Racing notebook: Chevys inching forward

Thursday, March 9, 2000 | 9:08 a.m.

Dale Earnhardt and other Chevrolet drivers hope two inches will go a long way against their Ford and Pontiac rivals.

"We just want to be equal with them," Kevin Hamlin, Earnhardt's crew chief, said after NASCAR changed its aerodynamic rules in a bid to make the all-new Monte Carlos more competitive.

Equality certainly works well for the seven-time Winston Cup champion in the International Race of Champions series, an all-star circuit where drivers compete in identically prepared cars.

"Look at IROC," Hamlin said. "That's as equal as you can get. You put Dale Earnhardt in an IROC car and he shines. Just give him something to work with, and he'll drive the wheels off it."

NASCAR is allowing Monte Carlo teams to extend forward by two inches the front air dam, an opening below the bumper that funnels air under the hood to the radiator and oil cooler. The change will take effect Sunday in the Cracker Barrel 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Earnhardt was the best of the Chevy drivers in two of first three races of the season, finishing second in the Dura Lube/Kmart 400 in Rockingham, N.C., and eighth last week in the rain-shortened CarsDirect.com 400 in Las Vegas.

WONDERBOY?: Jeff Gordon has gone eight races without a top-five finish, the longest drought of his Winston Cup career.

"As competitive as it is in NASCAR, you can't afford to have any little glitch, any little change in your program, and expect to go out there and just win races," Gordon said this week.

Little changes? Hardly.

His longtime mentor, crew chief Ray Evernham, left last fall. Five of the seven crewmen who made the Rainbow Warriors the best over-the-wall gang in the business bolted for Winston Cup champion Dale Jarrett's camp. And Brian Whitesell, the crew chief for consecutive victories in September after Evernham's resignation, shifted to team manager with Robbie Loomis taking over as crew chief.

"No doubt, I had higher hopes than this," Gordon said. "But I'm very pleased with all the people we've brought in. It's going to take some time and we expected it."

AT FULL SPEED: Melanie Troxel, the 27-year-old daughter of former NHRA Alcohol Dragster champion Mike Troxel, is seventh in the Top Fuel standings after qualifying for both 2000 events. She is the 14th female to qualify in drag racing's top division.

"I'm aware of the fact that there aren't many women in this sport, especially at this level," Troxel said. "But it's not something I dwell on. I really just think of myself as a driver.

"Still, if I can open a young girl's eyes to the fact that they can accomplish anything they want, then that's great. I do get a few surprised looks. People say to me, 'You drive that thing?"'

She moved up to Top Fuel this year after four seasons in the NHRA's Federal-Mogul Dragster class.

DOWN UNDER: Eddie Irvine, the 1999 Australian Grand Prix winner, has modest expectations for Sunday's season-opening Formula One race after an offseason switch from Ferrari to Jaguar.

"Whatever happened last year has no influence," Irvine said. "We aren't coming here fully prepared - it's probably the first year so many teams have arrived in such disarray."

The racer from Northern Ireland has a three-year deal to drive for Jaguar.