Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 14, 1993 TAG: 9302140084
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Bob Zeller
DATELINE: DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. LENGTH: Medium
IN ITS EFFORT TO BE FAIR, NASCAR MADE A MISTAKE
If a Thunderbird wins the Daytona 500 today, the Ford folks may never live down the moaning they've been doing this week.Yes, the Fords were done dirty by NASCAR. But considering their performance at Daytona International Speedway this week, Ford's case appears flimsy. It probably wouldn't hold up in court - not even small claims court.
What it boils down to is that Ford was the loser in stock car racing's off-season political game. As a result, Ford teams lost the advantage that allowed them to win 16 of 29 races last year and the manufacturer's championship.
The Fords, Chevrolets and Pontiacs now appear to be fairly equal, with a slight tilt to the General Motors cars.
Kyle Petty's Pontiac Grand Prix won the pole for today's 200-lap race with a speed of 189.426 mph, and Chevrolet Luminas driven by Dale Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon won Thursday's Twin 125s.
Thunderbirds finished second in both races, and the Fords still appear to be plenty competitive. Today's race will be the best test.
What upset the Ford folks so much was that NASCAR said one thing at the beginning of last year and then did another at the end of it.
Before the 1992 season started, NASCAR and its new technical director, Gary Nelson, embarked on a comprehensive program to make all the race cars closely match the shape of their respective production cars.
There was a lot of complaining from everyone. It was difficult, costly and time-consuming to meet the new standards. But there was a consensus that NASCAR and Nelson treated everyone the same.
That's no longer the case. And that's why the Ford folks have been howling so loudly.
Nelson said in a news conference last week that all three makes are still being treated equally, but he was unconvincing.
For instance, during the news conference, Nelson said NASCAR had approved new rear and front bumpers for all three makes last November. The bumpers have been the major focus of Ford's complaints.
"About late November, we had one from each manufacturer - nose piece and tail - approved," Nelson said.
But as he hustled back to the NASCAR trailer after the conference, Nelson conceded that over the winter, two manufacturers made changes in their bumpers and NASCAR approved those changes.
Nelson would not identify the two manufacturers, but neither is named Ford.
Ford officials said NASCAR gave them no leeway on their bumpers over the winter, but allowed the Pontiacs and Chevys to cut and chop and tinker until they came up with bumpers they liked.
While the Ford guys were howling last week, NASCAR was telling everyone that it was a campaign hatched at Ford headquarters in Dearborn, Mich.
When Ford's top racing boss, Michael Kranefuss, arrived at Daytona on Wednesday, he was philosophical.
After Ford came out on top in 1992, NASCAR obviously felt the Fords had an advantage, "and if they feel they have to correct it, they're going to do that," Kranefuss said. "If that means walking away from what the bible was last year, they're going to do that. That's their way of doing business.
"I'm not happy about it, but maybe we're not as effective at being able to lobby for ourselves."
Although the public is not privy to the off-season lobbying that NASCAR President Bill France Jr. was subjected to, it's not hard to imagine what the GM officials said.
General Motors lost more than $23 billion last year. The company is closing plants right and left. It is laying off thousands of employees. And to top it off, GM race cars were drummed by Fords in the Winston Cup series.
It would be logical to think, therefore, that GM officials told France that if they didn't get some help, they might have to pick up their toys and go home.
For Kranefuss, the primary concern is that NASCAR went too far with its concessions to GM.
"For them to make a technical decision that works right off the bat - that's difficult," he said. "I think they're seriously trying to keep the cars even, and in their attempt they've made a mistake."
If that proves to be the case - if the GM cars crush the Fords this year - Ford wants its own concessions from NASCAR, Kranefuss said. And Ford probably will get them.
Nelson can tell everyone that each will be treated the same. He can say that each manufacturer must make its race cars the exact same shape of its production car - no exceptions.
But all that would do is take power away from NASCAR. It would give Ford's or GM's racing engineers the opportunity to develop a superior race car. It would undermine NASCAR's long-standing policy of keeping the competition close by making sure each manufacturer has an equal opportunity to win.
And that's not going to happen.
\ AUTHOR Bob Zeller covers Winston Cup racing for the Roanoke Times & World-News.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING