ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, February 10, 1997 TAG: 9702110022
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: DAYTONA NOTES
DATELINE: DAYTONA BEACH, FLA.
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
Andy Hillenburg polished off the second of back-to-back snoozers Sunday at Daytona International Speedway, winning the ARCA 200 by about two car-lengths over pole-winner Ron Barfield.
Hillenburg, the 1995 ARCA winner here and the pole winner for Sunday's race, led the final 46 laps and ran the last lap unchallenged, just as Jeff Gordon ran unchallenged to the checkered flag in the Busch Clash to open the day's racing.
``I just put the defense on when I had to and put the offense on when I needed to,'' Hillenburg said.
Hillenburg's biggest challenge came from Barfield, who was running second during the final laps.
``When he worked his way up to second and then that caution fell [on lap 75 of 80], we really went to work on our game plan,'' Hillenburg said. ``I just had to counter that the best I could and make a real good qualifying effort those last two [green-flag] laps. They really weren't able to make a threat. Our car was really strong from about lap 35 on.''
Mark Gibson finished third, followed by Bill Baird and Mark Stahl. There were five yellow flags - one for a blown engine and the other four for spins or crashes, all relatively minor.
HOW ABOUT THIS WEEK? The tepid racing Sunday doesn't bode well for the rest of Speedweeks.
Ward Burton started fourth and finished fourth in the final segment of the Busch Clash, even though he didn't have the muscle to get there on his own.
It was more that no one could pass him.
``Track position is everything,'' he said. ``You run so close, and if somebody makes a mistake, you're going to have an accident. It's a shame they can't put the people up there [in the grandstands] a little bit higher, take the [restrictor] plates off and let the drivers get the job done. It's just a tough deal. Nobody's got the answer.''
``It's different than anything we've ever had to be accustomed to,'' said Ernie Irvan, who probably passed more cars than anyone during the Clash, but still finished fifth. ``The cars don't draft at all. They draft, but you just can't pass.''
``They wanted the cars equal, and that's what they got,'' said Dale Jarrett, who was seventh. ``It means you can't pass. Two cars can't even get lined up and go by anybody anymore.''
``I was just sitting there sucking mud,'' said Dale Earnhardt, who was third.
Other drivers were not quite as pessimistic.
``Are we going to have a race on Sunday? I think we are,'' said the Clash winner, Jeff Gordon. ``Once you get to a handling race [such as the Daytona 500], that's when you get more passing. You'll see some side-by-side racing. The handling starts going away after seven or eight laps.''
``Pit stops, strategies, there's a lot that will play out in the Daytona 500 that we didn't see today,'' said Ricky Craven, who finished eighth.
SMITH'S SUCCESS: When rookie Mike Skinner won the pole position Saturday for the Daytona 500, it could have been seen as redemption for team manager David Smith, who lasted one year as Earnhardt's crew chief.
But Smith doesn't see it that way.
``What happened last year was unfortunate for the whole team,'' Smith said. ``But what I've got with this new team ... I'm happy with that. I'm looking forward to both teams having a lot of fun this year.''
TWO DOUBLES: Two Winston Cup drivers plan to run in the Coca-Cola 600 and the Indy 500 on May 25.
In addition to Robby Gordon, who will run both races for car owner Felix Sabates, John Andretti plans to run in both. Andretti competed in the 1,100-mile marathon in 1994.
Andretti, who has wanted to run in both again, said he hopes to make an announcement in the next two weeks about which team he'll drive for at Indy.
LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. Terry Labonte (bottom right) leads the pack into theby CNBtrioval at the start of Sunday's Busch Clash non-points race at
Daytona. KEYWORDS: AUTO RACING