TALLADEGA RACE REPORT

- by Stenzo


SPEED SCHOOLS THE FIELD AT DEGA FOR SIXTH WIN!

Talladega Superspeedway (4/21/00) -- Speed has clearly regained the championship form he so prominently displayed in 1998, as he taught the field another lesson in patience in this year's first caution-free race, en route to his 6th win in the last 7 races! Starting from the 13th spot, Speed promptly sprinted to the front of the pack, where he led the most laps (37 of 65) for the second time this year. After pitting and adding more tape to the grill of his Grant Racing Chevy Monte Carlo, he returned to the track and had built up a sizeable lead when, on the last lap, his motor expired as he was coming through the trioval to take the checkered flag. This marks Speed's sixth top 5 finish in nine races, all of which are wins! Can anybody catch this guy?!

Stenzo started 11th, but was quickly passed by Speed, who then led the two in a hard charge to the front. Stenzo then darted past Speed and into the lead, where he paced the field for 21 laps before turning it over to Coyote. After clipping Coyote's rear bumper in an attempt to reclaim the lead, he wobbled and lifted off the throttle, then brushed two other cars and almost wrecked, dropping him back into 12th position, where he remained most of the day. But as the field cycled through their pit stops, he managed to race his way back into 2nd place, trying desperately to chip away at Speed's 6 second lead, but could only manage to cut it to 3.35 seconds when the checkered flag fell. Speed increased his points lead to 151 points over Stenzo, who remains in 2nd place in the points battle after his sixth top 5 finish this year.

Bob started from 14th, and found trouble right away after tangling with another car, and dropped back in the pack while most of the other competitors sped away. He tried desperately to bump-draft his way back toward the front, but because of the torrid pace being set by the leaders, and with no caution flags to slow the field, he was never able to catch back up to the lead pack. Then, after a long two-tire pit stop, he fell further back and eventually finished 21st.

Coyote started in 17th position, and had patiently worked his way up through the field, speeding past Stenzo, then Speed, to lead a total of 4 laps. However, when he was coming in for a routine pit stop, he got black-flagged for speeding on pit road, and had to serve a stop-and-go penalty before being allowed to receive pit service. Because he was extremely low on fuel, he was forced to slowly circle the track on the apron, and fell three laps down before finally making it back to the pits for desperately-needed fuel and right side tires. He quickly returned to the race, but finished 23rd, marking the fifth time this season he's finished 21st or worse.