Motor Sports: Arnold unhappy with 'other' No. 79

There could, indeed, be two No. 79 machines trying to get into the season-ending Ford 400 that is scheduled for Sunday afternoon.

And Naples developer Don Arnold is none too happy about it.

He is the owner of the white Dodge with blue numbers that will be driven by Derrike Cope.

The "other" 79 is a royal-blue Monte Carlo with white numbers and it will be driven by Rich Bickle. That car is owned by John Conely's racing operation out of Brighton, Mich.

Arnold said Wednesday he thought he had exclusive use of the number when it was assigned to his team before the 2003 season began.

The minor leagues of stock car racing often find two cars with the same number on the door panel, with a duct-taped "1" or "x" usually hastily applied to differentiate between the two.

Of course that wouldn't happen in a Winston Cup event.

"They are actually registered as No. 179," Arnold said of Bickle machine. "NASCAR told them that if we weren't here, they could race as the 79."

Of course the big question "What if" question looms. What if both 79s are able to make successful qualifying runs today?

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SPELL CHECK: If Cope does finish among the 36 fastest in today's qualifying, here's hoping the crew has enough time to correct the spelling of his first name on the roof panel.

On Wednesday, there was a "c" included by mistake, although that seemed to be about the last thing on the team's mind given the challenge of trying to get into the race.

Cope will have to be among the 36 fastest on time to qualify.

While he would have had a provisional to use had be entered his own No. 37 Monte Carlo, that provisional can't be carried over to Arnold's team because provisionals are based on owner points and Arnold owns the 79 car.

While his team hasn't qualified for a Cup race yet, Arnold has accumulated enough points to get on the provisional list (an owner earns 100 points per qualifying attempt). But other teams present have more owner points than Arnold, so he'll have to take a back seat to them if it boils down to that.

STOPWATCHES TICKING: While Cope posted a practice lap of 30.53 seconds in "qualifying trim" on Wednesday, it can now be confirmed that teams randomly surveyed in the garage reported running "race trim" only during the session.

Track officials said the following speeds and were times reported: Johnny Benson: 30.40, 177.632; Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: 30.60, 176.471; Tony Stewart: 30.70, 175.896; Ryan Newman: 30.80, 175.325; Jimmie Johnson: 30.90, 174.757; Dale Jarrett: 31.00, 174.191.

BIFFLE, HAMILTON TOPS: Greg Biffle won the pole for Saturday's Busch Series Ford 300 on Thursday when he laid down a lap of 177.416 in a Chevrolet. The impact of the new 20-degree banking was obvious. The Busch track record --- in the old six-degree configuration -- was Jeff Green's mark of 152.031, set last year. The entire field of 43 qualifiers shattered Green's record.

Meanwhile, Bobby Hamilton is on the pole for today's Ford 200 Craftsman Truck Series event. In a Dodge, he topped qualifying with a speed of 169.252, also a track record.

Randy Tolsma's 1999 lap of 149.813 was the old record.

SERVE 'EM UP: Tennis superstar and South Florida resident Serena Williams is the honorary starter and will wave the green flag to start the NASCAR Winston Cup Ford 400 on Sunday afternoon. The race will bring to a conclusion 33 years of Winston's sponsorship of NASCAR's premier series. Williams will greet the stars of the NASCAR Winston Cup Series during pre- race driver introductions.

The Honorary Chairman of the event is Jeff Conine of the world-champion Florida Marlins.

END OF AN ERA: Seven-time NASCAR Winston Cup champion Richard Petty, along with the reigning Winston Cup champion Tony Stewart, will honor Winston's final race as title sponsor of NASCAR's top series with a victory lap tribute prior to Sunday's event. Petty was the first champion during the 33 years of Winston's sponsorship.