ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, February 16, 1997 TAG: 9702180035
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: DAYTONA BEACH, FLA.
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
If you can imagine slow-motion action at 190 mph, that's the best way to describe what to expect in today's Daytona 500.
After a winter of preparation, a month of testing and nine days of practice, qualifying and racing, the NASCAR Winston Cup drivers are ready to go again in the series' biggest event.
A week ago, after a tepid Busch Clash, the big concern was the lack of passing. That concern evaporated after Thursday's Twin 125 qualifying races, which featured a lot of passing, although not many passes for the lead.
So not much has changed. But the situation has changed some.
``It will look like the same racing, but it will kind of look like it's in slow motion,'' said Ford's Preston Miller. ``Now it will take an entire lap to pass somebody, where in years past you could do it in one straightaway.''
``What we're seeing here that has fundamentally changed the racing is the cold-air box,'' Miller said. The cold-air box now required by NASCAR connects the air cleaner to the cowl, creating a direct channel for the air to reach the engine. Before, there was no direct channel.
``The cold-air box has taken away the advantage of the guys who knew how to make the old system work,'' Miller said.
Another off-season rules change - the raising of the rear quarter-panels by 1 inch - also has affected the racing.
``That has added the equivalent of 20 horsepower of drag,'' Miller said. ``The minute you pull out of the draft now, you're going the same speed, but your car has lost 20 horsepower in drag. So if you're alone, your car is going to go backward even faster than it did before.
``We're going to run a good race,'' Miller said. ``It's just going to be in slow motion.''
Meanwhile, NASCAR delayed for another day its announcement of fines for teams that used side-door roll bars that were too thin.
Gary Nelson, NASCAR's Winston Cup director, said he fined two teams, but has decided not to release the information until today, so the crew chiefs would have enough time to notify sponsors and others. He said he also wanted to make sure there were no more back-up cars coming into the field that would need to be checked.
Nelson also said that two other teams were found to have windshield bars that did not conform to NASCAR specifications. But these teams will not be fined because the windshield bar is a new requirement, and ``these two teams didn't understand the new rule and we have to give them time to adjust to it.''
Forty-two cars will start the 200-lap race at 12:15 p.m., with rookie Mike Skinner leading the pack to the green flag after winning the pole eight days ago with a speed of 189.813 mph. Steve Grissom starts alongside Skinner.
In the final Winston Cup practice Saturday, which was incident-free, Robert Pressley drove the fastest lap, reaching 191.669 mph around the 2.5-mile superspeedway in a Chevrolet. Ken Schrader was second fastest, at 191.502 mph, followed by Greg Sacks, Robby Gordon and Ward Burton.
But when it comes to the final 50 miles today, those in the garage with a clear sense of reality are predicting the same bunch will be at the front - Dale Earnhardt, Sterling Marlin, Dale Jarrett, Ernie Irvan, Mark Martin, etc.
``You're going to race the same people - the [Nos.]3, 25, 4, 88, 28,'' said Marlin's crew chief, Tim Brewer. Martin ``is pretty decent. [Rusty Wallace] thought he was pretty good, but he's kind of gone the other way now. It's the same people you normally race at Daytona and Talladega.''
But that doesn't make it any easier.
``I guess if you added up all the days I've spent down here, it's probably two or three years of my life,'' said longtime crew chief Dale Inman. ``But I tell you, it feels like half of my life with all the stress we have down here.''
``Pit stops and track position is definitely going to be the deal,'' said crew chief Buddy Parrott. ``Pit stops are going to be really important. You're going to see two tires [changed during pit stops] all day long under green and four under caution. Nobody will change four tires under green. That's going to be the deal. But it could all change. You never know.''
For many fans, the sentimental favorite will be Earnhardt, still seeking his first victory in his 19th Daytona 500 start.
``I think we're awfully good,'' said Earnhardt's crew chief, Larry McReynolds. ``We're just trying to stay focused and take care of the things we can control, making sure nothing falls off and making sure we get the car driving as good as we can and not worry about flat tires on the last lap.''
The field features two rookies, Skinner and Robby Gordon, as well as 55-year-old Dave Marcis, who will be making his 30th consecutive start in the Daytona 500.
But a number of Winston Cup regulars failed to make the field, including Rick Mast, who was atop his team's hauler during the final practice Saturday afternoon, watching Loy Allen drive his back-up car.
Allen wrecked his car in the Twin 125 qualifying race Thursday and his team struck a deal with Mast's team to use the car.
``I don't like it,'' Mast said. ``I'm not out there. I've never missed a 500 I entered. I've just been trying to help with the car a little bit. But I don't like it.
``It's going to be the same old deal'' today, said the driver from Rockbridge Baths, Va. ``In the last 100 miles, only four or five cars are going to be able to stay wide-open all the way around this track. And those are the guys who will be in it.''
LENGTH: Medium: 100 lines ILLUSTRATION: GRAPHIC: Chart: Daytona 500 lineup. KEYWORDS: MGR AUTO RACINGby CNB