MOTOR RACING : NASCAR’s Newest Westerner Makes Waves Down South

NASCAR’s Winston Cup championship stock car series, once the domain of the Southeastern United States, is developing a West Coast influence.

Les Richter, the Rams’ Hall of Fame linebacker who ran Riverside International Raceway for 25 years, is NASCAR’s vice president in charge of competition.

Ken Clapp, a Northern California racing promoter from Scotts Valley, is one of the two other vice presidents. Clapp is in charge of Western operations, the only area of the country with a regional vice president. The other vice president is Jim Hunter, a former Atlanta sports writer who handles administration and marketing.

John Cooper, former president of Ontario Motor Speedway, is vice president of International Speedway, Corp., operators of Daytona, Darlington and Talladega speedways.

Gary Nelson, who got into the racing business as a high school student in Redlands working on Ivan Baldwin’s winning cars at the Orange Show Stadium, is the new Winston Cup technical director.

Derrike Cope and Ernie Irvan, winners of the last two Daytona 500s, the most prestigious prize in stock car racing, are products of West Coast competition. Cope, a former Winston West rookie of the year, is from Spanaway, Wash., and Irvan is from Modesto.

Nelson’s emergence from the ranks of crew chiefs and innovative mechanics is significant as cars and drivers prepare for Sunday’s 34th annual Daytona 500.

Last Thursday, when cars lined up for their initial inspection, it looked as if a Sigalert should be called as Nelson and his helpers probed deep into the engines and measured dimensions time and again. Many crews were ordered to make changes.

Nelson fined Roger Penske’s team and crew chief Eddie Dickerson $2,000 for having illegal screw jacks on cars prepared for Rusty Wallace. The fine was $250 for each screw jack, which enable a crew to lower a car easier.

And after Sunday’s qualifying for the 500, he disallowed Harry Gant’s time, the fifth fastest, because his car was a quarter of an inch too low in post-trials inspection. Gant qualified Tuesday with his Oldsmobile in proper trim, but instead of starting on the second row in one of today’s Gatorade Twin 125 qualifying races, he will be in the 10th row.

Tuesday, at the end of qualifying, Nelson struck again. Four more racers, including A.J. Foyt, were fined for various minor infractions. Having an illegal rear deck lid cost A.J. $250.

The makeup of Sunday’s field--other than the front row of Sterling Marlin and Bill Elliott--will be determined by how they finish in today’s two races. The first 14 finishers in each race will line up behind the front row. An additional 10 will be added according to their qualifying speeds.

Nelson’s inspections did not surprise his former crew chief rivals.

“NASCAR solved 80% of their cheating problem when they took Nelson out of the garages,” one crew chief said. Nelson, 38, doesn’t disagree. He admits that he once spent endless hours devising methods of getting around, or bending, the rules.

“I used to think racing was us against the establishment, but then I realized that they made the rules to protect us from one another,” Nelson said.

“What we need to do, as NASCAR, is keep a balance out there of what the guys are doing and keep the deals as close as we can. My primary interest is on safety. That has to be No. 1 priority all the time, but we also want to maintain strict adherence to engine and chassis regulations.

“I encourage people to work hard and be creative. I don’t want to kill their spirit. . . . (I’m) trying to make things better. What I want is to set up some clear parameters of what they can and can’t do.”

It will be interesting to see what Nelson finds after today’s races.

Although there is grumbling over delays, the garage consensus is favorable toward Nelson. Defending Cup champion Dale Earnhardt spoke for many of his peers when he said:

“Everything that’s happened out there gives the competitors a fair shake. Everybody is having to go through the same inspection. It’s fair, and that gives you a more comfortable feeling. It makes it more competitive.”

The heart of this year’s Daytona 500 is the challenge of the Fords to Chevrolet’s recent domination in Winston Cup competition.

Chevrolet drivers have won five of the last eight Daytona 500s, and thanks primarily to Dale Earnhardt, Chevys have been the winning car in five of the last seven Winston Cup championships.

But Fords have led in 1992.

Marlin and Elliott were the two fastest drivers Sunday, as they were all winter during off-season testing. Marlin won the pole, and Geoff Bodine, in another Ford, won the Busch Clash sprint race last Saturday.

Fords also won the final four races last year.

Motor Racing Notes

INDY CARS--Kevin Cogan, still sidelined with injuries suffered in last year’s Indianapolis 500, will miss this year’s race. It would have been his 12th in a row. The Palos Verdes veteran will undergo further reconstructive surgery Feb. 19 at Centinela Hospital. . . . Vince Granatelli has closed his Phoenix racing shop for lack of sponsorship, leaving Arie Luyendyk, winner of the 1990 Indy 500 and two CART races last year, without a ride. Luyendyk is expected to drive for Chip Ganassi as Eddie Cheever’s teammate. . . . Bruce Leven’s Bayside Motorsports team also has bowed out, leaving Jeff Andretti on the sidelines. . . . Dominic Dobson has signed with Concept Motorsports to drive a Lola-Buick in this year’s Indy 500.

MISCELLANY--Cary Agajanian, former president of Ascot Park and renowned attorney for racing interests, has been named to the board of directors of the Automobile Competition Committee for the United States, the international sanctioning body for American racing interests. . . . Weather permitting, the Willow Springs Cycle Club will conduct the second round of its monthly road-racing series this weekend, with open practice Friday and Saturday and 15 races on Sunday.