Labonte Gains Pole Again

Although he has yet to achieve the status of Jeff Gordon, Bobby Labonte proved again Friday that he knows the fastest way around one of NASCAR’s most difficult tracks.

For the second time in a row, Labonte beat Gordon in qualifying at Dover Downs (Del.) International Speedway, turning a fast mile in his Pontiac at 152.788 mph. Gordon, looking to make history by winning his fourth consecutive race at the Monster Mile, will start his Chevrolet second in Sunday’s Winston Cup Miller 500 after a lap of 151.841.

“This race car really stuck,” said Labonte, one of the few drivers to overcome a slick track. “But we had to do a little chasing today because it wasn’t quite right when we got here.”

So slick was the high-banked concrete surface that neither driver came close to Labonte’s Dover qualifying standard of 155.086, set last September for the MBNA 500. Nor did they approach Gordon’s 154.785 event-qualifying record of a year ago.

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Dick Trickle, back at the site of his only Winston Cup pole, spoiled an otherwise perfect day for Labonte by qualifying first for today’s Busch Grand National GM Goodwrench 200 at Dover Downs in .

Trickle took the inside of the front row for the NASCAR Busch Grand National race with a lap of 148.926 mph in a Chevrolet. Labonte will start second in a Pontiac after a lap of 148.908.

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Ferrari driver Andrea Montermini set an Exxon World SportsCar Championship track record at Watkins Glen International in New York en route to winning the pole position for Sunday’s First Union Six Hours of the Glen.

Montermini, of Monte Carlo, lapped at 124.17 mph around the 3.4-mile circuit aboard a Ferrari 333SP.

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Daytona International Speedway is expanding its seating capacity to more than 140,000 by adding 18,000 backstretch seats and new suites and is also exploring the prospect of adding lights for night racing at the 38-year-old track.

Miscellany

The Babe Ruth Baseball League told Melissa Raglin, a 12-year-old catcher, that she does not have to wear a protective cup in her league at Boca Raton, Fla. “I do feel like I won,” Melissa told WSVN-TV in Miami. “The rule changed and I’m happy about that.”

An umpire last week enforced a league rule barring anyone--male or female--from catching without wearing a cup.

Jim Fox resigned as broadcast marketing chief of the U.S. Olympic Committee after a Colorado prosecutor ended a probe of his involvement in the misuse of millions of dollars in amateur boxing grants. No charges will be brought against Fox, who was executive director of USA Boxing during most of the period in which an audit found millions of dollars in grants from the USOC were misspent, according to sources familiar with the case.

Tore Andr Flo scored two goals as Norway defeated world champion Brazil, 4-2, in a soccer exhibition at Oslo, Norway.

The Arena Football League will return to the Sports Arena tonight when the Arizona Rattlers play the Florida Bobcats at 7. Next season, the Los Angeles Hot Rods will join the AFL and play in the Sports Arena, which also was home for the Los Angeles Cobras in 1987.

Al Moffatt, a former assistant women’s basketball coach at Oral Roberts University, has sued the school because he claims he was fired for refusing to violate NCAA regulations and cover them up. The lawsuit filed in Tulsa (Okla.) County District Court contains allegations by Moffatt that he witnessed rules broken by the men’s basketball, women’s basketball and women’s volleyball programs. The suit claimed Moffatt reported the violations to school officials, who did not file reports to the NCAA. School officials say the accusations are “absolutely goofy.”

Names in the News

Tony Berti, who is expected to move to left tackle this season, signed a three-year, $3-million contract with the San Diego Chargers. The 6-foot-6, 300-pound Berti started 13 games at right tackle last year and one at left guard.

Offensive lineman Joe Wolf, who has spent his eight NFL seasons with the Arizona Cardinals, signed a one-year contract with the team.

Former Notre Dame basketball coach Digger Phelps has withdrawn his name from consideration as DePaul’s head coach. “I spent two days thinking about it, about my situation now, and I decided I’m not going back to college coaching,” Phelps said.

Rodney West, a reserve forward on the Wake Forest basketball team, has withdrawn from school.

Canadian tennis player Helen Kelesi will have surgery next week to remove another brain tumor. Kelesi returned to the pro circuit this year after a 2 1/2-year absence following two operations she had to remove benign brain tumor.