‘Silly’ Season Just About Over

With three races remaining on the 1996 NASCAR Winston Cup schedule, the silly season is pretty much over.

The silly season is what many people call the speculation and uproar caused by anticipated driver and team changes. It generally begins about midseason, but started much earlier this year.

Although none of the really big names of the stock car sport were involved, it was an unusually active time, highlighted by the much rumored departure of Ken Schrader from the powerhouse Hendrick Motorsports team.

Schrader failed to win or even run up front consistently, even though he had basically the same equipment used by teammates Jeff Gordon and Terry Labonte. Schrader decided to ask out of the last two years of his contract and opt for a ride with old friend Andy Petree who is taking over the team previously run by Leo Jackson.

That left one of the most coveted seats in the series open for Ricky Craven, who had been considering buying into Larry Hedrick’s team rather than leaving it.

Steve Grissom, who earlier in the season was let go by Gary Bechtel’s Diamond Ridge Motorsports team, quickly moved into Craven’s vacated ride. Robert Pressley, who was in the Petree-Jackson car, already had been named to replace Grissom.

Then there was the unusual driver swap between the Kranefuss-Haas team and Cale Yarborough Motorsports. When each team decided to part company with its 1996 driver, the other team quickly snapped him up. In order to get a head start on next year, the team owners agreed to allow the drivers to make the moves with only a handful of races left this season.

That put John Andretti in Yarborough’s cars and Jeremy Mayfield in the Kranefuss-Haas machines.

Kyle Petty decided to leave Felix Sabates’ SABCO Racing to put together his own team, leaving the owner to hire 26-year-old Indy-car star Robby Gordon. Butch Mock has hired Rick Mast to replace Morgan Shepherd, who also is trying to start his own team.

Derrike Cope will leave Bobby Allison Motorsports to drive for a new team. That leaves Allison’s ride still to fill.

Then there are the expanding teams of Richard Childress and Darrell Waltrip, hiring Mike Skinner and Rich Bickle, respectively, as second drivers for next season.

COMPETITION LASTS: Labonte, who trails Gordon by just one point in their battle for the Winston Cup championship, says the competition isn’t that much different than in 1984, when he won the title.

“It is always the same,” he said. “In 1984, we said it was so much tougher than in 1982. In ‘96, we say the competition’s a lot tougher than it was in ’94. It’s always the same to me. It’s always tough.

“The technology changes a little bit. If you knew what you know today, you could go back and really do well 10 years ago. But the competition is still extremely tough every weekend. As close as the points are, you’re going to have to go into every race like it’s the last one. You can’t afford to be cautious or save anything for another time.”

HAPPY HENDRICK: Rick Hendrick, owner of the team that fields Chevrolets for Gordon and Labonte, is enjoying the championship battle, even though it makes him a little nervous.

“It is hard for you to stand there and watch the races knowing that so much is at stake,” said Hendrick, who watches from the pits. “Everybody wants to win the Winston Cup championship. It’s a very coveted deal. We worked awful hard to win it last year with Jeff.”

Having, two top drivers means twice as much is going on, Hendrick said.

“You’ve got the race to win each Sunday and the race to be crowned the champion at the end of the year. It’s a lot of pressure, but so far the guys are handling it well,” he said. “

“Being there last year has helped me cope a little because because I, had a lot of knots in my stomach last year just trying to get one car home. This year, it’s a double dose. It’s a bittersweet deal, but it’s a good problem to have.”

ALMOST OVER: Unlike the Winston Cup title chase, the battle for the manufacturers championship is just about over.

After Labonte’s win last Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway Chevrolet holds a 214-202 lead over Ford and needs only a victory next week at Rockingham to capture its 11th title in the past 13 years.

Gordon, with a series-leading 10 victories, has been most responsible for Chevy’s lead, totaling 108 points. Ford’s top point-getter with 66 is Dale Jarrett, who has four wins, followed by Rusty Wallace with 57 points and five wins.

Labonte, with two victories and seven runner-up finishes, is the second-best scorer for Chevrolet with 42 points, the same as two-time winner Ernie Irvan, Jarrett’s teammate, for Ford.

Since the modern era began in 1972 and the NASCAR schedule was cut to 31 races or fewer per season, Chevy has won 19 of 24 titles.