ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, February 16, 1996 TAG: 9602160039
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: DAYTONA NOTES
DATELINE: DAYTONA BEACH, FLA.
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
The 1996 NASCAR Winston Cup season hasn't even begun and already tempers are boiling over.
Derrike Cope and Jeff Purvis almost went at it Thursday in the postrace inspection area at Daytona International Speedway after getting into each other on the track during the second Twin 125 qualifying race for Sunday's Daytona 500.
``You cut me off!'' Purvis shouted at Cope.
``That's why you got hit in the right front,'' Cope shouted back. ``Stupidity, that's what it was.''
They exchanged expletives before Cope walked off.
Afterward, Cope said, ``It was a blocking situation and I wasn't happy about it and I wanted him to understand that.''
Said Purvis: ``We need to settle this outside the race track instead of inside the race track.''
The tension was the result of racing that was sometimes too close for comfort, which was the result of NASCAR rules changes for engine manifolds that have tended to equalize engine power.
``There was a lot of beatin' and bangin' because we were running so slow,'' Robert Pressley said. ``It's ridiculous. I was just holding on, that's what it was. You just don't have the power to do anything.''
The bunching did lead to one wreck - a five-car crash on lap 44 of the first race, including a spectacular half-flip by Bobby Labonte on the backstretch.
``I guess Bobby Hillin got into Geoff Bodine coming off [turn] 4 and they started getting mad at each other and shaking fists at each other,'' Kenny Wallace said. ``And somehow Brett [Bodine] got past us all and got into Hillin off of [turn] 2. We just got wrapped up in it.''
Brett Bodine came off the wall into Labonte's path, sending him sideways, into the air and onto his roof. Labonte's Chevy then flipped back on its wheels.
``Brett got into it and I was trying to get away from him,'' Labonte said. ``After I let off, I couldn't slow down fast enough because I was trying to keep from locking up the wheels. When I mashed the gas, I couldn't go, either.''
Said Geoff Bodine: ``That's a product of these engines. They just put you in a spot. You dig and dig and dig and you gain a spot and go back 10.''
LAST-GASP PASS: Kyle Petty made it into the Daytona 500 with a last-gasp pass of Lake Speed to take 15th place in the first Twin 125.
Petty, who was too slow to ensure having a starting spot in the 500 from his qualifying time, said he was out of it during much of the race.
``At the 30-mile mark, I was on the truck headed back to North Carolina,'' Petty said. ``You probably saw me on the truck headed to North Carolina because you couldn't see me on the race track.''
But a second caution period for rain on lap 37 allowed him to catch up.
During his last-lap pass, ``Lake gave me a ton of room,'' Petty said.
``When we got over there, he eased over and gave me just enough room. When I say a ton, he probably moved over two inches. But it was just enough ... ''
Actually, Petty would have made the race with a provisional starting spot, so his move ensured that Hut Stricklin got that provisional.
WALTRIP STUMPED: After finishing 19th in the first Twin 125, Darrell Waltrip had no clue as to why his Chevy wouldn't go fast.
``We're totally confused right now,'' he said. ``It's like looking for a needle in a haystack. The only thing we know to do now is burn down the haystack.''
PONTIAC REPORT: Among the six new Pontiac Grand Prix drivers in the twins, the highest finisher in either race was Ward Burton, who was seventh in the first race.
``I think the new car is going to be fine,'' Burton said. ``We were having problems hanging on. I wish I had somebody behind me, but we were on the tail end of that lead draft. A couple of times I thought I was going to lose'' the draft.
Rick Mast, who had the fastest Pontiac in qualifying, finished 18th in the second race. ``The car absolutely pushed terribly,'' said the driver from Rockbridge Baths, Va.
LENGTH: Medium: 83 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. Bobby Labonte's car crashes to earth after flippingby CNBThursday during the first Twin 125 at Daytona International
Speedway. KEYWORDS: AUTO RACING