Earnhardt VS JARRETT ~ "The Dale And Dale Show"
2/04/2014
Jim Fitzgerald
It was Valentine’s Day in 1993 when the 35th edition of Daytona 500 was run, but the love to be had was in short supply. One of the most hotly contested Daytona 500’s in history would result in some bad feelings during the race, while there were some rather horrific crashes as well. The end of the day featured a battle that most who were there to witness it that day would find it almost impossible to forget.
Richard Petty, who retired at the end of the 1992 season, waved the green flag for the race, and it was his son Kyle in the No. 42 Mello Yello Pontiac who took it first as the pole sitter. He was flanked on the outside by Dale Jarrett in his Joe Gibbs prepared No. 18 Interstate Batteries Chevrolet Lumina. Neither one of those two drivers would lead the first lap however, as it was the second row which showed its strength early. It would be Dale Earnhardt on the inside, and some rookie by the name of Jeff Gordon on the outside. It would be that rookie who would lead the first lap, but it was a short run as Dale Jarrett showed his car’s power, taking the lead and holding it for two laps before the first caution of the day came out. Dick Trickle, in the No. 75 Rahmoc car had an engine retire before he was ready. Jarrett kept the lead during the caution laps, but on Lap 8, it would be the Intimidator, The Dominator, and One Tough Customer, Dale Earnhardt in his black Chevy Lumina going to the point, and getting pressure from Geoff Bodine in Bud Moore’s No. 15 Ford.
Earnhardt would continue to lead, however, but Jimmy Hensley in Jimmy Means’ No. 52 NAPA car had his day end early with a billow of smoke and eventual slide into the retaining wall. When the race returned to green, Earnhardt would keep the lead for another lap, but then it was Kyle Petty proving that his winning of the pole was no fluke. Petty had moved from 13th position to take the lead from Earnhardt in only two laps! Then it was Petty’s lead that was short lived as Jeff Gordon got his No. 24 DuPont ride back to the front, but it wasn’t long until Ken Schrader passed his rookie Hendrick Motorsports team mate! Schrader could only keep the lead for two laps, though, as Earnhardt charged back to the point after a quick push by Ernie Irvan in the No. 4 Morgan-McClure owned Kodak Chevy. So, it was Earnhardt, Schrader in his No. 25 Kodiak ride, Irvan, and Jeff Gordon all in Chevrolets at the front. 1992 Winston Cup Champion Alan Kulwicki in his Hooters No. 7 was the top Ford in the field.
On Lap 30, Schrader got a push by Irvan and went back to the lead, but gave it to Earnhardt again just eight laps later. Bobby Hillin, Jr. in Junie Donlavey’s No 90 Ford was running in the fifth position and charging. Michael Waltrip in the No. 30 Pennzoil Pontiac was in the mix as well, as was Al Unser, Jr.
Al Unser, Jr.? True. Unser ran the 1993 Daytona 500 in a No. 46 Valvoline Chevy provided by Hendrick Motorsports! He had wrecked the original car in one of the twin qualifying races, so Unser was running Ken Schrader’s Busch Clash car as a back-up.
Earnhardt led the next nine laps, but it was Schrader pushing back by him again to lead a few more laps, but then Geoff Bodine made his bid and took the lead as the race hit the ¼ complete mark. Rick Wilson in Richard Petty’s No. 44 STP ride also took a turn at the lead, as did Hut Stricklin in his Junior Johnson owned McDonald’s No. 27 Ford as the teams were making green flag pit stops. 1990 Daytona 500 Champion Derrike Cope made a pit stop on an earlier caution, and was able to stay out and lead the next ten laps, hoping for a caution the entire time. He wouldn’t get it, and had to pit, turning the lead over to Harry Gant in his No. 33 Skoal Bandit, who was on a different pit strategy as well, and had a fifteen second lead over Earnhardt. Those four laps did pass, and Earnhardt took the lead once again.
The race continued under green until Lap 130. Earnhardt, Hillin, Petty, Schrader, Cope, Stricklin, and Davey Allison all took turns leading the Daytona 500. Dale Jarrett, Ernie Irvan, Jeff Gordon, and Geoff Bodine were all competitive during this time and hanging around near the front of the race. Kulwicki’s car had gone down to seven cylinders, and he would not be a factor in the finish.
On Lap 124, Kyle Petty had to make an unscheduled pit stop, and it looked as if his day was over. On their previous stop, Petty’s crew had been able to get only one can of fuel in the car. This gave the lead back to Dale Earnhardt, but he was ahead of the pack by himself, with the rest of the leaders bearing down quickly. As Joe Ruttman made a pit stop, he saw the No. 8 Raybestos Ford of Sterling Marlin slide by, spinning out of control. What Ruttman may have missed was Marlin had just had a hard landing after getting a bit airborne after contact with Michael Waltrip. This brought out the caution on Lap 130.
Kyle Petty, by having just made a pit stop, was now on just about the same sequence as everyone else. Earnhardt still continued to lead through the caution and after the restart, but then there was another caution on Lap 135 when Rick Wilson slapped the wall and then collected The No. 68 of Bobby Hamilton. There was still a black No. 3 at the point through all of this and even to the ¾ point of the race. With 50 laps to go, it was 1991 Daytona 500 Champion Ernie Irvan taking a turn to kiss the wall which would bring out yet another caution after Irvan was touched by the No. 66 car of Derrike Cope. He was okay, but the race was about to shake up.
On Lap 157, as the cars came out most treacherous Turn No. 4, Dale Earnhardt made slight contact with Al Unser, Jr., which sent Unser’s car down into Bobby Hillin’s No. 90. Hillin’s damage was mainly to the right front of the car, and it sent the hood up and flapping over the windshield, blocking Hillin’s view. Unser and Hillin slid through the infield, and while Unser was able to get his car going in the right direction, Hillin was not so lucky. His car slipped up back onto the track, as he has no brakes, and it moved right into the path of the pole-sitter, Kyle Petty. Petty had tried to slow but was unable to stop in time, striking Hillin. The cars slid down to the apron of the track, side by side, Petty on the inside and Hillin on the outside. Petty was the first out of his car, and initially it appeared as though he was checking on Hillin’s well-being. However, it became quickly apparent that Petty was angry. Hillin was still trying to extract himself from his car when Petty began walking away in anger. Hillin caught up and tried to explain what happened, but Petty wanted none of it. He threw his arm up and tried to warn Hillin to leave him alone, but Hillin persisted. Finally, Petty turned to face Hillin and grabbed him by the bottom portion of his helmet. Petty’s frustration was evident, and he gave Hillin’s helmet one final shake before releasing it and walking away again. By this time some NASCAR officials were on the scene and were able to separate the two.
Comments were not forthcoming from Petty or Hillin, but
Unser laid most of the blame on Earnhardt, who was working his way back to the
front. Cope was still in the lead,
however, when the race went back to green.
One lap later, it was Sterling Marlin who took that wild ride earlier in
the race coming to the point. And then
it was Hut Stricklin. And then it was
Dale Earnhardt, and then Stricklin, and then Earnhardt again in a “we’re
getting down to it” type of exchange.
That was Lap 169. Lap 170, well,
that was a lot different. As the leaders came out of Turn 2, the racing got very tight
off of the turn. Michael Waltrip in his
No. 30 Pennzoil car bounced slightly off of the backstretch wall and down into
Cope’s Bojangles No. 66. Waltrip’s car
turned down toward the infield as did Cope’s.
Cope’s car then collected the No. 2 Miller Genuine Draft Pontiac of
Rusty Wallace. Wallace’s car then turned
back toward the outside retaining wall,, but instead
of sliding, it dug in. Now, any NASCAR fans knows what happens when a car is sideway in motion and
the tires are not allowed to move. The
car started a series or rolls which included a cartwheel, end over end, and
eventually a succession of barrel rolls, which completely shredded the car
before it finally came to rest on its wheels. Wallace suffered a small cut on his face and
a few bruises, but he walked to the ambulance and was released from the infield
care center. Waltrip and Cope had spun
harmlessly into the infield grass and were uninjured as well.
The race returned to green flag conditions on Lap 174, and
Earnhardt continued to lead, but the challengers were coming. Dale Jarrett, Jeff Gordon, Hut Stricklin, Ken
Schrader, Geoff Bodine, Morgan Shepherd and Mark Martin were all in the running
with twenty-five laps to go. Jarrett
took the lead on Lap 177, but then Earnhardt took it right back two laps
later. With sixteen laps to go, Gordon
swung by Jarrett and took over the second place, sending Jarrett back to
fourth, behind Geoff Bodine. Jarrett
took only a lap to move back past Bodine and into the third place. This had allowed Earnhardt with Jeff Gordon
on his bumper to break away into a about a ten car length lead. With five to go, Jarrett has closed the gap
with the help of the lightly mangled MotorCraft Ford
of Geoff Bodine pushing. With two laps
to go, Jarrett moved to the outside of Gordon and pushed his way to the second
place position, and right on the bumper of the leader, Dale Earnhardt. As the cars entered Turn Three, Jarrett was pushing on Earnhardt
very hard, and Earnhardt’s car appeared to be losing the handling, getting
loose a few laps prior. In Turn Three,
Earnhardt’s car did just as Jarrett needed and wanted, and pushed high into the
third turn. Jarrett pounced, and moved
next to The Intimidator with a little help from Jeff Gordon, but then Gordon
moved up to help Earnhardt, and Earnhardt led Lap 199. Geoff Bodine and Hut Stricklin filled in for
Gordon as Jarrett’s partners, and pushed Jarrett into the lead! Bodine was still pushing though, and as
Jarrett moved up in front of Earnhardt, Bodine went for the lead. The Chevrolets of Jarrett, Earnhardt, and
Gordon all hooked up together, however, were too much to overcome, and Bodine
faded, as did Gordon and Stricklin.
Going down the back stretch it appeared to be a two man race for the
Daytona 500. As the cars entered the third turn, Jarrett brought his car
down to the inside after riding high for quite some time. This enabled him to keep the car in front,
and Earnhardt’s ill-handling car struggled to stay in contact. Coming out of the fourth turn and into the
short chute, Jarrett pre-emptively blocked any low move that Earnhardt would
have made, and he was able to hold Earnhardt off and capture his first Daytona
500, his first win for Joe Gibbs Racing, and his second career win. Earnhardt did finish second that day,
followed by Bodine, Stricklin, and Gordon in fifth in his first Daytona 500. If you were watching this race on television as it happened,
you know that for the last lap and a half, broadcaster Ned Jarrett was telling
us what Jarrett needed to do to win the race, and then as if Jarrett was
listening, he did exactly that. As the
cars came out of the second turn on the final lap, the CBS crew asked Ken Squier and Neil Bonnett to back
out and let Ned make the call to bring his son home to a Daytona 500
victory. That call from Gentlemen Ned
went a little something like this: "Go,
buddy, go! All right, come on! I know he's got it to the floorboard, he can't
do anymore! Come on! Take her to the inside! Don't let him get on the inside of
you coming around this turn! Here he comes, Earnhardt; it's the "Dale and
Dale Show" as we come off Turn 4! You know who I'm pulling for, it's Dale
Jarrett. Bring her to the inside, Dale! Don't let him get down there! He's gonna make it! Dale Jarrett's gonna
win the Daytona 500!"
Jarrett would go on to win two more Daytona 500’s in 1996
and 2000, and the 1999 Winston Cup Championship. As for Earnhardt, it would be another year of
Oh So Close for the seven-time Cup Champion, but he would finally get that
elusive Daytona 500 victory five years later in the 1998 version of The Great
American Race. Both men are now
enshrined in the NASCAR Hall Of Fame. Be sure to follow me @Forewasabi
on Twitter. Sometimes I give stuff away.