Irvan, Earnhardt Win Daytona’s Twin 125 Races

The smile on Ernie Irvan’s face, and the sparkle in his eye, said it all.

Irvan, who wears a patch over one eye, the result of a near-fatal crash two years ago, returned to the winner’s circle Thursday after leading all the way in one of the Gatorade twin 125-mile qualifying stock car races for Sunday’s Daytona 500.

It was only the fourth race for the Salinas veteran since he returned to the Winston Cup circuit last season at North Wilkesboro, N.C.

“I won’t say I’m all the way back until I’m battling Dale Earnhardt for the championship,” he said. “The day I got hurt, that’s what I was doing. We’ll have to wait until August. Then we’ll know how far back I’ve come.

“But we had a great race car today. I held it wide open all day. If we can do that Sunday, I think we’re going to be pretty decent.”

There was a wild last-lap bumping duel with Ken Schrader before Irvan squeezed across the finish line a couple of feet ahead of Schrader, who was closely followed by John Andretti and Winston Cup champion Jeff Gordon.

“I don’t think the bumping made much difference,” Irvan said. “It was just tight racing. I hated to get some scratches on this car, but to get to victory lane is the important thing.”

It was his first win since May 1994 at Sears Point Raceway in Sonoma, Calif. He averaged 186.027 mph before a crowd estimated at 120,000.

Earnhardt, who will start on the pole Sunday, won the other race, for the seventh consecutive year, at an average speed of 143.039. It was his 27th victory at Daytona International Speedway, but he has never won the Daytona 500.

“Winning this [qualifying race] seven times is pretty impressive, even to me, but it’s really just one step toward winning the 500,” Earnhardt said. “That’s what we come here for, what we’re working for. I’ve just got to be patient. I feel good about Sunday’s race, but I’ve felt good going into the 500 before.”

Earnhardt and Irvan will start in the front row Sunday, not because they won the twin 125s, however, but because they were the two fastest qualifiers last Saturday.

Sterling Marlin, the defending Daytona 500 champion, led Earnhardt off the starting line in the first heat and was in front for 21 laps before Earnhardt powered past Dale Jarrett and Marlin going down the back straightaway.

“I wish we could have won the race, but you’ve got to hand it to Dale,” Marlin said. “We just never could make a run at him. When we’d get close, the other guys would get to racing and shuffle me back, or he’d make the back end real wide.”

Marlin finished second after passing Jarrett on the last lap. Terry Labonte was fourth.

The two races were rather boring, Earnhardt’s pass of Marlin accounting for the only lead change in 250 miles. Most of the time, the lead pack of six to 15 cars rolled along single file.

There was one accident, on Lap 40 of the first heat, accounting for Earnhardt’s slower winning speed. Bobby Hillin and Geoff Bodine touched coming off the fourth turn and wound up involving Brett Bodine, Kenny Wallace and Bobby Labonte, whose car flipped and rolled over. No one was injured.

The beneficiary was Kyle Petty, who was 20th at the time. With only 10 laps remaining, his chances of finishing 15th and qualifying for the 500 were looking dim, but when the five cars ahead of him crashed, Petty moved up and took the final transfer spot.

“In my mind, I was on the truck headed to North Carolina,” Petty said. “I had to use the emergency escape ramp to get into Turn 3 without hitting anyone, but I did, and I’m in the 500. That’s what counts.”