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© St. Petersburg Times, published February 18, 2002
The 44th Daytona 500 started with two first-timers on the front row as rookie pole-sitter Jimmie Johnson and 2001 series Rookie of the Year Kevin Harvick took the green flag. It was the first 500 since 1978 without Dale Earnhardt, who was killed in a last-lap crash a year ago today. It was also the second with a female driver (Shawna Robinson) and the final race for veteran Dave Marcis, who retired after competing in his 33rd Daytona 500. Marcis and Robinson started 14th and 36th, respectively.
VELOCITY BREAKDOWN: On Lap2, one of the prerace favorites, Tony Stewart, who won the Bud Shootout last Sunday and the International Race of Champions at Daytona on Friday, took his No. 20 Pontiac behind the wall after an engine failure. Stewart, second in Winston Cup points last season, finished last and is already 146 points behind in the standings.
PACK MENTALITY?: Last year, three-wide racing created tension. By Lap9 this year, Michael Waltrip was leading a single-file group that included Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jerry Nadeau, Kevin Harvick, Ken Schrader and Bobby Labonte. (Note: No Fords.)
POWER OUTAGE: Also on Lap9, Dave Blaney's No. 77 Ford slowed after experiencing electrical problems.
OH, ANDY: Car owner Andy Petree's day got ugly early. Petree's No. 33 Chevrolet, driven by Mike Wallace, lost power at the start of the race. Teammate Bobby Hamilton's No. 55 had handling problems and dropped to 40th by Lap10. Wallace got his car fixed and finished 21st, but Hamilton was involved in the big late-race crash and finished 32nd.
THANKS, PARTNER: While leading on Lap23, Waltrip, the defending Daytona 500 champion, ran over a piece of metal debris that flew under the car of drafting partner and teammate Earnhardt. The debris cut Earnhardt's tire and was the first of many problems for one of the race's strongest cars.
TRAFFIC JAM: Harvick, who entered the pits in second place following Earnhardt Jr.'s caution, collided with former teammate Mike Skinner on pit road. Harvick's No. 29 Chevrolet got a crinkled right front fender. Harvick made several stops under caution to fix the fender and dropped to 37th when the race restarted.
NEW LEADER: Schrader restarted in second place, wasted little time moving to the front and led Laps 31-74.
DALE WHO? Despite the aerodynamic damage to the front of his car, Earnhardt was back in contention after climbing to 10th place by Lap40.
FIRST TO PIT: On Lap74, Schrader gave up the lead to Nadeau and darted down pit road. Teammate Johnny Benson was the only car to follow.
MORE TO COME: The majority of the field headed to pit road between Laps 78 and 81.
NO MORE MARCIS: The No. 71 Chevrolet slowed on the backstretch and failed to make it back around to pit road. Marcis' car stalled in Turn4 due to overheating and forced the second caution of the day. His career ended after 882 races, second only to Richard Petty.
STERLING'S TURN: When the green flag waved again on Lap88, Sterling Marlin took the lead and stayed there. Marlin led all but one of the next 73 laps.
NOT A SHORTCUT: Earnhardt drove across the infield grass on Lap94 when the rear brake caliper broke off its housing, according to Tony Eury Sr., the crew chief for the No. 8 Chevrolet. This time Junior went 12 laps down as his crew made repairs.
SPOILERS?: After the halfway point, Fords became a factor. Leader Marlin started to feel pressure from Dale Jarrett, Ricky Rudd, Elliott Sadler, Mark Martin, Rusty Wallace and rookie Ryan Newman. Marlin held them off.
STRATEGY SHAKEUP: On Lap139, Robinson and Skinner spun on the backstretch. With 61 laps to go, teams calculated fuel consumption to see if they could stretch a tank of gas to Victory Lane, provided the rest of the race was caution-free. It wasn't.
THE BIG ONE: Marlin finally surrendered the lead on Lap161 after a caution period. The yellow was for an 18-car crash in Turn1 that began when second-place Harvick and third-place Jeff Gordon tried to drive over the same spot at the same time. The crash also involved Earnhardt Jr., Benson, Matt Kenseth, Bobby Labonte, Nadeau, Rudd, Schrader and John Andretti, all of whom were in contention.
BACK UP FRONT: When Johnson and fellow rookie Jeff Green spun on Lap173, Waltrip came out of the pits in eighth, followed by Sadler and Jarrett.
A PASS?: On Lap177, Gordon pulled off a rare pass of a race leader under green when he slid by Kurt Busch. With the field depleted, plenty of gas and laps winding down, the defending Winston Cup champion appeared poised to win his third Daytona 500.
ANOTHER SPIN: Robby Gordon looped his car on Lap192 and brought out the race's eighth caution. No cars pitted under the yellow flag and all lined up for a single-file restart behind Jeff Gordon.
SEEING RED: On the restart after the Robby Gordon crash, multiple pileups occurred. Jeff Gordon, again in a battle with another driver for the same space on the track, tangled with Marlin. Gordon headed to the pits and NASCAR red-flagged the race five laps from the finish with Marlin leading Geoffrey Bodine, Ward Burton and Sadler.
QUICK FIX: When the race resumed, Jeff Gordon and Marlin were sent to the end of the longest line, ending their chances for victory. Gordon was penalized for pitting too early under caution and Marlin was punished for getting out of his car under red-flag conditions to pull out a damaged right front fender.
WARD'S TO WIN: Burton took the green flag as the leader on the restart on Lap196 and held off Sadler and Bodine to win his first Daytona 500. Jarrett slid through the infield on a last-lap crash.