Whining Should Subside Little Expects Chevys, Pontiacs To Rebound

Complaints from the Chevrolet and Pontiac camps, echoed by some racing fans, in the wake of Ford’s domination at Sunday’s Daytona 500 could take a positive spin this week, with the move to the 1.017-mile oval at Rockingham, N.C.

Rockingham is the first of 30 stops on the Winston Cup tour where the emphasis on down force asserts itself. The new cars were built to create maximum down force with minimum drag.

But even if the new machines continue to struggle, every new concept goes through a shakedown phase, Spokane driver Chad Little said Tuesday.

Little suggested that grumbling about new NASCAR rules governing rear springs and shocks may subside with this week’s change of scenery, from the superspeedway that is Daytona to a tight oval.

Little, in a Ford Taurus, finished 23rd at Daytona, where the top five places went to Fords.

Fords initially struggled on the two superspeedways when the Taurus replaced the Thunderbird, Little said.

NASCAR, the governing body, is waiting to get into the Lockheed wind tunnel in Marietta, Ga., for tests, possibly in preparation for modifying rules, with the hope of restoring competitive balance among the competing car makers.

There were only four on-track passes for the lead in 200 laps. Chevrolet and Pontiac teams say that the aerodynamics leave them at a disadvantage.

“Ford drivers think there shouldn’t be concessions,” Little said Tuesday from the Roush Racing garage in Charlotte, N.C. “ We’ve all gone through this. I don’t think there’ll be rules changes.

“When we get to the down-force tracks (such as Rockingham) the Chevrolets are going to be pretty good race cars. I don’t think you’ll hear any crying then.”

Little, in the No. 97 John Deere Ford, led the Daytona 500 for two laps. The car handled well on the low side of the banked oval in the draft but had no punch on its own, in qualifying or on race day.

“We’ve got some issues we have to work out,” Little said. “Mainly why the car didn’t run well by itself. Two Roush cars ran well by themselves, three didn’t, as far as qualifying goes. More than likely, it’s how the body is put on. That’s something to figure out before we go to Talladega (for the April 16 DieHard 500, the next super speedway event).”

One of five drivers for Ford teams owned by Jack Roush, Little said that in hindsight he would have allowed himself more room on lap 156 Sunday when he found himself behind a line of three cars. When they checked up under the third caution flag of the day Little had nowhere to go and bumped No. 26 Jimmy Spencer.

With damage to the front of his car, Little pitted for a series of repairs and adjustments and dropped from 15th to 27th.