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Practice called 'useless'

May 27, 2007 12:35 am

BY JIM McCONNELL

CONCORD, N.C.--Hard Goodyear tires and a hot, slick racing surface led two Nextel Cup drivers to close encounters with the wall during practice for today's Coca-Cola 600.

Clint Bowyer crashed his No. 07 Chevrolet after completing just five laps in yesterday's first practice session and was forced to switch to a backup car. A couple of hours later, Kyle Busch wrecked his No. 5 Chevy early in the Nextel Cup "Happy Hour" and his crew spent the rest of the practice trying to repair the damage.

Veteran Ricky Rudd, who was eighth-fastest in the early practice, wasn't surprised that conditions were treacherous because the surface temperature hovered near 140 degrees and there had been little activity on the track since Thursday evening.

"I was running some conservative laps when I first started and my car was still slipping," Rudd said. "It would be very easy for it to get out from under you, and unfortunately Clint was the guy who got bit."

Elliott Sadler went even further, calling the afternoon practice "useless."

"My job as a driver is to go out there and not freak out," he said. "We're not going to be racing under these conditions at all tomorrow. What are you going to learn?"

Richard Petty never competed in the Indianapolis 500 during his illustrious racing career, but he'll take in the world's most famous race for the first time as a spectator today.

Along with Petty Enterprises cohorts Robbie Loomis and Dale Inman, Petty will leave Greensboro, N.C., this morning and arrive in Indianapolis in time for the race. They will then return to North Carolina for the start of the NASCAR Coca-Cola 600, completing Petty's first-ever Memorial Day weekend "double."

"We have to really thank John [Andretti] for this opportunity," Petty said. "He has been a big part of the Petty racing family. Robbie, Dale and I wanted to go out there and cheer him on."

Andretti, who ran 197 NASCAR races for Petty Enterprises, will make his eighth career Indy 500 start and his first after a 12-year hiatus. He'll rejoin the Petty operation for four races this summer, driving the No. 45 car while Kyle Petty works in the television booth for TNT.

World Wrestling Entertainment superstar John Cena delivered an impassioned pep talk to Carl Edwards' pit crew prior to last night's Carquest Auto Parts 300 Busch Series race.

Cena got to watch the race from pit road as a guest of Edwards. The wrestler and the racer got to know each other while working together on "Fast Cars and Superstars: Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race," a seven-episode reality show that will begin airing June 7 on ABC.

Cena is one of 14 celebrities involved in the competition. Other notables include tennis superstar Serena Williams, former Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway and actor William Shatner.