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Outside looking in Shelmerdine, others hope for chance to make 500Posted: Thursday February 13, 2003 1:23 PMDAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- As a crew chief, Kirk Shelmerdine was king of the Winston Cup garage, helping the late Dale Earnhardt win five championships and 44 races. His face adorned posters, reporters constantly sought him for interviews, and he often was interrupted by autograph hounds. "I had a very good life as a young crew chief," he said. Now a driver, trying to make the Daytona 500 for the second straight year, Shelmerdine can't get in the gate without showing a picture ID along with his credential. "I tell you, I kind of enjoy being anonymous," the 44-year-old said. "Since nobody knows who I am, I don't have the same problems as the other guys." That's probably the only advantage. Shelmerdine and a handful of other drivers share the same problem during Speed Weeks: their only chance of making the 43-car field for NASCAR's biggest race rest in the 125-mile qualifying races Thursday. Pole-sitter Jeff Green and Dale Earnhardt Jr. already have a spot in the race, secured after they paced qualifying earlier in the week. Most everybody else has a variety of ways they can get in, through their finish in the qualifying races, their speed from qualifying, or as a points provisional. But Shelmerdine and the other long shots only have the 50-lap sprints after poor qualifying efforts, since they're not part of full-time teams. They'll have to finish in the top 15 or go home early. "The pressure is always there," Shelmerdine said. "You know all you can do is your best, and that might not be enough." Former Daytona 500 winner Derrike Cope is in the same situation, although he's not as much of an unknown. He's made 13 starts in the Great American Race, including his victory in 1990. Driving for a new team that he owns, Cope was 47th in qualifying with a lap of 180.668 mph. "I'm starting in the back, so I'll have to make a couple of aggressive moves to get up into the pack and manipulate the other drivers into drafting with me," Cope said. "My car needs another one behind it to run fast -- it won't do it by itself -- so I'm going to have to have some help." He has reason to be confident in his ability to make it happen. In 15 qualifying races in the passt 17 years, Cope has finishe better than 15th on all but three occasions, even though he's rarely started near the front. In 1999, he charged from 27th on the grid to 10th. Only once has he had the qualifying speed or points to rely on, and both occurred in 1998. "Can you believe that luck?" Cope quipped. "Something I'd been hoping for my entire career, and I have them both in the same year." Turns out he didn't need either. He finished sixth in his qualifying race. David Green, Hermie Sadler and Mike Harmon will hang around the track even if they fail to make the Daytona 500. All are scheduled to run in the Busch Series event Saturday, but Green's still worried about his Winston Cup ride. He's driving a research and development Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports in about eight races this season. "To me, personally, Thursday's race is just as important as the Busch race," he said. "I know it's important to all of these guys working on this Winston Cup car. Hopefully, it'll work out." Cope has other worries besides simply getting in the field. He has limited sponsorship from Friendly's Restaurants for about 10 races, and he's trying to put together financial packages to run another 15. He's a full-service driver, too. Part of his off-track duties this week include providing Friendly's ice cream in the motorcoach lot, scooping it out of a freezer for anyone who wants some. "We just make sure everybody has plenty," Cope said.
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