It was a beautiful day in Daytona Beach, Fla., on Sunday, Feb. 20, with clear skies and abundant sunshine for the 36th running of the Daytona 500.
However, there was a dark and somber mood in the NASCAR Cup Series garage area throughout Speedweeks.
This was due to the deaths of drivers Neil Bonnett and Rodney Orr in two separate practice sessions for the 500. On Feb. 11, Bonnett was turning laps in the first practice sessions when a shock mount broke on his No. 51 Phoenix Racing Chevrolet, sending Bonnett careening head on into the turn 4 wall. Bonnett, an 18-time Cup winner with a previous injury history, did not survive the crash. He was 47 years old.
Three days later, Orr, a rookie looking to qualify for his first Daytona 500, spun in turn 2 during another practice session, hitting the outside wall at upward of 175 mph. Orr died instantly from injuries incurred in the crash at only 31.
The twin tragedies prompted Rusty Wallace to make an impassioned speech at the prerace drivers meeting that aired during the prerace coverage on CBS. In front of the drivers and team, Wallace called out overaggressive driving and made a call for drivers to make smarter decisions out on the track.
“I’m tired of losing my friends and my friends getting hurt,” Wallace said. “I hope you’ve got a lot of consideration for the other competitors instead of a lot of balls and no brains. We don’t need that in this sport.”
Outside of the fatal wrecks, another notable pre-race storyline could be found at the front of the grid. In qualifying, rookie Loy Allen Jr., turned heads when he piloted the No. 19 Hooters Ford to the pole at a speed of 190.158 mph.
A more experienced and recognizable face took the outside pole: Dale Earnhardt. The Intimidator had won everything you could at Daytona International Speedway except for the 500. Coming into 1994, Earnhardt was 0-for-15 in the Great American Race, and the 1993 rendition wound up being arguably his most heartbreaking 500 loss yet. Earnhardt led 107 of 200 laps in 1993, only to get passed on the last lap by Dale Jarrett.
Speaking of Jarrett, Speedweeks got off to a bad start for him in the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Chevrolet. After a mid-pack effort in qualifying, Jarrett blew an engine early in the second Gatorade 125 Duel race, forcing his Joe Gibbs Racing team to take a provisional spot in the field, starting way back in 41st.