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Motorsports

Engine woes don't faze Stewart

DAYTONA BEACH -- Reigning Winston Cup champion Tony Stewart's engine blew Monday at the worst possible instant, during qualifying for the Daytona 500.

But give him credit.

He didn't blow a gasket.

Stewart, whose 2002 title chase began with an engine failure and last-place finish at the Daytona 500, picked up where he left off, losing power at the end of the backstretch.

"If that's the worst thing that happens to us, we'll be all right this year," said Stewart, who failed to post a time in the No. 20 Chevrolet. "Last year we started off SpeedWeeks great and finished up bad. So maybe we're starting off bad and we're going to finish up good."

In less than an hour, the engine was on its way to the Joe Gibbs Racing shop in North Carolina, where staff planned to tear it down to diagnose the problem.

"We want to make sure it doesn't happen to the other engines we have down here," crew chief Greg Zipadelli said. "It's just one of those things. We're hollering at the guys in the engine shop one day to make us more power, and I just got off the phone hollering at them because it broke."

Stewart, who is guaranteed at least a provisional place in Sunday's 43-car field based on 2002 owner points, will try to earn a starting position in Thursday's 125-mile qualifying races.

"That's okay. I like racing," he said. "This will be fun."

BLAZING THE WAY: Veteran Ricky Rudd, eager to make a statement driving for the Wood Brothers, raised a few eyebrows with the fifth-fastest run. His No. 21 was the fastest Ford at 185.372 mph, .321 seconds slower than pole-sitter Jeff Green's lap.

"It couldn't be going any smoother," said Rudd, who also ran well in Saturday's Bud Shootout, finishing eighth. "I've found a home. It's just fun."

ROOKIES RELIEVED: Led by Jamie McMurray in 11th, four of the series' six rookies were among the top 23, efforts that should get them into the field regardless of their results Thursday.

Greg Biffle, the 2002 Busch Grand National champion, was 21st, Tony Raines 22nd and Casey Mears 23rd. Jack Sprague and Larry Foyt, 28th and 33rd, respectively, likely will need to race their way into the field. Only Mears and Foyt have 2002 owner points.

"That we didn't have any points going into this race gave me a little concern if we got caught up in a wreck in the 125s, that we might go home," said McMurray, driver of the No. 42 Dodge for Chip Ganassi Racing. "Now we can fall back on our time."

THE SOUND OF HARMONY: The aero-matching NASCAR worked so hard on this offseason was supposed to eliminate the griping by manufacturers about perceived disadvantages.

Yeah, right, one driver said. "Everybody talked about how equal everything was going to be with all these templates, but I just don't quite see it that way right now," said Ford driver Dale Jarrett, dismayed to see six Chevrolets in the top 10, including the top four spots. "My enthusiasm is down a little bit."

Outside pole-sitter Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s dander also was up.

"I guarantee you, if we built a Ford or a Pontiac, it would be just as fast as our Chevrolet," said Junior, whose No. 8 Chevrolet has been the class of the field at restrictor-plate races the past two years. "It makes me angry. Our accomplishments are based on our efforts. People need to work on their race cars."

DIVORCE DISCORD: Jeff Gordon's divorce case spilled over to the track when attorneys for his wife tried to subpoena several car owners at Daytona. NASCAR officials did not allow process servers into the track.

Most of the top teams have been subpoenaed at their home offices during the past month, and all refused to open their books to Brooke Gordon and her lawyers. Because the divorce is being heard in Florida, her lawyers want car owners to have to fight new subpoenas in a local court.

Gordon, the four-time Winston Cup champion, said he was aware of what was happening.

"It's out of my control, but I think it's really disgusting," he said.

"It's a real shame that they are trying to drag all these other guys into this because to me, there are other ways for them to get what they are looking for. This is just harassment."

DASH RESULTS: Robert Huffman won the rain-shortened Goody's Dash 150 in a Toyota. The race, postponed from Sunday, was cut from its scheduled 60 laps to 44.

Huffman took the lead after an accident on Lap 27 involving Arlene Pittman, who appeared to be hit from behind in heavy traffic and slammed into the inside wall. It took safety workers almost 20 minutes to get her out of the battered car.

She was taken by ambulance to nearby Halifax Medical Center for a CAT scan and later released.

PIT STOPS: Green's lap was fast but nowhere near the restrictor-plate record of 196.996 mph set by Ken Schrader on Feb. 11, 1989. ... Defending Dodge Dealers 250 winner Robert Pressley led Craftsman Truck Series practice at 182.267 mph.

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