Front Row Not Always Best Seat in House at Daytona

Fifty-six drivers are scheduled to make an all-out charge of two laps around Daytona International Raceway’s 2.5-mile tri-oval today in hopes of winning the pole for the Feb. 15 Daytona 500.

Is it worth all the effort?

Apparently not, if recent results are an indicator.

Mike Skinner, a former truck driver from Susanville, Calif., won the pole for his last three races here, the 1996 ARCA 200, 1997 Daytona 500 and the Pepsi 400 last July. He has never won a Winston Cup race and from the pole in his two Cup races here, he finished 12th and 40th.

No pole-sitter in the past 10 years has won the race. Bill Elliott was the last to win from the pole, in 1987. That was also the year he set the track record of 210.364 mph, a figure that has no chance of falling today because of performance restrictions put in place the next year.

Skinner ran 189.813 to earn the No. 1 position last year.

“The way that 5 car [Terry Labonte’s Chevrolet] has been running, I don’t think we have a shot at the pole this year,” Skinner said. “But we’ve tested about like we did last year and we practiced about the way we did last year. You know, I don’t think we were one of the favored cars for the pole then, but it ended up happening.

“Who knows? Maybe we can upset the apple cart again.”

Labonte was fastest in practice Friday with a lap of 192.193 mph. He was running so easily that he skipped the final session. Skinner’s best, 190.428, was bettered only by Labonte and Rusty Wallace, in a new Ford Taurus, who ran 190.646.

“What is the value of winning the pole?” Skinner said, repeating a question. “Well, for a week you don’t have to fret about whether you’re going to get in the 500 or not, and you can do a little experimenting in the Twin 125. Of course, it also gets you in the Bud Shootout. That’s kind of cool.”

The Bud Shootout, a 25-lap sprint for 1997 pole winners, is Sunday.

“For the shootout, we’ll run the car we ran here last year, but for the pole and the 500 we’ll run an older car,” Skinner said. “We put a new body on an older car we had and tested them both. The old one drove better. It might not be as fast, but it’s more stable. That’s what you need for 500 miles.”

Skinner drives for Richard Childress, who also owns the No. 3 Chevrolet driven by seven-time Winston Cup champion Dale Earnhardt.

“I learned a lot as a rookie last year, especially about what to expect from other drivers,” Skinner said. Some welcomed me as the NASCAR truck series champion. Some of them were like, ‘Damn rookie, stay out of my way.’ And some of the others don’t like anybody, so it really doesn’t matter.

“I think this year is going to be 200% better, and last year wasn’t terrible. Our relationship [with Earnhardt] was a lot better than I ever dreamed it would be, not that I ever had a bad relationship with him. It’s just that as the year went along, we communicated better.

“And here’s my prediction for the year: If he starts out this year like he ended up last year, that 3 car will win another championship. He didn’t win a race last year, but he was in the top five. . . . That’s what we want, to be consistent. Finish high and win a race, like we did in Japan.”

Skinner won a NASCAR exhibition in November at Suzuka, Japan.

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Daytona 500 Facts

* WHAT: Daytona 500, first Winston Cup race of NASCAR’s 50th season.

* WHEN: Sunday, Feb. 15.

* PRELIMINARIES: Front-row qualifying, today; Bud Shootout for 1997 pole winners, Sunday; Twin 125-mile qualifying races, Thursday.

* WHERE: Daytona International Speedway, a 2.5-mile, high-banked tri-oval track in Daytona Beach, Fla.

* PURSE: $7 million, with $1 million guaranteed to winner.

* DEFENDING CHAMPION: Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet Monte Carlo.

* QUALIFYING: Today, two fastest cars from best of two-lap time trials will start on front row. Remainder of field to be determined by finishing positions in two 125-mile qualifying races Thursday.

* TV: Front-row qualifying, today, ESPN2, 11 a.m.; Bud Shootout, Sunday, Channel 2, 9 a.m.; Twin 125 qualifying races, Feb. 14, Channel 2, 7 a.m.; Busch Series 300, Feb. 14, Channel 2, 9 a.m.; Daytona 500, Feb. 15, Channel 2, 9 a.m.