SportsLine wire reports

With 84 Winston Cup victories, Darrell Waltrip has no peers among active drivers.

But if he wants another win Sunday -- in the race presented by his car's sponsor, Kmart, at Michigan Speedway -- he'll have to drive his way into the field because he's run out of provisionals.

He wasn't able to qualify last weekend at the MBNA Platinum 400 in Dover, Del., and was sent home -- only the second time in 28 years that the three-time Winston Cup champion has failed to make a field.

"I'll be honest with you, there were times last year when I didn't deserve to be in the race," he said. "But last week, I felt like I should have gotten in."

Waltrip has used provisionals -- free passes based on previous victories or points -- to get into many lineups. But he had used them all before last week's race.

This is the first season NASCAR has put a limit on the provisionals, and Waltrip will be eligible to receive more of them after the 16th race of the season.

"The way things are now, I'd just as soon NASCAR do away with provisionals altogether," Waltrip said. "Just start the fastest 42 cars and that's it."

New car

NASCAR has formally approved the 2000 Chevrolet Monte Carlo for next season's Winston Cup competition.

Chevy teams will soon receive the required body templates necessary to build the cars in compliance with NASCAR specifications. The templates dictate the overall shape, angles and lengths of the exterior panels.

Chevrolet said the racing Monte Carlos and the 2000 street car will utilize the same hood, roof, windshield contour, decklid sheet metal and overall shape of the rear panel.

Chevrolet is second in the manufacturers' race this year with five victories and 81 points. Ford has six victories and 92 points, and Pontiac is third with two victories and 74 points.

Happy homecoming

Jacques Villeneuve is looking for a breakthrough performance in Sunday's Canadian Grand Prix on the Montreal circuit named for his late father, Gilles.

"I just feel that we are going to have a good result because the last two years were rotten for me," said Villeneuve, the 1997 Formula One champion who has had little success this year with the new British American Racing team.

"I know I'm putting a lot of pressure on myself, but I think it's time for me to have a good Grand Prix in Montreal."

He finished second in his Montreal debut in 1996, spun off the track on the second lap in 1997, and finished 10th in 1998 after sliding off the track while driving for the lead.

"Last year, even though it didn't show in the race because I got a little bit overexcited on the restart, it was one of the tracks on which we were most competitive," Villeneuve said.

TV marathon

Hardcore racing fans should be able to get their fill this week on Speedvision.

The cable network, dedicated to motorsports, will begin its live coverage schedule Saturday at 1 p.m. EDT with qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix. That will be followed, beginning at 2 p.m., with the first two hours of the 24 Hours of Le Mans from France.

Four hours of taped coverage of GT and Touring Champs and a Le Mans-themed "Legends of Motorsports" will be followed, starting at 8 p.m., by the last 14 hours of the French classic, winding up at 10 a.m. Sunday.

"We anticipate that many Le Mans fans will get up early and stay with us all day, as well as through the night," said Roger Werner, president and CEO of Speedvision.

Truck trouble

Craftsman Truck fans -- and NASCAR officials -- will keep a close eye on Mike Wallace and Jay Sauter in Texas this weekend after their last-lap clash in Bristol, Tenn.

On Saturday night, in the Coca-Cola Family 200, Sauter's Chevrolet clipped Wallace's Ford in the left rear, sending Wallace into the wall.

"What happened at the end was pretty simple," Wallace said. "The 3 truck was frustrated because he got spun out, and I was the victim. Unfortunately, some guys wanted to race like you can't race here. It was kind of a cheap shot if you ask me."

Sauter had a different version.

"I had gotten up underneath Mike the lap before and he had kind of run me down," Sauter said. "The last lap, I was up underneath him and I didn't mean to turn him. He knows that."

Earlier, Sauter and Jimmy Hensley collided while fighting for second place, with Sauter spinning. NASCAR ruled that Hensley hit Sauter intentionally, and penalized him for rough driving.