Chevys are from Detroit; Fords are from 'Mars'
by Phil Furr, Special to ESPN.com DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Like a wascally wabbit on a defunct mission to Daytona, this Monte Carlo took a wrong turn at Albuquerque.
As Chevrolet teams scramble to compete at this stock car Mecca, their counterparts in the redesigned Ford Taurus are strategizing a plan to look
inconspicuously dominant in the season opener for the NASCAR Winston Cup Series.
Both are logistical nightmares.
"This Monte Carlo, you can walk in my dealership, any Chevy dealership and buy one just like it," says Sterling Marlin, the driver of the No. 40
Chevrolet who has won two of these Daytona 500s. "You might have to go to Mars to get one like the Fords are running -- you might get one up there.
Jeff Gordon says the new Monte Carlo is still a "bit off" compared to the new Taurus.
"Unless NASCAR does something, you can write Ford on the trophy."
Robert Yates, owner of the No. 88 and No. 28 Fords, has been appointed spinmaster for the Taurus brigade. He can afford to defend his manufacturer,
because his cars and drivers, Dale Jarrett and Ricky Rudd, occupy the front row for Sunday's race.
"The guys at Chevrolet knew what they were doing when they built this Monte Carlo," Yates said.
After the first round of qualifying for the Daytona 500, Tauruses lay scattered throughout the top 15, while Chevrolets filled the void from 16th down.
The final score in this initial volley of the battle: Fords first, second, third and fifth.
Chevrolets 51st, 52nd and 54th and 56th.
There were statistical derivations from that. Mike Skinner was fourth in the No. 31 Monte Carlo. He blamed -- or banked -- his successes on a
lightweight super oil that should've caused his motor to blow up but didn't.
"We gambled," Skinner said. "We used the snake oil in that thing that bit us at Talladega. It's probably blown up now, but it made it across the line.
"We stole something. We knew it was either going to blow up or we were going to run a hell of a lap."
In the same breath, Skinner complimented his car with three "troubles," one "struggling" and one "ugly".
This squabble began -- in essence -- a year ago, when Chevrolet announced it would debut a redesigned version of its Monte Carlo at Lowe's Motor
Speedway.
Invariably, the approval process from NASCAR dragged on longer than expected, in part because the wind-tunnel data produced by the new Chevrolet
was too good. The Monte Carlo's debut was pushed back to Indianapolis and eventually shelved until Daytona 2000.
Meanwhile in Ford land, the engineering team sensed vulnerability and redesigned the hood, nose and rear windshield on the Taurus.
Instead of being the newest horse in the show, Chevrolet was one of two new models. After preseason testing at Daytona last month, the hints of
complaint began dropping. Said one Chevrolet driver after last month's test, "the drag on this car is unbelievable. We need some help with the spoiler."
Unfortunately for Chevrolet, this is Daytona. And, thanks to restrictor-plates and drafting packs of 40 cars, everyone looks equal under race conditions. Jeff Gordon and Marlin each took turns leading the Bud Shootout.
"From what I've seen in Shootout practice, the Chevrolets are every bit as good, if not a little bit better through the corners," Jarrett said. Of
course, Jarrett spanked everybody by cruising to the pole at better than 191 mph. Skinner was more than a mile and half an hour off that pace.
"It all comes down to are we equal," Gordon said. "Are we as fast as them speed wise?
"The down side to that is that in the draft we all look about the same speed. When it comes down to it, we're off a little bit. I don't know where
Skinner came up with that lap yesterday. But other than that all the Chevrolets are pretty much out to lunch."
Race conditions are the equaling factor, at least in NASCAR's eyes. Both NASCAR chief operating officer Mike Helton and Winston Cup Series Director
Gary Nelson said it's wait and see. Helton said he had an inkling there might have been a disparity between the two when, "Forty-five Chevrolet guys inkled
all over me in the garage this morning."
It would be unprecedented for NASCAR to make modifications to a car during Speedweeks. But, neither Helton nor Nelson would rule out such a
maneuver.
"I wouldn't put a high value on making any changes," Helton said. "We will continue to digest the information as it unfolds. We don't think
simply the qualifying for the Daytona 500 is convincing enough data in itself for us to react."
Meanwhile, the Pontiac camp continues to keep a low key approach. Their car didn't change any from last season.
Monte Carlos have won seven of the past 11 Daytona 500s where they've been entered as the Chevy of choice. So far, it doesn't look like No. 8 will come in 2000.
Phil Furr is a freelance writer who contributes regularly to ESPN.com.
