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Under scrutiny Twins 125 qualifying races decide more than lineupPosted: Wednesday February 13, 2002 4:45 PM
NASCAR will be watching closely to see if more tweaking of the aerodynamic rules is needed to even up the competition. "After Thursday races, we'll sit down and analyze everything like we have to this point and either leave everything alone or change what we feel we need to, to make Sunday the best it can be," John Darby, NASCAR's new Winston Cup director, said Wednesday. The rules have come under scrutiny since NASCAR came up with a new aero package last fall in an effort to slow cars down and make it harder to pass at Daytona and Talladega, its longest and fastest ovals. After complaints of a boring, single-file race here in 2000, NASCAR instituted rule changes that had the cars running three- and four-wide with passing throughout the field on virtually every lap. It was a great show, but most of the drivers said the racing was too dangerous. That prompted the latest changes, and adjustments are still being made. Ford got a quarter-inch reduction of its rear spoiler after struggling through winter testing in Daytona. There was some grumbling then, but NASCAR really drew angry reactions from the other car manufacturers last Sunday by cutting another quarter-inch from the rear spoiler of the Tauruses. That last cut came Sunday after two bad days for Ford.
Only two Fords were in the top 20 in Saturday's opening round of time trials for the Daytona 500. The Chevrolets of rookie Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick locked up the front row for Sunday's race. Dodge had Robert Pressley fourth and Ward Burton fifth, while Bobby Labonte was 12th in the top Pontiac, just ahead of Dale Jarrett's Ford. On Sunday, the Fords weren't very competitive in the 70-lap non-points Bud Shootout, with Jarrett's sixth-place finish the best for a Ford driver. Jarrett was nearly 4 seconds behind the winning Pontiac of Tony Stewart. "Even when we started last week, the competition was close enough that all it takes is a small hair to get somebody back in the hunt or put somebody on the other side of it," Darby said. The changes haven't made everybody happy. Dodge teams were particularly upset by NASCAR's latest rule change, noting that its cars -- very similar to the Fords -- still have a 6 1/2-inch spoiler while Fords are now at 6 inches. Chevrolets also are at 6 1/2 inches, while the Pontiacs are at 6 1/4. "Of course, we're extremely upset," said Bob Wildberger, senior manager of Dodge Motorsports' NASCAR Operations. "We've worked hard through two rule changes to prepare for the Daytona 500. "Where do we go from here relative to rule changes for Dodge? Bottom line: We're continuing to address those issues and will solicit equality with the changes that were recently made for our competitors." Darby said the complaints have quieted down since the weekend. "After Sunday, when we made the change to the Ford, the volume was pretty loud," he said. "Monday, we had all four makes in the wind tunnel. Although we're trying to make judgments off what we see on the race track ... maybe there's just a little question surrounding the Dodge." Darby said practice speeds don't tell the story because "with the right combination of cars in a single-file line, they can be misleading. "In a race, we're pretty secure that everything we're seeing is real and accurate. We've reached the point in Speedweeks where it's time to go. If you're not trying to fool NASCAR, but if you've been holding a little on the table to fool your fellow competitors a little bit, Thursday's the day when you've got to let it loose." With the top two starting positions for Sunday already in the hands of Johnson and Harvick under Daytona's unique qualifying format, position Nos. 3-30 will be determined by the qualifying races -- with 14 drivers advancing from each event. Positions 31-36 will go to the fastest drivers remaining from the two rounds of time trials and the rest of the 43-car field will be filled by provisional qualifiers, based on last year's car-owner points. Among the drivers who probably need to race their way into the lineup Thursday are Dave Marcis, hoping to make what would be a 33rd Daytona 500 start his last race before retiring. Marcis, 60, is 22nd on the speed list, which might not be good enough to get him into the race. "We've got the car working pretty good in the draft, so I think we'll be OK in the 125," Marcis said. "If something happens, I feel pretty good about our qualifying time."
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