A SIDEWAYS GLANCE : BECKER SURVIVES FIRST KENTUCKY DERBY.

Kurt Becker may have been the most nervous person at Churchill Downs on Saturday as he called his first Kentucky Derby.

Becker, the 28-year-old rookie track announcer, thought he had the right call when he said Silver Charm crossed the finish line first. He hoped he was right. He really, really hoped he was right.

``That's what I'm sweating out,'' he said as the photo was examined, hopping from one foot to the other.

``If it ain't him, I won't be the only one who's shocked,'' he said.

Moments later, the number 6 went up on the board. ``Bingo!'' Becker said.

No pit stops

You are 7 years old. You are in the back seat. Suddenly you feel the unstoppable force of nature building within you. You issue a plaintive wail toward the front seat: ``Daaaaaad! I have to go!''

Dad takes his eyes off the road just long enough to look back and say: ``NOW? You have to go NOW?'' He sighs in resignation, then pulls off at the next rest stop. Disaster avoided.

Now the 7-year-old mind starts to think. What about those NASCAR racers? What if they have to go in the middle of a race? What do they do?

``That's a very good question,'' said Mark Martin, the pole sitter for today's Save Mart Supermarkets 300 at Sears Point. ``I've had a couple races where I've needed to go, but it's hard to do when you're sitting like that. It's been painful.''

Usually drivers avoid this problem. They drink as much as they can in the two days before the race. It is a principle called ``hydrating,'' similar to carbo-loading done by marathon runners. Then on race day they regulate their fluid intake to prevent accidents inside the car.