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Motorsports
© St. Petersburg Times, published February 15, 2003
DAYTONA BEACH -- Mark Martin made a valiant return to the International Race of Champions series, winning Friday's season opener at Daytona International Speedway.
Martin held off Kurt Busch, his Winston Cup teammate, for his 11th win in the all-star series, tying the record shared by the late Dale Earnhardt and Al Unser Jr. Martin can surpass Earnhardt by winning his fifth series title.
He's off to a good start.
Martin was not invited to participate in IROC the past two seasons because he did not finish among the top five in the Winston Cup standings in 2000 or 2001. His feelings were hurt. After thinking it over, he accepted this year's invitation for the chance to make history.
"To come back like this after sitting out is special," said Martin, 44, runner-up to Tony Stewart in the 2002 Winston Cup championship. "I'm the kind of guy that likes being on top and likes being respected. It was very important to me to come out and have a strong year in IROC."
PHOTO FINISH: Rick Crawford picked up his first Truck series victory in nearly five years, nipping Travis Kvapil and Robert Pressley at the line in a wild, three-wide finish to the Florida Dodge Dealers 250.
"I can't believe it," Crawford said.
His only previous win came 120 races ago, though he challenged for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck series title last season. Mike Bliss beat him by 46 points.
HOW ROMANTIC: Randy Briggs, the highest-finishing rookie in the trucks race, proposed to his girlfriend, Mary Ward, over the team radio frequency during the warmup laps.
After all, it was Valentine's Day.
"We were running around on the pace lap and I thought, 'What the heck,' " Briggs said. "We're at Daytona, we've been dating for three years and she loves this as much as I do."
Ward said yes, but Briggs double-checked her answer after his 14th-place finish.
"I wanted to make sure I heard her right on the radio," Briggs said. "She confirmed it when I got out of the truck. She said, 'You bet.' "
THE GOOD NEWS LAST: Martin went to a backup car for Sunday's Daytona 500 after scraping the wall in the No. 6 Ford at the end of his 125-mile qualifying race Thursday. Martin was the fastest Ford in Friday's practice at 188.407 mph.
"I've had the bright day of Speedweeks since qualifying," said Martin, who will drop to the rear of the field for the green flag after changing cars. "The racetrack keeps getting slicker all the time and that's playing in our favor. And we've got another day to work, yet."
Winston Cup teams have two final practice sessions this morning.
UPON REVIEW: Busch, whose pit road accident during the second of Thursday's 125-mile qualifying races caused trouble for several teams, said miscommunication was to blame.
Unclear when crew chief Jimmy Fennig wanted him to pit, Busch slammed on the brakes at the last instant and darted in front of Kevin Harvick to reach his stall. Contact spun Busch's No. 97 Ford backward into the pit wall.
No one was injured.
"I wasn't trying to pass everybody on the pit road entrance, we just had a miscommunication on whether to pit or not," Busch said. "Everybody was walking over everybody on the radio. You won't see miscommunication like that in the 500."
DEATH IN THE FAMILY: Longtime Motor Racing Network announcer Barney Hall might miss his first Daytona 500, after his mother died in North Carolina.
The funeral for 87-year-old Cindy Mazie Shumate is Saturday in Elkin, N.C.
Hall is the co-anchor of MRN's Winston Cup broadcasts, and he was one of the network's original announcers. He's worked in some capacity for each of the previous 44 Daytona 500s, dating to 1959.
ACCIDENTS HAPPEN: Johnny Benson scraped the outside wall hard during practice, causing substantial damage to the No. 10 Pontiac. The team planned to repair the car rather than switch to the backup. ... Kerry Earnhardt crashed hard in the final practice for today's season-opening Busch Grand National race, crumpling the front end of the No. 12 Chevrolet.