Talladega II

Recent News: Bobby Labonte has the pole for the Daytona race Saturday night. Martin starts 6th, Gordon starts 8th.

This week, and next week, brings sort of an oddity to NASCAR with back-to-back restrictor plate races. I do not like restrictor plate racing. I have heard several WC drivers say in interviews that they do not like restrictor plate racing. I have been known to write letters to NASCAR complaining about it, and I imagine that a lot of other fans have also. It was a waste of time and paper.

The old story in defense of the plates goes back to '87 when Bobby Allison went airborne in a wreck and tore out thirty feet of fencing in front of the grandstands at Talladega. The powers that be decided that the speeds needed to be curbed in order to provide a safe atmosphere for the fans, and drivers as well. They came up with the restrictor plate that goes between the carburetor and the intake manifold. The plate restricts the size of the four ports that allow fuel to enter the engine, cutting the engines performance by over 200 horse power.

Bill Elliott has the NASCAR speed record, 212+ MPH for a lap at Talladega before the plates were mandated. Ken Schrader won the pole with 196+ MPH last week. Some difference!

The main complaint from the drivers is that the restricted speeds bunch all of the cars up together, because a single car lacks the power to pull away from the pack. Then, when there's an accident, it collects up the whole bunch, and really gets nasty at such high speeds. You can not race that way - that's what I have heard a lot of them say in the garage, standing beside their torn up race cars.

Enough grumbling about restrictor plates. It looks like Michael Waltrip will be replacing Geoff Bodine in the No. 7 car next year. The team is switching from Ford to Chevrolet for the '99 season. Ted Musgrave is replacing Rick Mast in the N0. 75 car next season. It has been reported that they will be using Yates engines.

Winston 500

Dale Jarrett finally won his million, as an eligible driver for the Winston No Bull Five, by holding off Jeff Gordon to take the checkered flag. The top five finishers will be eligible for next season's Winston prizes, which will be announced next Saturday at the Daytona night race.

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