| | Associated Press
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. -- Winston Cup rookie Scott Pruett figured to be a factor in the Global Crossing. Instead, he was left to figure out why he won't be racing.
Pruett and the No. 32 Tide Taurus owned by Cal Wells were kept out of the 43-car field by a NASCAR rule put in place before the season.
Thirty-five spots for Sunday's race, one of only two road-course events on the schedule, were given based on owner points. Darrell Waltrip got in as a past champion, and the other seven spots were determined by the luck of the qualifying draw.
For Pruett, who had qualified for 17 straight races and finished ninth in late June at Sears Point in NASCAR's other road race, it was a bitter disappointment.
"The rule isn't right," said Pruett, who turned in the 10th-fastest lap in practice on Friday but drew the 41st qualifying slot. "I'm going home because of no good reason. I think NASCAR needs to take a hard look at that rule because it's going to only take a few times before some sponsors get frustrated and say, 'You
know what? Why am I committed to this sport when they aren't loyal
or committed to me?'"
Pruett, who switched to stock cars from the open-wheel CART
series, wasn't alone.
Brett Bodine, a crowd favorite from nearby Chemung, N.Y., who ranks 38th in points, didn't make it, either. His brother, Todd, a Busch Series regular, got the last slot.
"Plain and simple, it's wrong," Brett said. "When does luck override people that persevere in this business? I'm here every week trying to make races, and because we were unlucky in a draw I'm not going to be in the race? Where is the logic? It makes no sense to me at all and my sponsor feels the same way. They don't understand how that can be."
Neither did 59-year-old Dave Marcis, who made his first Winston Cup start 32 years ago. Marcis ranks 45th in points and has failed to qualify 14 times this season, but was as angry as anybody.
"You know, they do a lot of stupid things but this right here is probably one of the biggest," Marcis said. "How do they expect to get credibility like baseball and football has when they do things like this. I don't think we deserve it. There ain't nothing right about it. Kids could do a better job than this -- 6-year-old
kids could organize something better than this."
Road-racing star Ron Fellows, second to Jeff Gordon here last year, did make the event. Although Fellows will start 40th in his first Winston Cup event of the year, he is in the field because he drew the 25th position in the qualifying order.
Mike Helton, NASCAR's chief operating officer, said the old rule, which relied on postmarks, was changed because NASCAR couldn't be sure that every car owner would receive the entry form on the same day.
"We establish the rules at the beginning of the year and we stick to them," Helton said. "But we'll keep an open mind down the road."
That was little consolation for Marcis.
"We came here to participate and try and qualify for the event," he said. "When they do something like this, they don't make you very proud to say that you're part of NASCAR."
Off the course
It was unclear whether the intermittent rain was
a factor, but Dale Earnhardt Jr., Rusty Wallace and Geoffrey Bodine
crashed in practice Saturday morning, forcing them to use backup
cars for the race.
"I hit a little bit of styrofoam and tore up the car a little bit," said Earnhardt, who also slammed a wall at Pocono three weeks ago and was taken for a CAT scan but raced on Sunday and finished 13th. "I'm optimistic about our backup car. Even if it isn't perfect, I'm still confident we'll do all right."
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