Earnhardt Has Bumpy Ride After Mistake by Cheever

Dale Earnhardt, who earned his nickname, “the Intimidator” because he wasn’t afraid to bump someone out of his way, got a couple of doses of his own medicine in Friday’s International Race of Champions at Daytona International Speedway.

First, the left side of his green Pontiac Firebird was partially caved in when fellow Winston Cup driver Jeff Burton turned into him halfway through the race. Because Burton and Mark Dismore’s cars had to be hauled away, the race was stopped and crewmen patched Earnhardt’s car with tape.

Then, two laps from the end of the 40-lap race for all-star drivers in similarly prepared Firebirds, Eddie Cheever lost control of his silver car and ran Earnhardt into the grass heading into the first turn. Earnhardt managed to save his car, but lost contact with the leaders.

Cheever, meanwhile, kept going and was racing side by side for the lead with Ricky Rudd headed for the final two turns when Dale Jarrett, seeing an opening in the middle of the track, powered his way between them and beat Rudd in a race to the finish line. Cheever was third.

As the cars rolled on around the track, with the race over, Earnhardt came up behind Cheever and punted his car into the infield.

“I’m just glad he hit my car, and not me,” said a contrite Cheever, who admitted, “I made a mistake and I apologized for it.”

When the cars returned to the pits, Earnhardt was waiting for Cheever, but with onlookers expecting fisticuffs, Earnhardt put his arm around the former Indianapolis 500 champion and gave him a bear hug.

“I was sitting in the car and this six-foot guy with a mustache that we’ve all come to know as the Intimidator came up and I thought, ‘I’m not even going to get to throw a punch here,’ ” said Cheever, representing the Indy Racing League. “He had every right to be angry.

“I was furious with myself that I lost it. I was concerned with trying to get by Kenny [Brack]. We sideswiped twice and when I moved over, I didn’t see Earnhardt coming on the inside.”

Jarrett, in the winner’s circle, was more interested in praising Earnhardt than he was in celebrating his first IROC victory.

“What a job Dale did,” Jarrett said. “He showed why he’s the greatest race driver in the world. Cheever put him in the grass and I don’t think anybody else in the world could have kept that car from wrecking, going sideways through the grass at about 180 mph. I found myself watching him when I should have been doing my own thing.”

Having been on both sides of similar disputes, Earnhardt said, “I told [Cheever] that it was over. He apologized. He said he didn’t mean to do it.”

Rudd was not as conciliatory.

“The guy’s an idiot,” he blurted out. “I don’t want to run again if that’s the way it’s going to be. I guess he whipped up on Earnhardt and spun him into the dirt and then came looking for me. It cost us the race, the way he kept beating the side of our car. Cheever was more about me than those guys behind us and it allowed Dale to win the race.

“There’s a big difference in doing this in Martinsville, Va., than at Daytona Beach, Fla. Let me put it that way.”

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In the Florida Dodge Dealers 250 for Craftsman Trucks, cagey old Joe Ruttman gave the dealers something to cheer about when he drove his Dodge pickup to victory, although he had to work overtime to nail it down. A late yellow caution flag prompted NASCAR officials to extend the race four laps to assure a green flag ending.

Before the caution flag, Ruttman, rookie Ricky Hendrick in a Chevrolet and Scott Riggs in another Dodge had made a three-truck getaway, and when racing resumed, the same trio charged toward the finish line together. When Hendrick, son of Winston Cup team owner Rick Hendrick, and Riggs battled over who would challenge Ruttman, it gave the driver from Upland, Calif., the breathing room he needed to win his 12th truck race.

Whenever Ruttman wins, he extends the series record as its oldest winner. At 56, he is older than Hendrick, 19, and Riggs, 30, combined. Before switching to trucks, Ruttman twice finished third in the Daytona 500 and 30 years ago was the U.S. Auto Club stock car champion.

The victory also made him the oldest driver to win a NASCAR race at Daytona. The previous oldest was Bobby Allison, 51 when he won the 1988 Daytona 500.