ESPN.com - Auto Racing - Beamer enjoys his day driving in Tennessee

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Sunday, March 26
Beamer enjoys his day driving in Tennessee

Associated Press

BRISTOL, Tenn. -- This was one Tennessee trip Frank Beamer was happy to make.

Beamer, Virginia Tech's football coach, was the grand marshall for the Food City 500 Sunday at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Usually, if Beamer's facing more than 100,000 fans from the Volunteer State, it's in Neyland Stadium. This time, he got a warm welcome from the Bristol crowd, which officials estimated at 155,000.


	Rich Mast crashes into the side of John Andretti's Pontiac after Andretti ran into Dave Blaney late in Sunday's Food City 500.

"You have to remember that part of Bristol is in Virginia," Beamer said of the mountain town that extends on both sides of the Virginia-Tennessee border.

Beamer's Hokies were one of the surprises of college football last season, going 11-0 before losing the national championship, 47-29, to Florida State in the Sugar Bowl.

But Beamer, who'll start spring practice next week, is excited about Virginia Tech's future.

Beamer said he and many of his coaches are NASCAR fans. Beamer has seen races at Bristol, Martinsville and Charlotte. So when track officials asked if he could make it, Beamer didn't hesitate.

"This is one of the fun times you can have," said Beamer, who gave the command to start engines.

Beamer didn't get to meet many drivers this time, but received some signed Jeff Gordon hats from Gordon's team manager, Brian Whitesell. "Brian is a Virginia Tech guy," Beamer said. "And I'm a big Jeff Gordon fan."

Beamer also follows the Burton brothers, Jeff and Ward, who are from South Boston, Va.

DW toasted & roasted
Darrell Waltrip, the winningest driver at Bristol with 12 victories, was roasted by fellow drivers and track officials this weekend. Waltrip, who plans to end his racing career after this season, was making his next-to-last appearance at Bristol.

Waltrip's brother, Michael, said he used his older brother's NASCAR status to his advantage. "It was big to be in the sixth grade and have an older brother in the Daytona 500," Michael said. "I was making some serious time with the chicks."

Also part of the roast were Waltrip's current rivals, Dale Earnhardt, Dale Jarrett, Jimmy Spencer, Rusty Wallace and Bill Elliott.

While Wallace joked about getting out of Waltrip's way in the Food City 500, Waltrip told them all that as a TV-commetator to be, they better watch out.

"When I get up in that booth, I'm going to tell it like it is," said Waltrip, who has 84 career Winston Cup wins. "If Earnhardt spins somebody out, DW is going to point it out."

But it was Waltrip, who started 13th, who got caught up in an accident on lap two and finished 31st.

What's the score?
While Dale Jarrett was driving the Food City 500, he also wanted to watch North Carolina's 59-55 victory over Tulsa in the NCAA South Regional championship game.

Jarrett became a Tar Heels fan when his brother, Glenn, went to North Carolina. "It's just their program and the way Dean Smith developed those guys on and off the court," Jarrett said.

Pit stops ...
Rick Hendrick's three race teams -- driven by Jeff Gordon, Terry Labonte and Jerry Nadeau -- had combined for no top five finishes this season before Labonte's fifth-place finish at Bristol. ... Elliott Sadler was the fastest in the final Winston Cup practice Saturday, but he spun out and crashed twice in the first 150 laps and was not a factor in Sunday's race.

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