The Charlotte Observer from Charlotte, North Carolina • 21

14 Zht artotte (therm I 1 1 TS Section Monday February 17 1986 Zht Obserret Monday February 17 1986 For Scores Call ScorePhone (704) 379-6535 It il reezes me Daytona 111 Ron 01 Green Duel On Last Lap With Earnhardt Never Materializes Earnhardt Falters As Gas Gauge Falls 0 Kw w- m- 1 1 --li 1 t1' 4 1 lotiPR: --1 4Vt14 A ticr44" 1 :1 4 e' 4-4 lk -(-'4J '4' I ----N "4i- 044 r0-- ti tct 4rr r1: 1 rr-A IN r-rr---4- 1 '''''''''''1') NNk 444tIt -Iri'-- 47-1 40 ti r': 44 '0-F4'1 rt) '7-71140 'f i 1 ::::770: -4-Ti ozfu I 1i- -4 l'531z4virr or p---4 1 4 1 0 41 4-40 i i 14 3 0-- i-4 -V'( '4'4' By TOM HIGGINS Staff Writer DAYTONA BEACH Fla Geoff Bodine tensely conserving fuel and tires for a developing last-lap duel with archrival Dale Earnhardt instead found himself breezing to victory in a bizarre wreck-marred Daytona 500 Sunday It was home free for Bodine when Earnhardt and not he ran out of gas near the conclusion of the NASCAR Winston Cup Series season opener at Daytona International Speedway Earnhardt three for three through the week in preliminary a( events leading to stock car racing's biggest show had seemed poised perfectly for a decisive slingshot It IITStm 1-' pass hanging tight on Bodine's bumper in a battle of Chevrolets over the final 25 laps But on the 197th of 200 laps at ov44 fo JIi4-0 1 the 25-mile track Earnhardt sud- 'k denly whipped onto pit road for enough fuel to finish the race As Earnhardt left the pits his car's Bodine engine erupted destining him to a 14th-place finish after being in or near the lead throughout "When I saw Dale run out of gas I just breezed the rest of the way" said an ecstatic Bodine who waved his arms and pounded the steering wheel in glee en route to victory lane where he was smothered with kisses from wife Kathy NASCAR officials said a postrace inspection showed Bodine's Chevy had nine-tenths of a gallon of gas remaining in the fuel cell (tank) enough for about one more lap "I was just sort of riding behind Geoff to save gas but we ran out anyway" said Earnhardt "The crew sprayed ether into the carburetor during the stop to prime it and turns out it just detonated the engine as I left pit road Congratulations to Geoff At least the winner was in a Chevrolet" Bodine 36 sped under the checkered flag 112 seconds ahead of runner-up Terry Labonte's Oldsmobile Darrell Waltrip and Bobby Hillin both driving Chevrolets finished third and fourth in the lead lap Olds-driving Benny Parsons was fifth a lap down Completing the top 10 were Ron Bouchard Rick Wilson Rusty Wallace Sterling Marlin and Lake Speed There was a heavy attrition rate as wrecks and mechanical failures thinned the field of 42 starters to 20 cars running at the finish The biggest crash came on lap 117 and involved 11 cars mostly contenders running about four seconds back of Bodine and Earnhardt Neil Bonnett appeared to trigger the incident when his Chevy down 16 laps because of transmission trouble spun between the third and fourth turns That set off a chain reaction involving Joe Ruttman Cale Yarborough Harry Gant Tommy Ellis Lake Speed Buddy Baker Kyle Petty Phil Parsons Waltrip and Bill Elliott the prerace cofavorite with Earnhardt Ruttman Gant Yarborough and Bonnett were eliminated outright and the accident forced the retirement of Baker's car later Pole-winner Elliott's Ford was damaged to the extent that he lost two laps and the 500's defending champion wound up 13th None of the drivers in this melee were hurt See BODINE Page 6C Staff Photo BY MARK SLUCtER Pit crew exults after Geoff Bodine takes Daytona 500 checkered flag 4 it Winner Was Born 0 nace DAYTONA BEACH Fla If it hadn't been dripping irony it would have been funny Aw to heck with irony It was funny Even Dale Earnhardt laughed about it and he had Just had his heart carved out by a gas gauge The Daytona 500 had ended Sunday and the cars were circling the track one more time after the checkered flag had waved over Geoff Bodine And there was Bill Elliott's Ford tered in a midrace multicar 1 wreck and slapped around I again in a supermarket 4 parking lot fender bender on pit road And it was tn 71'4 pushing Dale Earnhardt's stalled Chevrolet back to the pits the lame helping ie the lame Along the way Y4 4 they stopped and picked up Ron Bouchard's dead mount oi as well t4 "Bill was the cleanup Earnhardt man I reckon" said Earnhardt Even he thought it was funny and he had just seen a dreamy chance at winning the the sport's richest race disappear with three laps to go when he ran out of gas Elliott and Earnhardt had been the names on the marquee over the past several days between them winning everything there was to win in the elaborate preliminaries Elliott had led qualifying and won a 125- mile race Earnhardt had won the Busch Clash which matches pole winners from the previous year the other 125-mile race and a 300-mile sportsman race Sunday's 500-miler was supposed to be their show with Bodine's Chevy lurking in the wings Elliott who had a charmed 11-win $2 million season in 1985 finished two laps down in 13th place His agony was prolonged Earnhardt's came like a sucker punch With three laps to go Bodine was running in front and Earnhardt was an inch or two behind exactly where he wanted to be He would wait until the last lap then use the peculiar aerodynamics of these high-speed tracks to slingshot around It was all but inevitable Being second on the last lap at Daytona is better than being first Bodine slowed hoping Earnhardt would go around but he knew better "I think if I had gone down pit road he would've followed me" said Bodine But halfway through the 197th turn around the 214 mile course Earnhardt looked at his gas gauge and said "Aw no" or something like that The needle normally stays around 6 or 7 When it drops to 5 you're running on fumes His read 314 He had no choice but to dive onto pit road as Bodine sped away Earnhardt's engine died in the pits and a crewman shot ether into it to get it restarted When Earnhardt hurried back out to try for the highest finish he could manage the ether detonated broke the engine and left him sitting on the backstretch nothing more than a spectator while cars flew by By the time the thing ended he had been dropped all the way back to 14th But as he climbed out of his car in the garage he smiled and said "Well bleep" Then he pulled on a headband a la Jim McMahon that read "France" a reference to NASCAR's ruling family It was something he was going to do in the winner's circle "Maybe it Jinxed me" he said Bodine had made his last pit stop with 41 laps to go Earnhardt with 39 But Earnhardt had to burn a lot of fuel making up a five-second deficit after the stop There was one more caution period after that a tempting invitation to go in for a few gulps of fuel but both chose to gamble and stay out Earnhardt said it was obviously a mistake on his part Before his gauge went south Earnhardt loved what was unfolding "I was sitting there waiting" he said "just saving tires and gas 1 was gonna race him on the last lap I was where I wanted to be if I'd just had a gallon or two left" Bodine had less than a gallon left when he finished "If I hadn't run out of gas it would've been a helluva finish wouldn't it?" said Earnhardt "Who knows what would've happened "But when you see the gas gauge go down what can you do? You come in and get some gas" Earnhardt seemed remarkably placid after his 15th-round knockout when he was in position to become the only man to win four races at Daytona during a single Speed Weeks session He didn't throw any tool boxes or kick his car or eat a wrench "I can take losing Just like I can take winning" he said "Ain't nothing to complain about It's been a helluva week for me "But now the party's over" recalled "Whichever like all other little boys who see the 500 I fantasized about winning it some day" On Sunday it came true for Bodine now 36 and a transplant to North Carolina along with his entire family which came South to watch and help him race in the bigtime And how did he react? "I was like that little boy all over again crying in happiness See BEST Page BC the Chemung Speedrome a little quarter-mile layout in south central New York state By the time Geoff was five his dad had constructed a go-kart racer for him Not long afterward little Geoff started helping out with chores around the track As part of his reward Geoff was treated to a trip with his parents to the Daytona 500 "I can't remember exactly how old I was the first time we came to Daytona Beach but I was probably eight or nine" Bodine once By TOM HIGGINS Staff Writer DAYTONA BEACH Fla It's not very well known but Daytona 500 winner Geoff Bodine was born to race Much like Richard Petty and Buddy Baker and Dale Earnhardt successful second-generation drivers on NASCAR's Winston Cup circuit In 1949 the year Geoff was born his father Eli was building Is Necktie Key In 49er Win Streak? Devils Slip Past Irish C) :10 4tf --ftt)ty 05031404 7 40t4 44 strtilsolliki4 ''s1 4071410ible140011 t' tSks' lh 4 2 x'fi: t' i 'f' 't Nt4 1 :14 1 i '''5iC': i 14: I (4 4 i 1 it i a 4 1 "-t)it 04404ttzy givoie iot 4 ::141: 'Ir'' 4 :::4 A ''''i: -v 5 4 1 "It' i 1- ::404:07 Itt (0111Ne 4' I 1 fez- 4 lo 1 io'- 2' 1E718" vh44cri 1- atk '''3i'S: :1 1: ll Ar 111 if04 (: 44 tm 0k rts A-- 40o NA ri --) -or ft -4 ft it iA et 1- 7 el elie 4 '''P': I EE i41 4: -Z il 555 A1 4 1:: 1 1 Ll' EC1! 1t' 1 rt 7(4 op 4 1 t-'4 I ie'" 1 'Al i4i: k0----vi'' 1 :0 A 0 111 7 ''l 1 4- 1 ii By STAN OLSON Staff Writer Going into today's 7:35 pm Sun Belt Conference college basketball game with Alabama-Birmingham at the Charlotte Coliseum UNCC is on a genuine but short winning streak And that means that the normally dapper Mark Co lone (7 T' 1 UNCC's sports 4 '''7'' information di- '1 1' rector will A a1 1 1 leave his tie -Ittv lwilAv home again to 4 night r' -Li--1 Desperate 4 Thursday over 41-'1'1i the 49ers' 12- --io lr game losing streak Colone I 4 6 shucked the tie Colone before UNCC's league game at South Alabama Although he said he felt nearly naked without it his 49ers won And after the game first-year coach Jeff Mullins told Colone "No tie for Wake Forest In fact I don't want you changing anything but your underwear" Mullins isn't superstitious He Just figures there's no sense pressing your luck So the new casual Colone was on hand at Wake Forest Saturday night And UNCC upset the Deacons 62-61 It will be tougher to continue the streak tonight since Gene Bartow's Alabama-Birmingham team (8-5 Sun Belt 21-8) has crept into several top 20s this season In addition the Blazers are coming off a 48-46 loss to South Alabama on Saturday But if the 49ers (1-11 7-17) continue their winning ways they'll snap a distasteful streak UNCC has lost 13 straight to the Blazers As usual the 49ers will be led by Junior forward Mike Milling The Sun Belt's leading scorer is on a roll lately with seven consecutive 20-point games He has played all 40 minutes tn the last six By KEVIN QUIRK Staff Writer DURHAM The superlatives were flowing from every tongue for Johnny Dawkins after he pulled Duke from the fire A again Sunday in the final sec- onds of a 75-74 IN 1 college basket- 4 ball victory glow $1 over Notre Dame Vvt t4' Dawkins 4 I blocked a po- 1 NoI i tential game Dawkins winning shot by David Rivers with about two seconds left securing the Blue Devils' No 2 ranking in the national polls this week Only 18 hours earlier Dawkins's two free throws with two seconds left allowed Duke (25-2) to skip out of NC State with a 72-70 ACC triumph Another day another heroic play in the life of one of the ACC's inspiring players "He showed why I think he's the premier player in the conference the player of the year in the ACC" said Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski "He's done such a great job in whatever role we put him in He did a great Job handling our ball club while still guarding Rivers and his last play was just great defense" Dawkins had to run the Blue Devil offense for most of the second half because point guard Tommy Amaker wasn't there to do it Amaker went out with his fourth foul Just one minute 16 seconds into the half then fouled out after a brief stint with 4:23 remaining He had a front-row seat to marvel at his backcourt mate See DUKE Page 3C Inside Staff Photo fiE0 WILSOW Roaring Lions: West Charlotte's unbeaten boys ranked No 1 in The Observer's Sweet 16 are relaxed here But the Lions are readying themselves for their Tr-County 4A tournament opener Thursday itto 2::: Staff Photo liv PO WILSON It's Prep Tournament Time Country Day A Champion Charlotte Country Day's wrestling team has won another NC Independent Schools Athletic Association championship Page 4C Maryland Players Coming Back Len Bias and two other Maryland basketball players suspended last week have been reinstated by coach Lefty Driesell Basketball Week Page 3C Also The Carolinas 2C NBA 4C Golf 4C NHL 4C The Nation 2C Prep Standings 4C Score Phone 379-6535 playing for regular-season titles So by now the rest of the leagues know about the favored teams In their conferences and are intent on trying to knock off the big guns That's what Is so special about this time of year It's the hunters against the hunted By CHRIS HOBBS Staff Writer A month from today the high school basketball picture will be clearer It'll be March 17 and you'll know which teams are going to play for the NC championships Only Southeastern 4A Northwestern 4A and Charlotte Independent Schools Athletic Association teams are still See IT'S HIGH Page 4C.