ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, February 10, 1997 TAG: 9702110021
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: DAYTONA BEACH, FLA.
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
Sunday was a great day for a Winston Cup race at Daytona International Speedway. Too bad the fans didn't see one.
During the final laps of the Busch Clash on a pleasant Florida afternoon, Jeff Gordon led a nose-to-tail procession around this 2.5-mile speedway with nary a hint of a pass.
There wasn't even a feint for a pass on the final lap as Gordon drove his Chevrolet Monte Carlo across the finish line thirteen-hundredths of a second ahead of Rusty Wallace. Dale Earnhardt was third, followed by Ward Burton, Ernie Irvan, Mark Martin, Dale Jarrett, Ricky Craven, Johnny Benson and Jeremy Mayfield.
In the first 10-lap segment, Gordon started 13th and finished 12th in the 14-car field. The field was inverted for the second 10-lap segment, so Gordon started third.
On the restart, he jumped in behind leader Bobby Labonte, then darted past him on the second lap. And that was that.
``I knew the restart for the last 10-lapper really was going to be critical,'' Gordon said. ``I got a great start. I gave Bobby Labonte a good push, and then I got by him. Once all the cars get in line like that, it's hard to pass.''
Judging from the comments of other drivers, Gordon understated the problem.
``It was the worst I've ever seen, I believe,'' said Terry Labonte, who led the first segment flag-to-flag, then finished 11th in the finale after starting 14th. ``You can't pass. It seems like you saw more passing and racing [in previous years] than you do this year. Once you lose your momentum, it takes you three laps to get it back.''
Said Earnhardt: ``Nobody could do nothing. If you could pull out and pass, it would be all right, but if you can't get them ... It's not fun. It's Indy-car racing, nose-to-tail. We're all sitting in line. It's pitiful you can't pull out and pass anyone.
``I couldn't do anything. I look for the same thing on Thursday [for the Twin 125s]. It's not going to be good.''
The dissenting opinion was offered by Wallace: ``I think once we get in the 500 and stuff starts moving around, I think it will be a lot better. Heck, I passed 10 cars in half a front straightaway, so it can be done. You've just got to have the right opportunity. As far as running along out there in the draft and looking for a slingshot, it's pretty rough.''
Said Martin: ``If that had been a long race, I could have kept going and kept passing cars. I passed quite a few good cars, and that's something that's pretty hard to do right now under the conditions. It was a poorer passing environment than I expected.''
Gordon said he did not sandbag in the first segment to get a good starting spot in the second. But he wasn't aggressive during the first run, either.
``I didn't lay back on purpose,'' Gordon said. ``I saw there was no way I was going to get to the front. I probably would have made a few more positions up, but I had to watch that black [No.]3.''
Earnhardt, driving the No.3 car, went backward in the first segment and finished one spot behind Gordon. ``I didn't want him to get on the front row and run away and hide,'' Gordon said.
The race lasted 16 minutes, 11 seconds. There were no spins or crashes.
Gordon and car owner Rick Hendrick won $54,000 out of a $370,000 purse.
LENGTH: Medium: 72 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. 1. Jeff Gordon drove his Chevrolet to victory in theby CNBBusch Clash on Sunday, beating Rusty Wallace by thirteen-hundredths
of a second. color. 2. Jeff Gordon started 13th in the 14-car field
and took the checkered flag in the Busch Clash in Daytona Beach,
Fla. KEYWORDS: AUTO RACING