DEI may own day
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Many of the biggest names in the Nextel Cup Series have a large void on their list of accomplishments. Despite winning championships and numerous races, they have never captured the Daytona 500, the most prestigious event on the NASCAR schedule.
Rusty Wallace, the 1989 Cup champion, and veteran Mark Martin – two drivers who have announced 2005 will be their last seasons in Nextel Cup – are among those drivers who have never been to Victory Lane at Daytona International Speedway in February.
When the green flag waves on the 47th annual Daytona 500 today, they will join the rest of the drivers in the 43-car lineup trying to topple the dominance shown in recent seasons by Dale Earnhardt Inc. teammates Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Michael Waltrip.
The two DEI drivers have combined to win the Daytona 500 in three of the past four seasons – with Earnhardt claiming his first last year – and have won 11 of the last 16 restrictor-plate races at Daytona and Talladega (Ala.).
“They’re almost unbeatable at times in this race,” said Jimmie Johnson, who will start second alongside pole-sitter Dale Jarrett. “I would expect them to be at the front. Those guys are always up there.”
There was speculation that DEI had lost its edge at Daytona after its drivers posted slow qualifying speeds last week. However, Waltrip won the first 150-mile Gatorade Duel at Daytona qualifying race on Thursday, getting the nose of his Chevrolet just past Earnhardt at the finish line.
Suddenly, DEI – which swapped the pit crews and cars of Waltrip and Earnhardt over the off-season – was back on top.
Earnhardt admits he and Waltrip have their work cut out for them to remain on top when it counts.
“It’s been more of a challenge to win these races,” said Earnhardt. “We’re still competitive. We haven’t fallen off to the point where we can’t compete. We just peaked.
“When you’re out front and leading the pack in any type of category, everybody else is working hard to catch you and eventually they will. And they have. We’ve seen it coming.”
Waltrip said it was nice to hush down talk that there was dissension in the ranks at DEI.
“What we were looking for when we made the swap was chemistry,” said Waltrip, who won the Daytona 500 in 2001 and 2003. “They didn’t get rid of anybody. They just rearranged us all. I think that should tell you how smart the folks are at DEI.”
Jarrett’s three Daytona 500 victories are the most among active drivers. Three other drivers have won three or more 500s – Richard Petty (seven), Cale Yarborough (four) and Bobby Allison (three).
Jarrett said his team will have to improve his Ford’s handling in order to compete for the checkered flag, but he expects to be a factor. He won the race in 1993, ‘96 and 2000.
“We’ve had the most time to work and get ready for the Daytona 500 and it is our biggest race,” Jarrett said. “What it does for your career is just incredible.
“Having the opportunity to have won it three times over a span of seven or eight years, I could see just how much our sport has grown and I would like to have that opportunity again to get in a very select group that has won this four times.”
There will be only five former winners of the Daytona 500 in the starting lineup, including Jarrett, Earnhardt, Waltrip, Sterling Marlin and Jeff Gordon.
Drivers who would like to join that elite list said getting their cars to handle properly in the large freight train-like draft at the 2.5-mile superspeedway will be vital. With a softer Goodyear tire compound that tends to wear after about 20 laps, driver skill will be at a premium.
“You want to be up front, that’s the place to be,” Ryan Newman said. “You can practice all day long and until you go out and go for the trophy, you don’t know what you’ve got.”
History proves Newman right about being in front at Daytona. Sixteen of the 30 Cup races at Daytona since 1990 have been won from a top-five starting position. Only six of those races were won from outside the top 10.