Petty Entry Refused For Riverside 500

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The National Assn. for Stock Car Auto Racing has rejected the entry blanks of three top drivers for the Motor Trend 500 race at Riverside, after the drivers scratched out a controversial good faith pledge on the form. The action, which was announced Saturday, was taken against defending champion Richard Petty, James Hylton and E. J. Trivette.

The three marked out a clause which forbids drivers from withdrawing their cars from a race without the consent of NASCAR competition director Lin Kuchler. The clause was added after several drivers, members of the Professional Drivers Assn., dropped out of the Talladega 500 in Alabama last year -- because they said the track was unsafe.

Petty is president of the PDA. NASCAR president Bill France, in a statement issued in Daytona Beach, Fla., said the drivers have until Monday to return an unaltered form. Filing after the deadline would cost the driver points, he said.

[source: ap]