Fourteen laps to history

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By BILL WHITEHEAD
Scripps Howard News Service
Friday, May 04, 2007

At Daytona this past Speedweeks, I asked an older gentleman a simple question. He calmly turned, then answered my inquiry with a small number that held a much bigger meaning: "14."

Fourteen laps. That's how many circuits around Darlington Raceway that Ned Jarrett, the gray-haired gentleman in question (who just happens to be known as "Gentleman Ned"), won by in the 1965 Southern 500, which at the time was the most prestigious race in NASCAR.

The margin of victory (MOV) stat for each race can be miniscule, such as 0.45 seconds when Jimmie Johnson edged Matt Kenseth at Las Vegas last year. Or it can be a blowout-like 12.422 seconds, like when Tony Stewart routed the field at Kansas Speedway last October.

But 14 laps? That's not a margin of victory in a race, it's a unit of measurement on a map. In fact, Jarrett's 14-lap MOV _ Darlington measured 1.375 miles at the time _ is equal to more than 19 miles of that shell-filled, craggy, ultra-abrasive racing surface that has had generations of drivers clamoring for new tires after just a lap or two of racing.

Which leads to an observation: The racing these days is much, much better than what the old days had to offer. And that's something to admit coming from an "old-schooler" whose golden days began in the late 1970s and extended into the early 90s.

But before that period _ before Dale Earnhardt's first title in 1980 and before Bill Elliott burst onto the scene as "Awesome Bill from Dawsonville" _ the racing just wasn't as exciting. Sure, a handful of legendary names turned in historic performances, but only a few had a realistic chance of winning each week.

Nowadays, though the winner usually comes from a list of five or six drivers, another 10 to 15 conceivably could win and not send the NASCAR Nation into a frenzied state. Upon request, anyone could create a list of five drivers who haven't tasted victory yet but whose names would answer the question, "Who do you think the next new winner will be?"

On the SPEED cable channel's fantastic show "Back in the Day," which shows clips of old races from the late 60s and early 70s, perspective has to be put into place. The viewer basically is watching a highlight show hosted by Dale Earnhardt Jr., himself an astute lover of NASCAR history.

The footage, though, is of the top moments from just a few races during a particular season, and the reality is that most of the remaining races weren't nearly as close as the few highlights would suggest. Very few finishes from three to four decades ago would rival the ones from the past couple of seasons, like numerous restrictor-plate races and a wild race at Darlington four years ago.

But "Back in the Day" fills a big void for racing fans. The vintage cars jog the memory to no end, the fashions are both hysterical and garish at times, and reliving races at renowned tracks in Rockingham and North Wilkesboro is a lesson in NASCAR knowledge to the newer fan.

However, I'll choose to stay right here in the present and relish the exciting finishes we have.

(Bill Whtiehead covers NASCAR for Scripps Treasure Coast (Fla.) Newspapers, The Stuart News, Fort Pierce Tribune and Vero Beach Press Journal. E-mail him at wwhitehe@ircc.net.)