THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, February 19, 1996 TAG: 9602190123
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BOB ZELLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. LENGTH: Long : 112 lines
Mark Martin called it ``really terrifying most of the time.''
Wally Dallenbach said it was ``pretty treacherous, pretty wild at times.''
``I don't know what it was like for the fans,'' Ted Musgrave said, ``but for the drivers it's more nerve-wracking than anything, because you're more bunched up than anything.''
``This was the most competitive Daytona 500 I've ever seen,'' said Jimmy Spencer.
Dale Jarrett won Sunday's Daytona 500 by holding off Dale Earnhardt for the last 24 laps. And while the finish wasn't particulary competitive, the race was.
Fifteen different drivers led the 200-lap event. But the most notable thing was how the draft and the slightly lower speeds kept the field bunched so often and for so long.
With only 25 laps to go, a huge pack of cars was still battling for position, driving side-by-side and often three-wide around the 2.5-mile track.
And even after five cars broke away with about 15 laps left, another group chased them down to mix it up at the end.
Two factors promoted the closer-than-ever competition: NASCAR gave aerodynamic concessions to Ford over the winter and also made engine rule changes that narrowed the gap among power plants.
``The new engines have tightened up the field and made it harder to pass,'' Terry Labonte told Chevy's Ray Cooper. Labonte led 44 laps in the first half of the race before losing four laps with a carburetor problem. ``It's made the competition a lot closer.''
CRASH CITY: The racing was so close, even NASCAR's best drivers couldn't avoid some trouble. There were six accidents, including one involving five cars, another with six cars and a final wreck that collected eight cars. No one was hurt.
Some of NASCAR's biggest guns were the earliest victims.
Winston Cup champion Jeff Gordon was the first. He was clipped by Jeremy Mayfield exiting turn 4 and went into the wall hard.
``We're wrecked,'' he told his crew on the radio as his crippled car drifted toward the inside of the track, tire smoke pouring in the driver's compartment. ``We hit hard, guys.''
Five more cars crashed trying to avoid Gordon. Joe Nemechek and Steve Grissom had the worst of it. Rick Mast, Rusty Wallace and Mayfield also were involved. Gordon finished 42nd in the 43-car field.
Ernie Irvan was next. When Dale Earnhardt lost his ignition on lap 28, Earnhardt slowed suddenly coming out of turn four and Irvan tapped him in the back. Wally Dallenbach then hit Irvan, who went into the wall.
``Something must have happened to Earnhardt,'' Irvan told his crew. ``He blowed up or something, and I ran into the back of him and somebody ran into the back of me. I'm still driving it.''
Irvan completed 145 laps and finished 35th.
John Andretti, who led 23 laps, was another crash victim, as was Geoff Bodine, who was caught in the final incident, the eight-car crash on lap 159.
TEAM HEAT: Jeff Burton is Ted Musgrave's new teammate in the three-team Jack Roush operation, but Musgrave was none too pleased with his new partner at the end of the race.
Musgrave hopped out of his car and dished out stern words and finger-pointing at Burton when the cars returned to the garage.
Musgrave was upset that Burton didn't help him draft. Burton passed him instead, finishing fifth while Musgrave was eighth.
``I'd liked to have helped Ted more,'' Burton said. ``He jumped up on the outside to make a move and I couldn't go up there. I was tight up there. I had to stay on the bottom.''
Roush said he may have been responsible in that he might have been able to help the teams communicate better.
Meanwhile, the third team member, Mark Martin, who finished fourth, said he was so underpowered, no one would help him.
``I guess everybody knew we didn't have a fast car,'' he said. ``Nobody ever wanted to run with us, especially Dale Jarrett. He left me hanging every single time he got a chance.''
GOOD LUCK, FOR ONCE: It was an all-around great day for car owner Bud Moore and his new driver, Wally Dallenbach, who had arrived at Daytona without a sponsor.
But Hayes Modems signed on last week as the team's Daytona 500 sponsor. And on Sunday morning, the company signed up for the full year, and Moore gave Dallenbach the ride for the full year.
Finally, in the race, Dallenbach was competitive most of the afternoon and finished sixth.
``We really lost the handle on the car in the middle of the race,'' he said. ``But whatever the crew did, they got it fixed. That thing was strong at the end. It came right back up through the field.
``We're going to run the rest of the season.''
ADVANTAGE - FORD: Fords dominated the field Sunday, placing nine cars in the top 11.
``We just didn't have enough,'' said second-place finisher Dale Earnhardt, whose Monte Carlo was edged by Dale Jarrett's Thunderbird. ``Those Fords have it and we don't. Our car was super all day, but those Fords were super, too.''
The only other Chevy in the top 10 was third-place winner Ken Schrader.
PONTIAC FLOP: The new 1996 Pontiac Grand Prixs flopped in their NASCAR debut.
Kyle Petty had the highest-finishing Grand Prix at 18th. Bobby Hamilton was 20th, rookie Johnny Benson was 23rd and Ward Burton was 26th.
Rick Mast was 28th after losing 10 laps for repairs when he was involved in Jeff Gordon's incident on the 10th lap.
``This race really didn't give us a clue,'' he said. ``But I think the car is really going to be good.'' ILLUSTRATION: ASSOCIATED PRESS
Steve Grissom's Chevrolet, top, spins in the aftermath of Jeff
Gordon's crash on lap 9. Joe Nemechek, left, did not escape
unscathed.
by CNB