YATES LEADS 'WHO GOT THE LIGHT' PROMOTION

Former Winston Pro Stock Champion Jim Yates put himself in prime position to claim the $25,000 bonus that Motel 6 will pay at season's end for the narrowest margin of victory when he got by Brad Jeter in round one at Denver in a virtual dead heat. Yates' margin was .0000. That's four zeroes. Yates won the $1,000 "Who Got the Light" bonus at Denver. The numbers were .458 reaction time and 7.343 e.t. for Yates; .416 reaction time and 7.385 performance number for Jeter. Jeter, by the way, apparently will sit out the next two races due to budget constraints being felt by car owner Steve Schmidt. Current plan is for him to return to competition at Brainerd.

NEON NEWS
The new Dodge Neon Pro Stock cars debuted impressively at the Mopar Parts Mile-High Nationals. In fact, three Dodges made the show at Bandimere Speedway. That was the good news. The bad news was that qualified behind the David Nickens' Dodges driven by Darrell Alderman (No. 4 qualifier) and Mark Osborne (No. 10) was not Larry Morgan's new Raybestos Neon, which was only 22nd quickest, but the 1999 Dodge Avenger driven by Allen Johnson. The embarrassment was compounded when Johnson drove his independent Amoco Dodge to a first round upset of No. 1 qualifier Bruce Allen.

To call the Neons "new" actually is a stretch. The Agent hears that the bodies are 1998 (the last year for 2-doors) vintage Neons modified, apparently with NHRA's blessing, to be competitive with the Grand Ams and Cavaliers. The Neons have less frontal area than the R/T's which were run previously and, unlike the showroom models, reportedly are the same height from the sill to the roof as the GM products.

KESSINGER TO RETURN TO PRO STOCK WITH A CAR
Jim Kessinger, who most recently bankrolled the Castrol Super Clean trucks driven last year by Stevie Johns and Rob Slavinski, is rumored to be mounting a return to the NHRA tour next year with a Pro Stock car. That's right, a car. Kessinger apparently believes it will be easier to find a sponsor for a Pro Stock car than a truck. The Super Clean sponsorship, which came with Slavinski, went with Slavinski when he returned this year to sportsman racing. Johns reportedly will drive the car, a Chevy or Pontiac, with Bill "Grumpy" Jenkins horsepower.

BANDIMERE NOT FOR SALE
According to John Bandimere Jr., plans to sell the property on which Bandimere Speedway was constructed decades ago by his father have been scrapped thus insuring at least the immediate future of the Mopar Mile-High Nationals.

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