Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Compton ready for switch to Dodge

Friday, Aug. 11, 2000 | 9:44 a.m.

Brian Hilderbrand's motor sports notebook appears Friday. Reach him at bh@lasvegassun.com or 259-4089.

It's not that Stacy Compton isn't enjoying his rookie season in NASCAR's Winston Cup Series, but the 33-year-old Virginia native can't wait for next year.

Compton, who drives the Kodiak Ford for Melling Racing, will be one of 10 drivers competing in the new Dodge Intrepid in 2001. The Dodge Winston Cup program is being headed by veteran crew chief Ray Evernham.

"You hate to wish time away but I wish next year was here already," Compton said during a promotional appearance in Las Vegas this week. "These days, if you can't be part of a multi-car team, you're wasting your time, basically. It's impossible these days to run against multi-car teams and if we couldn't be part of a multi-car team with Ford, we had to make a change.

"This opportunity with Dodge is going to be great because we'll be sort of a multi-car team and I think that's going to be really good for us. We had to do something."

Melling Racing, which is a single-car effort by team owner Mark Melling, will have the advantage next season of sharing information with the other Dodge teams.

"I'm excited about it," Compton said. "If you look at what we've got to gain versus what we've got to lose, it's a lot more positive than negative. Sure, it's going to be a lot of work, but Winston Cup racing always is."

Although many consider his rookie season to be a success in that he has qualified for all 20 Winston Cup races to date, the personable Compton said the season hasn't met his own lofty expectations.

Entering Sunday's race at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International, Compton is 34th in Winston Cup points and his best finish was a 22nd place at Richmond International Raceway in May.

Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds have been named to serve as race analysts on Fox Sports' telecasts of NASCAR Winston Cup races next season. Fox has not yet announced its play-by-play announcer.

McReynolds, crew chief for Mike Skinner since the middle of the 1998 season, announced his departure from Richard Childress Racing on Thursday. ...

Ron Hornaday will take over as driver of the Kellogg's Chevrolet for two-time NASCAR champion Terry Labonte this weekend at Watkins Glen International.

Labonte, who plans to return for the Aug. 20 Pepsi 400 at Michigan Speedway, missed last weekend's Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway after experiencing lingering effects from a July 1 accident at Daytona. ...

Road racing veteran Tom Hubert will drive the Mobil 1 Taurus this weekend at Watkins Glen in place of Jeremy Mayfield. Mayfield will sit out the race while recovering from a concussion suffered in an accident during practice last week for the Brickyard 400.

Hubert qualified fourth for the CarsDirect.com 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March.

Tracy has four runner-up finishes in seven career starts at Mid-Ohio, including a second-place showing last year, and has started on the outside pole three consecutive times from 1992 to 1994. He enters Sunday's race fifth in points (40 behind leader Michael Andretti) after leading the points earlier this season.

"I've almost always performed well there, although I really need to get that first win at Mid-Ohio after four second-place finishes," Tracy said. "Hopefully, this is the year.

"With the next four races on road and street circuits, a real crucial part of the season is coming up for Team KOOL Green and I think we're ready for that challenge."

But Lazier, who never has finished higher than fifth in IRL points, is taking nothing for granted.

"If we go to Kentucky and finish seventh, still have a top 10, and Eddie or one of the other close pursuers wins the race, they are going to take over the championship lead," Lazier said. "It (the lead) seems like a lot, and it feels good, but the reality of it is we can't sit back on our feet whatsoever.

"We've got to charge forward, and we've got to have two strong races. We can't afford to drop out of one of them."

"There were a number of reasons, not the least of which is the commitment Speedway Motorsports has made to NHRA Drag Racing," Compton said. "They have built two of the three state-of-the-art facilities on our schedule and that was a very important consideration.

"Las Vegas is the fastest growing city in the United States and the entertainment capital of the United States and we've wanted for some time to put on an event in conjunction with the SEMA show. For those reasons, and then some, it made sense to go twice to Las Vegas next year."

The NHRA announced its 2001 schedule on Wednesday that included 23 national events and a date in July that will be announced at a later date. Compton said he had "two exciting options" to fill the July date, which is expected to be an all-star event, possibly in Pomona, Calif.

Deyon Young of Las Vegas won the 40-lap American Race Truck main event last Saturday night at Irwindale (Calif.) Speedway. Terry Young of Las Vegas was third. ...

NASCAR Late Models, Grand American Modifieds, Legends, Chargers, Mini Stocks and Bandoleros will be featured on Saturday night's NASCAR Weekly Racing Series card at The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Gates open at 5 p.m. and racing starts at 7. ...

The Summit Racing E.T. Bracket Series returns to The Strip at LVMS Saturday night with competition in Super Quick, Pro, Sportsman, Street and Motorcycles. Gates open at 4 p.m. with time trials beginning at 5 and eliminations at 8. ...

Round five of the Night Series Motocross will be held Saturday at the LVMS motocross track. Gates open at 3 p.m., practice starts at 4 and racing begins at 5:30.