Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 7, 1993 TAG: 9302070130
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. LENGTH: Medium
DAYTONA POLE GOES TO PETTY
What a difference a year makes at Daytona International Speedway.Last year, Kyle Petty and Dale Jarrett crashed together and destroyed their best cars in one of the Twin 125 qualifying races.
This year, on an overcast, almost-foggy day that slowed everyone, Petty won the pole for the 35th annual Daytona 500 and Jarrett took the No. 2 starting position.
Petty's speed in his Pontiac Grand Prix was 189.426 mph - slower than even the most pessimistic driver on Friday guessed would be needed to win the pole. Jarrett's speed on the 2.5-mile superspeedway was 189.274 mph in a Chevrolet Lumina.
Bill Elliott was third fastest in a Ford Thunderbird at 189.024 mph. He was the only other driver to exceed 189 mph.
Jimmy Spencer was fourth fastest in another Ford at 188.656 mph, followed by the Chevy of Ken Schrader at 188.648 mph.
Also in the top 10 were Ricky Rudd in a Chevy at 188.616 mph; Rick Mast in his Ford at 188.588 mph; Dale Earnhardt in a Chevy at 188.569 mph; Bobby Hillin in a Ford at 188.497 mph; and Hut Stricklin in a Ford at 188.490 mph.
Nearly everyone was grumbling about the slower speeds, or at least puzzled. Was it the weather? Or was it the lack of a draft on the track?
Whichever it was, "a lot of people got fooled," Petty said.
"I think the biggest factor in the speeds not being what they had been in practice is the draft," Petty said. "When you get 20 cars out there all running around in the same direction, it gets the air going in that direction. And that's going to help, even if you can't see a car in front of you.
"We were really fortunate to be able to go out and run what we run. It wasn't a great lap, but it was just enough to be better than everyone else."
Jarrett said he thought the weather made the difference.
"The biggest single factor is the weather changing, even from this morning," Jarrett said. "We picked up a headwind. And the fog raised the humidity, so it had gotten worse for the engines."
Although Petty was considered one of the favorites for the pole after running the fastest lap of winter tests, Jarrett was a surprise.
He was fourth off the line and for a full hour, his speed withstood every challenge.
"As it turned out, going early was probably on our side," Jarrett said. "I didn't like that at first, but as the weather started to roll in, I knew I wanted to go as soon as possible before it got worse.
"I think the wind just didn't blow hard enough when Kyle ran."
Jarrett's car owner, Washington Redskins coach Joe Gibbs, watched the entire session from a chilly perch atop the team hauler, clocking every car with a stopwatch.
"Gosh, that's something," he said when he finally climbed off the truck. "Man, I tell you, I am thrilled! We didn't come back down here in January to test. We stayed at Talladega. So everybody kinda missed us. But we knew we were strong.
"This is certainly a step up from last year."
For others, it was a step down.
"We slowed down more than anybody," said Wally Dallenbach, who was 20th fastest at 187.790 mph. "I have no idea what happened."
Another prequalifying favorite, Brett Bodine, who wound up 16th, said, "That's just the slowest lap we've run since we've been here."
And there was Rudd.
"What can you say?" Rudd said. "Like a lot of others, we didn't run the kind of lap we thought we could."
It is the first Daytona 500 pole for a Pontiac since Benny Parsons did it in 1982. Last year, Fords dominated.
Although Ford drivers are grumbling about the new noses and rear bumpers that were approved for the Pontiacs, Petty said that's not the main reason his car is faster.
"I think the biggest advantage in the Pontiacs is that last year, on the suspension and everything, we had to run our cars an inch higher than the Fords and Chevrolets," he said. "This year, they threw that rule out."
Petty said the Pontiac teams last year had asked for the extra height, and NASCAR had granted it. But by the third race of 1992, it became obvious to the Pontiac teams that the advantage they thought they were getting was actually a disadvantage.
"I've never done well at Daytona," Petty said. "I've never qualified well here, and I've never finished well here. I've been told that now that Richard Petty is retired and not running, it looks like I'm running good.
"If I knew I was going to run so good here after he retired, I would have had Momma lock him up in the house the last seven or eight years."
The rest of the drivers have two more chances - Monday and Tuesday - to improve their speeds. The time trials will set the lineups for Thursday's twin 125-mile qualifying races, which determine positions 3 through 30 in the race field.
The final 10 spots will be filled by the fastest of the remaining drivers from the time trials.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING