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Sunday, June 16, 2002

By The Associated Press

The routine will be familiar to car owner Richard Childress: He'll climb atop his pit box and look toward the back of the field for his three cars when the green flag falls on the Sirius Satellite Radio 400 today in Brooklyn, Mich.

It's been a miserable season by Childress' standards, and not even strong finishes at Michigan International Speedway can fix it.

Jeff Green is his highest driver in the Winston Cup standings at a disappointing 24th, and Robby Gordon sits 27th. Kevin Harvick, a phenom in 2001 who became Rookie of the Year and was considered a championship contender at the start of this season, is 35th.

"It eats your heart out," Childress said yesterday. "You know that all the resources are there and you've put everything you have into it, and then it boils down to chemistry. Once the chemistry is gone, there's no button you can push to get it back."

So Childress has done the only thing he can, shaking up two of his teams by swapping the crews of Harvick and Gordon last week.

Childress hopes for improvement today, when Harvick starts 19th in a brand new Chevrolet with a setup similar to ones the team used last year when he won two races.

Harvick, 26, is the star of this organization. But after finishing ninth in the Winston Cup standings last year, he has struggled to duplicate his success. He became the first driver in NASCAR history to be "parked" for rough driving when he was sent him home from Martinsville, Va., in April after a truck series race.

"He's young and he was dumped in a situation that was very, very tough," Childress said. "He knew it was going to be hard, but I don't think he realized how hard it actually was because he was so busy racing all the time. Now that he's not so busy, doesn't have the Busch stuff to fall back on, he's realizing it all."

Papis seeks ride

Max Papis won't defend his G.I. Joe's 200 title and will try to catch on with another team if struggling employer Sigma Autosport can't come up with adequate funding.

Sigma's withdrawal leaves CART with a season-low 18 cars for the race today in Portland, Ore.

Papis said team owner Tom Wieringa has "promised us that he's going to try to put things back together" for the Grand Prix of Chicago June 30. But Papis said if Sigma cannot remain viable, he would try to drive for someone else.

Audi on top

Audi appeared on course for a third consecutive title at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with an all-British MG team providing only a slight challenge.

Audi's teams, seeking their third consecutive victory in Le Mans, France, held the first three positions nearly seven hours into the race, after former Formula One driver Johnny Herbert powered Audi Sport North America ahead of the pack.