Daytona 500 2000 - Like father, like son in Junior's Twin debut

Like father, like son in Junior's Twin debut
by Ron Buck, ESPN.com

Thursday, Feb. 17
What you saw today from Dale Earnhardt Jr., is what a lot of people hope they see in 34 point races this season -- that he can be competitive and race his way to the front.

The neat thing about his car today was 95 percent of the guys said their car was tight all day. Earnhardt Jr.'s car was actually loose. Tony Eury, Sr., told me that the team actually went back and looked at notes from as far back as 1994 when Earnhardt's father was still running Busch races at Daytona. That helped them find a setup. And Wednesday in practice, Junior told him they'd found something he liked.

Junior's Chevrolet was actually loose where other guys were tight in the race. His car was handling better than anyone's out there. Most cars out there weren't struggling to get around the corners -- plowing to the right. Earnhardt Jr.'s car was actually going the other way and easier to handle. And loose is fast -- at any track.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla -- It was a patented Dale Earnhardt move. Hard-charging down the backstretch, finding room on the bottom of the track where none seemed available, passing two cars as the leaders roared into the high banking of Turn 3 at Daytona International Speedway.

Only this wasn't the Intimidator at work, but rather the "Imitator" passing both Michael Waltrip and Joe Nemechek. And on a day of Twin 125 racing that offered little true racing, "Little E" proved to one and all that you could pass -- and in a Chevrolet, no less.

"Well, you watch enough races and watch (my father) do enough things, you kind of figure it out on your own as you go," Earnhardt said.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., did more passing than anyone in either Twin 125 on Thursday. The most celebrated rookie of the Class of 2000 lived up to all the preseason hype on this afternoon, going from 11th to fourth in a matter of 50 laps. But it was the pass that vaulted him from sixth to his final finishing position that raised more than a few eyebrows.

"They all bottled up in Turn 2 and I got a run on Nemechek. It was something I really wasn't looking forward to. The last thing I wanted to do was leave him by himself and not be able to help him, and Michael, too," Earnhardt Jr., said. "It seemed like their cars just went away after about 25 laps. I couldn't stand to sit back there and help 'em and try to draft with 'em. I thought it would be a good time to advance our position.

"They got bottled up and I just went to the bottom. I got a little help from (Waltrip), but he was unable to follow through. We were clear by Turn 3."

Earnhardt's move came with under 20 laps remaining. He steadily closed the gap on a three-car pack of leaders and made a few challenges at Ward Burton, but with more to lose than gain, he settled in behind wire-to-wire winner Ricky Rudd, Mike Skinner and Burton all the way to the checkered flag.

"My car was good enough to race some of 'em up there. But with Ricky towing us like he was, it was kind of tough to get runs on Skinner or Ward," Earnhardt said. "I didn't want to make a mistake. I thought we were handed something special just to finish in the top five. I was pretty happy with that.

"I was hoping just to finish 15th, but we were lucky. We were very lucky. But it feels really, really good. Especially to have such a good starting spot. I was worried all week long, sick to my stomach."

A fourth-place finish in the 125 doesn't figure to chase all the butterflies for the 500, but his fourth-place finish actually means Earnhardt Jr., will start his first Daytona 500 in front of his father. Junior starts on the outside of Row 4, while his seven-time Winston Cup champion father and winner of the '98 Daytona 500 finished 11th in the first Twin 125 and will start back on the inside of Row 11.

How long does "Little E" see that remaining the case on Sunday?

"I doubt we can keep him back there," Earnhardt, Jr. said. "They'll figure it out to get that car running better on long runs. And we'll have to contend with a lot of other guys behind him."

"THEY SAID IT"
Dale Earnhardt "That's the worst racing I've seen at Daytona in a long time. They took NASCAR Winston Cup racing and made it some of the sorriest racing. They took racing out of the hands of drivers and the crews. They took good racing and turned into this. This is a joke" -- Earnhardt on the rules changes effect on the Twin 125s.	Jeff Gordon "I can't say we're as competitive as I hoped we'd be, but if I had started a little more toward the front, I think we might have been a little more competitive with them. There's a few things we can still do." --Jeff Gordon after finishing sixth in the first Twin 125.	Dave Marcis "I'll be here next year. I'll get in anything. I want to start my 33rd Daytona 500. I'll get in a wheelbarrow if they will put it in. I gave it my best shot. I was sitting in a position where I should have made it." --Marcis after finishing 17th in the second Twin 125.

Marcis' streak about to end
Barring a last-second surprise, Dave Marcis will miss his first Daytona 500 since 1978.

Marcis' 32-year string of consecutive starts probably came to an end when he finished 17th in the second qualifying race Thursday, not high enough to make the top 36 in the field.

The 58-year-old driver is no longer eligible for one of the seven provisional spots in the lineup. The only way he'll make the field would be in the unlikely event he finds an owner willing to change drivers in midstream.

"There are a lot of good sponsors here that have good cars in the race," he said. "Maybe they want a veteran in there."

Others who missed the field included the Bodine brothers, Brett and Geoffrey, the 1986 Daytona 500 champion.

But it seems there will be no more noteworthy driver missing than Marcis, who will probably remain tied with Richard Petty for the most career starts (32) in stock-car racing's premier event.

"It's a big disappointment," Marcis said. "It's going to be tough even watching it. I don't know what I'll do. I guess I'll go home if I don't find a ride."

Disappointed Dale
Dale Earnhardt also had an impressive streak stopped. The Intimidator failed to win a qualifying race for the first time since 1989.

As disappointing as that may have been, it was the state of the new Chevrolets and NASCAR's new shock and suspension rules that had Earnhardt fuming after the race.

"It's a joke to have to drive a race car under those conditions, to take the crew chief and the driver out of it, just throw some springs in and 'go boys,' " Earnhardt said. "That's all you've got. The cars that have the best aerodynamic advantage are going to win. It's a damn joke to have to race like this."

Earnhardt, who has 33 total victories at Daytona, including 12 in the qualifying races, will start 21st in the Daytona 500.

"I heard he's pretty hot," said Ricky Rudd, winner of the second qualifying race. "He's a guy who obviously ought to know something about it. It's a very fine line. It used to be that you just put the shocks on and you were in business, but now you've got to think a little bit more on the deal."

Earnhardt's teammate, Mike Skinner, finished second behind Rudd and will start fourth in the 500.

Viagra car can't keep up
It happens to a lot of other race cars. Really.

Rookie Jeff Fuller's car, sponsored by Viagra, finished 25th in the first qualifying race, not good enough to make the field for Sunday's race.

Viagra is a first-year Winston Cup sponsor.

Joe's second chance
A day after NASCAR officials disallowed his time for running with an illegal tire setup, Joe Nemechek recorded the fastest speed among those still trying to qualify for the Busch Grand National Series race.

Nemechek sped around the 2.5-mile Daytona oval at 187.141 mph and will start the NAPA Auto Parts 300 in the 26th spot Saturday, the best position available during second-day qualifying.

"Yesterday was kind of a tough day for the whole crew," Nemechek said. "We just want to make sure it gets back through inspection OK and we're ready to race."

Nemechek drove a 189.255 mph lap Wednesday, nearly a full 2 mph faster than second-place qualifier Hut Stricklin. NASCAR tested the car for nearly two hours and determined Nemechek's car fell outside the parameters of its weight distribution requirements.

The car passed muster Thursday and is the third fastest car in the field behind Stricklin (187.336 mph) and second-place qualifier Ron Hornaday (187.289).

ESPN.com news services contributed to this report.

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