Saturday, September 9, 2017

NASCAR dream season continues with Can-Am Duel at Daytona

Since Daytona International Speedway opened in 1959, the starting lineup for the Daytona 500 has always been determined by two qualifying races.

The original distance for each race was 100 miles, or 40 laps.  In 1969, the races were extended to 125 miles, or 50 laps, and by the 1980s the name "Twin 125s" was adopted which was used until 1997.  In 2005, the races were lengthened again to the current 150 miles, or 60 laps.

From 1959 to '72, these were official races and drivers received full points.  In 2017, points were restored, but only for the top 10 drivers on the same basis as stage points.  No race points were awarded, and the wins were not placed on the drivers' official records.

So how did it go in my dream world?

First, I picked eight drivers (Buddy Baker, Michael Waltrip, Fred Lorenzen, Herb Thomas, Curtis Turner, Derrike Cope, Adam Petty, and Casey Atwood) to join the 36 locked into the field, as explained in the opening post.  I then placed them in 1-to-44 order of what I thought their qualifying laps would be.  Those laps were then transferred into one of two qualifying races, held on the Thursday night of speedweeks.  Here's how each of them would go.

Race 1
Mark Martin, the local resident of Daytona Beach, won a sentimental Daytona 500 pole with a speed of 193.021 mph.  That meant he also led the field to green for the start of this race.

He led the first seven laps before Dale Earnhardt, Jr. took the lead on lap 8.  On lap 18, two-time champion Ned Jarrett spun out off turn 2 and took out Bobby Labonte with him.  Everyone then came down pit road to fill the tank for the expected fuel run to the finish.

Darrell Waltrip used the draft from Cale Yarborough to take over the lead from Dale Earnhardt (the elder) at the halfway mark.  But that didn't last long, as "Junebug" retook the point on lap 38.  But on lap 49, the father got the better of son again and he wouldn't look back.  At the checkered flag, the winner was the king of the Duel (he had 12 wins, including 10 in a row from 1990-99).

Oh, and one more thing: I set this race on February 15, the exact anniversary of the only time "the Intimidator" won the Daytona 500, which was in 1998.  Six years later exactly, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was the race winner.

Full-field rundown with point totals
Dale Earnhardt - 10
Cale Yarborough - 9
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. - 8
Darrell Waltrip - 7
Buddy Baker - 6
Fireball Roberts - 5
Neil Bonnett - 4
Jimmie Johnson - 3
Joe Weatherly - 2
Matt Kenseth - 1
Dale Jarrett - 0
Benny Parsons - 0
Kurt Busch - 0
Ricky Rudd - 0
Bobby Labonte - 0
Harry Gant - 0
Mark Martin - 0
Ned Jarrett - 0
Derrike Cope - 0^
Kenny Wallace - 0
Curtis Turner - 0^
Adam Petty - 0
^Failed to qualify

Pole speed: 193.021 mph
Race speed: 169.201 mph
Margin of victory: 0.358 second
Time of race: 53 min., 11 sec.
Cautions: 2 for 8 laps
Lead changes: 6 among 4 drivers


Race 2
The second race was faster, stranger, and had a more fantastic finish than the first.

It began with a bizarre moment on the second lap.  Thomas, two-time champion of the series in the early 1950s and inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2016, pulled off the track just two laps into the race.  Worse yet, he was told by NASCAR officials that he was somehow ineligible to start the Daytona 500!  Needless to say, Thomas was angry and stormed off when FOX tried to interview him.

(This development was based on how I set the finishing order: career records in the qualifiers.  As with the Clash, drivers with the most wins were the race winners, and everyone else finished in order of career wins, followed by best remaining finishes.  Thomas was one of three drivers who never drove in a qualifier, so I had to put him in last place.  Unfortunately, this was contrary to the whole idea that drivers would race their way to either better starting positions or the race itself.  Failing that, Thomas had to have a speed fast enough to back into the event.  But he finished only sixth out of eight, which was not good enough.  The other two with zero attempts did get in: Tim Flock was one of the 36 guaranteed competitors, while Adam Petty [3rd] fell back on his speed when Buddy Baker raced in.  Bottom line: This was an unintended consequence for which I take full responsibility.)

Meanwhile, Tony Stewart used a combination of patience and aggression to grab the lead from Bill Elliott on lap 15.  Davey Allison led three laps (29-31) during a series of green flag pit stops, then Elliott retook the point.

On lap 44 came the only caution, for by far the biggest crash of the night.  Lee Petty cut a tire, and he slid on the superstretch, Buck Baker, Rusty Wallace, Davey Allison, and Tim Richmond went down with him.

Once the race resumed, Elliott continued to dominate.  However, that would end on lap 58, when Jeff Gordon stormed ahead to the front.  On the final lap, Bobby Allison (Davey's father) came up with a full head of steam and challenged for the lead, but it was not enough.  Gordon won by just .008 (eight-thousandths) of a second!

(The close finish reflected Gordon's tiebreaker edge over Allison.  Both had five wins, but Gordon finished second five times, Allison twice.)

Full-field rundown with point totals:
  1. Jeff Gordon
  2. Bobby Allison
  3. Bill Elliott
  4. Tony Stewart
  5. Sterling Marlin
  6. David Pearson
  7. Michael Waltrip
  8. Richard Petty
  9. A.J. Foyt
  10. Terry Labonte
  11. Jeff Burton
  12. Fred Lorenzen
  13. Davey Allison
  14. Dave Marcis
  15. Rusty Wallace
  16. Buck Baker
  17. Alan Kulwicki
  18. Tim Richmond
  19. Lee Petty
  20. Casey Atwood
  21. Tim Flock
  22. Herb Thomas
*Not eligible for points
^Failed to qualify

Pole speed: 192.963 mph
Race speed: 193.173 mph
Margin of victory: 0.010 second
Time of race: 46 min., 35 sec.
Cautions: 1 for 4 laps
Lead changes: 5 among 3 drivers

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