THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, February 10, 1997 TAG: 9702100148
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BOB ZELLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. LENGTH: 65 lines
Sunday was a great day for a Winston Cup race at Daytona International Speedway. Too bad the fans didn't see one.
In the final laps of the Busch Clash on a pleasant Florida afternoon, Jeff Gordon led a nose-to-tail procession around this 2.5-mile speedway with nary a hint of a pass.
There wasn't even a feint for a pass in the final lap as Gordon drove his Chevrolet Monte Carlo across the finish line 0.13 seconds ahead of Rusty Wallace's Ford Thunderbird. Dale Earnhardt was third in a Chevrolet, followed by Ward Burton in a Pontiac Grand Prix and Ernie Irvan in a Ford.
Mark Martin was sixth, followed by Dale Jarrett, Ricky Craven, Johnny Benson and Jeremy Mayfield.
In the first 10-lap segment, Gordon started 13th and finished 12th in the 14-car field. The field was inverted for the second 10-lap segment, so Gordon started third.
On the restart, he jumped in behind leader Bobby Labonte and then darted past him on the second time around. And that was that.
``I knew the restart for the last 10-lapper really was going to be critical,'' Gordon said. ``I got a great start. I gave Bobby Labonte a good push and then I got by him. Once all the cars get in line like that, it's hard to pass.''
Judging from the comments of other drivers, Gordon understated the problem.
``It was the worst I've ever seen, I believe,'' said Terry Labonte, who led the first segment from flag to flag and then finished 11th in the finale. ``You can't pass. It seems like you saw more passing and racing than you do this year. Once you lose your momentum, it takes you three laps to get it back.''
Said Earnhardt: ``Nobody could do nothing. If you could pull out and pass, it would be all right, but if you can't get them. . . . It's not fun.''
The dissenting opinion was offered by Wallace: ``I think once we get in the 500 and stuff starts moving around, I think it will be a lot better. Heck, I passed 10 cars in half a front straightaway, so it can be done. You've just got to have the right opportunity.''
Said Martin: ``If that had been a long race, I could have kept going and kept passing cars. I passed quite a few good cars, and that's something that's pretty hard to do right now under the conditions. It was a poorer passing environment than I expected.''
Gordon was not aggressive in the first segment but said he did not sandbag to get a good starting spot in the second.
``I didn't lay back on purpose,'' Gordon said. ``I saw there was no way I was going to get to the front. I probably would have made a few more positions up, but I had to watch that black 3.''
Earnhardt, the driver of the black No. 3 Chevy, went backward in the first segment and finished one spot behind Gordon.
``I didn't want him to get on the front row and run away and hide,'' he said.
The race lasted 16 minutes, 11 seconds. There were no spins or crashes, and the only pass for the lead was Gordon's pass on Bobby Labonte on the 11th lap. Gordon and car owner Rick Hendrick won $54,000 out of a $370,000 purse. ILLUSTRATION: ASSOCIATED PRESS
[Color Photo]
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Jeff Gordon's 12th-place finish in the first segment put him in
position to win the second - and the grand prize.