Andy Belmont wanted to try something a little different for this weeks Busch Series race at Texas Motor Speedway. “From a competitive standpoint, nothing has changed. Were going down there to run as hard as we can run, and see what we can do,” Belmont said. “But, having grown up near Philly, well, I had to do something . . .” Tug McGraw, 58, the tenacious retired major league relief pitcher, just had a brain tumor removed while in a Tampa, FL, hospital. McGraw pitched for the Philadelphia Phillies [Jayski’s team] from 1975 until his retirement in 1984 and threw the last pitch in the 1980 World Series to help win the World Championship for the Phillies. McGraw who works for the team, is also a Pitching Consultant with the Phillies. While with the New York Mets (1965-74) in 1973 he led the team with the phrase, “You Gotta Believe.” The Mets lost the World Series that year to the Oakland A’, but McGraw also pitched for the Mets when they won the 1969 World Series. “So we put Get Well Tug McGraw on our car, and You Gotta Believe. We have to believe he is going to recover and be fine,” Belmont said of his #91 Pontiac, which is sponsored by Southern Pan Services for this race. Verizon sponsors Belmonts ARCA entry, the 1 800 CALL VZ Ford. McGraw, whose real name is Frank Edwin McGraw Jr., has long been one of the favorite of major league baseball fans, and was always known as fun loving. “Hes the kind of guy who helped build popularity for baseball at a time when baseball was dragging a little with the fans,” Belmont said. “He was great with kids and great with adults. I dont know if Tug McGraw was ever at a race in his life but, at heart, I have to believe he is a racer. He is the type of person every professional athlete should aspire to be.”( Williams Company PR )(3-24-2003)
