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Monday, February 17, 2003

By Chris Dolack, Special to the Post-Gazette

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- When it comes to rules, NASCAR doesn't mess around. In its eyes, there is no gray area. Because of that, Chip Ganassi lost a chance at becoming the first owner to win a Daytona 500 and an Indianapolis 500.

Michael Waltrip powered his Dale Earnhardt Inc., Chevrolet to victory in the rain-shortened Daytona 500 yesterday, but one of the few drivers who was able to keep pace with the lead pack was Ganassi's top driver, Sterling Marlin. A chance for the lead was virtually eliminated, though, because NASCAR officials penalized Marlin on lap 71 when his Dodge slipped below the yellow line that marks the left side of the track at the 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway.

The move helped Marlin avoid hitting Elliott Sadler, who had squeezed Marlin to the low side of the track. But in going below the line, Marlin got past Sadler, which violates what has become one of the most-debated NASCAR rules at superspeedways since horsepower-reducing restrictor plates were mandated. The penalty required Marlin to stop at his pit stall before continuing, which dropped him to 38th. Considering there had already been one rain delay, and another would eventually force the race to end shortly after the halfway point, there was little hope Marlin, who wound up 17th, could work his way back through the field.

What raised Marlin's ire was the statement by NASCAR President Mike Helton in the driver's meeting before the race. Helton said any driver who went below the yellow line, as well as the driver who forced him there, would be penalized. Sadler did not receive a penalty.

"They need to get their story straight," said Marlin, who won the Daytona 500 in 1994 and '95 for Morgan-McClure Racing. "I had a good run on [Sadler] -- me and a whole pack of cars. I thought something happened to his car. I pulled down, I was still in bounds, and all of the sudden he hooks a hard left and it's either get out of the gas, get run over from behind, get hit in the right front and send it into Lake Lloyd or keep going. I went over the line probably a foot."

That was enough to effectively end a bid by Fox Chapel's Ganassi for a victory at Daytona. He won the Indianapolis 500 with driver Juan Montoya in 2000. His team's two other drivers, Jamie McMurray, who finished 31st, and Casey Mears, who finished 27th, never mounted a serious charge in their Daytona 500 debuts.

"After each rain delay everybody was wanting to go a little faster," said Mears, nephew of four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Rick Mears. "It got crazy out there at times, but I was wanting to finish it bad. I wanted to get all the miles under my belt and get all the experience I could."