Earnhardt’s Victory Is Wind-Aided

After drafting up through the pack with the help of Indy car driver Robby Gordon, NASCAR’s Dale Earnhardt made winning look routine Friday in the opening race of the 20th International Race of Champions series at Daytona International Speedway.

It was Earnhardt’s third consecutive IROC victory here and his fourth in five years. And it was his 28th of all kinds at Daytona, where he will start on the pole Sunday in search of his first win in the Daytona 500.

Each of the 12 drivers had an identically prepared Pontiac Firebird for the 40-lap, 100-mile race around Daytona’s 2 1/2-mile tri-oval. The only difference was in their colors. Earnhardt’s winner was purple.

Terry Labonte, one of seven NASCAR drivers in the 12-car field of identically prepared Pontiac Firebirds, led for 27 laps before Earnhardt and Gordon forged to the front three laps from the finish. Earnhardt averaged 187.793 mph for the 100 miles, fast because laps run under the yellow flag were not counted.

“Robby did a great job of drafting, pushing me to the front,” Earnhardt said. “I’m glad he’s not in the 500 on Sunday. He’s tough. I wasn’t sure I could stay in front until Robby and Tom Kendall started racing each other. That enabled me to go ahead to stay.”

Gordon, in his first IROC, finished second in the red car and Kendall, the Trans-Am champion, was third in the bright blue model after having led nine laps early in the race.

A yellow caution flag, brought out when World of Outlaws sprint car champion Steve Kinser hit the wall on Lap 30, sent Earnhardt, Gordon, Kendall and defending Daytona 500 champion Sterling Marlin into the pits for new tires.

Until this year, stopping for a tire change meant an automatic one-lap penalty, but the rule had been changed. Apparently some of the drivers, Labonte and Mark Martin in particular, were not aware of it.

“There were a couple of pretty heated comments in the garage after the race,” said Jay Signore, IROC director. “Terry and Mark were upset, to say the least, when the other guys got new rubber without any penalty.”

Gordon had been running near the rear of the field and Earnhardt not much farther ahead during the first 30 laps. Then, with new tires, Gordon took off, Earnhardt saw him coming and the two of them looked as if they were in a different race they moved so quickly to the front.

Earnhardt, the defending IROC champion, is trying to become the first driver to win three IROC titles. Al Unser Jr., who finished fifth Friday, and A.J. Foyt have each won twice. Earnhardt first won in 1990.

It was the first time Firebirds had been used for the IROC series. Previously, Porsche Carreras, Chevrolet Camaros, Dodge Daytonas and Dodge Avengers had been used.

Earnhardt, who had won his 27th Daytona race Thursday in one of the twin 125-mile qualifying races for the 500, said the most fun he had was watching Gordon and Kendall battle behind him for second place.

Marlin, like the others, did not pit when the yellow flag came out but when he saw Earnhardt’s car being worked on, came in the next time around.

“I didn’t think we were supposed to get new equipment, so I didn’t stop,” Marlin said. “Then I saw Dale’s car in there. I knew something was up, so I high-tailed it in too.”

Marlin finished fourth, giving the four tire changers the top four finishing positions. Marlin and Robby Gordon were in their first IROC, as was Busch Grand National stock car champion Johnny Benson, who finished ninth.

The IROC is a four-race series worth $760,000, of which the champion will receive $225,000. The next race is April 27 on the super-speedway at Talladega, Ala.