Day at a Glance

Friday's NASCAR question: To plate or not to plate?

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Posted: Friday February 18, 2000 10:26 AM

Dale Earnhardt will be on the pole when the IROC opener gets underway at 2 p.m. AP

By Ryan Smithson, CNNSI.com

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The buzz around the Truck Series garage all week has been the mini-controversy about restrictor plates.

The trucks have been blazing around the 2.5-mile, high-banked tri-oval at speeds in the mid-to-high 180s without the draft and up to 192 mph in the draft.

NASCAR has repeatedly indicated that the trucks' speeds have reached their limit. They have the option of making the teams install the power-sucking plates right up to the green flag of the season-opening Daytona 250, which will get underway at 11 a.m.

But the Truck Series opener is not the only thing happening at Daytona on Friday. The IROC opener is scheduled to kick off at 2 p.m. Dale Earnhardt, who won three of the four races to win the IROC title last year, will be on the pole.

A scheduling conflict kept the CART drivers from participating in IROC at Daytona this year. As a result, the field will be almost entirely NASCAR-oriented; IRL drivers Greg Ray, Eddie Cheever and Mark Dismore will represent the open-wheelers.

Cheever is an IROC veteran. Ray, the defending IRL champ, has never driven a stock car at Daytona -- neither has Dismore. Both have been testing extensively to get the feel for the heavier, slower cars.

Storylines We're Following

Racing into the field Derrike Cope quietly qualified the under-funded No. 15 Fenley-Moore Motorsports entry by driving to a solid sixth-place finish in the second Twin 125. The 1990 Daytona 500 winner will start 12th on Sunday. Ed Berrier, a rookie, was able to get Junie Donlavey's No. 90 Ford in the field by finishing 13th in the second Twin 125. Veterans who missed the field include Geoffrey Bodine (the 1986 winner) and Ricky Craven, who finished third here in 1997. Stewart shows some speed Tony Stewart was slow all week until Thursday, when he finished fourth in the first Twin 125. Stewart's car drafted exceptionally well -- he went from eighth to fourth in the 50-lapper. He had the fastest Pontiac in the field. "The car is a lot better than it was two days ago," Stewart said. "It's a whole different race car, but we still need to find two-tenths of a second somewhere."

Our New Favorite Drivers

Robby Gordon The former CART star gained some much-needed respect by placing his car into the field and finishing ninth in the first 125. Gordon performed admirably under intense media pressure, which escalated after his much-ballyhooed scuffle with Tony Stewart on Wednesday.

Bandwagon

Bill Elliott Strong chance to win a race for the first time since 1994 IROC Bring Steve Kinser back -- and CART too Jack Sprague Will use experience to advantage on Friday Daytona parking $165 for an infield spot Weather Rain has stayed away -- so far The Bottom Line Rubbin' is racin' Watch out for some major accidents in the Truck Series feature, which will feature a lot of cautions, passing and hot tempers.   Related information Stories Stewart, Robby Gordon scuffle at Daytona practice Day at a Glance: All hell breaks loose Multimedia Visit Multimedia Central for the latest audio and video Search our site Watch CNN/SI 24 hours a day Sports Illustrated and CNN have combined to form a 24 hour sports news and information channel. To receive CNN/SI at your home call your cable operator or DirecTV. Copyright © 2000 CNN/Sports Illustrated An AOL Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you. Read our privacy guidelines.