She made her first public comments following the death of seven-time NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion Dale Earnhardt, who died instantly in a final-lap crash during the Daytona 500 on Feb. 18. The purpose of her appearance an hour before the start of the UAW-DaimlerChrylser 400 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway was to ask fans to put pressure on Florida lawmakers to deny the Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel access to the pictures from Earnhardt's autopsy.

``I am here to tell you that the trauma we have suffered has only grown since that tragic day two weeks ago,'' she said. ``In fact, I have not even had time to caringly unpack Dale's suitcase from Daytona, let alone have time to grieve for him. The main reason is because we have been caught up in an unexpected whirlwind as a result of efforts to gain access to autopsy photographs of Dale.

``We can't believe, and are saddened that anyone would invade our privacy during this time of grief. I want to let you know that if access to the photos is allowed, others will demand them, too. And make no mistake, sooner or later the photos will end up unprotected and published - and most certainly on the Internet.''

Teresa Earnhardt was joined by her stepson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Dale Earnhardt Inc. drivers Michael Waltrip and Steve Park at the brief press conference. Questions were not permitted.

The Sentinel filed suit in Daytona Beach, Fla., to gain access to the photos. The newspaper, which waged a week-long campaign against NASCAR and its safety policies during the Daytona 500, wants to have the photographs given to an independent pathologist to verify the medical examiner's findings and to see if the injuries may have been prevented.

The newspaper, through a statement, said it would negotiate with the Earnhardt family to limit the viewing of the photos to its medical expert and to prohibit the reproduction of the photos.

``Today we are inviting both representatives of the Earnhardt estate and the court itself to accompany our medical expert when he reviews the photographs to ensure no copy could ever be made,'' said F. Ashley Allen, corporate communications and planning director for the Sentinel. ``Newspapers are not always popular; sometimes newspapers have to ask hard questions. This is one of those times. But our mission to the community is to contribute to the debate on how race car driving can be made safer.''

The Earnhardt family received an injunction to keep the photos sealed, but the newspaper has challenged that decision.

Under Florida law, the autopsy, which listed blunt force trauma to the skull as the primary cause of death, is a matter of public record. The family, however, said the photographs taken during the examination should not be available to the general public.

The racer's wife asked for race fans to write and call the President of the Florida Senate and the Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, as well as Florida Gov. Jeb Bush to create legislation that would make such information unavailable under the state's public information laws.

``Ensuring that the media or others cannot violate Dale's dignity and our family's privacy will make the healing process possibly less painful,'' Teresa Earnhardt said. ``The deceased have a right to their dignity, and loved ones have the right to be free of exploitation. Allowing access to these photos will only cause more distress and emotional harm. I'm sure every family in America can understand this.

``There is nothing to be gained by the release of these images from Dale's autopsy.''

Teresa Earnhardt asked people to contact the Sentinel directly.

``Please help us by speaking out,'' she said. ``We need you right now.''

THE GREAT DEBATE:

The debate between Ford and Chevrolet raced on long after the final lap Sunday.

Dale Jarrett said the rules continue to hamper the Ford Taurus, and he pointed to the fact that Chevrolet has won all three races this year as continued evidence.

``I'm not very happy since they're 3-0,'' Jarrett said. ``We know we're at a disadvantage. As we got into racing hard and got into traffic, we don't have enough balance in the car.

``We're not sitting at the doorstep begging. We're not going to these thinking we're defeated. This is what we've got, and we have to work with it.''

Wind tunnel tests conducted last November and again before the Daytona 500 confirmed Chevrolet, Pontiac and Dodge have an aerodynamic advantage over Ford. Jarrett said there's so much downforce on the rear wheels that it seems to lift the front end and rob the tires of traction in the turns.

PIT STOPS:

NASCAR officials are likely to hit Richard Childress Racing with a fine this week. The sanctioning body found a ``performance enhancing additive'' inside the air cleaner housing Saturday. The housing was taken from the team, and sanctions are likely to be imposed today or Tuesday ... Buoyed by a 43rd-place run by Rusty Wallace and a third-place finish Sunday, Sterling Marlin took the lead the NASCAR Winston Cup Series standings heading into next Sunday's race at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. Marlin has 468 points after three races. Jeff Gordon is second with 433Wallace, who came into the race Sunday atop the standings, dropped to 11th, 123 points behind Marlin. Defending series champion Bobby Labonte is 19th, 164 points short of first place.