Barrichello at center of F1 controversy

Wednesday, March 28, 2001 | 12:47 p.m.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Rubens Barrichello is fed up with talk about his future at Ferrari and his relationship with teammate Michael Schumacher.

"This has been the best and the worst of weeks for me," the Brazilian driver said during a break in preparations for Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix. "The best because I feel close to the fans and when I sit in the car, it's just fantastic, and the worst because all the interviews I give get twisted.

"There is no problem between Ferrari, Schumacher and me - there's none of this story of driver No. 1 and driver No. 2. We talk as if we were a family."

Schumacher has won the last six races.

Two weeks ago, in Malaysia, Barrichello called the German's victory "lucky" and reportedly said Schumacher disobeyed team orders by overtaking him on the slippery track.

Later, Barrichello told Rio de Janeiro daily newspaper O Globo that his main challenge is beating Schumacher.

"I don't want to be the No. 2 forever," the paper quoted him as saying. "Even though I haven't yet managed to be ahead of Schumacher, I feel good, because 550 people at Ferrari are working for him and not for me."

Barrichello addressed the report Tuesday.

"All that story of my declarations that Schumacher should not have overtaken me was made up by the press," Barrichello said. "My rival is not Schumacher, but McLaren."

The Brazilian acknowledged the controversy might hurt his chances of staying with Ferrari next year.

"I'll start renegotiating my contract as of July and if I'm hurt by that episode, it'll be because of things I never said," he explained.

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ROBINSON'S RETURN: Shawna Robinson, preparing for her first Winston Cup start, will make her first Busch Series appearance in seven years Saturday at Texas Motor Speedway.

Robinson, sixth in the 2000 ARCA standings, will campaign the No. 99 Chevrolet for owner/driver Michael Waltrip. Two weeks ago, Robinson and Michael Kranefuss announced a six-race Winston Cup deal, starting April 28 at California Speedway.

"I can't answer why this is happening now," said Robinson, the 36-year-old mother of two. "The timing is great, though, with NASCAR's popularity rising and the awareness of women in sports in general. Everything just seems to be coming together."

She believes she is qualified to compete.

"If I didn't feel that way, I wouldn't even go out there," she said. "I've always been in racing and raced against men. I don't know any other way to do this."

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CATTLE DRIVE: Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Elliott Sadler know their way around Texas Motor Speedway.

Earnhardt is defending his first Winston Cup victory this week at the Fort Worth track, and also raced to his first Busch Series victory in 1998 on the 1 1/2 -mile oval.

"Texas is one of our best tracks, but I don't really know why," Earnhardt said. "Ever since we've gone there in the Busch Series, it has just been a track that has been easy for me to drive.

"It's really fast and I like that. I guess I have a good feel for what the car needs as far as the attitude of the car into and off of the corners."

Sadler, coming off a breakthrough victory in Bristol, Tenn., also likes Texas.

"No matter what car we take or what setup we use, I feel sure that we are going to be close," he said. "You have a feeling about certain tracks and this is just one of them."

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PIT STOPS: Winston Cup regular Mike Skinner will replace Richard Childress Racing teammate Mike Dillon in the Busch Series race Saturday in Texas.

Dillon is recovering from a crash last week in Bristol, Tenn.

"Mike took a hard lick at Bristol, so he's pretty sore and stiff," Childress said. "He also took a hard lick a couple of weeks ago testing in Nashville. Everyone knows racing at Texas Motor Speedway can be very tough."

Jimmy Spencer, another Winston Cup regular, also will try to qualify for the Busch event as part of an 18-race deal with Phoenix Racing owner James Finch.

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