Waltrip rips rescue effort

Monday, Feb. 16, 2004 | 11 a.m.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Michael Waltrip was caught up in The Big One -- a 12-car crash 71 laps into Sunday's Daytona 500 -- but the defending race champion was more upset about the way he was treated by safety workers than he was about his demolished racecar.

It took Daytona International Speedway's safety crew nearly 10 minutes to extract Waltrip from the No. 15 NAPA Chevrolet, which came to rest on its roof after flipping several times in the infield grass below the backstretch.

"When the car stopped, I was pinned way bad," Waltrip said. "I felt like I was in a box and I couldn't get out. I didn't appreciate the way the safety crews were going about it and I was telling them just to turn the car over.

"I'd already flipped 10 times or five times or two times -- I don't know how many times. All they had to do was flip it back over and I could get out."

Safety workers initially tried to cut 6-foot, 5-inch Waltrip from the car while it still was on its roof.

"They were cutting bars," Waltrip said. "The whole car was on top of me; I don't know what bar they thought they were going to cut that would have alleviated the hole I was in.

"I couldn't see where they were doing a whole lot of good to get me out. I was trying my best to explain to them what needed to happen. And what did they eventually do? They flipped it over and I got out. I hope that was a lesson learned."

Waltrip, a two-time Daytona 500 winner, walked to a waiting ambulance and was released a short time later from the infield care center. He was not injured in the incident.

BIFFLE CHARGES: Greg Biffle, who won the pole for Sunday's race, had to drop to the back of the field because of an engine change following Saturday morning's practice.

Biffle had moved up to third place 47 laps into the race and was running in the top five with 50 laps remaining before being caught by NASCAR for speeding on pit road 32 laps from the end of the race.

"I was cautious about it," Biffle said of his early charge. "I just took my time and didn't want to hurt the National Guard car getting up toward the front.

"We were contending for the win when Tony (Stewart) blocked us going down the front and we got shuffled out of line. It's just unfortunate about getting in the pits there; I felt we could get a top-five finish and I kind of threw it away for the team."

WAIT TILL NEXT YEAR: Mark Martin's bid to win his first Daytona 500 in his 20th attempt was dashed early in the race.

Martin lost his engine only seven laps into the 200-lap race and brought out the first of four caution periods.

"Somehow or another I feel cheated," Martin said. "We had a car that I believed all week could contend -- one of the few times in my 20 times down here -- and I didn't even get a chance.

"I thought all week we had a chance to win this thing and I'm not going to get many more chances."

MAKING A POINT: One of NASCAR's off-season changes to the points system came into play Sunday and allowed Dale Earnhardt Jr. to leave Daytona with the outright lead in the Nextel Cup standings.

Earnhardt earned 180 points for winning the race and five bonus points for leading a lap. Runner-up Tony Stewart earned 170 points for second place and 10 bonus points for leading a lap and leading the most laps (97).

Under the old rules, which awarded 175 points to the winner, the two drivers would have left Daytona with an identical 180 points.

It marks the first time in his career that Earnhardt has led the Cup points standings.

STARS COME OUT: President George W. Bush wasn't the only high-profile person who showed up for the 46th running of the Daytona 500.

Among the celebrities seen mingling with drivers before the race were actor Ben Affleck, who drove the pace car at the start of the race, boxer Evander Holyfield, singer LeAnn Rimes, Boston Red Sox pitchers Tim Wakefield and Derek Lowe, actress Whoopi Goldberg, rock singer Kid Rock and Miss America Ericka Dunlap.

Affleck initially was supposed to give the command to start engines before the race, but that honor instead was given to President Bush.

BRIEFLY: Dale Earnhardt and Dale Earnhardt Jr. became the third father/son combination to win the Daytona 500, joining Lee and Richard Petty and Bobby and Davey Allison. ... Tony Stewart's second-place finish was his best in six career starts in the Daytona 500. Stewart has now scored a top-five finish at every track on the current Nextel Cup schedule.