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Sunday, April 8
Earnhardt's widow appeals to media
By Jerry Bonkowski
ESPN.com

MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- The controversy about the late Dale Earnhardt's autopsy photos just won't go away.

Prior to Sunday's Virginia 500 at Martinsville Speedway, Earnhardt's widow, Teresa, tried to put two different spins on the situation - preying on the racing media's sympathy to get behind her mission to keep the photos from ever being released, as well as citing data from a survey about privacy that, as it turns out, has absolutely NOTHING to do with her husband's passing.

Sunday morning, Earnhardt released a statement criticizing continued efforts of three newspapers and the owner of a website that has previously published autopsy photos of dead celebrities, including Neil Bonnett and Davey Allison.

Earnhardt's statement criticized the Orlando Sentinel, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, the Independent Florida Alligator (a college newspaper in Gainesville, Fla.), and Michael Uribe of Deland, Fla., the owner of a private website that has displayed photos of other deceased drivers in the past.

The actions of the newspapers and Uribe is a direct challenge to the enactment signed into law by the Florida Legislature and Governor Jeb Bush on March 29 that makes it a felony to publish autopsy photos without approval of a judge.

"As grateful as we are to the Florida legislature and Governor Bush for their sensible approach to protecting an individual's right to privacy, I want to let the NASCAR community and the people of Florida know just how much pain this ordeal is causing my family," Earnhardt's statement began. "Each day we are faced with new threats that these photos will end up on the Internet. We just want it to end. No one should be subjected to the kind of harassment and torment to which we are by the media.

"We sincerely hope that the courts listen to the people and the voices of reason and move quickly to protect individuals from media exploitation. I would ask that everyone speak up, for one day you may find yourself facing down a powerful media company seeking personal and private records about you or your loved ones for no benefit, only harm."

Then, during a pre-race announcement to reporters over the public address system in the track press box, a spokesman for Mrs. Earnhardt attempted to play on the sympathies of reporters that are paid to be impartial, calling all of them "friends of Dale," and implored them to rally behind her quest.

To that end, Earnhardt's statement refers to a recent survey done by the American Society of Newspaper Editors that found people were as concerned about privacy as they were about such issues as health care and the future of Social Security. Anders Gyllenhaal, executive editor of The News and Observer in Raleigh, N.C., said the survey found people 'are afraid of what information in the digital era can do to them.'

The survey was conducted by the Center for Survey Research and Analysis at the University of Connecticut, which came to its findings after telephone interviews with 1,005 adults. That was all fine and good, except for one major problem: the survey had absolutely NOTHING to do with Dale Earnhardt's death. In fact, it was conducted in November, almost three months before Earnhardt was killed in a crash on the final lap of this season-opening Daytona 500 in February.

Keeping cool
The image of the dehydrated Ricky Rudd being pulled from his car in Victory Lane 2½ years ago is a lasting one at Martinsville, and Sunday's Virginia 500 proved another scorcher.


	Ricky Rudd finished the Virginia 500 second followed by Jeff Burton.

With the temperature in the upper 80s at race time and closer to 100 on the blacktop of pit road, many drivers complained about being toasty.

"It got hot inside that car. I about burned up," said Sterling Marlin, who finished fifth. "I don't know if something happened to let all that heat in or not. My butt's hot. My feet are hot. Everything is hot."

Jeff Burton, who was third, grew up about an hour away in South Boston, and said Martinsville always proves a physically taxing place.

"This is the hottest place we go. I don't care what anybody says," Burton said. "The cars get so hot, even on a cold day here, and then you add the temperatures to it and it's pretty grueling."

Rudd, who finished second, was hot himself, but in a different way. He cut short his postrace interview session and walked out after a reporter asked how it felt to lose his lead -- and the race -- with five laps to go.

"I'm absolutely tickled to death," he snapped. "I wanted to win the race. It didn't happen. It wasn't meant to be." he ten stormed away.

Fish story
Tony Stewart has two poles and a victory in five career starts at Martinsville, but he said before coming here this week he wished someone would fill the track with water and turn it into a bass lake.

During driver introductions, track president Clay Campbell intended to surprise Stewart with a fishing pole, but he never got the chance when the track announcer failed to pause before introducing the next driver.

Petty pity
The bodyshops at Petty Enterprises will be busy this week after all three Petty cars got banged around good on Sunday.

John Andretti was the first to need attention after tangling with Kenny Wallace on the 58th lap. Andretti headed for pit road for repairs and drove most of the race without a left fender. He finished 35th.

Buckshot Jones and Kyle Petty, the other two Petty cars, sustained damage on the 112th lap in a five-car accident at the end of turn two.

Petty's engine blew up after 155 laps and he wound up 42nd.

Jones eventually continued without a hood and ran 38th.

"It was typical short-track racing at Martinsville," Jones said.

Lap dogs
Eight races into the season, drivers who have yet to lead a lap still include Jeremy Mayfield and Terry Labonte, among others.

Rusty Wallace was on the list until he passed pole-sitter Jeff Gordon on the first lap around the .526-mile track. Jeff Burton got off the list when he passed Bobby Hamilton for the lead on the 317th of the 500 laps.

Ron Hornaday also escaped the list when he passed Mark Martin on the 101st lap. It was the first lap Hornaday has led since 1994 at Phoenix.

Keeping Tiger at bay
Dale Jarrett said before Sunday's race that he hoped to win in order to stay ahead of Tiger Woods' victory total (26 wins after winning The Masters on Sunday). "I have to win if Tiger (wins the Masters), so I can stay one ahead of him," said Jarrett, an avid golfer himself, who indeed stays ahead of Woods' win total now with 27 career Winston Cup victories.

Bonkowski's Surprise of the Day
Bobby Hamilton led the most laps (130), before settling for a season-high fourth place finish. Equally as impressive was Matt Kenseth's sixth-place finish, a season-high for him, as well.

Bonkowski's Disappointment of the Day
Ricky Rudd, who watched helplessly as Jarrett drove past him with six laps left in the race. Had that not happened, Rudd would have won his first race since joining the Robert Yates Racing team last season, and would have been his first Winston Cup victory since winning at Martinsville in September 1998. Instead, Rudd settled for a second place finish. Jarrett won $170,027 for the victory, but Rudd didn't do too bad for runner-up status, earning $106,047. It was also the first time that Jarrett and Rudd have finished 1-2 since becoming teammates for Yates Racing. Third-place finisher Jeff Burton took home $108,596.

Quotes of the Day
"We had a bunch of people who didn't know how to pass each other," said Kevin Harvick, after being part of a five-car wreck on lap 113.

"If ifs, ands and buts were candy and nuts, Christmas would be an everyday thing." -- Bobby Hamilton, who finished fourth, when asked if an earlier tire stop could have improved his victory chances.

See you in two weeks
The first free weekend of the season occurs next week. Teams return to action April 20-22 at Talladega, Ala., going from the smallest track on the circuit at Martinsville to the longest track at Talladega.

Pit stops

Mark Martin, second in points after eight races last season, dropped to 26th this year after he crashed on his 268th lap and had to be towed away. He finished 39th.

Terry Labonte made his 46th start at Martinsville on Sunday, the most among active drivers. He finished 23rd and is still seeking his first victory here.

The Virginia 500 was Ken Schrader's 500th career race, and the 311th in a row since the last of his four career victories, in 1991.

Martinsville is the shortest track in Winston Cup racing at 0.526 miles. After a week off, the series moves to the longest track. 2.66-mile Talladega Speedway.

The Associated Press contributed to this story

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