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Us vs. Them Chevy, Ford collide over new rules
Posted: Saturday February 19, 2000 01:56 AM
By John Giannone, CNNSI.com DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Dale Earnhardt's anger has drawn attention to a side of stock cars the public often doesn't see. The underside. "That's the worst racing I've seen at Daytona in a long, long time," said the 1998 Daytona 500 winner following Thursday's running of the Twin 125s. "They took NASCAR Winston Cup racing and made it some of the sorriest racing." This season, NASCAR mandated that all Winston Cup cars must have identical shocks and rear springs, leaving teams with little room to adjust the setup. Drivers in the redesigned Chevrolets believe their cars are harder to handle in the turns, and that has led to slower lap times and lower confidence. Yet NASCAR will not change the rules prior to Sunday's Daytona 500 leading Chevy team-owner Felix Sabotes to say, "Other guys have bazookas. We have a wooden knife." "I still believe these are the best mechanics in the world in here," said Mike Helton, NASCAR's chief operating officer. "And if they've got a dilemma in front of them, as long as they know what it is, they can go to work and correct it." That didn't keep Earnhardt from making his feelings known. "They took racing out of the drivers and crews' hands," he said. "We can't adjust, we can't make our cars drive like they want. They just killed the racing at Daytona." The opinions depend on who is driving which car. "You don't see how you can run with those guys on Sunday," says Jerry Nadeau, who drives the No. 25 car, a Chevrolet. "I mean, hopefully we can just get our cars a little bit better so we can stay with these guys. But as for right now, it looks like a Ford race." "It's funny they're complaining," countered Jeremy Mayfield, whose No. 12 car is a Ford. "They built it. Know what I mean? Our stuff stayed the same. We still got the same Taurus, changed the front and nose and what it looks like. And they took two years building it. And now they want to change our rules, you know? That ain't our fault." Of greater concern is the immediate impact of this alleged disparity. Specifically, that Sunday's Daytona 500, NASCAR's greatest spectacle, will become a boring, 43-car game of follow the leader, which is what happened during Thursday's qualifying races.
"At Talladega back in October, they didn't even need seats in the grandstand because nobody ever sat down and used them," said Larry McReynolds, crew chief of theChevy No. 31 car. "Yesterday [Thursday], you about needed recliners up there because fans could've taken a nap and not really missed a whole lot." "I'm not sure what exactly it was we saw yesterday," NASCAR's Helton said. "You know, sometimes [in] other sports you have an off game? Maybe that was one of our off games." But from the Ford perspective, confidence remains high for the event. "The 500 on Sunday, you'll have the best 43 cars in Winston Cup racing in the field, predicted Frankie Stoddard, crew chief for the No. 99 Ford. "And they'll be side by side. There'll be plenty of racing." Cries of foul in mid-February are nothing new to NASCAR as teams vie for any competitive edge. Two years ago at the Daytona International Speedway, Ford griped about rules it said rendered the new Taurus an inferior car. NASCAR stood pat and Ford finished with five carsin the top 10 at the Daytona 500. "It's nice to have more advantages," says Robert Yates who owns a pair of Fords. "They're crying for them. We've been in the same deal too. We've been there, knocking the door down, whining and throwing a fit. So it's their turn. It's going to be a good race, I'm sure." Richard Childress, who like Yates will have two cars running in the race, both Chevrolets. "You're here to win the Daytona 500," he says. "We want every chance we can get to try to be equal with everybody. It's their decision and we're going to just race under the rules." Another veteran and a Ford driver, Darrell Waltrip didn't hide his feelings about those on the side of Chevy. "It's not the shocks, it's not the springs," he said. "You've got to change your setups. Now, maybe those [Chevy] guys don't want to change their setups. It's easier to go in that red truck and argue about something and try to get something changed for everybody than it is to work on your own stuff." So, is there reason for a genuine concern or is this company posturing? CNNSI.com motorsports analyst Marty Snider says while it has taken Chevrolet longer to figure out its cars under the new setup rules, they ran much better during Friday's practice. "The Chevrolet's will be better and we will see a good race on Sunday," he said. Still, as Chevy crew chief McReynolds put it, trying to get these cars to go fast is like walking on a razor blade. Winning the Daytona 500 will not be any easier.
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