Daytona Twin 125s : A Block Helps Elliott; Earnhardt Wins Easily

Bill Elliott got some unexpected help in the slingshot maneuver that carried him past Bobby Allison and on to victory in one of the 7-Eleven twin 125-mile qualifying races Thursday at Daytona International Speedway.

Guess who was there to help him?

Davey Allison, Bobby’s 24-year-old son.

Dale Earnhardt didn’t need help from anyone in the second 125-miler as his Chevrolet led 33 of the 50 laps, including the final 13.

The Allisons aren’t going to make “Family Feud,” however, because Davey wasn’t trying to help Elliott, it just sort of happened. And Daddy said he thought the boy had “played it heads up.”

On the last lap of the 50-lap race, Bobby Allison’s Buick was leading Elliott’s Ford--both of them were far ahead of the others--when they came up behind Davey, who was two laps behind.

Davey tried to keep his Chevrolet low on the track, allowing the much faster leaders to pass on the high side. Before they could catch him, though, Davey was approaching the third turn in an ill-handling car, the result of an early accident in which the front spoiler had been damaged.

Fearful of losing control of his car, Davey swung up on the banking, a maneuver that in effect blocked his father and allowed Elliott to sweep through the opening to take the checkered flag by a car length.

Elliott and the elder Allison had differing views of how much difference Davey really had made.

Elliott said: “I don’t know if I could have won without Davey’s help. It would have been awful tough. I kind of doubt if I could have passed Bobby on my own.”

Allison disagreed. “Bill was just sitting there playing with me,” he said. “All Davey did was make Bill use the back barrel. As a matter of fact, Bill would have blown my doors off if Davey hadn’t been there. I think Davey handled himself very well.”

Most observers among the estimated 75,000 probably would agree with Allison’s estimate. It did appear as if Elliott, last year’s Daytona 500 winner, was just sitting there waiting to spring his trap with Daytona’s famous slingshot maneuver.

“I wasn’t trying to help or hurt anyone,” explained Davey. “I knew if I tried to stay down low, with the car acting the way it was, that I could cause some trouble. I knew I had to get up where the car was more stable, and it just happened that Bill was in the right place when I went high.”

Even though Elliott won the first heat, repeating his performance of last year, NASCAR has achieved some parity among the American manufacturers. At one point, the first five cars were different models: Neil Bonnett in a Chevrolet Monte Carlo, Bobby Allison in a Buick LeSabre, Terry Labonte in an Oldsmobile 88, Elliott in a Ford Thunderbird and Richard Petty in a Pontiac Grand Prix.

Thursday’s races determined how the field will line up behind Elliott and Geoff Bodine in Sunday’s 28th annual Daytona 500. Elliott and Bodine, who finished second behind Earnhardt in the qualifying race, won positions on the front row in last Monday’s time trials, but the others had to race for their starting spots.

Earnhardt was as dominating in his heat as he was in winning the 50-mile Busch Clash last Sunday. When Bodine tried to challenge him on the final lap with a slingshot move, Earnhardt drove away from him.

“It’s harder to draft this year because of the different air flow from the GM cars,” Earnhardt said. “Last year, the air flowed over the top of the second car and helped the following car. This year it comes down the back of the lead car and hits the front of the trailing car.”

Earnhardt moved from seventh to first in less than two laps, a point not lost on Elliott, who was watching.

“That’s pretty fast, no matter what’s happening, to make a move like that against good cars,” Elliott said. “After the way he ran in the Clash and came back strong today, it looks like he’s really got things hooked up.”

Earnhardt credited his quick move to changing all four tires.

“Most of the guys changed just two,” he said. “We changed all four. That’s why we were in (the pits) a little longer, but I think that helped us.”

Bodine complained that oil from Earnhardt’s car had been blowing onto his windshield, obscuring his vision.

“I have no excuses--I made a mistake in backing off,” Bodine said. “But oil was spraying all over my car. Still, I think I learned something that will help Sunday. I backed off to get a run at him and I should have stayed up closer before I made a move. I’d like to run those last two laps over again.”

Harry Gant, who led briefly in mid-race before finishing eighth, also said he had been bothered by oil from Earnhardt’s car.

“I flat couldn’t see,” Gant said. “Oil was coming from somewhere, from Dale’s car or somewhere on the race track. The oil and the sun just blinded me. I had to back off because at one point I nearly ran over Earnhardt. All I could see was the top of the grandstand.”

Cale Yarborough, a four-time 500 winner who had to start at the rear of the field in the second heat because he destroyed his qualified car in an accident late Tuesday afternoon, moved from 30th to finish seventh.

Yarborough, though, was not pleased at the performance of his backup car.

“It (the backup car) was worse than I expected,” he said. “It just didn’t work good at all. We put a lot of work into our new car to run in the 500. Running our backup car is kind of like running a short track car at Daytona. It doesn’t handle, run or cut through the wind like the other car.”

Yarborough crashed Tuesday when he slid in an oil slick left by Bobby Hillin’s car after its engine blew while going through the second turn during practice.

It appeared early Thursday that Yarborough’s luck had not changed. When Phil Barkdoll hit the wall in the first lap, Yarborough’s Ford was rammed from the rear in the melee, forcing him to pit twice during the caution period.

“That didn’t bother me near as much as the car,” he said. “It just isn’t up to the other one.”

Defending Winston Cup champion Darrell Waltrip, who had to start in 16th place after a poor qualifying effort, showed substantial improvement by moving up to finish third.

“It got a bit hectic early on, but I’ve learned at Daytona that if things don’t come right away, then don’t force it,” Waltrip said. “I just hung in there and moved up.”

Waltrip will start from the third row Sunday in attempting to win his first Daytona 500.

Indy-car veteran Pancho Carter, who ran a record 212.583 m.p.h. last May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, squeezed into Sunday’s 500 with a 15th-place finish in the second heat. Only the first 15 finishers in each heat automatically qualified for Sunday’s $1.5-million race.

“I knew we were on the bubble and had to beat (Ernie) Bierschwale to make it,” Carter said. “I couldn’t handle him until Buddy Arrington came along and I got his draft.

“Thank goodness the race was only 50 laps,” Carter added. “I’ve got the flu so bad I couldn’t have lasted 200 laps.”

There was little to choose between Elliott and Earnhardt from their winning speeds. Elliott averaged 153.636 and Earnhardt 153.270.

The International Race of Champions will take the spotlight in today’s Speed Weeks program, matching 12 drivers from different forms of racing in a 100-mile race. All will drive Chevrolet Camaros, as identically prepared as possible.