Auto Racing -- Promoter Cleared In Suit Charging Negligence After Death Of Race Driver

A Snohomish County Superior Court jury has ruled that promoter Mickey Beadle and International Productions, Inc., were not grossly negligent in the operation of Evergreen Speedway on Aug. 20, 1988, the night John Gay was fatally injured in a racing accident at the Monroe track.

By a vote of 11-1, the jury on Friday rejected a claim by Gay's family that track operators violated numerous safety rules. Attorneys for Beadle and IPI contended during the two-week trial that accepted safety procedures were followed and that race-car driving is inherently dangerous.

The lawsuit, filed by Gay's widow, Marti, sought unspecified damages.

Gay suffered extensive burns in the accident and died at Harborview Medical Center in early September.

PEUGEOT TAKES EARLY LEAD

LE MANS, France - Eager to repeat its victory last year, Peugeot surged to the top two positions in the annual 24-hour Le Mans endurance race early this morning, with racers from challenger Toyota falling behind.

Nine hours into the race, Peugeot's No. 1 905, the third-fastest qualifier for the tough 24-hour race, was in the lead, with the No. 3 Peugeot 905 one lap behind. No. 1, driven by Frenchman Yannick Dalmas - a member of last year's victorious team - Belgian Thierry Boutsen and Italian Teo Fabi, began the race in third position.

No. 3, driven by Australian Geoff Brabham and Frenchmen Christophe Bouchut and Eric Helary, started in sixth position.

A Toyota TS010, driven by Masanori Sekiya and Toshio Suzuki of Japan and Britain's Eddie Irvine, was in third place, four laps behind.

Forty-seven cars started.

COLLISION MARS PRACTICE

BROOKLYN, Mich. - Dale Earnhardt, the NASCAR Winston Cup points leader, and Mark Martin collided yesterday during a practice session for today's Miller Genuine Draft 400 on the Michigan International Speedway oval, badly damaging Martin's Ford Thunderbird.

"If anybody has questions, they need to be asking the man in black," Martin said angrily as his crew worked feverishly under a hot sun banging out the crumpled right side of his car.

Earnhardt came away from the incident with only minor damage to his Chevrolet Lumina.

Brett Bodine will start from the pole, with Ricky Rudd alongside and Davey Allison and Ken Schrader in the second row of the 41-car field.

The final 21 positions were filled yesterday.

NOTE

-- Ricky Rudd will form his own NASCAR Winston Cup team next year, he announced. Rudd, 36, is in his 19th year on NASCAR's top stock car circuit. "I'm looking forward to taking my career to the next level," he said. "This move enables me to continue as a driver and at the same time build on my experience by entering the management side of racing."