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Atlas F1 Magazine Writers
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Waltrip Wins Daytona '272.5'
Following forecasts of impending rain, the start of the race was brought forward by about 20 minutes in the hope of getting the full race distance in before the bad weather set in, or at worst getting to half distance so the race could be declared official. As it turned out, this proved to be a crucial decision.
At the start, polesitter Jeff Green opened a gap while fellow front row starter Dale Earnhardt Jr hung back. Going down the backstretch Green had a reasonably large gap. As they went through turns three and four Green was passed on the inside by Michael Waltrip and on the outside by Robby Gordon, as the two-by-two field freight-trained him backwards, Waltrip leading lap one. Further back the field was three wide, as the whole field ran in one big pack. For a couple of laps Robby Gordon ran second but by lap 5 Earnhardt Jr moved behind Waltrip to make it a DEI one-two, with Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson next in the running order.
As the laps passed by the field became slightly more spread out, the leaders running single file as the main pack ran two by two. Those right at the front sat nose-to-tail for lap after lap, though a little further back Jeff Gordon had moved up to the bottom of the top ten. With the smaller fuel tanks, the pit stops began on lap 30, with the Dodges generally pitting early. By lap 36 the pit stops were finished, though Jeff Burton had to take a penalty after exiting the pits with the catch can still in the back of his car.
Lap 46 and it was back to green. John Andretti restarted eighth but began to drop back as his car began to smoke lightly, pitting two laps after the restart, while lap 49 saw Jeff Gordon move up to fourth, while soon after Greg Biffle was up to fifth. Lap 58 and the second caution of the day was out after Ryan Newman barrel rolled down the front stretch after contact with Ken Schrader (who had been nudged by Ward Burton) bounced him off the outside wall off of turn four, ripping the outside rear tyre off which later allowed air to get under the sliding car, sending into a series of rolls, ending up on his roof. Meanwhile Schrader careered down pit lane under partial control of his car, coming to a stop at the end of pit lane, Bobby Labonte hitting Schrader as he came to rest after Labonte had driven down pit lane to avoid Newman's wreck. Though Newman's crash was spectacular, he escaped unscathed.
While under the caution, rain firstly began to fall, and then bucket down, causing the race to be red flagged for over an hour. When the track was eventually dried out, Earnhardt Jr's car required a bump start to get going again after the red flag. The field pitted before the race went green again on lap 68, Waltrip taking over the lead from Earnhardt Jr, Stewart, Biffle and Robby Gordon, Gordon passing Biffle soon after the restart. Soon after the restart Earnhardt began reporting that he was losing voltage.
By now Waltrip had caught the penalised Marlin but sat behind him as he ran a competitive speed. Not long after, the third caution of the day came out on lap 96 when Jeff Green lost a right rear tyre, hitting Jimmy Spencer as he spun up the track, both cars out of the race. Most of the field pitted but a few gambled for a lap, hoping the rain would begin to fall suddenly, then pitting when they realised it wasn't going to fall yet.
The race restarted on lap 100, with Jimmie Johnson having taken over the lead by only taking fuel during the pit stops under caution, ahead of Stewart, Waltrip and Jeff Gordon. Down the backstretch Waltrip slingshot past Stewart, taking Jeff Gordon with him, Stewart eventually resuming in fourth after a battle with Robby Gordon. As they completed lap 100, guaranteeing the race would finish on Sunday, Jeff Gordon challenged Waltrip for second. Johnson moved high to try to help Gordon before moving low to prevent Waltrip from taking the lead. Waltrip kept second while Gordon dropped to eleventh. Just as all this was happening Mike Skinner's car was leaving a trail of sparks as his front tyre was now flat, bringing out another yellow on lap 103.
While under the caution it started to rain again, the race red flagged for the second time after 109 laps. If the race could not be restarted, then the results would be declared as the standings currently stood. The rain continued to fall. Just over an hour after the red flag fell for the second time, Michael Waltrip was declared the winner after it was decided it was impossible to restart the race, taking his second win in three years at the Daytona 500 and his third win in his last five Winston Cup starts at the track, Waltrip's only Winston Cup career victories. Kurt Busch took second ahead of Jimmie Johnson, with Kevin Harvick and Mark Martin rounding out the top five. Tony Stewart may have only finished seventh, but it was much better than his previous two finishes at the track in 2001 and 2002, while Jeff Gordon finished 12th, suffering badly from his lap 100 challenge.
Result of Daytona 500, NASCAR Winston Cup Round 1 of 36, Daytona International Speedway, Florida, United States:
Standings: Michael Waltrip 185, Kurt Busch and Jimmie Johnson 170, Kevin Harvick 160, Mark Martin 155, Tony Stewart 151, Robby Gordon 150, Jeremy Mayfield 142, Mike Wallace 138, Dale Jarrett 134 etc.
Waltrip Repays Earnhardt's Faith
By Lewis Franck
Dale Earnhardt gave Michael Waltrip the chance of a lifetime and he was repaid with two Daytona 500 wins. Only Waltrip's boss and friend did not live to enjoy it because Earnhardt died on the final lap of the 2001 race.
Before Earnhardt chose him as his new driver in 2000, Waltrip had not won a points-scoring NASCAR Winston Cup race in 462 tries in 15 seasons on the stock car circuit. When the seven times Winston Cup champion known as "The Intimidator" hired Waltrip he told him that he expected great things.
The 39-year old younger brother of three times champion Darrell Waltrip was known as a nice guy, with a good sense of humor, and a pretty wife, Buffy. But as a driver he could have been viewed as lacking something...respect.
Waltrip's biggest victory before Sunday came on the worst day of his professional life, Earnhardt's death. The second time around the usually glib Waltrip appeared to be struggling for the right words at the trophy presentation.
"I'm not smart enough to explain what this means, I'm just proud enough to be champion of this place again," he said.
All Waltrip could do was remember the man who put him in a winning car.
"When he lost his life, that's just another chapter in the book about Daytona. You know I loved Dale, he was my friend." Waltrip thought back to that bitter-sweet day two years ago. "It didn't make me hate Daytona at all."
After his win in Sunday's rain-shortened race, Waltrip said: "I'm so grateful to Dale Earnhardt for giving me a shot. I know he's up there smiling".
Toyota To Race Tundra Pickups In Craftsman Truck Series
Japan's Toyota Motor Corp. said on Wednesday it would race its Tundra trucks in NASCAR's pickup series in 2004, the highest-profile entry by a foreign manufacturer into U.S. stock car racing. Toyota has competed in a lower-level NASCAR series since 2000 and has had a presence in a wide variety of U.S. racing, from off-road rallying to drag racing. But no foreign automaker has ever competed in NASCAR's truck series or the Winston Cup.
The automaker plans to field up to six Toyota Tundras at the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at Daytona International Speedway in Feb. 2004, said Dave Illingworth, chief planning and administration officer for Toyota's U.S. sales arm. Team affiliations will be determined at a later date, Toyota said at the Chicago Auto Show.
Toyota's Racing Development U.S.A. unit will design and build the Craftsman Tundra V8 racing trucks to NASCAR specifications at its Costa Mesa, California, facility.
NASCAR's Winston Cup stock car racing is the most popular auto racing series in the United States, and has been the fastest-growing U.S. spectator sport, with attendance up nearly seven percent a year since 1991. The family controlled NASCAR group claims its racing is the third most popular sport in the United States behind pro football and pro basketball.
Experts have speculated that Toyota's truck entry could lead to a stock car entry within a few years. Honda Motor Co. Ltd. executives have said in the past that they were inclined not to enter NASCAR racing because engine designs were limited to old-fashioned technology.
Waltrip and Toyota reports provided by Reuters
Australia Could Be Struck Off, Says Mosley
The Australian Rally is in danger of being struck off the calendar due to a dispute between local organisers, the head of world motorsport's governing body said last Thursday.
"As I understand it, there's a massive row going on between the sporting people down there and the government/commercial people," International Automobile Federation (FIA) president Max Mosley told reporters. "I've got a suspicion that the world council may just lose patience and say 'Well, that's it, take it off the calendar until they sort themselves out.'"
The FIA's world council meets on April 2, well before the ninth round of the championship in Australia in September. Mosley said the FIA had asked the organisers to sort the matter out last Christmas and had sent a representative to Australia to help resolve it.
"It all looks a bit of a mess and our reaction when confronted with a mess is, first thing, send someone to try and get them to sort it out and if that doesn't work then off the calendar," said Mosley. The official website of the world rally championship quoted the local organisers as playing down the threat.
"We have had no correspondence from the FIA indicating that there is any serious threat to withdraw Rally from Australia," said WATC chief executive Richard Muirhead. "We would expect that if this was seriously being contemplated that the FIA would have officially informed us."
Report provided by Reuters
Now We Go Racing
While some complete teams are missing, some look virtually unchanged. Player's Forsythe Racing continues with Patrick Carpentier near the top of the time sheets having quickly gotten used to the Lola chassis. New teammate Paul Tracy, a Lola veteran, has taken longer to get used to the new car.
Setting the pace though has been defending champions Newman-Haas Racing, despite Cristiano da Matta going off to Formula One and Christian Fittipaldi joining the ranks of NASCAR. Bruno Junqueira, having parted ways with IRL bound Chip Ganassi Racing was snapped up by NHR and has instantly rewarded the team with fastest times set at Laguna Seca and second fastest at Spring Training at Sebring. The driver who beat Junqueira at Sebring was the reigning International Formula 3000 champion, Sebastien Bourdais, Junqueira's teammate at Newman-Haas. The 23-year-old Frenchman has been the star of pre-season testing and looks an almost unbackable favourite for rookie of the year.
Herdez Competition returns with surprise Gold Coast Indy 300 winner, Mario Dominguez. Dominguez ran at the back of the pack for most of last year, but will benefit greatly from the presence of new teammate Roberto Moreno. Team Rahal is back again with Michel Jourdain Jr after a career best year for the Mexican. Adrian Fernandez returns with a single Lola for himself as well. Oriol Servia will drive the single Lola entry for Patrick Racing for his first full year with the team.
With Tora Takagi IRL bound, Walker Racing were slow to announce their plans, but for the first time in four years the team will run two Reynards for rookies Mexican Rodolfo Lavin and Brit Darren Manning. Manning impressed with a one-off drive at Rockingham with Dale Coyne Racing last year and has picked up a full-time drive after long experience in a variety of open wheelers, including Formula One test driving for McLaren.
There are five new teams who have taken advantage of the generous financial incentives offered by CART to run this year. The most impressive looking has perhaps the best pedigree. A multiple championship winning team in Trans-Am, Paul Gentilozzi has taken the big step to move into CART. Gentilozzi has stepped down from driving though, allowing Alex Tagliani to take the wheel of the team's Lola. Tags was under contract with Forsythe for 2003, but an arrangement was made and Player's kicked in to make the deal with Rocketsports Racing happen.
It looked as though the Fittipaldi family involvement with CART had ended, but only last week Emerson Fittipaldi announced the creation of Fittipaldi-Dingman Racing. The team will run as a satellite team of Mi-Jack Conquest Racing and Portuguese driver Tiago Monteiro will take the wheel. Mi-Jack Conquest is a new addition to CART as well, having moved up to CART from Toyota Atlantics to run a single Reynard for Formula 3000 veteran Mario Haberfeld. Both teams are looking to expand to second cars if the money can be found.
There have been some late changes in the calendar with Mid-Ohio moving forward a week and Denver moving after Montreal. At present there are 19 rounds as Chicago's round has been dropped for this season, though negotiations to visit in future years continue. While difficulties have also arisen with Elkhart Lake over sanctioning fees, no one is suggesting the Wisconsin circuit will be dropped.
With so many new combinations in place the early season could be a lottery of results. The numbers will start to fall from Friday.
In other rally news, Frenchman Francois Delecour has left Mitsubishi, who are currently taking a sabbatical as they prepare for a renewed attack in 2004. The team said the decision was by mutual agreement. This has unsettled Mitsubishi's only contracted driver remaining, Alister McRae, who hasn't heard similar news about his drive with the team but has no drives planned in the immediate future either with the team or in other cars, nor has he heard about any testing planned for Mitsubishi.
But Super Nova manager David Sears believes the Italian, 24, will bring more than money to the team and said: "I believe he can challenge for the championship. It's great to have him on board."
Formula One boss Eddie Jordan will not make a decision on a test driver for his ailing Grand Prix team until the end of the fly-away races in April but Toccacelo's signing could put him in prime position to secure a deal.
NASCAR
After winning the Bud Shootout, landing himself on the front row of the grid for the Daytona 500, winning one of the Gatorade 125 mile qualifying races and the Busch race on the Saturday, Dale Earnhardt Jr was trying for a clean sweep. And for quite a way of the Daytona '500' it looked possible, as he sat in behind DEI teammate Michael Waltrip, before low voltage dropped him out of the fight. But this ended up putting him in the perfect position to help his teammate Waltrip to victory, Junior towing Waltrip through into the lead at the last restart. Waltrip's second win in three years at the 500 was only the third ever shortened Daytona 500, as he joined seven other drivers as multiple winners of the event.
After the stops Stewart led from Bill Elliott and Earnhardt Jr, with Waltrip over a second further back in fourth leading the chasing pack. Just a few laps later the first caution of the day came out on lap 43 when leader Stewart's teammate Bobby Labonte spun coming off turn two, spinning unharmed through the infield before resuming at the back of the pack. Most people changed two tyres as the field shuffled, Earnhardt Jr taking over the lead ahead of teammate Waltrip, then Stewart, Elliott Sadler moving up from 19th and the two Gordons, Robby and Jeff.
Sterling Marlin was soon heading for pitlane after he went below the yellow line down the backstretch passing Sadler, who helped to push him below the line. Through turns three and four on lap 86, Harvick moved alongside Earnhardt Jr, whose falling voltage was now costing him horsepower and speed. Down the backstretch on the next lap Earnhardt Jr lost second and then a dropped right back through the field as Harvick moved up into second place ahead of Stewart, Johnson and Robby and Jeff Gordon. A lap and a half later Earnhardt pitted to replace the battery, resuming two laps down. Lap 90 saw Harvick challenge Waltrip down the backstretch, but lack of support saw Waltrip hold the lead as Harvick fell back.
The race restarted on lap 106, with Earnhardt Jr now leading the pack of lapped cars inside leader Johnson. Could Junior help his DEI teammate wrest the lead back for his teammate Waltrip? As soon as they restarted Waltrip ducked behind his teammate, who was on the inside of Johnson. By the middle of turns one and two Waltrip was leading, and Johnson continued to fall back as other cars followed through on the inside, before getting some help and snatching second back temporarily at the end of the backstretch, before Busch moved back ahead. As they came off turn four of the first lap back under green, 2002 Daytona 500 winner Ward Burton spun and hit the outside wall, bringing out another caution.
Pos Driver Car
1. Michael Waltrip Chevrolet Monte Carlo
2. Kurt Busch Ford Taurus
3. Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Monte Carlo
4. Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Monte Carlo
5. Mark Martin Ford Taurus
6. Robby Gordon Chevrolet Monte Carlo
7. Tony Stewart Chevrolet Monte Carlo
8. Jeremy Mayfield Dodge Intrepid
9. Mike Wallace Dodge Intrepid
10. Dale Jarrett Ford Taurus
"He'd say, 'you'll win in my cars. You better win in my cars, my cars are good, you'll win in them'." said Waltrip after his second Daytona 500 victory on Sunday.
The move comes as Toyota and Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. ramp up plans to compete for pickup buyers, the largest and most profitable part of the U.S. market still dominated by Detroit's Big Three automakers. Toyota's racing announcement follows closely its decision to build a new $800 million factory in Texas to build Tundras in 2006.
Rally
Asked whether he thought there was a real danger of that happening as a result of the argument between local rally officials and the Western Australia Tourism Commission (WATC) who own the commercial rights to the event, Mosley replied; "Yes, I do."
CART
After the most traumatic off season in the category's history, in which a full half of the series left in favour of other categories, the series is now not only viable but raring to go. 19 cars will take to the streets of Saint Petersburg, Florida this weekend.
Dale Coyne Racing returns to run a full season after sitting out much of 2002. The Lola team will run 21 year-old Swiss driver Joel Camathias who has been running in Formula 3000 the past two seasons with much in the way of results.
Stefan Johansson returns to CART, this time as a team owner. American Spirit Team Johansson will run two Reynards for 1996 champion Jimmy Vasser and Atlantics graduate Ryan Hunter-Reay. Another ex-Formula One figure's involvement saw former BAR team principal Craig Pollock create PK Racing. Long time Pollock associate Patrick Lemarie will take the drive after years as a BAR test driver. Rumours persist that Mika Salo will appear in a second Lola later in the year, but that is still rumour at this stage.
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Volume 9, Issue 8
Atlas F1 Special
The Cult of a Personality, III
The FIASCO War: the Finale
The Return of the Boss
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