Drivers cold to New Hampshire date

Dick Brinster

Thursday, Sept. 27, 2001 | 2:23 a.m.

Dale Jarrett doesn't want to throw snowballs at NASCAR, but he might get the chance.

The 1999 Winston Cup champion would prefer not to race in very cold weather, and doesn't think a sport that bills itself as one big family should require teams to leave on Thanksgiving for a makeup event the next day in New Hampshire.

"That's not promoting the family image," said Jarrett, an infrequent critic of the sanctioning body.

So NASCAR, criticized a year ago after two driver deaths at New Hampshire International Speedway, is getting more heat from those who don't want to run there Nov. 23. But the sanctioning body is honoring its contract with a track deprived of a race five days after the terrorist attacks.

NASCAR, which never races on Mother's Day or Easter, understands driver sentiment, but has no open date the rest of the season. Jarrett and the others can complain all they want, but there will be no changes.

The complaints come as no surprise to NASCAR vice president Jim Hunter.

"If we took a poll of the drivers, I don't know that any of them would want to go to New Hampshire," he said. "We make tough decisions every day and we live with them."

So, bundle up and pray for sunshine. The New Hampshire 300 could be the coldest race in history. Weather bureau records show a high temperature in the area last Nov. 23 of about 30 degrees.

Of course, it also could be comfortable: the high was 61 in 1998 and 69 a year later.

The colder it gets, the more difficult it will be to heat up the slick tires. Warm rubber is needed to create decent traction for the 3,400-pound cars.

But Terry Labonte, who would rather be having a traditional turkey dinner in Texas with his family and 96-year-old grandmother, says people might not notice a difference.

"Most of the races up there kind of resemble demolition derbies anyway," said Labonte, shooting for his 701st career start Sunday in the inaugural Winston Cup race at Kansas Speedway. "With the cold temperature and the hard tires, it's going to be a bigger problem - on restarts especially."

Bill Elliott says setups in New Hampshire always have been critical, and that a cloud cover - even in summer - changes a car's handling characteristics more than at most tracks.

Drivers would prefer to qualify on a cool track, where for one lap they can fight a lack of handling for more speed. But The Magic Mile in Loudon, N.H., is the exception.

"When you go out to qualify, you pray for the sun to be out," Elliott said. "That's probably the only place in the world where you want that."

A place some would like to hold the makeup race is Fort Worth, Texas. Officials of Texas Motor Speedway have proposed staging the race, but New Hampshire wants to keep it.

Jarrett proposed running in Loudon on Wednesday, Oct. 10, three days after the race in Concord, N.C., and four days before the next one in Martinsville, Va.

"I know that's three races within a week, but that's why we have great race teams," he said. "Have you talked to anybody in favor of being in New Hampshire on Nov. 23?"

Asked if they knew anybody who did, Labonte and Elliott looked at each other and laughed.

Kenny Wallace says people are making too much of it, particularly in view of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

"The bottom line is they've already announced we're going to run there," he said. "It's not up for debate."

Hunter concedes a 36-race schedule is the price NASCAR pays for being so successful. He says there are six or seven cities that either would like a race or like to add one.

Still, NASCAR has remained loyal to its oldest partners, refusing to pull the second race from its venues along the eastern seaboard to make room for weather-related postponements.

"In a perfect world, if you were starting NASCAR today, very few tracks would have two races," Hunter said. "Scheduling is the hardest thing on NASCAR's plate."

Hunter points out that special circumstances led to the New Hampshire postponement, and with the Winston Cup championship on the line, the race should be run. It was scheduled for a Friday to ensure there would be as many as three days to race should the weather turn bad.

"Yes, it could be cold, but our fans can adapt," he said. "They've done it before."

Hunter said even the tire temperatures can be managed somewhat by running longer than normal under caution before waving the green flag.

He can remember a race in Richmond, Va., when there was a foot of snow on the ground.

"They plowed the snow and ran the event," he said. "I learned in this business never to say never, but I don't think canceling an event is in our vocabulary."