DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Teresa Earnhardt, the widow of the late seven-time NASCAR Winston Cup champion Dale Earnhardt will join members of her legal team, media representatives and their legal advisors on Thursday in a private mediation session called by Volusia County Circuit Judge Joseph Will. The era of NASCAR superspeedway racing began at Darlington Raceway on Sept. 4, 1950, with the inaugural running of the Pepsi Southern 500, which has grown into a legend in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. Every driver who has strapped on a helmet and climbed behind the steering wheel has wanted to win at Darlington because the toughest is most desirable. For those few select drivers who have won races at the "Granddaddy" of superspeedways, there is a priceless satisfaction in knowing they've conquered the unique egg-shaped oval "Too Tough To Tame." While its past is filled with history and tradition, Darlington Raceway continues to grow in leaps and bounds for the future. New ultra-modern grandstands and new convenient parking areas and suites continue to make Darlington Raceway a part of our southern heritage, a showplace in NASCAR racing.
Darlington Raceway also houses the NMPA Stock Car Hall of Fame/Joe Weatherly Museum, a priceless collection of historic race cars and driver memorabilia. Darlington truly is a NASCAR tradition.
Location: On Highway 151-34, two miles west of Darlington, S.C. From I-95, take US 52 North (Exit 164) then Highway 151-34 West. From I-20, take Highway 401 East (Exit 131) to US 52 North to Highway 151-34.
CONTACT INFO
Write: The Darlington Raceway
PO Box 500
Darlington, S.C., 29540-0500
Tickets: (843) 395-8499
Location: Darlington, SC
Shape: Oval
Distance: 1.366-miles
Banking, Turns:
25 degrees in Turns 1 & 2
23 degrees in Turns 3 & 4
Front Straight: 1,229 feet
Back Straight: 1,229 feet
Banking, Straightaways: 2 degrees
Judge Will ordered Thursday's session Tuesday in a pre-hearing conference that was set March 7. At that time he granted a continuance of a hearing to settle a suit by Mrs. Earnhardt to seal the file containing autopsy photographs of her husband, who was killed in an accident Feb. 18 at Daytona International Speedway on the last lap of the Daytona 500. The Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel has become the lead player in a media suit filed soon after Teresa Earnhardt's action to allow it to view the photographs so an independent "medical expert" hired by the paper could make a determination of the cause of Earnhardt's death. Will originally continued the case to March 19 but set the mediation session in an effort to avoid a day-long proceeding over what he originally thought would take "a couple hours" to settle.
Gordon looks to Bristol to retake points lead

CONCORD, N.C. -- Jeff Gordon's new paint scheme, in which flames engulf the No. 24 Chevrolet from front to back, has proven quite appropriate thus far during the 2001 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season. Jeff Gordon is seeking his fourth Winston Cup title. Few, if any, series competitors have equaled Gordon's torrid pace during the first month of the new campaign. In the first four races, he posted three top-5s, snagged the pole at Rockingham and won Vegas, propelling him into the points lead heading to Darlington. That's where he got a little too hot. Food City 500 FactsWinston Cup StandingsAfter qualifying was rained out, Gordon started on the pole for the second time in five races and quickly proved that had he not been issued the pole, he likely would have earned it anyway. He led the first 47 laps, and 72 of the first 150. But around lap 180 of the 293-lap event, he began to notice that his temperature gauge registered some 260 degrees.
A wreck at Daytona sent Gordon to a 30th place finish. He pitted on lap-185 to assess the problem, but the No. 24 team was unable to combat the overheating issue. After several more pit stops to remove tape from the grill and flush water into the radiator, Gordon eventually parked the No. 24 Chevrolet, the victim of a broken cylinder head after completing just 228 laps. He finished a season-worst 40th and subsequently dropped to fourth in the point standings, 95 points behind leader Dale Jarrett. "We kept adjusting on it and I thought we were getting better," Gordon said. "But all of a sudden I looked up and the temperature gauge was about 250 (degrees) and it started sputtering after that. Gordon won at Las Vegas for the first time in his career. "I don't know if it was a leak in the radiator or head gasket or what it could have been. But we'll find out so that it doesn't happen again and go get 'em at Bristol." You can bet on a strong rebound from Gordon this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway, site of Sunday's Food City 500. Gordon tallied four straight Food City 500 victories at the .533-mile, high-banked bullring between 1995 and 1998, making him one of the most prolific pilots to ever grace Bristol's high banks. To put in perspective the select company Gordon is in, one needs to look at those who have achieved similar success at Bristol. Just five drivers have graced Victory Lane more times than Gordon -- Darrell Waltrip (12), Cale Yarborough (9), Dale Earnhardt (9), Rusty Wallace (9) and David Pearson (5). His four wins equal the output of Bobby Allison, and a win Sunday would pull him even with Pearson. Rusty Wallace has won three out of the last four races at Bristol. Wallace also has an astounding seven career poles at the half-mile track.
HAMPTON, Ga. -- From his perch on the grandstand roof, Chris Rice -- a burly second-generation mechanic with a racing mind -- keeps a watchful eye out for Buckshot Jones on the asphalt track below. Cars scramble to avoid a spinning Jerry Nadeau on lap 3 of the Cracker Barrel 500. Rice tells Jones who's coming up on his left, on his right. Rice encourages, he soothes, he prods. The job title is race-day spotter, but for Rice and the other 42 guys hovering above Atlanta Motor Speedway it could just as well be air traffic controller. For nearly four hours, more than 500 miles and 325 seemingly endless laps, Rice is almost constantly yapping through the headset to Jones -- parked behind the wheel of the Georgia Pacific No. 44 Dodge. One minute, Rice comes at him with the fire-in-the-belly fervor of Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf: "Keep diggin', baby. Dig, right now. Let's go get that No. 22 [Ward Burton]. Show me something." The next, he brings the comforting reassurance of Winston Cup chaplain Dale Beaver: "Keep your calm -- calm, now. Things will be OK. Take a breath. ... Get some air." High on a spotter's list is feeding his driver information about what's happening on the track and protecting a $100,000 race machine -- but job No. 1, of course, is keeping the driver safe. Few relationships demand greater trust. As good as their vision may be, even champion drivers like Jeff Gordon and Bobby Labonte can't see what's up ahead, so all drivers rely on a second set of eyes to keep free of danger. One bad call and they're smack in harm's way, likely into the path of a speeding car. "I'm real particular about a spotter," Buckshot Jones said a few minutes before the Cracker Barrel 500 on Sunday. "Everything is in his hands." Miscommunication can often lead to an on-track incident. A few years ago, a spotter mistakenly told Jones he was "clear" when he wasn't. That ate up a lot of trust -- and eventually cost the spotter his job. So enter Rice, who has been spotting on the NASCAR circuit since he was 16 years old. His dad and uncle build race cars outside Richmond, Va., and Rice, 30, is the "shock guy'' during the week for Hut Stricklin's No. 90 Ford. He stood side-by-side all afternoon with the other spotters, each identifiable by their team colors and sponsor logo. They'd huddle in small groups to discuss pit stop plans or, in Rice's case with Petty Enterprises, to relate what was or wasn't working. "It's big-time trust with the driver," Rice said. "You build it by good runs and the driver knowing you're not going to put him in predicaments where he's going to wreck." Veteran Brett Bodine refers to his spotter, Don Stout, as "my rearview mirror." Stout doubles as shop foreman. "I trust him with my life," Bodine said. "If he makes the wrong call, it could cause an accident." NASCAR thinks enough of spotters to mandate that drivers have one. Then again, they don't want the eyes in the sky to be pulling the drivers' strings. That message is hammered home every weekend at the pre-race drivers meeting. NASCAR official David Hoots reminded everyone Sunday to use hand signals, take time to fasten seat belts, adjust mirrors -- and "Don't let spotters drive the cars for you." Crusty veterans like Ken Schrader wanted to jump up and applaud. "I hate spotters," Schrader said later. "You worry that you're racing spotters, not racing the other guys. We'd be better off without them." So you can guess how much he relies on his spotter. "I take care of my own self," Schrader said. So does Buckshot Jones, but he desired every bit of information his spotter could feed him. The same for most of drivers. Eavesdropping on a radio scanner, they could be heard asking for everything from what line on the track the competition was running to who was coming in for a pit stop and if they were taking two or four tires. Or positioning them on restarts. After some early trouble on the third lap, resulting in a damaged left front fender, Jones managed to grind out a 19th-place finish -- the third-best showing of his brief Winston Cup career. His spotter was along for the ride, encouraging him and selling the possibility of a top-20 ending. Jones tends to be high-strung at the wheel, as opposed to someone as low-key as veteran Bill Elliott. So, part of Rice's job calls for keeping his driver on an even keel.
DEI leading fight to protect Earnhardt collectables

For the first time since the tragic accident in the closing lap of the 2001 Daytona 500, Dale Earnhardt, Inc. is addressing the issue of souvenirs and merchandise that bear the likeness of seven-time Winston Cup Champion Dale Earnhardt and the No. 3 GM Goodwrench Service Plus Chevrolet. As the winningest active driver in the series, Earnhardt led the sport's merchandising efforts by single-handedly commanding 30 percent of the collectible market.
Unfortunately, as witness in the untimely demise of other fallen heroes, tragedy can often trigger immoral behavior in the souvenir industry. Joe Hedrick, Director of Licensing at Dale Earnhardt, Inc. (DEI) stated, "We would like to think at a time like this, the souvenir business would be the last thing on anyone's mind. Unfortunately, we've been forced into reaching out to Dale Earnhardt fans because their loyalty to Dale is being exploited and driving this immoral behavior." "We want to assure fans of Dale Earnhardt and Richard Childress Racing that there will be an adequate supply of Official Licensed souvenirs and collectibles in the future. Dale Earnhardt, Inc is looking forward to honoring the life and career and will do it in a very honorable way. That is what Dale would want," stated Hedrick. In the mean time, DEI is urging fans to be very selective in what they purchase and what is being offered for sale. At this point in time, there are no official products "In Memorial" to Dale. Any products that promote or memorialize his passing are not the wishes of the family and have not been authorized by DEI. Specific unauthorized products that have been witnessed for sale are: T-Shirts, Plaques, Stickers, and other various items that have placed the "1951-2001" script somewhere on the item. DEI would also like to inform fans to be very discriminating on purchasing autographed items. "We have witnessed many forgeries on some of the larger auction sites on the Internet," added Hedrick. "To help fans determine what is officially licensed, they should look for "Officially Licensed" hangtags and taglines. On apparel, Chase Authentics and Competitors View are the only brands endorsed by Dale Earnhardt and Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Hedrick went on to conclude, "Dale Earnhardt took all the necessary measures before his death to protect his rights now and for many years to come. DEI is going to keep those rights intact and continue enforcing those rights in a manner that would make Dale proud."
Park dominates, but settles for second at Darlington

DARLINGTON, S.C. - Having a two-second advantage over the field with less than 20 laps to go in the Carolina Dodge Dealers 400, Pennzoil driver Steve Park appeared to be on his way to his second victory of the season. But a caution flag with 18 laps remaining at Darlington Raceway changed all that. Heading into the pits with the lead, Park returned to the track just behind eventual race winner Dale Jarrett in spite of a good stop by the Pennzoil team. Several laps later another caution flag came out when the #31 and #5 crashed and the race was red flagged with 10 laps remaining. When the field returned to green flag racing at lap 7, Jarrett took off with Park in hot pursuit. Better on the long runs, Park wasn't able to close the gap between the two and, after leading the most laps throughout the 293-lap event, finished in the second spot. "This is a tough old place," said Park, who scored his third top-10 finish in five races in 2001 and his third top-10 in six races in Darlington. "We worked real hard on getting our set-up where it needed to be on the long runs. And with 18 laps to go, we knew we were in trouble. "We're real disappointed and we hate to be disappointed with second," continued Park, who led four times for 164 laps. "This Pennzoil team and these guys have been working so hard. We would have loved to get another win, but we'll go get'um at Bristol next week."
With the second-place finish, Park climbed from 13th to fifth in the NASCAR Winston Cup points standings as the series heads to Bristol Motor Speedway where he earned his first career pole award last spring.
Harvick accelerating healing process for Childress

CONCORD, N.C. -- The tone of Richard Childress' voice still quakes with sorrow, but every now and then a twinge of excitement rises from the gloom and offers assurance that he's begun the healing process. Richard Childress (center) celebrates with Kevin Harvick (left) and crew chief Kevin Hamlin in victory lane.Tuesday marked the 30th day since Childress lost his dearest colleague, Dale Earnhardt, in a last-lap crash during the Feb. 18th Daytona 500. The championship car owner openly discussed their agape relationship and the manner in which he's begun to cope with such a devastating loss. "I'm kinda taking it day by day," Childress said. "What I try to do now is really think of all the good times. I think that gets me by. We never had many bad times, we had some tough times, but thinking of all those good times Dale and I had together as friends and all the good times we had as teammates."I was a very fortunate person to be able to do some of the things I did with Dale Earnhardt. There's so many of them I couldn't pick one. A lot of hunting stories, a lot of racing stories, a lot of times on boats. Those are the things that gets your by during the tough times."RCR crew members jump for joy after Kevin Harvick crosses the finish line at Atlanta. If the fond memories of the Childress-Earnhardt dynasty offer an aspirin-like effect to alleviate the pain, Kevin Harvick's victory at Atlanta must have been like an 800-milligram shot of morphine. Nothing else could have been so soothing. "Just to run in the top-5 was gonna be great," said Childress, his voice still overflowing with excitement. "But once I seen him make the move and get out in front of those guys, I said, 'Wow, we got a chance to win now.'" "With one or two to go I saw Jeff (Gordon) coming, I knew he'd give him a good run. Jeff had a really good car that day, Dale Jarrett really had a good car, but Kevin had a good car and made the right move. It resulted in a great win and a great victory for RCR and for the race fans. The race fans needed an uplifting and it was great for everybody involved."Members of opposing crews rush out to congratulate Harvick. Childress had never before been placed in such a paradoxical position than he was in following Earnhardt's death. In one fell swoop, he had lost his best friend and the foundation of his professional existence. Nearly everything he had accomplished in the world of auto racing came via the right foot of Dale Earnhardt. Now, what was he to do? Throw a Big E clone behind the wheel, that's what. Harvick's driving style strongly resembles that of Earnhardt -- if you're slow, move, or I'll move you. Childress said he is most impressed "the amount of pressure I know is there, and (Harvick) never shows it. Not on the racetrack, not in the media. He's solid, he's helped us through this transition so much by being able to keep the car out there and keep it competitive. I don't ever really get surprised at what you see Kevin do on the racetrack. "I think we all were surprised to win that early. I felt the second time around after him and Kevin Hamlin (crew chief) worked together and went through the whole circuit - we'd have been better. But for him to go out and do what he's done in these first four races, I'm just super impressed. I don't know what we'd have done if we didn't have Kevin Harvick."