INJURED EARNHARDT TO START NEXT RACE : FITTIPALDI MOVED TO FLORIDA FOR SURGERY.

Byline: Daily News Wire Services

With a record eighth Winston Cup title beckoning, Dale Earnhardt isn't about to give up standings points without a fight, no matter how painful.

Earnhardt, who fractured his left collar bone and sternum in a crash during Sunday's DieHard 500 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, said he will attempt to qualify his Chevrolet on Thursday.

Then he plans to at least start Saturday in the Brickyard 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where he is defending champion.

Under NASCAR rules, the driver who takes the green flag earns the points for that race, even if he gives way to a relief driver after the first lap.

Despite finishing 28th in Sunday's 42-car field, after being involved in the wild, multi-car crash at about 190 mph, Earnhardt fell only one spot in the standings.

He is third, trailing new series leader and defending Winston Cup champion Jeff Gordon by just 23 points. Terry Labonte, who had been leading the standings, fell nine points behind Gordon after being involved in the same accident late in Sunday's race.

After spending Sunday night in a Birmingham, Ala., hospital for observation, Earnhardt flew back to North Carolina on Monday and immediately met with car-owner Richard Childress, crew chief David Smith and team manager Bobby Hutchins.

They picked Mike Skinner, an occasional Winston Cup starter and the team's full-time driver in NASCAR's Craftsman Truck Series, where he won the 1995 championship, as the relief driver for Earnhardt at Indy.

Skinner, who is to become Earnhardt's full-time teammate next season when Childress adds a second car, has started 12 Winston Cup races - three for Childress this season - with a best career finish of 12th at Rockingham, N.C., in the second event of 1996.

David Allen, president of the Championship Group, which does public relations for Earnhardt and Richard Childress Racing, said, ``Mike will practice in the car on Wednesday and Friday and will stand by on Saturday.

``Dale will start the race and go until an early caution flag,'' Allen added. ``Then he will come in and give the seat to Skinner.''

Asked what will happen if there is no early caution flag, Allen said, ``In that case, Richard and Dale will look at their options, maybe stopping under the green flag or going on, based on how Dale feels.''

The slogan of a former sponsor, which fit Earnhardt to a tee, was ``One Tough Customer.'' He proved he is that Sunday when, in pain after being pulled from his battered car, Earnhardt struggled out of the grasp of safety workers, rose to his feet and, flashing a thumbs-up to the workers, walked to the ambulance.

Injured Fittipaldi moved: Emerson Fittipaldi was transferred from Michigan to a hospital in Florida for surgery to repair a neck fracture, hospital and IndyCar officials said.

Injured in a crash early in the Marlboro 500 on Sunday at Michigan International Speedway, Fittipaldi was in serious but stable condition when taken from St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, hospital officials said.

The hospital said in a written release that Fittipaldi would have surgery Monday night at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. It said Fittipaldi's prognosis was good.

Fittipaldi had completed only one lap in the race before clipping the car of rookie Greg Moore while trying to pass and ending up in a fiery crash.

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2 Photos

Photo: (1) EARNHARDT

(2) FITTIPALDI