3C
SPORTS/THe Clatlotte SoB
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Breakthrough debut for Davis [ijeCjariotteS^
Won a third of
races at Hickory
Speedway
Continued from page 1C
ing ground for young drivers
like Marc Davis and already
he’s carrying on the tradition
set by our original drivers -
Chris Bristol (the first black
Bristol winner) and Aric
Almirola.”
Davis, a junior at Lake
Norman High School, won
three Hickory faces in a row
during the summer and fin
ished second in the season
standings. That success,
including five seconds has
him on track for NASCAR’s
upper level series when he
turns 18 in 2008.
“We went out pretty well,”
Davis said. “It’s been surpris
ing how the team’s done so
well.
“Things worked out better
than I hoped,” said Ed Davis,
Marc’s father and a retired
network cameraman. “He
was successful in his debut. I
thought if he got two or three
wins, that would exceed my
expectations.”
Davis has his sights set on
moving up to the Busch East
and Busch West circuits next
year, where he’ll enter at
lease 12 races. This week,
he’ll compete at the Bobby
Isaac Memorial, at
Martinsville (Va.) Speedway,
one of the most competitive
Late Model races on the cir
cuit with 109 entries fighting
for 42 spots on the starting
grid.
“The competition is really
close at Hickory and at
Martinsville, there’s eyen
•more,” Davis said.
Although he is one of the
division’s youngest drivers,
Davis has the potential to
advance up the racing ladder.
“He might be young, but he
knows exactly what he
wants,” Gibbs said. “You can
see it when he’s driving the
car and when he’s not work
ing on the car. He’s extremely
focused, and it’s serving him
well.”
Subpar season leaves Braves sitting out October C h Q rl O tt6 ’ S
ultimate
source for all
sports.
tKIie Cliarlotte
Continued from page 1C
sport.
But a 6-21 mark in June
essentially finished off any
hopes of capturing another
NL East title. The Braves
were mathematically elimi
nated by the New York Mets
two weeks ago.
Atlanta’s wild-card hopes
officially ended Sunday, when
the Braves squandered an
early seven-run lead at Coors
Field and lost to Colorado 9-8
- their third straight loss to
the Rockies.
An ugly finish to an ugly
season.
“It’s fivastrating, but these
last couple of games have
been very indicative of our
season,” Chipper Jones said.
“Either we dig a big hole
early, fight all the way back
and come up one short, or we
get out to a big lead and just
can’t get outs late in the
game.”
The Braves got a head start
on next season when they re-
Volkswagen’s Golf a hot
update on 1980s GTI
signed closer Bob Wickman
last week, filling a hole that
plagued the team much of the
last two seasons. But there’s
stiH major work to do on the
pitching staff, which ranked
13th in the National League
with a 4.70 ERA.
“We’ve done just about
ever5dhing you can do wrong
in one season,” said John
Smoltz, the stalwart of the
rotation at age 39.
If you were old enough to drive during the
1980s, you probably remember
the hot hatchback competition
started by the Volkswagen
Rabbit GTI.
That spunky car had a stout
90 horsepower four cylinder
engine (a lot for the period) room
for four and enough driving
dynamics' to put a huge grin on
your face.
The car inspired a lot others
such as Dodge Omni GLH (Goes
Like Hell), Tbyota’s Gremlin-like
FX-16 and even a turbocharged
Colt (built by IN^itsubishi and sold by Dodge,
Plymouth and Mitsubishi). But none of these
cars was a GTI.
Fast-forward two decades, a few name
changes and a plethora of cars that didn’t equal
the original, the GTI returns as a Golf and,
again, a fun to drive automobile.
The new GTI is a Golf, but one with lots of
attitude. Start with the red piping around the,
big grill that continues into the interior. It
wraps around the plaid seats and accents the
dash. My test car was black with black interior
so the red effect was even more striking.
Under the sleek hood is a 200 hp, tur
bocharged four-cylinder that has 207 poimds-
feet of torque. The torque seems to be available
at all times and it helps to launch this car with
authority. Press the gas pedal and you go like
stink.
Not only do you go, you go with the assurance
of stellar handling. Acceleration, braking and
steering - all are done by the GTI with aplomb.
Swing the hatch around a cimve and you start
to grin. Come out of the curve and hit a
straightway and grin wider. Uit the brakes to
keep the po-po off your back and you’ll look like
the Joker.
Of course there’s a lot electronic gizmos on
the GTI - electronic stabilizing, anti-slip regu
lation, electronic differential lock - that helps
amateurs like me to feel a little bit superior,
but it’s not intrusive.
The GTI comes with much more stuff at
$21,990, including an unnecessary six-speed
automatic transmission. At least you can shift
from the steering wheel, which makes matters
a lot better. XM radio and a power sunroof
were $1,370 extra.
At $23,990, the latest GTI costs a lot more
than the ‘80s version, but it’s also a lot more
sophisticated automobile. (Jet the six-speed
manual, ditch the extras and you’ve got an
even more affordable pocket rocket that gives
your feet and right arm a little more exercise as
well as your grin muscles.
Save on gas!
Vacation “at home” in NiSHth Carolina
J'
From Manteo to Murphy, from Calabash to High Hampton,
scores of fascinating places to go, things to study, do anM
see...all within an easy one-day drive, or less.
For free in^mation about specific resorts, attractions or
destination intact the N.C. Department of Tourism • ,;. V
1.8aO-VISIT NC
www.visitnc^c
^SSSilinlsi
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