No. 3 Takes Another Crack at Being No. 1 at Daytona

Once the province of the Southeast, a race for retired bootleggers and wild-eyed Carolina youths steeped in the rural back roads of Dixie, the Daytona 500, many say, has become America’s race.

With the tradition of the Indianapolis 500 being eroded in a divisive split between its major attraction--the leading drivers and teams--and its major race track--the Indianapolis Motor Speedway--they contend that NASCAR and its Winston Cup stock car series have become racing’s No. 1 attraction.

There are still good ol’ boys from North Carolina, such as Dale Earnhardt and Dale Jarrett, following in the steps of Richard Petty, David Pearson and Junior Johnson, who set the standard for NASCAR a few decades ago when if a driver wasn’t from the Deep South he wasn’t likely to land a ride.

But the ranks of today’s 42-car field for the Super Bowl of stock car racing are filled with drivers from every corner of the country--Ernie Irvan, Robby Gordon and pole-sitter Mike Skinner from California; Jeff Gordon and John Andretti from Indiana; Rusty Wallace and Ken Schrader from Missouri; Ricky Craven from Maine; Mark Martin from Arkansas; the Bodine brothers from New York and the Labonte brothers from Texas.

It is truly America’s race.

The cars are Fords, Chevrolets and Pontiacs, 3,400-pound racing versions of passenger cars running on America’s highways.

NASCAR’s television viewership has increased steadily. In 1995, NASCAR races had a total viewership of 120 million, a 25% increase over 1994, and last year it increased to 145 million. Forbes magazine calls NASCAR America’s fastest growing sport.

Daytona last year drew a 9.2 national TV rating; the Indianapolis 500 in May, which went head to head with the rival U.S. 500 the same day, drew only a 6.6.

“You look at what’s happening at Indy, with all the problems they’re having with their 500, this is the race today,” said Jarrett, last year’s Daytona 500 winner.

The atmosphere around Daytona Beach, a resort town where the roots of racing took hold in the early 1900s when daredevils set speed records on the beach, is reminiscent of the way Indianapolis was a few years ago. The hotels are bulging and streets are jammed with motor homes with out-of-state license plates, most of them displaying flags of their favorite driver.

At every intersection, from the beach inland to Daytona International Speedway, south to Orlando and north to Jacksonville, instead of panhandlers there are fans holding signs that read, “I Need Tickets for the 500.”

Only about 170,000 can squeeze into the track, and in the hours before the 9 a.m. PST start of today’s race, the question on most minds is can Earnhardt finally win the Daytona 500?

The Intimidator in his black No. 3 has finished second three times in the last four years, and in 1990 he led until the final turn of the final lap when a cut tire allowed Derrike Cope to slip by and win.

It’s about the only thing Earnhardt hasn’t won. In 18 years as a Winston Cup driver, he has won seven championships, equaling Richard Petty’s once seemingly unreachable record. He has won 70 times and finished in the top five in 249 of 542 races.

Even at Daytona, aside from the 500, he has a remarkable record. His win Thursday in a 125-mile qualifying race was his 29th at the track where he has had his biggest disappointments.

Earnhardt, after winning one of the 125s for the eighth consecutive year, will start on the outside of the second row, alongside Jarrett, winner of the other qualifier.

Twice, in 1993 and last year, Jarrett deprived Earnhardt of a 500 win. In 1993, after Earnhardt had led 107 of the 200 laps, Jarrett powered his Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet around Earnhardt on the final lap. Last year, in a Robert Yates-prepared Ford, Jarrett led the last 24 laps to edge Earnhardt by 0.16 of a second.

“There’s one big difference between last year and this year’s car, and his name is Larry McReynolds,” Earnhardt said. McReynolds switched from running Yates’ team to Childress during the off-season.

“Larry brings so much to the team. Not just leadership, but he’s so confident and he gives everyone else confidence. If you want to call him coach, or the president or whatever you want, he’s the leader of the team.

“It’s going to be a long, tough race, but having Larry on my side makes me more confident than ever before. Richard Childress went out and brought him to our team, so I’d like to thank Richard by winning this Daytona 500 for him.”

The front-row starters, who earned their spots by virtue of their qualifying speeds, are Skinner, a truck racer from Susanville, Calif., who also drives for Childress; and Steve Grissom, a journeyman Winston Cup driver from Alabama who didn’t even have a ride the latter half of 1996.

Skinner qualified his Chevrolet at 189.813 mph.

Neither is expected to be in the lead pack in the final stages of the race. Skinner is a rookie in his first Daytona start. Grissom, who dropped out of his 125 heat to save his car, has been in two 500s.

With drafting at a premium because of restrictor plates that equalize horsepower, the race may come down to teamwork, the Childress pair of Earnhardt and Skinner, the Yates pair of Jarrett and Irvan and the Rick Hendrick trio of Jeff Gordon, Ricky Craven and defending Winston Cup champion Terry Labonte working together.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Daytona International Speedway

DAYTONA 500

Time: 9 a.m. PST

TV: Channel 2

POLE-SITTER: Mike Skinner

TRACK LENGTH: 2.5 miles

RACE LENGTH: 200 laps, 500 miles

DEFENDING CHAMP: Dale Jarrett

RACE RECORD: Buddy Baker, 177.602 mph, 1980

QUALIFYING RECORD: Bill Elliot, 210.364 mph, 1987