THE UNIVERSITY DARY KANSAN
TUESDAY MARCH 27, 2007
SPORTS
9A
NASCAR
Drivers not impressed with Car of Tomorrow
BY JENNA FRYER ASSOCIATED PRESS
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — There's a comfort level behind the wheel of your own car, a familiarity that sometimes makes it easier to break the speed limit, blow through a red light or cut off another driver.
That feeling often disappears in a borrowed car. It takes time to adjust to the vehicle, so the driver is a bit more cautious.
Maybe that's how the top talent in NASCAR felt Sunday when the Car of Tomorrow debuted at Bristol Motor Speedway.
The car was big and bony, some might even say ugly. It looked different from their normal cars and felt nothing like what they were used to. And it turned what's normally a rough and tumble race into a rather ho-hum affair.
"I can't stand to drive them," race-winner Kyle Busch said after beating Jeff Burton in a last-lap sprint to the finish line. "I didn't see any highlights out there."
"The car was terrible," he added. "It's hard to set up and it's hard to drive. I don't remember anyone complaining about the old ones. I told my team before the race that I hoped I could win it so that I could tell everybody how bad it is."
There was initial skepticism when NASCAR chose Bristol as the first venue for the COT. Because the 0.533-mile oval is so tight, the beating and banging typically begins the moment the green flag flies.
Because teams worried the COTI would fall apart on impact, everyone believed the track would be littered with splitters and rear wings.
But as NASCAR closed in on the debut, Bristol actually began to make sense. Since the track routinely produces such thrilling racing, would anyone even notice the COT was out there?
Initially, no. When the race began,
everything appeared ordinary.
Then Tony Stewart humiliated the field, opening an insurmountable four-second lead as he dominated the first half of the race.
Big, big Bristol suddenly became a snooze fest.
There was no swapping of sheet metal, no bump-and-runs and very little banging. Of the 15 cautions only three were for multicar accidents.
"I thought the COT handled poorly enough that the guys actually didn't run over each other because they didn't have good control of their car" Martin said.
Even Mark Martin, who ended his streak of 621 strained races to watch Bristol from his living room, noticed how calm things were.
And noted COT critic Jeff Gordon had softened his stance after a third-place finish.
But opinions differed across the garage.
"There were positives," he said.
"We made passes on the outside I was surprised by. I'm still not crazy about this thing, but it's growing on me."
"I may be wrong," Burton said,
"but from my point of view, it seemed like just another race at Bristol."
But Gordon also explained that his main beef with the COT is that it's different from what he's used to. Chevrolet rolled out an Impala SS for the COT, and Gordon prefers his old Monte Carlo.
"The current car drives better, it's got more downforce, it's got more grip, it has better feel," he said. "So if you compare (the COT) to that car, you're not going to like it."
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Castro said the request for charges will be submitted to Clark County district attorney David Roger no later than the end of the week. Roger will be asked to consider charges against the 23-year-old Jones and Robert Reid, 37, and Sadia Morrison, 24, whom Castro described as friends of Jones.
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Titans star could face felony, misdemeanor
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LAS VEGAS — Tennessee Titans star Adam "Pacman" Jones could face felony and misdemeanor charges stemming from a triple shooting at a strip club in February.
BASEBALL
(CONTINUED FROM 12A)
Jones would face a felony charge of coercion and misdemeanor threat and battery charges in the 5 a.m. shooting at Minxx, police Lt. George Castro said Monday.
Castro said detectives haven't determined who fired the shots that wounded three people, one critically, outside the club during the NBA All-Star game weekend.
Two club security guards and an unidentified woman were wounded in the shooting. One guard, who was paralyzed from the waist down, was transferred last week to a rehabilitation hospital. The other guard and the woman were not seriously wounded.
victory against the University of Northern Iowa Panthers in their conference opener last weekend.
"That's kind of a struggle for this team right now is the midweek games." Morrison said. "It seems like we don't come out with as much energy and that we kind of play down to the opponent. Those are important games."
Jones was questioned by Las Vegas police and released.
RUSH (CONTINUED FROM 12A)
Kansas has won just two of its last five and is in need of a solid game in Springfield to kick start a run in the Big 12. Morrison and fellow junior John Allman will likely lead the way. Allman was one of just two Jayhawks have a hit in each game of last weekend's Oklahoma State series. The left fielder was also one of two Kansas batters to have a multi-hit game in the series.
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Lawyers for lones have denied Minxn club co-owner Robert Susnar's account that lones arrived and left the club with the shooter. After 500 hours of reviewing videotapes and interviewing witnesses from the club, Castro said police were unable to establish a relationship between lones and the shooter.
Although Morrison had a fairly quiet weekend against the Cowboys, he homered in the series finale and continues to lead the offense in both home runs (5) and RBI (26). Where Morrison brings strong numbers for tonight's contest, he brings an even stronger mindset.
Kansan senior sportswriter Alissa Bauer can be contacted abauer@ kansan.com.
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"Was he an inciter? Yes, he was." Castro said.
Castro characterized Jones as an instigator of a scuffle inside the club that led to the shooting outside.
"He's a team-first, defender first kind of guy," the coach said. "He's one of the best rebounders of his size for any guy out there."
continue into whether another person might have been involved and fired the shots.
who just look at point totals.
Rush's performances against Southern Illinois and UCLA may be the last time Kansas fans get a chance to see him play for the jayhawks. He said he would explore his options after the season ends, and would head to the NBA if he was projected as one of the top picks.
Kansan senior sportswriter Michael Phillips can be contacted at mphillipsokansan.com.
Edited by Joe Caponio
If he does make the jump to pro, it won't be because of an impressive highlight reel, but because of his impressive defense.
Edited by Sharla Shivers
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