Posted on February 3, 2008

50 Years of Daytona

The Forgotten Stories; 1996

by Ben Gunby About The Author	Email   Print

Certain numbers go hand in hand with certain names in NASCAR circles. The attachment between numbers and a driver, or more so, a team, is strong within the NASCAR world. One can’t think of the number 43 without thinking of the Pettys, or the 21 without thinking of the Wood Brothers. Mention the number 28 and the first thoughts conjured up is likely of a black Texaco Havoline car owned by Robert Yates. While these numbers still remain with the teams who made them famous, two other very famous numbers are now on the roofs of cars of a new breed of owner, completely separate from their fame gaining roots. For one of those numbers, the 1996 Daytona 500 represented its final charge to glory under the flag of its rightful owner.

While the number itself has since gone on to actually be victorious in two subsequent Daytona 500s, it did so under a different banner, and more importantly, under a different manufacturer. The number 15 was Ford before Jack Roush became the manufacturer’s premier team, before the rise of Robert Yates, and before the Elliotts took control of the mid 80s. The 15 was Bud Moore, and Bud Moore was Ford. How much prestige rested with this particular number, owner, and manufacturer combination? Consider that these Fords built in South Carolina by Bud Moore were the only Fords Dale Earnhardt piloted full-time on the NASCAR circuit.

Moore’s impact on the sport seems at times overlooked in favor of the impact other teams made during the sports ascension to the public mainstream, but there’s no denying the star power Moore has had in his racecars. There is also no denying the success had by those drivers and the impressive tradition and history established. The list of men to drive his Fords is a who’s who of NASCAR. Names like Baker, Allison, Earnhardt, Parsons, Pearson, Waltrip, Weatherly and Rudd all adorned his machines over time. So it may come as a bit of a surprise as to who was piloting his car in it’s last run for glory.

For many, the 1996 Daytona 500 is remembered as being the Dale and Dale show, part two. However, there was another story in that race that played itself out, a story though whose importance couldn’t be known at the time. While driver Wally Dallenbach would later go on to finish 3rd at Sears Point in the same season, his drive in the Daytona 500 in 1996 was truly the last time a Bud Moore owned Ford would ever truly strive for greatness, or have a shot at glory.

While unbeknownst at the time, the 1996 season would mark the final full season of competition for one of the sport’s great owners. In fact, Moore’s cars would only compete in seven races over the next three years before shutting its doors for good. Overwhelmed by rising costs and the influx of the multi-car super team, Moore’s outfit located outside of the central hub of stock car racing just couldn’t keep up. Sponsorship dollars were difficult to come by, and it was a chicken or the egg scenario. Was it his failure to adapt to the multi-car racing teams that let his team fall behind, thus preventing him from acquiring the necessary sponsorship dollars? Or was it the inability to obtain those funds that prevented him from building his team into a multi-car outfit capable of keeping up with the rest of the big dogs in the NASCAR world?

In any case, there was one final day in the sun for the team, and it came with another name synonymous with Ford, though due more to his father and his road course racing exploits than anything stock car related.

Following the 1995 season Moore lost his sponsor, Ford Quality Care, to a bigger fish in the Ford sea, Robert Yates and his number 88 for Dale Jarrett. Moore, despite having no sponsor, and despite losing driver Dick Trickle as well, wasn’t ready to throw in the towel. He had every intention of running each and every race in the 1996 season, and would be doing so with Wally Dallenbach Jr behind the wheel. Dallenbach, tabbed to drive for Jack Roush back in 1993, had yet to really establish himself on NASCAR’s premier circuit. He had had his moments here and there, but many questioned whether or not he had what it took to contend in Winston Cup. Dallenbach only lasted one year with Roush, and only lasted half of the 1994 season driving for Richard Petty. In 1995 Dallenbach attempted only two races all season in Winston Cup, so this was a marriage with plenty of skeptics.

Moore’s Fords were a bland white at the outset of Speedweeks, but they weren’t bland when it came to its performance on the track. Dallenbach wasn’t turning heads during testing and qualifying, but the team surprised many as they proved more than competitive. The head turning began with the Gatorade 125 and their impressive 5th place finish, showcasing some surprising strength in his Ford.

A last minute sponsorship deal was struck with Hayes Modems, just in time for their name to be put on Dallenbach’s car for the Daytona 500. However, it was not in time for the team to apply any graphics or paint to the car, so Dallenbach’s ride still seemed pretty bland and ordinary. What he did on the track though was anything but. Dallenbach spent the entire afternoon amongst the leaders. While Dallenbach never actually led the race, his car was among the front runners all race long. It appeared that Moore’s operation actually had a chance to come home victorious.

Some mid-race contact did damage to a front fender of Dallenbach’s ride, and it appeared any hopes of a Daytona 500 victory, or even solid finish, were dashed. The Hayes team though did some nice artwork with some tape and kept the car sound enough aerodynamically to stay competitive. At many points during the race Dallenbach appeared to have a car capable of running with, and perhaps even beating, the race’s two superior machines, the two Dales, Earnhardt and Jarrett.

As the race wound down though, Dallenbach’s inexperience in both stock cars and at restrictor plate racing seemed to show up. The experience factor combined with a car that due to the damage suffered mid-race wasn’t performing at an optimal level, probably is what kept Dallenbach from seriously challenging for the win. Despite not being able to do anything with the leaders in the final stages, Dallenbach still managed to bring the car home in 6th position. Aside from the 3rd place later in the year at Sears Point, Moore would never have another finish as high as the one Dallenbach delivered on that February day in Daytona. One wonders what could have been had Dallenbach’s car never suffered the damage it sustained during the race. Could Moore have had one more shining moment? Would that moment have been enough to help him sustain his team beyond just the 1996 season? We’ll never know. What we will know though is that the 1996 Daytona 500 was more than just the Dale and Dale Show part II. It was the last day in the sun for one of the sport’s most legendary figures.

You can contact Ben at bengunby@speedwaymedia.com

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