By Mark Aumann, Turner Sports Interactive
January 13, 2003
9:56 AM EST (1456 GMT)
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- LeeRoy Yarbrough was obviously paying attention in class.
Victimized by Cale Yarborough's late slingshot pass 12 months before, Yarbrough used the same move to blast past Charlie Glotzbach on the final lap for victory in the 11th annual Daytona 500.
Unlike 1968, when everything seemed to go wrong for Yarbrough, good fortune was in his corner the entire day.
The Dodges were faster but more fragile than his Ford. Pete Hamilton and Bobby Allison were sidelined by blown engines, while Richard Petty fought mechanical gremlins all day to finish well back.
Defending winner Cale Yarborough was gunning for his second straight Daytona 500 victory -- and fourth straight at the track -- when on lap 104, his car slammed into the fourth turn wall, putting him out of the race.
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That left Yarbrough and Glotzbach to wage a two-car battle at the front. However, Glotzbach's car began steadily pulling away, so Yarbrough made his final pit stop on lap 181, pitting for fuel and fresh rubber.
"It made for a longer stop in the pits, but we were gambling that we could make it up on the track," Yarbrough said.
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Just like in 1968, Yarbrough ended up making one more pit stop than his competition. The previous year, miscommunication caused Yarbrough to make an extra unplanned stop. But this time around, Yarbrough's gamble paid off.
Glotzbach made his final trip down pit road four laps later. Crew chief Cotton Owens decided Glotzbach could go the distance on his tires, in essence trading speed on the track for time saved in the pits.
"We could go 50 laps on our tires," Owens said. "We were trying to build our advantage and it would have cost us time to change."
That decision would prove to be costly.
Yarbrough's car quickly ate up the distance, catching up to the leader on lap 198. Heading into the third turn side-by-side on the final lap, Yarbrough shot past Glotzbach as the two cars separated to avoid a lapped car. Glotzbach ran out of real estate before he could counter the move.
"Once I got around him, I knew there was no way he could beat me," Yarbrough said. "I knew I had him beat going into the turn. There was no way he could get back around me before we crossed the finish line."
This time, Glotzbach was the one on the receiving end of a drafting lesson.
"I knew it was going to be close," he said. "But I thought I could take him there at the end. There just wasn't a draft coming out of the last turn."
Donnie Allison and A.J. Foyt finished one lap down, while Buddy Baker and David Pearson were two laps behind. Benny Parsons was seventh in his Daytona 500 debut.
This is one in a series of articles counting down to the 2003 Daytona 500.
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