Wvsa Awards Contract To Panzitta Enterprises 
The Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority Awarded Two New Contracts And Tabled 
Another At Tuesday's Meeting.

3 Hurt In 4-car Crash

Tuesday, July 23, 1996 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 2C 





Except for late going, Irvan has great Miller &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 LONG POND -- Ernie Irvan didn't make it two in a row in Sunday's Miller 500
at &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Pocono International RacewayStill, he did everything he could to post a
second straight victory. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Irvan made a terrific run from his 35th starting position, finishing
fourth. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 It took Irvan only 25 laps to break into the top 10. By lap 67 of the
200-lap race, he was in first place for the first of four times. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Our car was really working good," said Irvan, who posted his fourth
straight top-5 finish, including a win last week in the Jiffy Lube 300 in
Loudon, N.H. "They had a heck of a motor in this thing, and it was really easy
to pass." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Irvan held the lead for six laps, but regained it three more times -- the
last on lap 105. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Late in the race though, something went amiss with Irvan's No. 28
Texaco/Havoline Ford. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "We lost a little bit late in the race," Irvan said. "I really couldn't
tell (the crew) what was wrong with it. It just wouldn't go as fast as it was
going (earlier in the race). That's just what probably cost us later." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The fourth-place finish enabled Irvan to jump two spots in the Winston Cup
points standings into 10th place. Entering the June Pocono race, he was 16th. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I wish I could say we're doing something different," Irvan said. "But
really, we're not doing anything different than the beginning of the year." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 * * * &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 STILL COPING: Considering Derrike Cope's luck lately -- mostly all bad -- a
10th-place finish seemed like a huge accomplishment. After all, it was only
his second top 10 finish of the year, the other coming in the second race of
the season, and came after some strong qualifying efforts, but poor finishes. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Still, it was a rough day for Cope, the driver of the No. 12 Badcock Home
Furnishings Ford owned by NASCAR legend Bobby Allison. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "We had a lot of problems (Sunday)," said Cope, who qualified second in the
June Pocono race, but finished 27th. "We just didn't have no track position
all day." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Nor did he have much left to shift with, breaking first, second and fourth
gears. That forced him to drive in third gear for a good part of the race. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 After rethinking the finish, Cope did shift gears ... about his finish. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "This team has to be excited," Cope said. "It was a pretty good day for us
with all the problems. I think we could have been a little closer (to the
leaders). It just hurt me when I couldn't shift." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 * * * &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 THE PITS: It is bad enough when a driver isn't running well on the track.
It's even worse when things don't go as planned in the pits. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Hut Stricklin had one of those days in the pits. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 During the first round of green-flag pit stops, Stricklin overshot his pit
and ended up spinning his No. 8 Circuit City Ford sideways. Stricklin ended up
in the pit stall of Greg Sacks, and received a one-lap penalty when his crew
serviced the vehicle in Sacks' pit. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Then when Stricklin came back in for his penalty, he nearly hit Sacks' car,
which was exiting his pit. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Joe Nemechek also had a rough time during a pit stop moments later when he
incurred a 15-second penalty when the crew came over the wall too soon. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 * * * &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 DALE'S DEAL: Dale Earnhardt's problem continued at Pocono as he finished a
lap down and in 14th place. He finished 32nd in the June race after engine
problems. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Earnhardt, who remained in second place in the Winston Cup points
standings, fell a lap behind when his No. 3 GM Goodwrench Chevrolet stalled
after being dropped from the jack during a green-flag pit stop. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "We were just trying to gain every position we possibly could," crew chief
David Smith said, `~~`We did gain some in the last 30 or 40 laps." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Earnhardt did just that, working his way from 18th on lap 170. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "It was a long day," Earnhardt said. "It's not what we wanted with our
500th straight start, but we'll just try to learn from it and bounce back next
week at Talladega." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 * * * &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 DALE'S DEAL II: Dale Jarrett took the lead twice and finished third despite
not feeling too well this weekend. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I caught a bug or something Friday night and had some headaches and an
upset stomach," said Jarrett, who posted his third-straight top 10 finish,
"but I'm fine now." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Well, maybe not. Jarrett didn't feel so well at the end when two cautions
regrouped the field in the final 20 laps. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I'm a little upset with the lapped cars," Jarrett said. "I think we could
have won the race." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 * * * &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 BAD GOODBYE: Kyle Petty's last race at Pocono for the Coors Light team
owned by Felix Sabates was anything but impressive. He finished two laps down
and in 26th place. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "We were handling really bad, and I even thought the sway bar was broken
late in the race," said Petty, who announced recently he and Sabates will part
ways at the end of the season after eight years together. "On the first two
runs, we kind of tried to find our place and kept up. We made some wedge
adjustments, and the car was still all over the place." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Petty hasn't finished in the top 20 in the last four races. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 John Erzar is a Times Leader sports writer. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Except For Late Going, Irvan Has Great Miller 
Long Pond -- Ernie Irvan Didn't Make It Two In A Row In Sunday's Miller 500 At 
Pocono International Raceway.

Except For Late Going, Irvan Has Great Miller Long Pond -- Ernie Irvan Didn't Make It Two In A Row In Sunday's Miller 500 At Pocono International Raceway.