Fued over Fords

Six of the top 10 speeds Tuesday were Tauruses

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Ticker) -- Fords finally sped to the front of the field during Tuesday's Daytona 500 practice session as Mark Martin had the fastest lap of the day at 187.758 miles per hour in a Taurus.

This was the first session where the Fords were using a rear spoiler one-quarter inch shorter than what was used in the Daytona 500 qualifications and Sunday's Bud Shootout.

But, according to some Ford teams, looks are deceiving. They believe Martin's fast speed was the result of running in the draft. Six of the top 10 speeds in Tuesday's practice were Fords with just one Dodge in the top 10 driven by John Andretti.

"It may be more competitive, but I really don't think so," Todd Bodine said. "There weren't any Fords that could run at the front and lead the pack. We had to stay in the middle of the pack and have somebody behind us pushing us. It was just like it was in the Bud Shootout.

"I guess the quarter-inch is a little bone they threw out there and it didn't really help us. If you are in a Ford, you have to have somebody push you from behind. You can't lead by yourself."

Said Ricky Rudd: "We would like to know what we have now, but I guess NASCAR is taking a conservative approach and will run another race and find out. After we run the 125s on Thursday, you only have about 1 1/2 hours of total practice time between the 125s and the 500, so you are up against the wall at that."

The Dodge, Chevrolet and Pontiac teams continue to complain that Ford was given too much of a break with the reduction in spoiler height, but the Ford teams say that's typical politics. Many of the drivers in practice complained the Fords were all over the race track because the cars were loose.

"That didn't make us loose, the cars are still tight," Bodine said. "They are just looking to blame something and get another quarter-inch back."

But Ford team owner Robert Yates admitted that the reduction in spoiler height has made his Fords a little on the loose side.

"We need more traction," Yates said. "We can't afford to increase the drag. You always want that speed. We aren't quite right, but we are getting there. It's always nice to have plenty of traction and downforce, but I think it's who has the best chassis now, the best handling car and the best pit stops.

"If you get out of the draft, it doesn't have much suction to pull you up to the rest of the pack. I think whoever wins this race will be the best ones here. You can still wreck. You can wreck in practice. But you wouldn't come to watch the race if you knew who was going to win it. That's what it's all about."

 

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