Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, February 5, 1993 TAG: 9302050056
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B7 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. LENGTH: Medium
GRAND PRIX HAS EDGE IN TESTS
The truth will begin to emerge today when NASCAR's Winston Cup cars take to the high banks of Daytona International Speedway in the first day of practice for the Daytona 500 on Feb. 14.During two months of nearly non-stop testing on Daytona's 2.5-mile oval, the Pontiac Grand Prixs have seemingly emerged as a real threat to the Ford Thunderbirds that dominated last year's 500.
Kyle Petty and Michael Waltrip, neither with much previous luck at Daytona, wound up posting the fastest laps of winter testing, both Jan. 23, the final day.
Petty, the hottest driver in the series during the second half of the 1992 season, posted a lap of 190.476 mph and was consistently over 190 in a series of runs late on that final test day.
Waltrip, whose older brother Darrell is a stock car star and a former Daytona 500 winner, apparently needs a good season - and perhaps his first Winston Cup win - to keep his ride after a series of disappointing years.
The younger Waltrip gave himself and his team some hope with a lap of 190.235.
Petty, now the only member of his famed family racing following the retirement of father Richard Petty at the end of the 1992 season, said, "This is a really exceptional race car, aerodynamically. We have learned a lot about aerodynamics, which really helps here."
Asked if his fast lap makes him a favorite to win the pole in the first round of qualifying Saturday, Petty said, "We're not even thinking about the pole. We've been fastest in winter testing before and we've had trouble making the race. The track changes after the 24-hour race [last weekend].
"What we've seen in testing is that everybody is close. We know we can be better, but all we wanted to be was in the ballpark. . . . Of course, we wouldn't feel bad if we had 15 more horsepower."
Daytona is one of only two tracks on the Winston Cup circuit where the cars are limited by carburetor restrictor plates in order to keep the speeds down for the sake of driver and spectator safety.
Use of those plates, which reduce horsepower by reducing airflow to the carburetor, makes finding speed at Daytona more of a mystery than at most tracks.
Several teams, including those of former Winston Cup champions Rusty Wallace and Darrell Waltrip, are having their restrictor-plate engines built by other people this year.
"Spending so much time and money on research and development for four races a year [two at Daytona and two at Talladega] is a tough deal," said Wallace, whose Pontiac has generally been lost at the restrictor-plate tracks. "Now I feel I've got a car I can compete with at Daytona.
"People didn't think Pontiacs would be competitive, but we've had some changes in the body that seem to have made a big difference in the aerodynamics. I think we're going to surprise some people."
Keywords:
AUTO RACING