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CNN Live At Daybreak

Getting Ready For The Daytona 500

Aired February 15, 2002 - 05:49   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Winston Cup drivers are revving up their engines, getting ready for Sunday's Daytona 500.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, you big meathead.

MYERS: Daytona, Daytona. CNN's "Sports Illustrated" Johnny Phelps has this preview.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHNNY PHELPS, CNN "SPORTS ILLUSTRATED" (on camera): GM cars have held the upper hand throughout speed week, and the trend continued in the qualifying races. Chevys and Pontiacs took four of the top five spots in race No. 1. Jeff Gordon's Chevrolet led all 50 laps.

In the second race, 9 of the top 10 finishers were GM cars. Michael Waltrip's Chevrolet led 46 of the 50 laps. Only two Fords will start among the first 10 rows in Sunday's Daytona 500.

JEFF GORDON, NASCAR DRIVER: Being up front makes a big difference. When you're out front, you know your car handles better. There are guys that just don't seem to be able to get as much of a run on you when you are leading the pack as they do when they're a little bit further back. That's why they start shuffling it up and I almost got by Junior there at the end. But I'll tell you, you know, you can pass out there, and you might see more of it in the 500, but to pass the leader, it's very, very tough.

MICHAEL WALTRIP, NASCAR DRIVER; I walked into Daytona with a lot of confidence and a lot of positive attitude. The boys have really turned this team around in the last few months, and we thought with our strong run at Homestead last fall, and I don't get confident, and I don't get up about racing just because it's a new day. I have to have something to base my confidence on, and I'm basing it on a quality crew chief, a great bunch of guys building engines in cars at DEI.

RICKY RUDD, STARTER DRIVER DAYTONA 500: We were sitting right in line third or fourth there in the beginning of the race, right where we needed to be. And all of a sudden right in the straightaway, they just drove away from us. So you know, I don't have an answer for that. We were the best Ford in our race today, and it wasn't enough to run with the GM cars at all. So I don't have the answers. We just gave it our best shot to see what we had, and we come up fourth today.

FRANK STODDARD, JEFF BURTON'S CREW CHIEF: Their stuff is just way better right now. Them and the Pontiac are the class of the field. There's not a Ford or a Dodge really from what I can see, certainly not a Ford, that has a chance of winning the Daytona 500.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHELPS: We are joined now by our NASCAR plus analyst, Marty Snider. Marty, we saw a Ford domination in 2000. Are we looking at a GM dominant race this Sunday?

MARTY SNIDER, NASCAR ANALYST: Oddly enough, it's the same rules package pretty much, and I think we are looking at a GM dominant race. And when we talk GM, we're talking Chevrolets and Pontiac. And I think the four best cars right now are Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Michael Waltrip and Tony Stewart. They look to me to be able to come up anywhere they want to, low or high on the race track, and I think those are the four best cars.

Now, we could see a rule change, but I doubt it. It's another rule change to help the Fords, so I will think it will be a GM dominated race on Sunday.

PHELPS: From what we have seen in the Bud Shootout and the qualifying races, it's still hard to pass.

SNIDER: It's very hard to pass, and I think passing is very difficult, but not impossible. You can work you way up through the field, but you have to use a lot of strategy, and drivers have to be very careful. So passing is very difficult. But I think we'll see more passing on Sunday, a lot more action, because there's a lot more at stake, and there are better cars in the field. Obviously on Thursday, the field was divided in half. We will see a better race on Sunday.

PHELPS: A couple of historical notes. Dave Marcis is going to start his 33rd Daytona 500, and Shawna Robinson makes the field as the second woman in the Daytona 500, but, Marty, a lot of guys are going home very disappointed.

SNIDER: Yes, and the one that comes to mind immediately is Jimmy Spencer. They had such high hopes coming in, a very highly funded team, a very good team. I asked him if he's going to watch the race on Sunday, since he's going to be home. And he, "No, I've already booked my tee time." So he'll be nowhere near the television set on Sunday.

PHELPS: High noon on Sunday for the Daytona 500. With Marty Snider, I am Johnny Phelps at the Daytona International Speedway.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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