#32 - Swervin' Irvan and the Second Generation
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04/19/2018 Matt McLaughlin |
(Editor’s Note) In 1997
- 1998, Matt McLaughlin penned a special Anthology of historical pieces in
honor of the 50th Anniversary of NASCAR entitled "50 Years of NASCAR
Racing." Matt has entrusted the entire collection, minus one or two that
were misfiled back then and cannot be salvaged, to my tender, loving care.
As NASCAR turns 70, the
Anthology itself will celebrate a 20th anniversary through 2018, and will run
again here on Race Fans Forever. As before, there is no record of which pieces
came first, so it will appear in the sequence presented earlier. Please, sit
back and enjoy as you take a journey back through the pages of history and
perhaps relive a memory or two.
As always, many thanks
to Matt, and God bless you my friend. ~PattyKay
One Goes Missing
Part 8 of the 10-part series on Daytona history is
missing from these files. The title is/was "Hendrick and Awesome
Bill." It pains me that I do not have this file for you, especially as it
falls within a large sequence, but such is life on the Internet. A file
permanently lost is just that, lost. It
was thought to be there; it was labeled as being there, but on opening the
files, one found a duplicate of the segment to follow and not the file
supposedly living under that link.
This one would have covered the four Daytona 500s from
1986 - 1989. Funny... I went to copy the winners from Racing-Reference.info and
found I didn't even need the page. I remembered each one immediately upon
typing the year. They are as follows...
1986 - Geoff Bodine (Won the race when Dale Earnhardt
ran out of gas)
1987 - Bill Elliott (Won the race when Geoff Bodine
ran out of gas. Benny Parsons finished second in the car driven in 1986 by Tim
Richmond)
1988 - Bobby Allison (Won in one helluva
battle to the checkers with son Davey. Following the wreck in Pocono in June,
Bobby has no recollection of this race or win)
1989 - Darrell Waltrip (Won when everyone else had to
stop for gas, most notably Ken Schrader... 114 laps led)
Yes, I have the entire series of Greg Fielden's "Forty Years of Stock Car Racing" and I
have at least the last three on tape, but even doing the proper research, I am
not Matt and it wouldn't be the same.
Please accept my apologies. It was not my error, and I
have no way of correcting it. In our journey with Matt, I know of at least one
more missing file, but bear with us. If you've loved the trip so far, it only
gets better.
~PattyKay
Dale Earnhardt must still feel his blood pressure rise
when he recalls the Daytona 500 of 1990, and who can blame him? For another
driver it was the high point of his career. Ken Schrader won the pole position
for the third straight year, every event since the restrictor plate was
reintroduced at Daytona. Schrader's luck turned bad in the first qualifier
however. A last lap crash wiped out the car and forced Schrader to a backup.
Geoff Bodine, debuting with the team owned by master strategist Junior Johnson,
used the "No Pit" strategy to take the win. Harry Gant, Mark Martin,
and Darrell Waltrip trailed the Budweiser Ford to the line. Crowd favorite
Richard Petty had brought the partisan crowd to their feet, by leading 14 laps
in the middle stages of the event, before having to pit and dropping to fifth
position in the final run down. While everyone knew Earnhardt was strong that
year, there was a big surprise in the second qualifier. Crusty old veteran Dick
Trickle took the lead on the 22nd lap and kept Earnhardt at bay. Finally
Earnhardt made it around Trickle with three laps to go, and a heartbeat later
Trickle ran out of gas. Trickle's car slowed suddenly and Bill Elliott who was
in hot pursuit to try to run down Dale, knocked into the rear of Dick's car and
sent him spinning. Elliott managed to finish second, a half second behind Dale.
Another surprise, Jimmy Spencer came home third.
A NASCAR decision set off a firestorm of controversy.
As most people interpreted the rules, Schrader having to go to a backup car
meant he lost his pole position and had to start from the rear. Indeed that had
happened to Cale Yarborough in 1983. But NASCAR decided while Schrader would
have to go to the rear of the field, he would retain credit for the pole
position. The importance of that seemingly quaint decision, was that the UNOCAL
76 Bonus, for a driver that won a race from the pole, starting at $7600 and
adding $7600 more each week until the prize was claimed, was up to $212,800,
substantially more than the prize money for winning the event. Dale Earnhardt,
who qualified second was incensed, voicing his opinion he should be the man
driving for a chance at the big pay day. You don't want to have to race with
Dale Earnhardt when he's angry. It tends to make him faster.
The green flag dropped for the 1990 Daytona 500 and
Dale Earnhardt got gone, storming into the lead and relinquishing it only long
enough for pit stops for the black jet posing as a Chevrolet race car. Equally
impressive, was Schrader who had started in the 40th position and was up to
second after the first 40 laps. Shortly thereafter, Schrader lost an engine,
and it seemed Dale Earnhardt was in complete control of the event. He did, in
fact, lead 155 of 200 laps including the white flag lap. Unfortunately, he did
not lead lap 200. Earnhardt had a clear advantage over Derrike Cope, who was
running a surprisingly strong second and thrilled to be there. In corner number
two, the infamous Chicken Bone Alley, Earnhardt cut down a tire, legend says
when he ran over a chicken bone tossed onto the track by a slovenly fan.
Earnhardt felt the tire deflating but with victory so close, didn't lift off
the throttle, in a desperate attempt to get back to the checkered flag before
the tire blew. He made it to the third corner, where the tire let loose and
Earnhardt headed for the wall. Derrike Cope slipped underneath him, with Terry
Labonte and a hard charging Bill Elliott in his wake. They finished in that
order at the line. Ricky Rudd finished fourth. In a bit of a miracle, Earnhardt
managed to keep his Chevy out of the wall, and came home a heartbreaking fifth.
The UNOCAL bonus rolled over two more races, and Kyle Petty finally claimed the
prize at $228,000, plus the $64,000 first prize check, and a Rolls Royce thrown
in by a grateful Felix Sabates, at Rockingham. Ironically that was more than
Cope won for the Daytona 500, even without the car.
New pit stop rules greeted the Winston cup regulars
when they paid their February pilgrimage to Daytona in 1991. Bill Elliott's
crew member, Mike Ritch, had been killed in a pit road accident, the last race
of 1990 when Ricky Rudd hit some oil and crushed Ritch into the side of
Elliott's car while he was changing a rear tire. To try to eliminate the danger
on pit road, new NASCAR rules forbade changing tires under caution flag
periods. Security was also extremely tight at the track that year, because the
United States was involved in Operation Desert Storm and there were fears of a
terrorist attack. Like during the fuel crisis, economic uncertainty about the
war had some companies reluctant to commit to a promotional expense like
sponsoring a race car. Thus, several good teams showed up at the Daytona 500
without sponsorship. In a patriotic move, RJ Reynolds arranged to have five
cars painted in the colors of the five branches of the armed services. The most
famous of course, was Alan Kulwicki in the Army car, but the others were Mickey
Gibbs with Air Force colors, Buddy Baker with the Marine colors, Greg Sacks
carrying the Navy sponsorship and Dave Marcis in the
Coast Guard car.
Davey Allison, who had earned the pole for the 500,
took the first qualifier race in convincing style, leading flag to flag. His
victory was sealed when a crash involving World of Outlaws star Sammy Swindell and road race ace Dorsey Schroeder bought out the
caution with two laps to go. Looking like the King of old, Richard Petty made a
daring pass on Hut Stricklin to come home second. Stricklin, who was running the Bobby Allison Motor Sports
car, gave his boss, who had finally returned to the race track after the 1988
Pocono wreck, something extra to cheer about. Dale Earnhardt led every lap of
the second qualifier, though Ernie Irvan made a gallant charge at the end that
involved a little beating and banging. Kyle Petty came home third.
The race proved to be an exciting one and relatively
incident free for most of the event. There were 21 lead changes in all, among nine
different drivers. Davey Allison and Dale Earnhardt led most of the race, but
Rick Mast, Kyle Petty, Rusty Wallace, Ernie Irvan, Joe Ruttman
and Sterling Marlin all took their turn at the front as well. Of course, if you
take all those fast drivers, mix them with worn tires because no one could
afford to pit under green for fresh rubber, add in the dwindling laps in the
race, the pressure of the biggest event of the year, and bake them in the heat
of the Florida sun, you had a perfect recipe for disaster. Things started to go
wrong on lap 185 when Robby Gordon (yes that Robby Gordon, late of team Sabco) ran into Richard Petty, wrecking both cars and
bringing out the yellow. Normally all the leaders would have pitted for fresh
rubber at that point for the final shoot out, but the new pit road rule forbade
them to do so. Rusty Wallace was making an impressive run, having reunited with
Roger Penske, who gave him his first ride in Winston Cup racing, for that
season. He took the green flag after the caution in the lead, but his tires
were so worn, Dale Earnhardt made quick work of Rusty, and Ernie Irvan followed
in Dale's wake. Kyle Petty tried to pass Wallace as well and slid up the track,
making contact with the Miller-sponsored car. That set off a nasty wreck that
also eliminated Darrell Waltrip, Derrike Cope, Harry Gant and Hut Stricklin. Petty was able to continue, but his car was too
torn up to hope to win the race. The green flag flew again with five laps to
go, and Ernie Irvan stunned race day favorite Dale Earnhardt by getting a jump
on him and passing into the first corner. Davey Allison tried to muscle past
Earnhardt as well, and as they fought over second, Irvan opened a comfortable
lead. Earnhardt was trying to go low on Allison when his worn tires caused Dale
to spin out and collect Allison in the process, putting Davey hard into the
wall. As Earnhardt spun down the track, Kyle Petty hit him head on. Earnhardt
was able to get his car pointing in the right direction, but Allison and Petty
had to be towed off the back straight. That bought out another caution and
Irvan limped to the finish line under caution, nursing a car that was cutting
out due to a fuel pick up problem. Sterling Marlin, Joe Ruttman
and Rick Mast (in only his third Winston cup start) finished 2-3-4. Earnhardt
recovered for fifth. Dale Jarrett, in his debut in the Wood Brothers car,
finished sixth, after surviving those wild last 15 laps. Alan Kulwicki had the
best finish of any of the armed forces cars, finishing eighth.
After the race there were some heated exchanges, with
Allison having some pretty pointed words for Earnhardt. Wallace was furious
with Kyle Petty and throwing around some $5000 words. Petty played the
peacemaker, saying none of the incidents were any driver's fault; the fault lay
with NASCAR's new pit road rules that had had everyone out there skating around
on badly worn tires. While the rules made pit road safer, they turned the last
fifteen laps of the 1991 Daytona 500 into a high speed demolition derby. Most
of the drivers echoed Kyle's sentiments, given a little time to cool off.
NASCAR tried several solutions, some more ridiculous than others, before
adopting the present day pit road speed limits to try to keep crew members
safe.
There had been a major game of musical chairs as far
as drivers' seats during the off season leading up to the 1992 Daytona 500.
Darrell Waltrip had left the powerful Hendrick operation to form his own team.
Dale Jarrett had left the Wood Brothers' team to drive for a new team owned by
Washington Redskins head coach Joe Gibbs. Morgan Shepherd had gotten the nod
for the Wood Brothers' ride. The move that had everyone talking, however, was
Bill Elliott, leaving his family team to drive for Junior Johnson. The
"Dream Team", involving the legendary car owner and driver, seemed
poised for a big debut at Daytona, as both Junior and Bill had had a lot of
success there. In a mild upset, however, it was Elliott's Junior Johnson stable
mate, Sterling Marlin, who edged out Bill for the pole. Elliott qualified for
the outside pole, making it an all Junior Johnson front row. Also evident on
pole day was that the Fords were going to be a force to reckon with. Dale
Earnhardt, who qualified third in his Chevy, was the only bow tie
representative in the front three rows. The other big story at the '92 Daytona
500 was the event marked the first race of Richard Petty's farewell "Fan
Appreciation Tour." On pole day,
the King, a seven time Daytona 500 winner, posted the tenth fastest speed.
The first qualifier that year was a shoot-out between
Sterling Marlin in his Ford and Dale Earnhardt in his Chevy. For the rest of
the field it was a battle of survival, as several jarring wrecks decimated the
field. Richard Petty was swept up in an early wreck that also ruined the
chances of Alan Kulwicki, Terry Labonte and AJ Foyt. Earnhardt took off after
the green waved again, but Marlin was able to catch and pass him. Earnhardt got
into the back of Marlin five laps later and sent him spinning. To Earnhardt it
was "one of them racing deals." Sterling had a decidedly less sunny
attitude towards the wreck. Kyle Petty and Dale Jarrett tangled later in the
event, giving Joe Gibbs his first taste of how tough a business racing can be,
as he watched a brand new car wiped out. Earnhardt took the win, with Mark
Martin second and Ernie Irvan third. Bill Elliott won the second qualifier, as
expected, but to do so, he had to hold off a determined challenge from Morgan
Shepherd and the Wood Brothers' Ford. Davey Allison bought his Ford on home
third.
At Daytona you have to have horsepower, you have to be
running at the finish and you need a car that can handle the high banks, but
some days what you need more than anything else is a little good luck. Such was
the case at the 1992 event. Sterling Marlin and Bill Elliott were easily the
class of the field, and dominated the race early in the going. A brief rain
shower bought out the caution flag, and when racing resumed Elliott and Marlin
were running side by side for the lead. Ernie Irvan tried to dive low and pass
them both at once going into turn two. The cause of the incident is still a
matter of considerable debate, though at the time Irvan received most of the
blame, but the outcome was vivid. The three cars came together, Elliott hit the
wall, and Katie-Bar-The-Door; the ensuing wreck seemed to go on forever as most
of the front runners were swept up into the mess. In addition to Elliott,
Irvan, and Marlin, Dale Earnhardt, Rusty Wallace, Mark Martin, Dale Jarrett,
Darrell Waltrip, Hut Stricklin, and Kenny Schrader
all had their cars seriously damaged. Alan Kulwicki and Richard Petty received
lesser damage and were able to continue, but their hopes for a win had vanished
in the clouds of tire smoke along the back -straight. Davey Allison deserved a
Harry Houdini award because he was right in the midst of things when the
accident started, but went high and cleared the wreck without suffering any
damage. Davey Allison and Morgan Shepherd battled for the rest of the
afternoon, as the wounded cars slowly began returning to the track looking like
Saturday Night modifieds, sans their front end sheet-metal. In the end, Allison
prevailed over Shepherd by two car lengths while Geoff Bodine, Alan Kulwicki
and Dick Trickle rounded out the top five. Ever gracious, Davey told reporters
while the Daytona 500 was the biggest win of his career, it had been more of a
thrill to finish second to his dad, Bobby, in the 1988 event. The 91st lap
wreck played a significant factor in that year's title chase. Had Bill Elliott
finished within 12 laps of the leader, a near certainty as fast as his car was,
he would have been the 1992 Winston Cup champion.
Some things never seem to change. Going into the 1993
Daytona 500, Dale Earnhardt was an odds on favorite to finally claim the one
race that had eluded him. However, on pole day it was Kyle Petty who took the
top spot. Kyle had a little extra incentive to run well that year. Car owner
Felix Sabates had offered Kyle a one million dollar bonus to win the Daytona
500. It seemed appropriate, in the first Daytona 500 since Richard Petty's
retirement, his son should claim the pole. For sentimental fans it was doubly
nice that the Dale Jarrett, son of two-time Grand National Champion Ned
Jarrett, started alongside Kyle on the front row. The new generation of drivers
was in control.
An even newer face on the scene stunned everyone by
winning the first qualifier race of 1993. Jeff Gordon, who had made his first
Winston Cup start at the 1992 season finale in Atlanta, passed Daytona Master
Bill Elliott on the 22nd lap of the event and never lost that lead, despite
Elliott's determined efforts to get around him. Bill Elliott finished second,
while Kyle Petty came home third. In the second qualifier, another second
generation driver by the name of Dale Earnhardt won the event, holding off a
hard driving Geoff Bodine. IndyCar legend Al Unser Junior made an inauspicious
debut in the Winston Cup series in a fourth entry out of the Rick Hendrick
stables. A cut tire on the tenth lap put Unser hard into the wall and relegated
him to 25th place. Fortunately, his qualifying speed got him into the big show.
Dale Jarrett, in his sophomore season with Joe Gibbs Racing, came home third.
Earnhardt showed he meant business that day, storming
into the lead on lap seven for the first time, and once again leading the most
laps of the event. His day was not without incident, however. Al Unser Junior
might not have realized it's wise, while at Daytona, to give a certain black
car with a big white number 3 on the side a wide berth. Unser had been making a
determined charge through the field when he and Dale got into a little argument
over the same piece of real estate in the third corner. A moment later Little
Al was spinning off the track and was struck by Bobby Hillin
Jr. Hillin hit the infield grass and shot back up
onto the track. Kyle Petty, who had led the event three times, and was indeed
looking like a million bucks, got on the binders but was unable to avoid Hillin's car. After the wreck, the pair had to be
separated, as Kyle gave Bobby about a million reasons why he didn't appreciate
being wrecked out of the race. Rusty Wallace, whose luck at Daytona is about as
foul as Earnhardt's, got involved in a savage wreck on lap 170 that sent him
rolling, his Miller entry shedding parts like a dog shaking fresh out of the
creek sheds water droplets. Miraculously, Rusty was not seriously injured in
the wreck that dominated that year's TV highlight wrap up shows. With 21 laps
to go, Dale Earnhardt retook the lead and was battling with three other
drivers, including Jeff Gordon, who was making a determined effort to win his
very first Daytona 500. Also in contention were Geoff Bodine and Hut Stricklin. Dale Jarrett seemed to come out of nowhere and
track down the lead foursome with only ten laps to go. Jarrett made quick work
of Bodine and Stricklin, then got around Gordon with
two laps to go and set his eyes on the rear bumper of the Goodwrench Chevy. It
was time to choose dancing partners to draft with for the final five miles.
Gordon stuck with Earnhardt, while Bodine chose Jarrett. Stricklin
was voting an even-handed "Either of the above", trying to hook onto
whichever pair seemed to be moving faster. Earnhardt was battling a loose race
car while Jarrett was able to hug the white line. Coming out of turn four to
take the white flag Jarrett got alongside Earnhardt, but at the stripe
Earnhardt still had him by a nose. Going into one, Jarrett swept into the lead
dragging Bodine in his wake. The Intimidator was able to get around Bodine on
the back straight, but Jarrett was making his Interstate Chevy awfully wide,
trying to prevent a pass. Earnhardt could see that tantalizing checkered flag
just ahead and tried every trick in his book. In the end though, Dale Jarrett
prevailed by a mere .16 seconds over his rival. It was a great finish, and like
any good show, the Dale and Dale act had a sequel a few years down the road.
Jarrett was ebullient but gracious in victory lane, saying that Dale Earnhardt
was the best driver on the track, which made winning the event that much
sweeter. In taking the 1993 Daytona 500, DJ was able to add one of the few
crown jewel trophies to the Jarrett family trophy case that had eluded his
father. Earnhardt was somewhat less gracious. "Big damn deal! I lost
another Daytona 500!" Earnhardt muttered to reporters while storming to
his truck.
Earnhardt was somewhat more gracious once he cooled
off. Ned Jarrett had been calling the race from the booth for CBS, and the
normally staid and professional announcer had grown so excited watching his son
battling for the biggest win of his career, Ned had sided openly with DJ and
was even hollering advice on how to hold off the other Dale from the booth, in
one of the more spontaneous and fun moments of television race coverage.
Afterwards, Ned Jarrett felt bad over what he felt was a lapse of
professionalism, and the next week at Rockingham he apologized to Earnhardt.
Dale winked and told Ned, "Don't forget, I'm a daddy too."
The countdown has begun to the 1998 edition of the
February Classic in Daytona. Another chapter will be written and added to the
race's illustrious history. There's no way to predict a winner in an event that
has known so many upsets over the years, but one thing is for certain. We'll be
talking about it for decades to come.
*Matt can no longer
field comments or email at Race Fans Forever. If you have comments or
questions, please leave them below and I’ll do my best to supply answers.
~PattyKay Lilley, Senior Editor.