Dale Jarrett collected the biggest winner’s share in the history of auto racing, $2,277,975, for his victory in Sunday’s Daytona 500. Maybe he should distribute it equally among the 190,000 fans present in ticket refunds. No, the race was even duller than that. So maybe all 43 drivers ought to give the fans the total $10.4 million purse. Then again, it wasn’t really the drivers’ fault.
So how about NASCAR and Daytona International Speedway coughing up that $19 million in TV rights fees? Here’s how much of a foregone conclusion Jarrett’s victory was: Even after he was caught up in a crash in the final hour of practice Saturday afternoon and learned that his crew would have to repair or replace 40 percent of his Ford Taurus’ bodywork, he got “the best night’s rest I’ve had in a long time.”
That’s confidence in dominance.
Sunday, he gave fans in the stands and TV viewers the best afternoon’s rest they’d had in a long time with his third Daytona 500 victory, becoming only the fourth driver to win NASCAR’s showcase race more than twice.
With 42 of the 200 laps remaining, there seemed to be cause to awaken from the most sleep-inducing Daytona 500 in 35 years.
Under caution, darkhorse contender Johnny Benson got his Pontiac out of the pits in the lead by taking on only two tires, and held off Jarrett and a squadron of other Tauruses for 39 laps. Could there be a Cinderella winner in a Pontiac, after all the forecasts that this race would be a Jarrett-dominated dog and a breezy promenade of Fords?
Nah. Everybody was dreaming.
When Jarrett got good and ready, with four laps remaining, he blew by Benson with an aerodynamic push from Jeff Burton. From there, the Ford onslaught was such that in half a lap, Benson was punted all the way back to 12th, where he finished.
Fords swept the top five positions, with Burton second, followed by Bill Elliott, Rusty Wallace and Mark Martin.
The nightmare that Chevrolet teams had been predicting for themselves, because of severe aerodynamic disadvantages under NASCAR’s 2000 technical rules, came true resoundingly.
Chevys had won the past three Daytona 500s and six of the past seven. Sunday, Terry Labonte struggled to the highest finish for a Chevy, in seventh. Next best for the new Monte Carlo was Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 13th. Defending race champion Jeff Gordon’s Chevrolet developed an oil leak early, and he finished 34th, five laps behind Jarrett.
There were only nine lead changes all day, the fewest since there were seven in the rain-shortened 1965 race. And even the total of nine is deceiving. There were only four passes for the lead on the track. And three drivers led 193 of the 200 laps–Jarrett 89, Martin 65 and Benson 39.
Jarrett’s blast past Benson was the last of the artificial suspense Jarrett created during Speedweeks, when he came in as more of a lock to win than anyone since Cale Yarborough had no peer in the 1984 race.
Jarrett had at least left an overnight question as to whether his pole-sitting Taurus could be rebuilt into the same 190-m.p.h. juggernaut it was before the wreck in Saturday’s practice.
The front fenders, hood and rear bumper of Jarrett’s car were badly bent. What would have been considered cosmetic damage at smaller tracks was a threat to aerodynamic precision at 2.5-mile Daytona, where the draft is crucial.
Jarrett’s anxiety lasted for only a couple of hours Saturday night, until his crew chief, Todd Parrott–currently the best in NASCAR–told him the car could be repaired satisfactorily in time to start the race.
“Todd checked the car over, and when we saw the chassis was OK, he was pretty confident that he could get his people [three fabricators flown in from team headquarters in Charlotte] here early [Sunday] to rebuild the front end, put on a new left-front fender and repair the nose, the right-front fender and the hood,” Jarrett said. “The rear bumper was fixed last night.”
Clapping Parrott on the back after the race, Jarrett said, “Hey, when this man tells me everything’s OK, I believe everything’s OK.
“I was very confident when I left the garage last night. I walked over to my motor home, and [wife] Kelley had supper ready. I ate, and then lay down on the couch about a quarter till 8 and went to sleep. They woke me up at some point, and I got in bed. That’s the best night’s rest I’ve had in a long time.”
Starting from the pole, Jarrett took it easy at first and let teammate Ricky Rudd, starting beside him on the front row, lead the first lap. In what would be the only time one of the ill-handling Chevrolets led, Mike Skinner snatched the lead from Rudd on the second lap while Jarrett continued his brief shakedown cruise.
But “four laps into the race,” said Jarrett, “I knew everything was good, and made my way to the front.”
He led 85 of the next 86 laps, and even as he cruised and let Martin and Benson lead for a combined 104 laps in the middle stages, it was evident to all Jarrett could retake the lead virtually at will. He chose the 197th lap, just after a restart from a caution period.
After Jimmy Spencer’s crash on the 198th lap, the race finished under caution, but “it didn’t matter,” Burton said. “The ’88’ [Jarrett] would have won anyway.”
Sunday’s victory, coupled with Daytona 500 wins in 1993 and ’96, put Jarrett in elite company. The only other drivers to win NASCAR’s showcase event more than twice are Richard Petty (seven times), Yarborough (four) and Bobby Allison (three).
As Jarrett drove down the pit road toward Victory Lane, “Richard Petty came out and made his way across the pit road and shook my hand as I came by,” Jarrett said. “For the King to do that sent chills up my spine.”
At least somebody at Daytona on Sunday got chills up his spine.
42ND DAYTONA 500
At Daytona Beach, Fla., with starting position in parentheses, driver, make of car, laps completed, reason out (if any) and money won:
1. (1) Dale Jarrett, Ford, 200 ……………… $1,277,975.
2. (14) Jeff Burton, Ford, 200 ……………….. $840,825.
3. (3) Bill Elliott, Ford, 200 ……………….. $528,475.
4. (5) Rusty Wallace, Ford, 200 ……………….. $420,775.
5. (9) Mark Martin, Ford, 200 ………………… $326,175.
6. (13) Bobby Labonte, Pontiac, 200 ……………. $228,275.
7. (25) Terry Labonte, Chevrolet, 200 ………….. $198,625.
8. (6) Ward Burton, Pontiac, 200 ………………. $166,775.
9. (23) Ken Schrader, Pontiac, 200 …………….. $143,975.
10. (24) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 200 ………………. $182,875.
11. (19) Jeremy Mayfield, Ford, 200 ……………. $129,075.
12. (27) Johnny Benson, Pontiac, 200 …………… $119,975.
13. (8) Dale Earnhardt Jr, Chevrolet, 200 ………. $107,775.
14. (18) Kenny Irwin, Chevrolet, 200 …………… $120,025.
15. (2) Ricky Rudd, Ford, 200 …………………. $119,475.
16. (4) Mike Skinner, Chevrolet, 200 …………… $112,225.
17. (7) Tony Stewart, Pontiac, 200 …………….. $118,875.
18. (17) Robby Gordon, Ford, 200 ……………….. $99,725.
19. (15) Scott Pruett, Ford, 200 ……………….. $98,475.
20. (32) Robert Pressley, Ford, 200 ……………. $102,825.
21. (21) Dale Earnhardt, Chevrolet, 200 ………… $116,075.
22. (30) John Andretti, Pontiac, 200 …………… $113,725.
23. (29) Chad Little, Ford, 200 ……………….. $105,375.
24. (38) Sterling Marlin, Chevrolet, 199 ……….. $104,325.
25. (42) Kyle Petty, Pontiac, 199 ……………… $108,175.
26. (33) Stacy Compton, Ford, 199 ………………. $94,225.
27. (31) Dave Blaney, Pontiac, 199 ……………… $89,625.
28. (28) Rick Mast, Chevrolet, 199 ……………… $92,075.
29. (39) Kenny Wallace, Chevrolet, 199 ………….. $99,275.
30. (22) Jimmy Spencer, Ford, 197x ……………… $99,225.
31. (36) Steve Park, Chevrolet, 197 …………….. $98,275.
32. (43) Darrell Waltrip, Ford, 197 …………….. $89,325.
33. (35) Mike Bliss, Pontiac, 196 ………………. $88,875.
34. (11) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 195 …………… $106,100.
35. (20) Jerry Nadeau, Chevrolet, 195 …………… $93,450.
36. (41) Kevin Lepage, Ford, 195 ……………….. $93,000.
37. (26) Ed Berrier, Ford, 193, track bar ……….. $84,550.
38. (40) Elliott Sadler, Ford, 192x …………….. $92,100.
39. (10) Michael Waltrip, Chevrolet, 192x ……….. $91,650.
40. (34) Wally Dallenbach Jr., Ford, 174y ……….. $83,200.
41. (12) Derrike Cope, Ford, 169z ………………. $82,750.
42. (16) Joe Nemechek, Chevrolet, 131, oil ………. $90,300.
43. (37) Bobby Hamilton, Chevrolet, 68z …………. $90,100.
x-accident; y-handling; z-engine failure
Time of race: 3 hours, 12 minutes, 43 seconds.
Winner’s average speed: 155.669 m.p.h.
Margin of victory: Under caution.
Caution flags: 6 for 24 laps.
Lead changes: 9 among 7 drivers.
Lap leaders: Rudd 1; Skinner 2-4, Jarrett 5-33; Elliott 34; Jarrett 35-90; Little 91-92; Martin 93-157; Benson 158-196; Jarrett 197-200.
NASCAR Winston Cup points: Jarrett 185; J.Burton 170; Elliott 170; Martin 160; R.Wallace 160; B.Labonte 150; T.Labonte 146; W.Burton 142; Schrader; 138; Kenseth 134.
