THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 2, 1995 TAG: 9507020186
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BOB ZELLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines
When it came to the final shootout in the Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, Kyle Petty found a seventh-place finish in a jug of water.
Petty had run in the top 10 all day, advancing as high as third, in one of his best efforts of the year. But then trouble struck.
``I think the ignition went out when I was running fourth with about 20 laps to go,'' he said. ``I went in for a pit stop and they said Mark (Martin) had iced his down, so they threw me an ice pack and I iced it down. It ran on the restart and then started slowing down again. . . .
``It just so happened I kept a jug of water in the car with me - why, God only knows. I just took the top off it and poured it on the ignition box, and it ran the last lap. That's all I had to do. We did good to finish (seventh).''
MARTIN A SPECTATOR: Mark Martin, who won the superspeedway race at Talladega in May, could do little more than watch the powerful Chevys in this one, even though he came in fourth in the highest-finishing Ford.
``That's all we had,'' he said. ``It was just defensive driving, that's all. We didn't have anything for the Chevrolets. It's just unbelievable how much faster they were. . . .
``But we somehow managed to get a fourth-place anyway,'' said Martin, who, as mentioned, fought ignition problems. ``I'll take it today.''
JARRETT'S WOES: For the fourth time in five races, Dale Jarrett failed to finish. This time, his engine let go after 40 laps when he was running sixth.
``Something happened to the engine,'' he said. ``Boy, that thing was really running. I'd like to have gotten a chance to get up there and run with the Chevys. But it just wasn't our day again.''
Jarrett finished 42nd in the 43-car field.
BURNED PISTON: Bobby Labonte, winner of two of the previous five races, was an early dropout in the 400 after running in the lead pack. Labonte's day was done after only 48 laps with engine troubles.
``Burned a piston,'' crew chief Jimmy Makar told his driver on pit road. ``I guess we're out. Push it back to the garage, guys.''
Labonte, who finished 41st, said, ``That was our first one of the year. Can't complain about it.''
SPENCER SMASHED: When Jimmy Spencer parked his car after finishing ninth, the rear end was smashed. It was not something that happened during the race.
The post-race love tap came from Robert Pressley.
Both drivers all but ignored it.
``I guess I was so tied up in the race I didn't realize the race was over and I ran into someone after the checkered flag,'' Pressley said. ``I had a good head of wind going and I wasn't going to waste it.''
SWAY DELAY: After complaints from some teams, NASCAR changed its mind and decided not to ban the rear sway bar immediately.
``We're still evaluating it. For New Hampshire (next weekend), it's kosher,'' said Mike Helton, NASCAR vice president of competition.
The move to ban the part, which helps prevent the car from rolling onto the right rear tire in flatter turns, brought howls from several teams, particularly Hendrick Motorsports, while no one seemed willing to step forward to oppose it.
``If they ban it, we've wasted every test we've done this year,'' said Rick Hendrick, who fields Chevrolets for Jeff Gordon, Terry Labonte and Ken Schrader. ``Teams have been using sway bars since 1950, and you need them with the radial tire.''
In other technical news, NASCAR reportedly will give the Fords another 1/8-inch on the height of their rear spoilers, beginning with the New Hampshire race. by CNB