THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, February 10, 1996 TAG: 9602100412
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BOB ZELLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. LENGTH: Medium: 56 lines
They didn't look any different to the casual observer, but the NASCAR Winston Cup cars practicing on the track at Daytona International Speedway on Friday were set up totally different than they will be for most of Speedweeks.
The cars are ``really a handful out there right now getting ready to qualify,'' said Dale Jarrett. ``The cars are 4-5 mph slower than last year, so they should be easier to drive.
``But the things we do to gain the speed back really make the car not drive good.''
On Friday, Sterling Marlin, the two-time defending Daytona 500 winner, and fellow Chevrolet driver Dale Earnhardt led the way, turning fast laps of 189.478 mph and 189.418. Rick Mast, in a brand-new Pontiac Grand Prix, was next at 189.278, followed by Ford drivers Dale Jarrett, at 189.207, and Jeremy Mayfield, at 189.016.
Qualifying for the first two starting positions of the Feb. 18 Daytona 500 is set for 2 p.m. today. It is scheduled to be broadcast on ESPN at 8 p.m.
``It's no secret the way people have made these cars go faster - by softening the springs in the car,'' Jarrett said.With softer springs, the car sits lower and cuts through the air better.
``But the car moves around a lot more,'' Jarrett said. ``It's up and down and side to side. It's not like it is getting ready to wreck. But we usually have 3.5 inches of shock (absorber) travel in the back. Right now, it's closer to 5 inches.''
Said Marlin: ``You've got some weird stuff on these cars right now. We've got real soft springs to get the car down out of the air and tricked-up shocks to hold it down. Those things will be gone on Monday.''
The track was busy Friday, but the hard fact is that most teams did not expect to learn much that they already didn't know.
``Everybody is just trying to get a clean lap and see what they've got,'' said Ernie Irvan.
Jarrett said he expected the pole to be won at about 188.5 to 189 mph. He won the pole last year at 193.498 mph, but speeds are slower because of a new NASCAR rule that effectively lowers engine compression.
``We'll get back to a race setup after Saturday and things will be pretty much back to normal after then,'' he said.
The only crash of the day happened in the morning session when a fire broke out in Brett Bodine's car and he hit the wall after being blinded by the fire extinguisher chemicals circulating in his Ford.
``It was pretty bad inside, heat-wise and the fact that I couldn't breathe'' Bodine said. ``No burns, I just took in a lot of smoke and chemicals.'' by CNB