Don't expect to see the No. 28 in 2003

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- For the first time since 1977, a No. 28 Winston Cup car did not start the Daytona 500 when the green flag fell Sunday on the "Great American Race" at Daytona International Speedway.

What's even worse for longtime NASCAR fans is that the No. 28, made famous in days past by drivers such as Buddy Baker and Cale Yarborough, but more recently by the late Davey Allison and Ernie Irvan -- won't appear for the entire season.

Did you Know?  Here are the drivers that started a race in the No. 28 Ford for Robert Yates Racing:  Davey Allison (1989-1993) 132 starts in No. 28 Ford  Robby Gordon (1993) 1 start in No. 28 Ford  Lake Speed (1993) 3 starts in No. 28 Ford  Ernie Irvan (1993-1997) 92 starts in No. 28 Ford  Kenny Wallace (1994) 10 starts in No. 28 Ford  Dale Jarrett (1995) 31 starts in No. 28 Ford  Kenny Irwin (1998-1999) 66 starts in No. 28 Ford  Ricky Rudd (2000-2002) 106 starts in No. 28 Ford

The number is being held on "do not assign" status by the NASCAR Competition Department for the 2003 season. Its status will be re-evaluated at the end of the season.

Ricky Rudd was the last driver to wheel the No. 28 in a Winston Cup race, last season when he drove for Robert Yates Racing.

Yates divested himself of sponsor Havoline -- whose identity in the sport was tied to the 28 -- at the end of 2002 and hired Elliott Sadler to drive a Ford sponsored by M&M's, carrying No. 38.

"I think there are a lot of people disappointed with it," Rudd said. "That team and that car -- especially that car -- had a tremendous following. The 28 number is sort of gone and Texaco is gone (from Yates)."

Havoline, which initially pursued the No. 28 vigorously for its move to Chip Ganassi Racing, eventually decided to start anew with driver Jamie McMurray and No. 42.

"My first reaction was, 'There's no way under the sun,'" Yates said. "I was allowing everybody to have their wishes, but I wasn't gonna let them have the 28 -- I've got 15 years tied up in that, so, no way -- I wouldn't even consider it."

Whatever combination of Havoline and Ganassi that was pursuing the number eventually relented, but by then Yates' mind was already made up.

	Robert Yates Credit: Autostock

Within the garage there's a little bit of a difference of opinion, but both crew chief Larry McReynolds, who worked with Allison when he won the Daytona 500 for Yates in 1992; and Rudd agreed on one thing.

"There's an awful lot of good memories associated with that No. 28," McReynolds, now a FOX Sports commentator, said. "I've been lucky to work with a lot of good race teams, but in a lot of ways working with that 28 car made Larry McReynolds.

"But even more than that, it's too bad for the fans of that number not have it to cheer for this season."

Rudd is of the opinion the number may re-appear, perhaps as early as next season, but he took an apolitical stance.

"I don't know -- I never really thought about it," Rudd said. "That's not my number. I look at 28 and I think, 'That's Davey Allison -- Ernie Irvan.' That's what I think of.

"It's sort of sad for their fans not to be able to see that 28 run around the race track. There's still a tremendous amount of loyalty and fan support for those guys (and) I feel for those guys (fans).

"As far as for me, I've never really gotten too attached to numbers per se. It's more the fan identification. I've been in and out of so many numbers that I can't keep them straight (but) I feel like out of respect for those loyal fans -- Davey is no longer here and Ernie is not in the car -- I feel like they deserve to see that 28 number run around the race track."

And it's memories that led Yates to say earlier this year that it was unlikely he would ever bring back the 28 to his team

"All of my memories of the 28 and whatever we've done in the past are great memories and I can't do any more damage," Yates said, referring to some contentious times since Allison's untimely death in a helicopter accident in 1993 -- with Irvan, then the late Kenny Irwin and even in the later days of Rudd's time in the car.

"We can have all the good memories of that 28 car, but yet, we're starting a new package with the 38 (and) we're gonna make this new package work."