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Fords slowest in first Daytona 500 practice, complain about new rules
By JENNA FRYER
AP Sports Writer
February 8, 2002
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- White-knuckle racing during the Daytona 500 is probably a thing of the past. After a pair of multi-car crashes in two restrictor-plate races last year, that's a good thing, right?
Maybe not.
NASCAR got its first real look at the new rules package for the season-opening Daytona 500 on Friday with two Winston Cup practice sessions. As expected, a flurry of complaints followed, ranging from predictions of a boring race to the Fords claiming they are at a disadvantage.
NASCAR tuned it all out, saying it would sit back and wait before deciding if the race Feb. 17 would be run under the current rules package -- implemented late last season in response to driver complaints about dangerous racing at Daytona and Talladega.
``We're pretty comfortable where we are right now, but there's always room for some tweaking,'' said NASCAR spokesman Jim Hunter. ``The hardest thing for us is to wade through all this lobbying and see where we really are. We can't do that in one day of practice.''
Three of the four Chevrolets from Hendrick Motorsports were the fastest cars of the day, with rookie Jimmie Johnson posting the top lap at 185.033 mph in the morning session.
The Ford of Ricky Rudd was the next-fastest make at 184.740. Ward Burton had the fastest Dodge at 184.098 and Johnny Benson the quickest Pontiac at 183.329.
Even though Rudd and Robert Yates Racing teammate Dale Jarrett, a three-time Daytona 500 winner, were the two fastest Fords, there was a steep drop-off among the Tauruses trailing them. The five cars of Roush Racing were particularly slow, with Mark Martin bringing up the rear at 180.014 mph.
``It was a rough morning,'' car owner Jack Roush complained.
The Fords have already gotten one concession in the rules, with a quarter-inch taken away from the rear spoiler after teams complained about slow speeds in the January test session at Daytona International Speedway.
Rudd called the relief a ``token gesture,'' and doubted a Taurus would make the front row when the first two starting spots for the race are set Saturday in qualifying.
``You won't see a Ford on the front row, and if you do, it will be an awful big shock,'' Rudd said. ``All you have to do is look at the speeds, it's black and white. If you do that, I don't have to say anything nasty.''
The other makes were turning a deaf ear to the Ford complaints while grumbling that the Tauruses were sandbagging in an effort to get another break from NASCAR.
``The Fords will be just fine,'' said Chevrolet car owner Richard Childress. ``It's important to remember, a lot of teams aren't showing everything they've got right off the trucks.''
The new rules, designed to eliminate the tight pack racing that often leads to multi-car crashes, altered the height of the spoiler and removed the roof deflector and metal strip at the top of the spoiler designed to punch a hole in the air and keep the speeds down.
But this package is similar to the one used in the 2000 season, which led to single-file, hard-to-pass racing at Daytona. That Daytona 500 produced only nine lead changes and cries of ``boring!'' from the drivers and the fans.
That prompted a rule change last season that made it too easy to pass, made the racing more dangerous and helped produce a 19-car wreck at Daytona. There were no serious injuries in that late-race pileup in which Tony Stewart flipped on the backstretch, but seven-time champion Dale Earnhardt was killed on the final lap.
There also was a 16-car crash on the final lap at Talladega Superspeedway in October.
By going back to the 2000 rules, the fear is that this year's main event will be like that year's snoozer.
``I think (the fan's) are expecting good, hard, passing racing,'' said Jarrett, who won the 500 in 2000. ``It's hard, once you've given it to them, to take it away. They expect to see three- and four-wide racing, and with the rules we have now, that's probably not going to happen.''
Instead, the race should be a safer affair, and after all, that's what the drivers wanted when they complained after the Talladega wreck.
``I don't think there's any such thing as a boring race,'' Hunter said. ``And the whole point of this was to make the cars safer, that's what started all this.''
By JENNA FRYER
AP Sports Writer
February 8, 2002
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- White-knuckle racing during the Daytona 500 is probably a thing of the past. After a pair of multi-car crashes in two restrictor-plate races last year, that's a good thing, right?
Maybe not.
NASCAR got its first real look at the new rules package for the season-opening Daytona 500 on Friday with two Winston Cup practice sessions. As expected, a flurry of complaints followed, ranging from predictions of a boring race to the Fords claiming they are at a disadvantage.
NASCAR tuned it all out, saying it would sit back and wait before deciding if the race Feb. 17 would be run under the current rules package -- implemented late last season in response to driver complaints about dangerous racing at Daytona and Talladega.
``We're pretty comfortable where we are right now, but there's always room for some tweaking,'' said NASCAR spokesman Jim Hunter. ``The hardest thing for us is to wade through all this lobbying and see where we really are. We can't do that in one day of practice.''
Three of the four Chevrolets from Hendrick Motorsports were the fastest cars of the day, with rookie Jimmie Johnson posting the top lap at 185.033 mph in the morning session.
The Ford of Ricky Rudd was the next-fastest make at 184.740. Ward Burton had the fastest Dodge at 184.098 and Johnny Benson the quickest Pontiac at 183.329.
Even though Rudd and Robert Yates Racing teammate Dale Jarrett, a three-time Daytona 500 winner, were the two fastest Fords, there was a steep drop-off among the Tauruses trailing them. The five cars of Roush Racing were particularly slow, with Mark Martin bringing up the rear at 180.014 mph.
``It was a rough morning,'' car owner Jack Roush complained.
The Fords have already gotten one concession in the rules, with a quarter-inch taken away from the rear spoiler after teams complained about slow speeds in the January test session at Daytona International Speedway.
Rudd called the relief a ``token gesture,'' and doubted a Taurus would make the front row when the first two starting spots for the race are set Saturday in qualifying.
``You won't see a Ford on the front row, and if you do, it will be an awful big shock,'' Rudd said. ``All you have to do is look at the speeds, it's black and white. If you do that, I don't have to say anything nasty.''
The other makes were turning a deaf ear to the Ford complaints while grumbling that the Tauruses were sandbagging in an effort to get another break from NASCAR.
``The Fords will be just fine,'' said Chevrolet car owner Richard Childress. ``It's important to remember, a lot of teams aren't showing everything they've got right off the trucks.''
The new rules, designed to eliminate the tight pack racing that often leads to multi-car crashes, altered the height of the spoiler and removed the roof deflector and metal strip at the top of the spoiler designed to punch a hole in the air and keep the speeds down.
But this package is similar to the one used in the 2000 season, which led to single-file, hard-to-pass racing at Daytona. That Daytona 500 produced only nine lead changes and cries of ``boring!'' from the drivers and the fans.
That prompted a rule change last season that made it too easy to pass, made the racing more dangerous and helped produce a 19-car wreck at Daytona. There were no serious injuries in that late-race pileup in which Tony Stewart flipped on the backstretch, but seven-time champion Dale Earnhardt was killed on the final lap.
There also was a 16-car crash on the final lap at Talladega Superspeedway in October.
By going back to the 2000 rules, the fear is that this year's main event will be like that year's snoozer.
``I think (the fan's) are expecting good, hard, passing racing,'' said Jarrett, who won the 500 in 2000. ``It's hard, once you've given it to them, to take it away. They expect to see three- and four-wide racing, and with the rules we have now, that's probably not going to happen.''
Instead, the race should be a safer affair, and after all, that's what the drivers wanted when they complained after the Talladega wreck.
``I don't think there's any such thing as a boring race,'' Hunter said. ``And the whole point of this was to make the cars safer, that's what started all this.''
You know, these guys chose to do what they do, if it's too dangerous don't do it, plain and simple. I say let the drivers make changes, not some commitee sitting in a board room, not that it would be any different but you never know.
