A tough call for Helton

Michael Vega

Sunday, July 9, 2000 | 2:13 a.m.

LOUDON, N.H. - Mike Helton stopped in mid-sentence as he was addressing reporters about Kenny Irwin's death Friday at New Hampshire International Speedway. When a prayer for Irwin was offered up over the track's public address system before the start of Saturday's Busch North Series race, the NASCAR boss bowed his head as all activity in the garage area stopped.

But should that have been the case Friday?

While some Winston Cup drivers expressed feelings about calling it a day after Irwin was killed in practice when his car hit the wall in Turn 3 - in virtually the same spot where Adam Petty was killed May 12 during a Busch Series practice - Helton said it was NASCAR's obligation to carry on.

"It's difficult and everybody deals with it in their own form and fashion," Helton said. "But we have a big responsibility and it's hard sometimes to go on with it."

So Sunday's show, the New England 300, will go on at NHIS's 1.058-mile oval.

"Well it's not just a show," said Helton, NASCAR's chief operating officer and senior vice president. "NASCAR is more like a community and if a citizen of the community passes away, the community still has to go on. Your heart's not in it 100 percent, but (the race) has to go on."

Helton, who had to phone Kyle Petty in London with the news of son Adam's death in May, was in Charlotte Friday for a meeting but spent the majority of the day with grieving car owner Felix Sabates, who withdrew the No. 42 BellSouth team from Sunday's race and ordered it home.

"It could've been that we didn't press on (Friday), but I don't know if that would've made it any better," he said. "I think a lot of people for the most part would've preferred to stay busy, but our procedures are to press on in cases like this.

"And it's not because we don't have a heart and a soul," he said, "it's simply because we have a lot of responsibility - everybody does in the garage area - to a lot of different people. The biggest thing is that's what we do; we race. And that's what Kenny did; he raced. And that's what Adam did; he raced. That's what we do. I think, in some people's minds, it's what was necessary to do, to press on."

An open book

Although NASCAR reportedly found no conclusive evidence that mechanical failure was the cause of Petty's death, Helton said NASCAR officials have not yet closed the book on the Petty crash following Irwin's death.

"We always work on safety issues and that's an ongoing process for us," Helton said. "When Adam had his accident here in May we heightened the issues around carburetors hanging up and what can we do, what can NASCAR make mandatory under the hoods to maybe eliminate those things. So we've been very aggressive in working on that."

When Irwin hit the wall at a speed near 150 m.p.h., there was speculation a stuck throttle was the problem. That had been the prevailing theory in Petty's case, but Helton said NASCAR was unable to find any "conclusive evidence" of that and was conducting an investigation to see if that was the cause of Irwin's crash.

"This occurrence, circumstantially, comes on the heels of (the Petty crash) and we now become even more interested to work with the guys in the garage area to see if there's something we can do," Helton said. "Understanding we don't have a blanket big enough to cover every area and element that can happen, because it's a high-charged sport with risk in it, we want to do whatever we can to minimize these (hung throttle) occurrences."

When Rusty Wallace described a bump in Turn 3 at NHIS, it was thought that might be a cause for concern. But Helton dispelled any notion that the racing groove, especially in Turn 3, was a problem.

"I don't think it's fair to point the finger at the track here," Helton said. "I think every facility we go to is unique and has its own different characteristics. I don't know why we've had two accidents here in such a short period of time that are very similiar to each other, but those answers are tough to come up with."

Streak not broken

Terry Labonte will add to his NASCAR record when he makes his 654th consecutive start in Sunday's race, broken right tibia and all. Labonte suffered the injury when he crashed into the wall at Daytona July 1. He underwent an MRI Monday, which revealed a non-displaced fracture. "They couldn't put a cast on it, because then I wouldn't be able to get in and out of the car," said Labonte. "So they told me to not put any weight on it for 4-5 weeks." Labonte said he was hoping that a pair of open dates between now and the Brickyard 400 Aug. 4 would help him continue to mend and keep his streak intact. "I broke my leg once, but I was pretty fortunate that it happened at the end of the season," he said. "It was just one of those deals. It's unfortunate that it happened, and I'm lucky that it wasn't worse than it was. One good thing is that we've got two off weeks coming up." Labonte said returning to NHIS after competing in the Busch Series race which Petty was practicing for when he was killed was especially difficult on him as the father of a son, Justin, who is an aspiring racer. "It probably hit closer to home than anything ever has," he said. "I've known Kyle for a long time and I've known his kids for a long time and it was something that was pretty hard to deal with - still is." . . . While Dale Earnhardt Jr. said he had no problems with the way Jeremy Mayfield bumped his father from the lead to win Pocono three weeks ago, he indicated he would never dream of pulling such a move. "I wouldn't do it if I had to wreck him to do it," said Little E. "I could see moving somebody over, but it just depends on who you're racing. If you're racing Mark Martin, you wouldn't do it, because he wouldn't do it to you. We've all seen my dad do it before, move people out of the way to win races. You race people how they race you. I wouldn't move Jeff Green out of the way to win a Busch race, because he's had the opportunity to do it me, but I'd move Todd Bodine out of the way (with whom Dale Jr. clashed at Pikes Peak last year) to win a Busch race, no problem." . . . Vincent Galante, a 6-year-old leukemia patient from Woburn, Mass., arrived at NHIS with his twin brother, Nicholas, and parents David and Doreen in the hopes of meeting their favorite driver, Dale Earnhardt. Although the twins were unable to meet with the Intimidator, they were treated to the next best thing when members of Earnhardt's crew allowed the boys to take turns sitting behind the wheel of the No. 3 Goodwrench Chevrolet. The Galantes didn't leave empty-handed, though, after meeting with Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Tony Stewart and Bobby Labonte, who autographed hats and posed for pictures with the boys in their team transporters . . . Donations in Kenny Irwin Jr.'s name can be made to the Riley Children's Hospital, 702 Barnhill Drive, Indianapolis, Ind. 46202. Irwin, 30, was single and is survived by his parents and two sisters . . . Our prediction for Sunday's race? It's hard to pick against pole-sitter Wallace, but it's even harder to mess with Jeff Burton's success at NHIS. Look for Burton to park the No. 99 car in Victory Lane for the fourth time in a row.