Labonte to start up front at Sunday’s Busch Clash

Friday, Feb. 7, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

Taking part in a blind draw Thursday among last year's pole winners, Labonte picked the top spot in the 14-car lineup for the non-points Busch Clash on Sunday (9 a.m., CBS).

"Like always, the competition's going to be tough," he said with a shrug. "It's hard to win, no matter where you start."

The format of this 20-lap, 50-mile run on Daytona International Speedway's 2 1/2-mile oval makes it even tougher to win, Labonte noted.

"This race is different," he said. "In fact, two things are different.

"First, not everybody runs their No. 1 car. Some guys run their No. 2 car and some of those second cars are closer in speed and handling to the No. 1 car.

"The other thing is they invert the field after 10 laps, so it seems like you don't really know where the best place to be is."

It doesn't seem to matter where Dale Earnhardt is. Somehow, the seven-time Winston Cup champion seems to find a way to win the Clash.

He has been in the made-for-TV event 10 times, and won it on six occasions. In fact, he has won in every odd year of the '90s. So this should be his year, even though he's starting ninth.

"That sounds good to me," Earnhardt said with a wolfish grin. "It's our kind of race. We had a great test down here (last month), and I'm ready to go."

Mark Martin got the outside spot on the front row, followed by Rusty Wallace, the wild-card selection drawn from the fastest second-round qualifying leaders last year.

Stating fourth will be Dale Jarrett, who won the Clash last year, and a week later the Daytona 500.

"Nobody ever remembers who finishes second in this race," he said. "You just go all out. There's no real strategy."

Bobby Labonte, Terry's younger brother, will start fifth, alongside 1996 Rookie of the Year Johnny Benson Jr.

Ernie Irvan and Jeff Burton make up the fourth row, with Earnhardt and Ted Musgrave right behind. Ricky Craven and Ward Burton will start from the sixth row, and the last row will be made up of Jeremy Mayfield and 1996 Winston Cup runnerup Jeff Gordon.

Mayfield missed the draw on Thursday. NASCAR planned penalized him the same way it does driver who miss the regular pre-race meetings during the Winston Cup season. But, since he was put in the 13th position -- the only one not picked -- Mayfield will have to drop back just one spot to start from the rear.

The winner could earn as much as $80,000 by taking both segments. All of the starters are guaranteed at least $10,000.