NAPA 500
Atlanta, GA, November 21st, 1999
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NAPA 500 |
First off, though, all due repect to Alan, Joe and Mike for their efforts last week, but it felt good to be back with Bob, Benny 'n Ned makin' the calls. And, NBC/FOX take note: The leaderboard was UP AND RUNNING, with up-to-date positions by the end of three laps! (Mind you, I don't think I need to be shown a non-changing Points leaderboard every few dozen laps...)
An interesting twist was the pole position. There sat Kevin Lepage, and beside him, Steve Park. Good to see! Lining up behind these eager beavers in the next five rows were Martin, Geoffrey Bodine, Todd Bodine - the first time, I believe, the 30 car in "Rudy's Farm" livery has made a race, Ward Burton, Dave Blaney, Mike Waltrip, Gary Bradberry, Dale Jarrett, Buckshot Jones, and Chad Little. About four of these guys are among those you'd normally expect in the top twelve...
Dale Jr. lined up 13th, with Jeff Burton beside him, Rudd was fifteenth, Gordon sixteenth, Rusty Wallace 19th, Stewart 30th, Earnhardt Sr, 36th, and Bobby Labonte 37th, taking a Provisional! Other Names using Prov's were Skinner and Terry Labonte.
Six drivers ended their season early by not qualifying - Darrell Waltrip, Cope, Stricklin, Craven, Stacy Compton, and Morgan Shepherd.
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All cleaned up, and ready to go, and the green dropped on Lap 10. Lepage, Park and Martin led off, with Ward Burton, havin' disposed of Geoffrey, in fourth. TODD Bodine was fifth, then Mikey Waltrip, Blaney, Little, Jarrett and Jones rounded out the top ten. Martin and Burton quickly put Park to fourth, and Mike Waltrip took sixth from Bodine, and began to menace the leaders by Lap 15. Meanwhile, back in the pack, Stewart was now 17th, Bobby Labonte 25th, and Dale Sr, 32nd.
Martin grabbed the lead on Lap 18, and ten laps later, Mike Waltrip was up to second place, runnin' the high line around the track. Four laps later, Mike was around Martin, and in the lead! To quote Benny: "wow..."
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But The Philips/Klausen crew were unfazed, and after all the leaders had pitted, Mike was second, havin' had a good stop, but unable to beat Park to the line (aka "the end of Steve's pit stall"...)
The green dropped on Lap 48, and Park, Waltrip, Ward Burton, Martin and Jarrett led 'em off. Jef Burton was sixth, then Lepage Bobby Labonte (!!!- two tires?), Rusty Wallace, Rudd, Spencer and Little rounded out the top dozen. Dale Jr was hangin' in in 13th, with Skinner havin' fought up to fourteenth, and Gordon stuck in fifteenth, makin' no impression...
Ward Burton passed Waltrip, Lap 52 saw Martin and Jarrett relegate Mikey to fifth, and it appeared Mike was not as fast on this set of tires. He began a slide rearward, and was ninth by Lap 58. Meantime, Steve Park was leading the pack up front. Ten laps later Mike was back to fifteenth.
The third yellow came out around Lap 81, as Spencer was next to eat Atlanta concrete, putting the WINSTON machine into the wall. All the leaders came in for tires 'n gas. Martin had a bobble, stalling on launch, and fell out of the top ten as a result. On the drop o' the green at Lap 91, it was Park in front of a charging Bobby Labonte, then Jarrett, Ward Burton, Jeff Burton, Wallace, Rudd, Lepage, Skinner and Waltrip makin' up the top ten.
Within a lap, Labonte had taken the lead, and a lap later, Jarrett had passed Park for second. We got into a bunch of laps of pretty good racin' as Park retook second, and challenged Labonte, and Ward Burton muscled his way forward, finally settlin' into second on Lap 105.
While this was all goin' down, one of the two streaks still going looked in trouble...Mast, who has not yet had a DNF this year, overheated a wheel bearing and had to pit. The other streak, Rudd's consecutive win streak, remained in "faint hope" status...
By Lap 106, Bobby had fallen back to third, but he gathered things up, and by the 115th lap, he was back out front, with the eleven cars of Park, Rudd, Ward Burton, Jarrett, Skinner, Lepage, Wallace, Little, Gordon, Waltrip and Mayfield roundin' out the top dozen. Martin, who'd fallen to 31st on his poor stop, was back in the hunt, in 13th. Jeff Burton was 14th, and "Little E" was fending off his daddy in 16th, with Stewart sniffin' around in 18th.
Labonte held the lead for the next 30-plus laps, until green flag stops began again. Ward Burton, Skinner and Mayfield were among the first in. John Andretti's day ended when he got rear-ended by Kenny Irwin, both comin' onto pit lane for routine stops. The hit was hard enough to spin Andretti into the pit wall, and damaged his front suspension. It also tore up the nose of the HAVOLINE car. Did not see exactly what triggered it, but... according to the boys on INSIDE WINSTON CUP tonight, they'd been swappin' paint on the track for a couple laps. Add to this the fact that Irwin got a two-lap penalty from NASCAR for "rough driving", and certain conclusions are inevitable... Kenny saw "the Red Mist", as in his Stewart incident a few races back? Fortunately, the pit areas where this unfolded were not filled with over-the-wall guys... coulda been someone serously hurt. As Kenny Schrader said, you don't have much protection when you're changing a rear tire...
Once all the stops had cycled through, Martin was in the lead, helped by his earlier stop; he only needed two tires this time. But Labonte and Park were still best in long runs, and those tires would go away, so by Lap 165, Labonte, Park and Jarrett had relegated Mark to fourth place.
Johnny Benson's final run for Roush came to an ignominious end, as he got loose, and shortened the Cheerios car when he spun and backed 'er into the wall. This brought out the fourth yellow. Johnny's tenure at Roush was over, around Lap 174.
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On the track, Park challenged Mayfield for the lead, and took it. While we were watching the Rainbow Defectors push the lifeless Dupont hulk to the garage, Dave Blaney got his 15 seconds of fame as he bounced the AMOCO Pontiac off the wall, flattening the right side. This brought out Caution number five, around Lap 184. Since it was only a few laps since the last yellow, none of the frontrunners came in. Thus, when the green flew, on Lap 188, Park led 'em off. He soon had Mayfield all over him, with Jeremy taking it briefly. On Lap 192, top twelve were Mayfield, Park, Labonte, Jarrett, Earnhardt Sr, Rudd, Ward Burton, Wallace, Martin, Skinner, Stewart and Jeff Burton. Dale Jr, Waltrip, Little, Lepage and Hamilton rounded out the 17 cars on the lead lap.
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Since the incident occurred right at the pit road entrance, it was several laps before the pits could be opened for stops. All the leader came in, and when the green flew on Lap 215, it was Labonte out front, with Jarrett, Mayfield, Rudd, Earnhardt, Stewart, Park, Skinner, Jeff Burton, Martin, Little and Lepage as top twelve. Over the next twenty laps, Labonte checked out, building a 2.5 second lead on Jarett and Mayfield, who were in a good second-place tussle. Jeff Burton had moved up to fourth, and the rest were pretty well holdin' position. As the fight between Jarrett and Mayfield continued, it brought them within striking distance of Labonte, and around Lap 253, while we were in commercials, they shuffled Bobby back to third. Jeff Burton was still fourth, Stewart was 5th, and Martin had worked up to 6th place.
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Once all the leaders had completed pitting, it was Mayfield and Labonte out front, with Jarrett, Jeff Burton and Martin behind them. Running order on Lap 284 was the above five, then Little, Earnhardt Sr, Rudd, Park, Sadler, Ward Burton and Hamilton.
That lap saw the seventh yellow, as Buckshot joined the "into-the-Wall Club", pancaking the right side of his Pontiac. All the leaders pitted, and first out, by just takin' two tires was Jeff Burton. Track Position, folks - the name of the game..
But when the green dropped on Lap 290, the trio of Labonte, Mayfield and Jarrett soon had Jeff back to fourth place again, his two-tire strategy proven unwise at this point in the race. Park was fifth, Earnhardt Sr sixth, then Martin, Little, Rudd, Skinner, Ward Burton, and Hamilton rounded out the twelve cars on the lead lap. Down one in thirteenth, Wallace led Stewart and Dale Jr...
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| last time in '99... |
Fifteen to go, and Labonte was two seconds out on the skirmishing Jarrett and Mayfield, and behind them, Jeff Burton, Little and Earnhardt Sr were duellin' for fourth. If you pretended LAbonte weren't there, there was some great racin' happening!
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Rick Mast brought the Woody Woodpecker Modified back onto the track with about six to go, and finished the race, 100+ laps down, but keepin' his no-DNF streak alive..
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The rest of us? Now we gotta wait about 90 days until February until the next never-ending stooory called WINSTON CUP Racing begins again in the new century. I'll be ready - lotsa new faces and new colours - a new Monte, a new Taurus, some strong rookies... what'll happen to Jeffie? Will the Rainbow Warriors relocation be a help or hindrance to Jarrett? Who'll stop Bobby 'n Tony?? It'll all start to unfold in Daytona...
See y'all there... From My
Couch!!
"Mr. NASCAR" |