For Some, Ending Was Too Good

The conspiracy theorists are at it again.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s victory at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday in the first race NASCAR had there after his legendary father had been killed on the same track five months ago was just too perfect for some to swallow.

The fix was in, the cynics cried.

It’s not the first time NASCAR has been the target of such accusations.

Dale Earnhardt drew suspicions when he won his first Daytona 500 in 20 tries to open NASCAR’s 50th anniversary season.

Jeff Gordon was suspect when he won the first Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, only a few miles from where he grew up.

And, of course, there are still eyebrows raised when talking about Richard Petty’s 200th and final Winston Cup victory in front of President Reagan at Daytona on the Fourth of July 1984.

Said Hank Ives, a veteran of 30 years in motor racing, of Saturday night’s Pepsi 400: “It was just so obvious.”

Was it any more “obvious” than Cal Ripken Jr.’s hitting a home run to become the most valuable player of his final All-Star game after announcing his retirement?

Or of Lance Armstrong’s coming back from cancer to win the Tour de France?

Did the NFL script the Super Bowl victory for John Elway’s final appearance?

Stories too good to be true occur all the time in sports, which is one reason they have such a hold on the public psyche.

But NASCAR does lend itself to suspicion. It is the only racing body that openly changes its rules--sometimes from race to race--to assure parity among the makes of its cars. If the Fords seem unbeatable, they get tweaked enough that the Chevrolets, Pontiacs and now the Dodges can catch up.

Or vice versa. And even if a winning car is found to be in violation, the victory is not taken away. Fines, yes, but not the victory.

After a race in Charlotte, N.C., in 1983, won by Petty, it was discovered that his car had an oversized engine and illegal tires. The team was fined, but “the King” kept the victory.

So, it’s not beyond reason that Little E could have been handed an advantage, perhaps a larger opening in his carburetor restrictor plate--something not obvious to the eye--but one thing is for sure, the 42 other drivers weren’t in on it.

Tony Stewart, who may be racing’s next “Intimidator” now that the elder Earnhardt is gone, was not thinking, “Junior has to win this race!” when he took his Pontiac below the yellow line in a desperate attempt to win.

Stewart was going for a million-dollar bonus and his actions would indicate that he had no thoughts about letting Little E win. He was black-flagged for the violation, dropped from sixth to 26th and, after knocking a tape recorder out of the hands of Winston-Salem Journal reporter Mike Mulhern, was docked $10,000 by NASCAR and put on probation through the rest of the season.

On Thursday, Stewart issued an apology to NASCAR, Mulhern, Winston Cup series director Gary Nelson and his fans.

Of course, the conspiracy crowd would say that Stewart was black-flagged because he was upsetting the script, trying too hard to win. Detractors would point out how Gordon had swept below the line, across the apron and almost into the infield grass--without a reprimand--to pass Earnhardt and Rusty Wallace in winning the 1999 Daytona 500.

Earnhardt Jr. was not amused when the conspiracy idea was mentioned to him.

“The first guy who came up and told me that, I almost decked him,” he said on national TV while attending baseball’s All-Star game in Seattle. “Nobody told me I was going to win. The car just ran great. I have never been to a place where I was so dominant.”

It should not have been a surprise.

Michael Waltrip and Earnhardt Jr. finished 1-2 in the Daytona 500 in February and, driving the same cars, were the top two the second time around, with the finish reversed.

Earnhardt Jr. said that if he had any advantage, it was because he felt the presence of his father helping him through the 160 laps around Daytona.

“It couldn’t have been scripted better,” said an elated Waltrip after seeing his teammate win--perhaps an unfortunate choice of words.

Realistically, how could it be scripted?

After 400 miles, running close to 200 mph, Earnhardt’s margin at the finish line was .12 of a second. What if he had been caught in that 10-car pileup late in the race that took out Gordon, pole sitter Sterling Marlin and Earnhardt’s replacement, Kevin Harvick?

“This is not the WWF,” said series champion Bobby Labonte.

No, but it is NASCAR.

Racing in China

Will Zhuhai, China, be the site of CART’s next overseas adventure?

CART is already in Japan, Germany, England, Canada, Brazil, Mexico and Australia, and China could be next if Leo Chu of Beverly Hills and Robert Hong of Pasadena fulfill their plans.

Chu, owner of the Hollywood Park Casino, said he hopes to put a major racing event on the 4.2-mile Zhuhai International Circuit, located about 50 miles from Hong Kong, in 2002.

“Once we get the first race, the second and third ones will be a lot easier,” Chu told The Times’ Martin Henderson. “There are a lot of big corporations in China. There’s enough interest.”

Chu, Hong and Bruce Barnes, a longtime Southland motor racing figure, recently returned from a tour of China, where they met with government officials to discuss development of the program.

Zhuhai is the only motor racing track in China.

Motocross

Sebastien Tortelli had just passed series champion Ricky Carmichael and was on his way to a victory that would move him into a challenging role for the AMA national 250cc outdoor championship when an embarrassing thing happened.

He ran out of gas.

It was the final lap at the Red Bud track in Minnesota. After more than 30 minutes of racing, the Frenchman was close enough to push his Honda across the finish line--which is legal.

But just before the finish is Red Bud’s signature hill, so steep that Tortelli couldn’t get the 218-pound bike to the top. As he struggled, the pack went by and so did his title hopes. Carmichael won, taking a commanding lead in points.

Last Laps

Figure-eight racing, that zany form of competition with an intersection, makes its Irwindale Speedway debut Saturday night as the first of a five-race series. Also on the program will be the Auto Club late model series, super stocks, American Race Trucks and legend cars.

Ray Elder, six-time Winston West champion, will be at Irwindale July 21 for a reunion of West Coast stock car series drivers. The celebration will be held before a Winston West race. Also attending will be 1955 champion Danny Letner, Jackie McCoy, Ron Hornaday Sr. and Jimmy Insolo.

The APBA Gold Cup, unlimited hydroplane’s biggest prize, will be at stake Sunday on the Detroit River. Dave Villwock, defending champion in Miss Budweiser, will be an overwhelming favorite to win his fifth Gold Cup. The race has been conducted annually since 1904.

Robby Gordon, who finished second three weeks ago at Sears Point as a substitute driver for car owner Jim Smith’s No. 7 Ford, will get another chance in the same car Sunday. Smith named Gordon to again replace Mike Wallace for the Winston Cup race at the new Chicagoland track in Joliet, Ill.

National Hot Rod Assn. founder Wally Parks, who missed last weekend’s NHRA 50th Anniversary Nationals at Pomona because of a leg injury, is out of the hospital and recuperating at home.

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This Week’s Races

WINSTON CUP

Tropicana 400

* When: Today, qualifying, 1 p.m.; Sunday, race (NBC, 11:30 a.m.)

* Where: Chicagoland Speedway (tri-oval 1.5 miles, 18-degree banking in turns), Joliet, Ill.

* Race distance: 400.5 miles, 267 laps.

* Last race: Dale Earnhardt Jr. drove to an emotional victory in the Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway, where his father was killed in February.

* 2000 winner: Inaugural event.

* Next race: New England 300, July 22, Loudon, N.H.

* On the net: https://www.nascar.com.

BUSCH

Sam’s Club/Hills Bros 300

* When: Today, qualifying, 11 a.m.; Saturday, race (NBC, 12:30 p.m.)

* Where: Chicagoland Speedway (tri-oval 1.5 miles, 18-degree banking in turns), Joliet, Ill.

* Race distance: 300 miles, 200 laps.

* Last race: Canadian road-racing ace Ron Fellows won easily in the GNC Live Well 200 at Watkins Glen, N.Y.

* 2000 winner: Inaugural event.

* Next race: Carquest Auto Parts 250, July 21, Madison, Ill.

* On the net: https://www.nascar.com.

CRAFTSMAN TRUCKS

Kroger 225

* When: Today, qualifying, 3:30 p.m.; Saturday, race (ESPN, 5 p.m.)

* Where: Kentucky Speedway (oval, 1.5 miles, 14-degree banking in turns), Sparta, Ky.

* Race distance: 150 laps, 225 miles.

* Last race: Ricky Hendrick led the last 32 laps and won the O’Reilly Auto Parts 250 at Kansas Speedway.

* 2000 winner: Greg Biffle.

* Next race: New England 200, July 21, Loudon, N.H.

* On the net: https://www.nascar.com.

CART

Molson Indy

* When: Saturday, qualifying, 10:45 a.m. (ESPN2, 2 p.m., tape); Sunday, race (ESPN, 10 a.m.)

* Where: Toronto street circuit (temporary road course, 1.721 miles, 13 turns), Toronto.

* Race distance: 192.752 miles, 112 laps.

* Last race: Dario Franchitti, running on little more than fumes, held off Memo Gidley to win the Marconi Grand Prix of Cleveland.

* 2000 winner: Michael Andretti.

* Next race: Michigan 500, July 22, Brooklyn, Mich.

* On the net: https://www.cart.com.

FORMULA ONE

British Grand Prix

* When: Saturday, qualifying (Speedvision, 5 a.m.); Sunday, race, (Speedvision, 4:30 a.m.)

* Where: Silverstone Circuit (road course, 3.196 miles, 14 turns), Silverstone, England.

* Race distance: 191.76 miles, 60 laps.

* Last race: Michael Schumacher outran his brother Ralf to win the French Grand Prix.

* 2000 winner: David Coulthard.

* Next race: German Grand Prix, July 29, Hockenheim.

* On the net: https://www.formula1.com.