Tires ready for Sunday’s Las Vegas inaugural

Friday, Feb. 27, 1998 | 4:36 a.m.

The Goodyear Eagle radials to be used Sunday in the Las Vegas 400 have been thoroughly tested on the 1 1/2 -mile oval.

"We had a successful tire test here with Ken Schrader in December," said Phil Holmer, Goodyear's marketing manager for stock cars. "This is the same tire recommendation we raced last year at Darlington.

"The two tracks differ in size and shape, but the Darlington tires are a perfect fit for Las Vegas."

Besides the Winston Cup tires tests, Goodyear also is using data accumulated from several previous races at the Las Vegas track, including two Indy Racing League events, two NASCAR Craftsman Truck races, and a NASCAR Busch Grand National race.

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NO NO: Very quietly and unofficially, NASCAR let it be known to its teams and officials this week that it would be best if they did not take advantage of the fact that the sports books at many of the big Las Vegas casinos are taking bets on Sunday's race.

A team owner, who asked that his name not be used, said, "It's a sound precaution. You don't want to have people on (Dale) Earnhardt's team betting on (Jeff) Gordon, and you sure don't want NASCAR officials who are involved in technical inspections or race control betting on somebody who's racing. But we've been told to police ourselves."

NASCAR officials would say only that there was no official bulletin issued on the subject of gambling.

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ALMOST PERFECT: Hut Stricklin was the only Winston Cup driver in 5 1/2 hours of practice on Thursday and Friday to hit the concrete wall at LVMS.

Stricklin, who said the car "just got away" in Friday's second practice, did only minor damage to his Chevrolet, and was able to drive it in the opening round of qualifying.

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UP IN THE AIR: One of the favorite pastimes in the garage area at Las Vegas Motor Speedway is watching the fighter jets from nearby Nellis Air Force Base conduct their daily maneuvers.

Terry Labonte took it one step farther on Thursday, before the start of Winston Cup practice. He hitched a ride in an F-16 with Maj. Randy Lane and the rest of the Thunderbird precision flying team.

"We were up for about 45 minutes and did everything - loops, vertical climbs, pulling 9 Gs, breaking the sound barrier," Labonte said. "In fact, I wanted to land, refuel and go back up to do some of the stunts we missed.

"I got the same feeling strapped into the F-16 that I have in my race car. With the belts tightened and the helmet securely strapped, you feel as if you're one with the machine.

"I think about my experience up there and marvel at the fact that these guys routinely fly at speeds of more than 400 mph within 18 inches of each other in close formation."

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CREW CHANGE: It must seem like old times this week for Sterling Marlin, who found himself working with old friend Tony Glover as his temporary crew chief.

Buddy Barnes was let go earlier this week as Marlin's crew chief at Team Sabco.

Glover, whose title is team manager, was Marlin's crew chief for most of his four years at Morgan-McClure Racing, but came to Team Sabco midway through the 1997 season. Marlin followed over the winter.

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FIRST APPEARANCE: Chris Trickle, the nephew of Winston Cup star Dick Trickle, made his first public appearance since he was shot in the head on Feb. 10, 1997 while driving on a Las Vegas street.

The 25-year-old race car driver was in a wheelchair Thursday night at a fund-raiser that drew about 150 people and raised $20,297 to help pay his medical bills.

Trickle was in a coma for 10 months, and has been undergoing intensive therapy since.