The Charlotte Observer from Charlotte, North Carolina • 26

4DIMMMIIEDINSIMMOmime 6C THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER Monday February 17 1986 Daytona 500 Bodine Coasts In 500 As Earnhardt Falters re :4 A0415Ate tit (76 A 1: zitAr roAlo 2: :::::::::2:::::::::: Ai ttly r1 41 i tt ---1- ow" 1 4r: i IN 4- :9: 14 0 9: 1 jc-" 4 -z1 4 4 ti I 0 0 tt 1Nti 44 -44---: 1' 1 0 ---i: 1 14 I''N 'E-- 3- 1- 17104te 1 I''': 1 I' 4' s' 1:090: 7:: 1 A :0 4: Aellgt: 3) I 7 -W 'i e- I Y''''''' '''ocui' A 0Atasg40114 ''''''I4': I 'isi7i9 'fi 'i 4: 1 tdo'''''4-777 4' i ks -0 airrot 41 1 1 1 ki '317 4::: '47N 4:::4:4 t' :4 4007 1 11i ro046i0) 77i' AL 00 i ott fkV: 4' It it1'4' A 'It iso 40 k': ::::0:: Imio 44tJ0 :044 trigivii iii 4 4 A 4t -74: 4- ---'-'1' offiee Li 1 I t'-''- v144' -4- i 'kl i A "I knew we were going to be on fumes in the fuel department the last lap or two" said Gary Nelson hired Just 212 months ago as Bodine's crew chief in a realignment at Hendrick Motorsports owned by Charlotte auto dealer Rick Hendrick "What concerned me most was the tires We had put on only right sides during our last pit stop and we figured the lefts were really getting worn down "We told Geoff on the radio to back off to save them and he slowed down two or three seconds per lap We were really hoping for another yellow to get new tires on We had a special set in the pits we were saving for the last part of the race" So from a pace of close to 200 mph Bodine slowed to approximately 192 on Nelson's instructions "We knew Earnhardt wouldn't come around" explained Bodine "In the last 15 to 20 laps it had become a strategic race and we felt very sure Dale would stay back there to try and use the slingshot on the last lap" Bodine who had finished third behind Earnhardt and Elliott in the Busch Clash on Feb 9 then second to Earnhardt in a 125-miler on Thursday and the Goody's 300 Saturday was asked what might have happened if his flashy foe hadn't run out of gas Earnhardt and Bodine have had several tangles on NASCAR's small tracks the past two seasons Bodine smiled and shook his head "It would have been very interesting" he replied "A cliffhanger' Instead a crowd of 125000 at the speedway and a national television audience saw a breeze Continued From Page IC However alltime NASCAR victory leader and eight-time Day tona 500 champion Richard Petty was hurt in a single-car crash on Lap 63 Petty suffered a dislocated shoulder when his Pontiac popped the wall in turn two after cutting a tire Petty's shoulder was put back in place at Halifax Hospital and he was released All the trouble resulted in eight yellow flag periods covering 42 laps and held Bodine's average speed to 148124 mph During the period between laps 65 and 128 there were seven yellows leading to 41 of the 68 laps being run under caution The longest span of green in that span was eight laps There were 27 lead changes among 12 drivers but it was apparent that Bodine and Earnhardt had the stronger cars with Bonnett's very close Bodine led 7 times for 92 laps including the final 34 Bonnett led twice for 41 laps and Earnhardt six times for 34 The victory the fourth of Bodine's career and his first on a superspeedway oval earned his Hendrick Motorsports team from Charlotte $192715 a single race record for a regular season NASCAR event The win also put Bodine a transplanted New Yorker who now lives at little Julian just south of Greensboro a leg up on the Winston Million bonus that goes to a driver winning three of the sport's Big Four events in the same season Included in addition to the Daytona 500 are the Winston 500 at Talladega Ala Charlotte's Coca-Cola 600 and the Southern 500 at Darlington SC Elliott won the million payoff last year Staft Photo By MARK SLUDER Determined Richard Petty sits by car before race but went out in a wreck dislocating his shoulder Best Of Many Moves Pat Bodine At Wheel Of Hendrick's Chevy months can win the Daytona 500 but we did it Hard work does wonders Everyone on our crew put in a lot of all-nighters at the shop getting ready to come to Daytona That includes Randy Dorton and Ken Bingham in the engine room" The victory was the second straight at Daytona for Nelson who won the Firecracker 400 last July with driver Greg Sacks and the Di Gard team Nelson also has a previous Daytona 500 victory in 1982 with Bobby Allison As the victory interview continued Bodine was handed a rundown sheet on the 500 He looked at the dollar column and whistled He'd earned $192715 "There's a lot of money involved but that's not why I came here" he said sincerely "I came here to race and be the best" Continued From Page IC and so was my wife Kathy" said Bodine glowing with pride during the winner's Interview at Daytona International Speedway When Bodine 36 pulled his Chevrolet into a tumultuous victory-lane celebration by his Hendrick Motorsports team from Charlotte Kathy almost leaped through the side window to embrace her husband And embrace and embrace and embrace "It wasn't the world's longest kiss" said Bodine "We were just recapping all the hard times and sacrifices we'd made to get into Winston Cup racing all the financial problems we'd endured together and how getting into victory lane at Daytona made it all worthwhile" Bodine shook his head "It's been very hard" he said "Kathy and I had to live apart a couple years Our boys didn't have a father No one knows down in the showroom at my car dealership I knew right then I was going to hire him I wanted anyone who wanted to drive that bad driving for me" Bodine posted three victories for Hen thick in the team's first season in '84 There were no wins last year but Bodine finished fifth in the point standings and won $565865 In a realignment at Hendrick Motor sports during the offseason Bodine was paired with newly hired crew chief Gary Nelson while new driver Tim Richmond Joined Hyde on another Hendrick team "I wanted to pair Geoff and Gary because of their common interest in engineering handling into race cars" said Hendrick The combination clicked Sunday its first time out "I can't thank Rick and Gary enough" said Bodine "It seems impossible that a team that has been together only 2 the same living arrangements It was closer home but still not home Bodine drove sportsman cars for Emmanuel Zervakis and Reds Cagle in 1982 and 1983 And it was in a sportsman event in April 1983 at Darlington (SC) Raceway that Bodine finally got a major break He won the TranSouth 200 impressing Cliff Stewart of High Point mightily Stewart gave Bodine his Winston Cup ride Bodine responded by winning the rookie-of-the-year title That in turn caught the attention of Hendrick forming a new team with veteran crew chief Harry Hyde "Geoff wasn't my first choice" team owner Rick Hendrick admitted Sunday "But I wanted to talk to him anyway After I interviewed Geoff I asked for three or four hours to make up my mind I told Geoff I'd call him He said 'If you don't mind I'll just wait until you decide' And he went out of my office and sat what we've been through Bodine who started racing at Chemung Speedrome in a 1958 Plymouth given him by his grandparents "after they wore it out" traced the career that led him to victory in one of motorsports' most glamorous events After several hot modified division seasons in New England in the early 1970s once winning 53 weekly features in a year Bodine came South to seek stock car racing fame and fortune locating in the Greensboro area But things went sour at the outset He split with the Race Hill Farm team after three races Leaving Kathy and the boys Matthew and Barry at home Geoff an accomplished mechanic went to New Hampshire to build He lived in a motorhome behind the garage In 1980 he went to work in Richmond building sportsman cars and maintaining That's the way it Is for those who are born to race Daytona 500 Results -100r444P4 4 T4 9 s''' 4 41::: -)' 3 ri -f 1: '7 1114 E- A' 4: ii' ":1: a '4 a0r'Vt 41 1 -ife'i '0441T': 4 kos'Y41 --P' elri '19: It r-- (' V4E: Ira '41'3t 's 1 7 Ice 't oda 3 7 f4- 41 4'fil 0r1" 1'7 eyt ''1: -o--- 4 PItrt'll s'r 71r ttzw''' 1 ''''IK "ii julh A1101N i'4 1 1110! 1 "'S: iellit -'----74 7'' 4 1 3Sk tY 1W 7 ''r i1100 1214-' SS '1-: ''''4'''-'" gilt '-1 74ttlittlk c-'! 4- l'''' ''J' Fin St Drive' Cm Laps Earnings Reseed Out 1 2 Geoff Bodine Chewoiet 200 $192715 Running 2 5 Terry Labonte---- Oldsmobile-- 200 103240Running 3 6 Darrell Waltrip Chewolet 200 80515 Running 4 24 Bobby Hillin Jr Chewolet--- 200-- 5 30 Benny Persons Oldsmobile-- 199 47415 Running 6 15 Ron Bouchard Pont 7 17 Rick Wilson ---Oldsmobile 199 36990 Running 8 8 Rusty Wallace 199 9 9 Sterling Marlin Chewolet198 37165 Engine 11 23 Ricky Rudd Ford 32690 Running 12 35 Jody Ridley Ford 196 20 915 Running 13 1 Bill Elliott Ford 198 56 070 Running 14 4 Dale Earnhardt Chevroiet 197 15 34 Doug Heveron Oldsmobile 197 21 120 Runneg 16 7 Kyle Petty Ford 195 23 430 Running 17 29 Dick Trickle Chevrcet 194 15 925 Running 18 Trevor Sort Chevrolet 191 19380--Running 19 20 Tommy Elle Chevrolet 189 15 035 Running 20 39 Tim Richmond Chevrolet 188 Running 21 38 Ken Ragan Chevrolet 22 8 Morgan Shepherd Chewolet 181 15465 Running 23 37 Buddy Ford--- 24 19 Phil Parsons Oldsmobile 174 12705Distributor 25 26 Jim Sauter 01dsnoblia-- 138-- 26 16 Buddy Baker 119 15400Retu End 27 12-- Cale Yarborough Ford 16 12985Wrack 28 33 Joe Ruttman 29 21 AJ Foyt 113 11275ignition 30 14 Harry Gant 19920Wredt 31 31 Eddie Blerschwele 32 13 Neil Bonnet Chevrolet 100 297104Wredt Ken Schrader Ford 91 11300 Englie 34 28 Pancho Carter Ford 79 35 27 Greg Sacks Pontiac 76 16 670 Clutch 36 11 Richard Petty 10790--Wreck 37-- 25-- Mark Martin Ford 38-- 10 Dave Marcie---- 41 13295 Engine 39 42 Jimmy Means 40 22 Larry Pearson Chevrolet 29 9 310 Engine 41 32 Kirk Bryant---- Pontist------ 42 3 Bobby Nlisprt--- 21 Average Speeek 148124 mph Time col Rase three hours 22 minutes 32 seconds Mame if Victory: 1126 seconds Caution Flogs: eight tor 46 laps Lead Chingos: 27 among 12 drivers Harry Gant (33) passes incapacitated Joe Ruttman after 8-car accident on 117th lap Elliott Slowed By 2 Wrecks Says Chevrolets Faster This Time Daytona Notebook In four laps later than Bodine and three after Earnhardt We knew we could go all the way and there was some doubt about them "Where I lost the advantage was by being caught at the end of the field and having to move up through traffic" Labonte finished 112 seconds behind Bodine Neil Bonnett triggered the big wreck when his Chevrolet spun "I went into turn three and suddenly something on the car broke turning me backwards" said Bon-nett who led for 41 laps before developing transmission trouble and losing 16 laps in the pits Swept into the crash in addition to Elliott and Yarborough were Kyle Petty Joe Ruttman Tommy Ellis Harry Gant Buddy Baker Phil Parsons Lake Speed and Darrell Waltrip "I got that back and when 1 did really felt 1 had a shot at winning the race The car was running that good Then the engine began to slow a bit On the restarts the engine wouldn't come up to speed as quickly as the leaders and they would get away from me That's where 1 lost ground" Bobby Hi Ilin Jr claimed fourth place for the finest finish of his young career although Rusty Wallace filed a post-race protest contending that he should have been listed fourth instead of eighth a lap down "Everybody on our team kept their heads up through a tough week" said Hi Ilin 21 who lost his first-choice Buick out of Harrisburg in a wreck during practice tom Higgins DAYTONA BEACH Fla The Daytona 500 understandably had been billed widely as "The Dale and Bill Show" Dale Earnhardt had won three races through the week at Daytona International Speedway while Elliott had taken the 500's pole and another race However it didn't develop that way Sunday In the NASCAR Winston Cup Series season opener Earnhardt held up his part of the act fiercely dueling Geoff Bodine until running out of gas on the 197th of 200 laps and losing his bid to become the first driver to sweep four races during 500 week But Elliott never was a factor in an event he used as a springboard to an 11-victory $24 million season in 1985 "Man I didn't hre anything for anybody today" said Elliott whose Ford led only two laps the first and second in contrast to the 106 he led last year "The Bodine and Earnhardt cars (Chevrolets) had me covered all day and I was running as hard as I could The General Motors cars have their stuff together obviously "Geoff was strong all week he ran second three times in the preliminaries and his luck was bound to change I congratulate him "Our car was pushing (the front end boring to the right) and we kept making chassis adjustments We got the car semi-right then I got messed up in the big wreck" Elliott was referring to a grinding 11-car crash on lap 117 that involved a pack of vehicles running Just behind Bodine and Earnhardt That wreck and a later brush with Jim Sauter in the pits caused enough damage to force repeated pit stops and Elliott wound up 13th two laps behind Yarborough had expressed some consternation over the crash "I had the wreck cleared and along came Bill and cleaned me out" said Yarborough whose Ford also hadfigured strongly in prerace speculation "I think he should have seen me and backed off but he didn't Maybe he couldn't I don't know" It was generally agreed that For the third straight year Waltrip finished third this time despite the wreck and another problem "It was a freak thing" said Waltrip still looking for a first Daytona 500 victory "The win dow net (a safety device on the driver's side) came loose and blew into the cockpit I had to come into the pits to get that fixed and that cost me a lap I Driving smoothly Terry Labonte brought his High Point-based Olds in second after a switch from Chevrolet in the off-season "I thought we were in good shape after the last series of gas stops" said the runner-up who earned $103240 "We came.