Yates’ Two Cars End Up on Top

Robert Yates had mixed emotions when the 25-lap Bud Shootout ended Sunday in a wild finish before an estimated crowd of 100,000.

One of his Yates Racing Fords, No. 88 driven by Dale Jarrett, was the winner, Jarrett’s third triumph in two days during Speed Weeks at Daytona International Speedway.

Yates’ other car, No. 28 driven by Ricky Rudd, ended up upside down after sliding about 1,000 feet on its roof between the fourth turn and the finish line on the final lap. Rudd crawled out of the car and walked away, but the Ford was demolished.

“We had two on the top, but one was on the wrong top,” Yates said. “It’s Daytona. We love to come down here and run good. We think we’ve done our homework. Certainly being the pole-sitter allows us to work on our race set-up. To do what we did today, it was pretty awesome.”

Jarrett, after winning the Daytona 500 pole Saturday and running away with a 25-lap Bud Shootout qualifying race Sunday morning, charged to the front on the final lap to edge past Jeff Gordon for the checkered flag. Jarrett was third, behind Gordon and Sterling Marlin, going into the lap around the 2.5-mile tri-oval track.

The pivotal car turned out to be that of Bobby Labonte, whose late charge from sixth brought his Pontiac up behind Jarrett with a load of momentum that helped push the No. 88 car to the front. At the same time, however, Labonte was on the outside of Marlin, who had led for half the race, and when Marlin had trouble keeping his car in line, the accident unfolded.

First Marlin tapped Labonte coming off the fourth turn, knocking Labonte’s car into Rudd. Rudd spun into the wall and when his 3,400-pound car got airborne it flipped on its top.

“It was my fault,” Marlin said. “I had the wheel turned as far as it would turn, and I just took off and hit [Labonte]. The front end barely clipped Bobby and turned him around. I hate it happened. I hate it got those guys cars torn up, but that’s what happened.”

Ken Schrader’s car also was damaged when it was pinned against the wall as the field charged three abreast toward the finish.

After having to start 15th and last as winner of the morning qualifier, Jarrett’s surge past Gordon and Marlin with the money on the line gave further credence to the feeling that the Yates Taurus is the standout car heading into Thursday’s Gatorade 125-mile heat races and Sunday’s Daytona 500.

On Saturday, Jarrett qualified for the pole with a 191.091 mph lap, nearly a mile an hour faster than the second car, which was teammate Rudd’s. And Sunday morning, he made a shambles of a qualifying field to win by half a straightaway over Jeff Burton and Terry Labonte.

The Bud Shootout is for drivers who won at least one pole during last year’s Winston Cup season. The Bud qualifier is for drivers who were fastest on second-day qualifying who did not win a pole.

“Our car is awful, awful fast, especially down the straightaways and that makes a difference when you have that much engine and a good aero package,” Jarrett said. “Like I said yesterday, it’s a great feeling when your engines are built by Robert and Doug Yates and the aero package is done by Todd Parrott.

“And I’ve got to thank Bobby Labonte for actually coming up and giving me the push that I needed on the last lap to propel me out front.”

Before the Jarrett-Labonte train swept past, it appeared Gordon would win, giving hope that the Chevrolets might be competitive in race trim even though they came up short in qualifying.

“[Fords] have still got us a little bit on speed, but I think the 500 is won by handling and strategy and who can have good pit stops and who can get out front,” Gordon said. “Having a partner is critical because if you’re left out there all by yourself, you’re in big trouble.”

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Mike Ehret, the jack man on Mark Martin’s crew, suffered a bruised right ankle when Martin apparently lost his brakes during a pit stop and ran into Ehret.

“It all happened so fast, I just knew I was on the hood,” Ehret said. “I thought I was gonna hurt when I fell off because it’s a pretty big drop. The hood had a little give to it, but the ground didn’t. I’ll be back, if not Thursday, then Sunday for sure.”

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David Keith of Nashville, Tenn., with a Yates-built engine in his Ford, won the 36th annual ARCA 200 after the Shootout. He led the final 23 laps and averaged 130.695 mph. Bobby Gerhart was second and Bob Strait third as the race ended under caution after Shawna Robinson was spun out in tight quarters on the next-to-last lap.