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By MIKE READLING
© St. Petersburg Times, published February 3, 2001
DAYTONA BEACH -- When two Ford Riley & Scotts dominated Thursday's pole qualifying for the 24 Hours of Daytona, you had to know the Ferraris wouldn't be that far behind Friday.
The No. 12 Ferrari 333 SP driven by Ralf Kelleners, Allan McNish, Eric van de Poele and David Brabham turned a fast lap of 126.743 mph, by far Friday's fastest, to seal third on the 86-car starting grid.
Jon Field's No. 37 Judd Lola earned fourth at 126.021 mph.
The No. 12 is the only Ferrari in the SportsRacer field and is looking to break the Riley & Scott spell in the race.
Aside from last year, when a Dodge Viper GTS stunned the field and won the overall title, Riley & Scott chassis had claimed three of the past four 24 Hours of Daytona titles. The one they didn't was taken by a Ferrari 333 SP in 1998.
It seems the one chance Kelleners and his crew may have is if the weather holds out during the race.
"We had some problems during the rain practice yesterday and we lost some time," Kelleners said. "But the car was always good during dry conditions and the qualifying time proves it. If it rains, we're in deep trouble. If it's dry, we have a fair chance."
The forecast calls for overcast skies and a slight chance of rain.
BIG SHOW: The biggest crowds by far have not been in the stands but crowded around the two Corvette garages.
The reason: One Corvette is driven by NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt and son Dale Earnhardt Jr. The Earnhardts are very familiar with Daytona, Dale Sr. having driven in the Daytona 500 and Pepsi 400 for more than 20 years, but they're not too sure about having to make all those right-hand turns.
The Earnhardts qualified 19th overall and third in the GTS class.
"I'm learning a lot," the elder Earnhardt said. "They probably think we're funny the way we drive the car. Dale Jr. has been a little more into it, but I pace myself a little better. My goal is to be around at the end of the 24 hours."
Added Junior: "They kind of play by different rules in this series."
RACING ALREADY: Some teams got underway with racing as Doug Goad and Devon Powell drove their Corvette C5 to the Grand-Am Cup title and Charlie Agg made an early second pit stop to steal the HSR ThunderSports Enduro race in the afternoon.
Goad and Powell overcame a hot engine and high oil temperatures to win their 10th Grand-Am Cup race, more than any other team in series history. For Agg, it was just a matter of hoping for a caution flag.
"It looked like a really good window to come in under the yellow flag and see if we could get the second pit stop out of the way," Agg said. "I was banking on another yellow-flag situation. ... it gave me a bit of a break from these guys, which was a relief."
WHAT: 39th annual 24 Hours at Daytona.
WHO: Drivers in five classes competing in an endurance race.
WHERE: 3.56-mile road course at Daytona International Speedway.
WHEN: Race begins 1 p.m. today, ends 1 p.m. Sunday.
TV: Speedvision.
TICKETS: $70 each, still available.
TODAY: 24 Hours at Daytona start.
SUNDAY: 24 Hours at Daytona finish.
TUESDAY: ARCA practice.
WEDNESDAY: ARCA, Goody's Dash and IROC practice.
THURSDAY: IROC practice; ARCA and Goody's Dash qualifying.
FRIDAY: Winston Cup, ARCA, Goody's Dash and IROC practice.
FEB. 10: Winston Cup pole qualifying, Goody's Dash 200 race, Winston Cup Bud Shootout, ARCA and IROC practice.
FEB. 11: Winston Cup Bud Shootout, ARCA 200 race.
FEB. 12: Winston Cup, Craftsman Trucks, IROC practice; Winston Cup second-round qualifying.
FEB. 13: Winston Cup, Busch Grand National practice; Craftsman Trucks qualifying.
FEB. 14: Busch Grand National qualifying; second-round Craftsman Trucks qualifying; Winston Cup, IROC practice.
FEB. 15: Winston Cup Gatorade 125-mile qualifying races; BGN practice/second-round qualifying; IROC practice.
FEB. 16: Craftsman Trucks Daytona 250, IROC race, Winston Cup, BGN practice.
FEB. 17: Busch Grand National NAPA 300; Winston Cup practice.
FEB. 18: Winston Cup Daytona 500.