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Wet 'n' wild Rainy crashfest decimates start of The Winston
Updated: Monday May 21, 2001 8:29 AM
By Mike Fish, CNNSI.com CONCORD, N.C. -- Billed as the sport's all-star event, The Winston opened with pre-race introductions that would have made the World Wrestling Federation proud. There was enough glitz and showmanship to last a full season. Then, it turned into a demolition derby. And a waiting game, as in an almost two-hour rain delay. In the end, Jeff Gordon returned from the skirmish in his backup car to match the late Dale Earnhardt as the only three-time winner of The Winston. Gordon proved again that he's a money driver, pocketing a half-million dollars. He also offered up an accurate statement after a first-lap crash cost him his primary car, saying: "If we can use the backup and win this thing ... boy, wouldn't that be a story.'' Indeed.
No sooner had the green flag dropped than the skies opened. As rain fell and lightning circled the Lowe's Motor Speedway, Tony Stewart and Steve Park spun their wheels and nearly lost control -- and that was coming across the start line. By turn 2, the 70-lap sprint turned into a sloppy mess that sent a pack of cars into a pileup. Pole-sitter Rusty Wallace lost traction and barely missed the concrete wall. Gordon wasn't so fortunate, spinning out and getting hammered on the driver's side by the oncoming Michael Waltrip. "I was first to the corner and first through all the rain,'' Wallace said. "I went in there and it took off. Once I got it straight, I looked in my mirror and saw a lot of spinning and crashing.'' For many, it was a helpless feeling. "That thing went sideways so quick I don't know what happened,'' Gordon said. "It didn't look like it was raining that hard when we took green. But when we got down there it was.'' It's an all-star deal, right? And the idea is to put on a show for the 120,000 in the stands. So, NASCAR fudged its rules a bit and said the four cars damaged in the pileup could bring out a backup car after the rain delay. Some teams used the time to change engines. No points were at stake, anyway. This was just a race for pride and, if lucky enough to cross the finish line first, a $500,000 paycheck. Nobody seemed to have a problem with NASCAR's liberal interpretation of the rules, but a few drivers second-guessed the decision to start the race under threatening conditions. "That's alright by me,'' said Dale Jarrett, who avoided the pileup. "This is a different race. It wasn't [the drivers] fault the race track was wet. They sent us out to go racing.'' Waltrip was most critical of the move. "We got to the turn and 20 of the best car drivers in the world almost wiped out,'' said Waltrip, the Daytona 500 champion. "NASCAR was hasty to start the race. It seems we started the race on a wet track.'' In summing it up, Dale Earnhardt Jr. said: "It was the craziest thing I have ever seen ... all the cars sliding up the racetrack.''
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