O-O2OO
"h 9am-8pm
F 7:30am-«pm
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