1989: Darrell finally gets to dance at Daytona

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- After threading his way through a 10-car crash without a scratch, Darrell Waltrip started to wonder if perhaps this would finally be his day.

	Darrell Waltrip

"Last year was probably my biggest disappointment," Waltrip said. "I left here again feeling like this place owed me something."

Trailing Ken Schrader and Dale Earnhardt, Waltrip and crew chief Jeff Hammond knew the only way to win this race was to gamble on gas.

"When Kenny and Dale broke away, we knew we couldn't catch them," Hammond said. "So we immediately went to Plan 2: Stay out and just draft anybody and everybody."

It worked, until with two laps to go, the fuel pressure gauge in Waltrip's Chevrolet suddenly dropped to zero. Twice.

Waltrip's first thought was "Oh, no, not again."

Not another heartbreak like 1979. Or 1984. Or 1985. Or 1986. Or last year, when he seemingly had the race in hand when his engine broke.

"Several times I told (the crew) on the radio, 'It's gone! It's out!' And they'd say, 'Shake it! Shake it!'" Waltrip said. "I'd move the car around, and it would suck up another ounce or two. With two laps to go the fuel pressure dropped. But it came back up! The fuel pressure came back up!"

KNOW YOUR NASCAR  •  1989 Season Recap  •  NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers: Darrell Waltrip  •  More NASCAR History    1989 Daytona 500 Top 10  1. Darrell Waltrip  2. Ken Schrader  3. Dale Earnhardt  4. Geoff Bodine  5. Phil Parsons  6. Rick Mast  7. Alan Kulwicki  8. Rick Wilson  9. Terry Labonte  10. Eddie Bierschwale

Able to stretch his fuel load to 132.5 miles, Waltrip coasted to victory in the 31st annual Daytona 500, jumped out of his car and did an impromptu dance, spiking his helmet to the ground. It was icky, but Waltrip didn't care.

"I've won the Daytona 500! I've won the Daytona 500!" Waltrip shouted. "This IS Daytona, isn't it? Don't lie to me! I'm not dreaming, am I?"

Waltrip's dream turned into a nightmare for Schrader, who led 114 laps but finished second. Eleven laps from the finish, he had to pit for much-needed fuel, even though he knew Waltrip was going to try and stretch it.

"We had to stop," Schrader said. "No way were we going to make it. When I saw Darrell legging it, I knew we were in trouble."

Earnhardt wasn't so sure.

"I didn't think he would make it," Earnhardt said. "I'd like to see that gas tank."

Alan Kulwicki was using the same strategy, and led Waltrip for six laps. But his chances at victory went flat on lap 197, courtesy of a flat tire.

The race pace was slowed by two big crashes. On lap 24, Geoff Bodine tapped Davey Allison and sent him on a wild ride. Allison's Thunderbird clobbered the outside wall, then spun toward the infield, finally doing a complete roll. An angry Allison was able to restart his car and finish 25th, then confront Bodine in the garage area afterwards.

"I turned completely over, and there was enough dirt in my car to plant a spring garden in there," Allison said.

Then on lap 73, Jody Ridley, driving in relief of injured Bill Elliott, set off a 10-car pileup.

"A car ricocheted off the wall right in front of me -- or behind me," Waltrip said. "How I made it through that, I'll never know."

NOTE: This is one in a series of articles counting down to the 2003 Daytona 500.