NASCAR requires race teams to use restrictor-plate engines at Daytona and Talladega, its two fastest tracks. For a driver to push his car to the limit at the two superspeedways, he must draft with other drivers to maximize aerodynamics. Sometimes a driver drafts with a racing partner; sometimes he drafts with a car from another team.
In February's Daytona 500, Mark showed what can go
wrong when you pick the wrong dancing partner. In the closing
laps of the season-opener, Mark made a deal with Dale
Jarrett to work together to pass leader Johnny Benson.But when the opportunity for the two drivers arrived, Mark went high and Jarrett dipped toward the apron. Mark was hung out in the draft briefly and dropped back to finish fifth. Jarrett, who ended up winning, said he had to bail out because Jeff Burton was charging hard on the inside groove.
After the race, Mark uttered his line, "I got lied to" about the broken deal with Jarrett.
"You have to have a drafting partner, but finding someone whose car is suitable and who is willing to work with you is a big part of that game," Mark said. "It is an ongoing challenge."
Mark probably won't forget what Jarrett did, but he apparently retains a cordial relationship with him. Even Mark's teammate, Jeff Burton, acknowledges that broken deals are common in restrictor-plate racing.
"Mark and I had a conversation before the race, and we said, 'If you can help me, you help me, but if it's going to harm you, don't do it,"' Burton said. "That always happens on a restrictor-plate race, where somebody gets mad at somebody else. It's not done out of malice. It's just out of protecting yourself."
Johnny Benson, driver of the No. 10 Pontiac, was on the verge of pulling an upset in the February race when a fleet of six Fords -- including Jarrett and Mark -- ganged up on him at the end.
"The only partners you really have are the guy in front of you and the guy behind you, and that changes throughout the race," Benson said. "I don't care what anyone promises you before the race or on the team radios during the race. If they think they can help themselves, they are going to forget about any agreement just as fast as they can."
More surprising than the Mark-Jarrett fiasco at the Daytona 500 was the on-track feud between the Earnhardts. Dale Sr. and Dale Jr. left each other out of the draft on at least two occasions, costing both better finishes. It resulted in the father and son trading barbs through the media after the event.
"I don't think you really pick and choose who you go with, you just go with what works best for you at the time," Earnhardt Sr. said. "You hope that it is someone you feel confident with, but that doesn't always happen. It's who's your friend for this lap."
Rookies usually have the toughest times in restrictor-plate racing. Because they're new to the major-league circuit, veteran racers aren't jumping at the chance to draft with an inexperienced driver only inches away at speeds in excess of 190 mph. One wrong move can ignite a life-threatening wreck.
"These guys will avoid rookies a little bit, but that's just part of the game," said Dave Blaney, first-year driver of the Pontiac No. 93. "You've just got to hang in there and not make any moves to get yourself shuffled back. Then you'll be OK."
