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Rain washes away all illusions

By MIKE READLING

© St. Petersburg Times, published February 5, 2001

DAYTONA BEACH -- There is talk about drivers seeing things in the early morning of 24-hour races that aren't there. Turns that don't exist pop up, lights that are there go away. It is the price of being awake and concentrating for long periods of time.

"You start having hallucinations," said Hans Stuck, driver of the No. 54 BMW M3.

There was no problem with that this year because nobody could see anything at all.

A misty rain began falling about three hours into the event, turning into a steadier downfall before falling intermittently through the night. The wet track caused more than a rush to put on grooved tires.

Many drivers reported that water clogged their intakes, damaged radios and caused electrical problems in addition to reducing visibility.

"The rain was a huge challenge," said Randy Pobst, driver of the No. 31 Grand Touring class champion Porsche. "I compare it to taking a factory Porsche, draping a blanket over the windshield and driving 140 or 150 mph through the streets. There was zero visibility. It's a crazy, insane feeling to go up through the gearbox and not being able to see anything.

"You have to rely on the racing gods that there won't be a dead car in the track when you come around a corner."

STUCK AGAIN: Stuck is still winless after 20 tries at Daytona.

The veteran driver, teamed with Boris Said, Toney Jennings and Terry Borcheller, watched as their JET Motorsports car retired in the 19th hour Sunday with a burnt piston.

The most disheartening thing for Stuck and his team was that the car, racing in the slower GT class, was third overall and winning its class.

The BMW made an impact, however. Grand Am Racing officials reportedly received more than 7,000 e-mails about the world's only V-8 equipped M3 during the race.

KYLE SNEAKS IN: NASCAR driver Kyle Petty, overlooked all weekend thanks to Earnhardt mania, helped the No. 43 Orbit Porsche to seventh overall and fourth in GT.

KIDS' PLAY: At 11:30 a.m., the Nos. 66 and 67 Porsches crossed the start/finish line together flashing their headlights, setting off a champagne celebration in their pits.

Those teams use the race each year to donate $425 per completed lap to the Seattle Children's Hospital. When they crossed the starting line it pushed this year's donation to $219,725 and raised the teams' total to $1-million over the past five years.

RECORDS SET: The No. 12 Ferrari 333 SP set a lap record when it completed the 3.56-mile course in 1 minute, 41.875 seconds on Lap 64. The No. 54 set a GT lap record when it completed Lap 200 in 1:53.206.

LOCAL FINISHERS: Largo resident Edouard Sezionale led the No. 78 SportsRacer Prototype Mader Norma to 62nd overall after a crash Saturday. The No. 52 BMW GT with three Tampa drivers -- Scooter Gabel, Carlos Dequesada and Doc Lowman -- and Joseph Safina of Fort Lauderdale finished 32nd.

PIT STOPS: There were 310 drivers for the 79 cars that took the green flag. ... The No. 95 Chevrolet Riley&Scott driven by Tom Volk, Jeret Schroeder, John Mirro and Barry Waddell was the first car to stop. It retired after four laps with internal engine problems. The No. 49 Nissan never took the green flag. ... The race lasted 24 hours, 2 seconds at an average speed of 97.293 mph and 43 cars were running at the end. The winning team completed 656 laps and won by eight laps.

Speedweeks schedule

Upcoming events at Daytona International Speedway:

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.

SATURDAY: Winston Cup pole qualifying, Goody's Dash 200 race, Winston Cup Bud Shootout, ARCA and IROC practice.

SUNDAY: 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.

TICKET INFORMATION: Call (904) 253-7223 or check http://www.daytonaintlspeedway.com.

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