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 Start your engines! Play RPM.ESPN Stock Car Challenge! |
Friday, February 16 Let the green flag drop By Jerry Bonkowski ESPN.com Pull your firesuit on. Adjust your helmet's chin strap. Make sure your gloves fit just right. Buckle up tight, grab the wheel (or in this case, your computer keyboard), sit back and get ready to hit the gas. NASCAR Winston Cup is back in all its color, splendor and high-octane horsepower.
Here's a primer on some of the highlights of what -- and who -- to watch for not only Sunday, but for the rest of the season. Gentlemen (and ladies), start your engines: The odds are with...The multi-million dollar question on everyone's mind as we begin the new season is who will emerge nine months from now as the 2001 Winston Cup champion? Will Bobby Labonte be able to repeat his inspiring and dominating quest for last year's championship again in 2001? Or will this season's champion emerge from the pack of other former champions including Bobby's brother Terry Labonte, a two-time Cup winner; 1999 Cup champ Dale Jarrett; seven-time champ Dale Earnhardt; three-time champ Jeff Gordon; 1988 champ Bill Elliott and 1989 champ Rusty Wallace? And then there are drivers still seeking their first Cup title who have to be considered among the favorites in 2001, including Jeff Burton, Mark Martin (yes, it's hard to believe that in 17 seasons, Martin's highest finish at season's end has only been second place -- in 1990, 1994 and 1998), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (had a spectacular splash in his rookie campaign in 2000, finished second in Rookie of the Year honors and proved he's ready to follow in his father's footsteps as a Winston Cup champion), Sterling Marlin (with Chip Ganassi now the team's primary owner, look for a big step up in the standings for Marlin -- who finished 19th last season -- in 2001), Ricky Rudd (arguably the most under-rated driver in Cup competition today) and 1999 Rookie of the Year Tony Stewart. My pick for 2001 Winston Cup champion? Jeff Burton. He's paid his dues, he has the backing of one of the strongest teams (Roush Racing) in NASCAR today, he has been steadily climbing up the Winston Cup standings in recent years (fourth in 1997, fifth in 1998 and 1999, and third last season) and was among those still challenging Labonte right on up to the final race last season. Had it not been for some untimely mechanical problems, particularly in the first half of the season, and had a few breaks gone Burton's way, he easily could have overtaken Labonte for last season's championship. Where's the remote control?Among the most significant changes are a new $2.4 billion multi-year TV package that will put the entire Winston Cup season almost exclusively on network television for the first time ever. Fox TV will televise the first half of the season, while NBC and Turner Sports will share telecasts in the second half. The three broadcast entities will then switch roles in 2002, with NBC/Turner televising the first half of the season and Fox the second half. Better parityNew aerodynamic and restrictor plate rules will likely level the playing field for all cars in Sunday's race (and July's return to Daytona International Speedway), as well as the two races this season at Talladega. New venues Just when you thought the schedule couldn't get any bigger, the Winston Cup circuit expands into new virgin territory in 2001 with the addition of races in Joliet, Ill. (a Chicago suburb) and Kansas City, Kansas. Those two new events increase the schedule to a record 36 races over a nine-month span. NASCAR has long coveted the possibility of a race in the Chicago area (the last major U.S. market without a NASCAR presence), and Kansas City presented a package of a new track and financial incentives that was too good to turn down. While teams will have to work harder and longer -- including more sponsor-related appearances for drivers in the new markets, more time spent traveling and testing, and two fewer off-weekends on the overall schedule (the first off-weekend doesn't occur until after nearly the first third of the season, 11 races to be exact, is completed) -- the new venues will only add to NASCAR's overall popularity. And guess what -- there is already talk about expanding the schedule even more for 2002! Hey didn't you use to be Darrell Waltrip?This season will see two familiar names in new roles. Legendary driver Darrell Waltrip retired after last season and begins a new career as a color analyst on Fox television broadcasts. Mike Skinner's former crew chief, Larry McReynolds, will join Waltrip in the broadcast booth, as well. Woe is the Wisconsin WonderLegendary driver Dave Marcis had hoped to earn a record 33rd start in a Daytona 500, which would break the mark of 32 starts Marcis currently shares with fellow NASCAR legend Richard Petty. Unfortunately, Marcis, 60, failed to qualify for the biggest race of the season this week, leaving him on the outside looking in -- and running the risk that he may never break the milestone he shares with Petty (which still is not that bad of an achievement, regardless). Marcis will begin a partial slide towards retirement this season. Instead of attempting to qualify for each of the schedule's 36 races, Marcis and his Realtime-sponsored Chevrolet will pick and choose to compete in perhaps 10 or 12 races this season. Marcis will select races that will arguably play to his strengths, giving him a realistic chance at success, particularly at tracks where he has a record of strong finishes in his more than three decades of Winston Cup competition. You can't tell the players without a scorecardSeveral drivers have switched teams during the off-season. Get your pencils and scorecards ready, because here come the changes:
Several teams that struggled last season have gone out of business or taken a temporary hiatus from Winston Cup competition, including Joe Bessey (a revolving door of drivers last season); Galaxy Motorsports (driver: Wally Dallenbach); Boris Said; Kevin Lepage will be on the sidelines after his team was folded by owner Roush Racing; and Hedrick Racing, which disappeared from the scene at mid-season last year (driver Gary Bradbury). Other drivers who have been released include Ted Musgrave, Chad Little, Ed Berrier Jr. and Mike Bliss. New kids on the block Among newcomers who are making their full-time debut on the circuit are Jason Leffler in the No. 1 Dodge Intrepid of Ganassi/Sabates Racing; Kurt Busch (who had the maximum amount allowed of seven races last season, yet is still able to retain his rookie status, behind the wheel of the No. 97 Roush Racing Ford); Andy Houston in the No. 96 McDonald's Ford of Cal Wells Racing; Casey Atwood teams up with Bill Elliott under the Ray Evernham Racing banner and drive the No. 19 car; and Ron Hornaday will drive the No. 14 car for A.J. Foyt. What's our new sponsor's name again? We'll see several new major sponsors in the sport, including the United Auto Workers/Delphi Electronics (No. 25 car of Jerry Nadeau); United Parcel Service (No. 88 car of Dale Jarrett); Dodge (No. 9 car of Bill Elliott and No. 19 car of Casey Atwood), Citgo (which actually came in at the tail end of last season) will sponsor Jeff Burton's No. 99 car, Georgia Pacific (the No. 44 car of Buckshot Jones); and Sprint (the No. 45 car of Kyle Petty). In addition, several sponsors have switched cars for 2001: Pfizer/Viagra is now on Mark Martin's No. 6 car; Valvoline jumps to Johnny Benson's No. 10 car; McDonald's moves from Elliott to the No. 96 car of rookie Andy Houston; and Motorcraft jumps to the No. 21 car of Elliott Sadler. Gimme some Skin-nerThis could be a make-or-break year for several drivers. They must show marked improvement in 2001 or they could find themselves driving for another team -- or be completely out of a ride -- by the time the 2002 campaign rolls around. This season may be the most crucial in particular for Mike Skinner in the No. 31 car. Team owner Richard Childress and Skinner teammate Dale Earnhardt are both used to winning, something Skinner has yet to do since joining the Winston Cup circuit full-time several seasons ago. Skinner knocked on victory's door a few times in 2000, but a variety of mechanical maladies or on-track racing incidents slammed the door in Skinner's face every time he appeared on the threshold of victory. With such heavy pressure to win on him, Skinner hopefully showed a sign of things to come in Thursday's Gatorade Twin 125-mile qualifying races, winning the second race (while Sterling Marlin claimed victory in the first race). Even so, Skinner starts the season a bit further behind the eight ball than last season with the departure of crew chief Larry McReynolds, who has moved out of the pits and into the Fox TV booth as an analyst. Do you know the way to victory lane?If Skinner thinks someone has conspired to keep him out of victory lane the past three seasons, all he needs to do is look down pit road for a sobering bit of reality. Specifically, Skinner needs to look at the No. 15 car of Michael Waltrip to see what frustration really means. Waltrip is perhaps Winston Cup's all-time perennial also-ran, still searching for his first Cup victory after 462 career starts. That's not a misprint -- 462 career starts. Having bounced around with mediocre teams in recent seasons, Waltrip gets what could be the biggest boost of his career this season driving for Dale Earnhardt and being teammates with Dale Jr. With better equipment, a well-funded team and the demanding elder Earnhardt as his boss, Waltrip should finally be able to break his "0-fer" career win mark in 2001. Just don't expect him to do so at a race like Sunday's Daytona 500. Instead, look for Darrell's much-younger brother to grab his first checkered flag at one of the two new tracks on the schedule this season (Joliet and Kansas City) -- where all Winston Cup drivers will be on the same page due to a lack of past history at those two tracks to refer back to -- or at one of the staid, longtime short tracks on the circuit such as Martinsville, Va., or Bristol, Tenn. As Gomer Pyle would say, "Surprise, surprise!"With Dodge returning to Winston Cup competition for the first time in 20 years, expectations have been high -- but also realistic. Prior to coming to Daytona, new Dodge Intrepid drivers such as John Andretti (No. 43) publicly said several times during the off-season that fans should not expect too much out of the first-year Dodge program this season. So what happens? Veteran driver and former Winston Cup champion Bill Elliott takes his trusty new Dodge steed and goes out to win the pole position for the mother of all Winston Cup races, Sunday's Daytona 500. But it didn't end there. Stacy Compton took his Dodge and earned the No. 2 spot alongside Elliott on the starting grid. Wait, there's more! Sterling Marlin took HIS Dodge and made it a 1-2-3 Dodge sweep in qualifying, starting on the inside of the second row behind Elliott and Compton. And then Ward Burton came out of nowhere to put his Dodge into the show in the 10th qualifying spot. Brand new car and four top-10 qualifiers. Obviously, Dodge doesn't appear to have lost much of its luster in the 20 years it was away from Winston Cup racing. Rounding out Sunday's top-10 qualifiers are five Chevrolets (Mike Skinner in fourth starting position, Jerry Nadeau in fifth, Dale Earnhardt Jr. in sixth, Dale Earnhardt in seventh) and two Fords (Jeff Burton in eighth position and Andy Houston in ninth). The qualifying triumphs by Elliott, Compton and Marlin can be looked at in a few different ways. First, other drivers that pilot Fords, Chevys and Pontiacs held back somewhat in qualifying (not very likely), or second, the Dodge REALLY is that good. What looked like an also-ran car initially heading into Speedweeks at Daytona now suddenly has folks on both sides of the Dodge fence wondering if the Intrepid truly is for real -- and is suddenly a top contender to win Sunday's race. If that happens, you can be sure to hear lots of arguments and complaints from Ford, Chevy and Pontiac drivers immediately after the race saying that the Dodge body template has too much of an advantage aerodynamically, or that the Dodge engine is too potent and needs to be "downsized" to make it more "competitive" with the other models. Sounds just like the controversy that happened last year when Chevrolet drivers whined and complained that the Ford Taurus had an unequal advantage because of its supposedly "better" aerodynamics. And who wound up winning last year's championship? Bobby Labonte in a PONTIAC! Who's going to win Sunday?That's the $1.3 million question (the prize for first place in Sunday's race). With Elliott and Dodge grabbing the pole, all bets are off. But among the five likely favorites to win Sunday, you have to include Elliott obviously, Dale Earnhardt, defending Daytona 500 champ Dale Jarrett, defending Winston Cup champion Bobby Labonte and Jeff Gordon. Five others that have a fighting chance include Tony Stewart, Rusty Wallace, Ricky Rudd, Sterling Marlin and Dale Earnhardt Jr. My selection to win Sunday: Jeff Burton. My choice for dark horse to win the race: Mark Martin. And while not a guarantee of anything, Sunday's winner at least initially becomes the odds-on favorite to win this season's championship. Add it all up and Sunday's Daytona 500 promises to be an exciting, action-packed event that could very well set the tone for the remainder of the season. Now, go take two practice laps and get ready to nail the throttle when you see the green flag drop. Long-time national motorsports writer Jerry Bonkowski will be a regular contributor to ESPN.com and RPM.ESPN.com this year, specializing in NASCAR Winston Cup, CART Champ Car racing and NHRA drag racing. |
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