THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 22, 1997 TAG: 9701220556
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BOB ZELLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. LENGTH: 53 lines
If there is ever a time NASCAR Winston Cup drivers do not have a lot of fun driving their stock cars, it is during testing at Daytona International Speedway.
``Especially with these setups we're running to try to gain on qualifying,'' Dale Earnhardt said Tuesday. ``We're bottoming out a lot and it's very awkward to drive and very precarious. I can't wait to get on race springs and race shocks and go racing.''
Instead the teams unload, run a few laps for a baseline lap time, then begin testing various equipment in a determined effort to get a few tenths of a second quicker.
Earnhardt, for instance, said he's gone through 60 shock absorbers in the two three-day tests here. He goes out, tests a set of shocks, returns to the garage, has a new set put on, goes back out, etc., etc. etc. It's not a lot of fun.
``I'm bored to death out there,'' said Jeff Gordon. ``All I am is just a computer chip plugged in the driver's seat who happens to be pushing the pedals.''
So Earnhardt and Gordon were among those who were happy to learn that General Motors racing officials had scheduled a special drafting session.
The primary reason for the drafting session was to allow GM racing officials to study the flow of air into the cowls, which are located just in front of the base of the windshield.
NASCAR has mandated a ``cold air box'' for every car in 1997. The box is actually a passageway that connects the cowl opening directly to the carburetor. Previously, there was no direct passageway for the air flowing through the cowl openings to the carburetor.
``In the draft, the air pressure at the base of the windshield will be reduced compared to when a car is running alone, so the engine might potentially get less air. We wanted to look at that,'' said GM engineer Terry Laise.
GM obtained computer numbers and oral feedback from the drafting session. ``We had a nine-car draft for one lap,'' Laise said. ``Most of the drivers said the draft felt pretty much the same as last year. But it doesn't look like its going to be any easier to pass. If anything, it looks to be a little harder because of the new rules.''
After the drafting session, the teams went back to searching for individual speed. But they didn't find it, at least compared to Monday.
Sterling Marlin took the top spot Tuesday with a late-afternoon lap of 187.793 mph, unseating Robby Gordon, who topped 188 mph on Monday. Gordon was second fastest at 187.746 mph, followed by Ken Schrader at 187.328 mph, Steve Grissom at 187.227 mph and Jeff Gordon at 187.180 mph. Earnhardt, who was sixth fastest Monday, tumbled to 20th at 184.373 mph.
John Andretti still has the fastest lap of the month at 189.458 mph on Jan. 15 in his Ford Thunderbird.