Tag: Daytona 500

Sunday morning – Daytona 500 Race Day! Clicking into NASCAR.com first thing to check on updates for today and what do we see…? A big sidebar advertisement for Nationwide Insurance with Danica Patrick standing there…  Ironic…? Good timing…? After all, she has gone nose deep into concrete twice in three days and steps back into a new car. That would seem to be a good selling point for auto insurance… Right…?

But this race, this season… It’s not all about Danica Patrick. Every garage, team and driver has a story that brought them here and they all want the same thing. There are also the stories of those who are shut out of the barn for the big dance. Take Michael Waltrip, for example… Re-entering the field during Gatorade Dual Day, he attempted to leave the inner skirt of the track and get on the banking but the sudden angle change was too much at speed and the car jolted up the track and into the wall. That put him at #44 and one spot off the grid after pre-season wrangling to have a ride to qualify with. Yes, MWR still has cars on the track for the 500, but Michael isn’t in any of them. (more…)

Really…? Gordon… What was that?

Throughout the race it was evident that tapping on the left rear of a leading car at speed caused an undesirable result. You didn’t simply take the wind off the back causing a wobble and a move… You caused a massive loss of traction and control which put the lead car in a situation of pushing into others and you put yourself in a position to lose your own control and get into someone else.

Yes, Gordon… We know you wanted it but you did exactly what caused some big cautions earlier in the evening at Daytona. You got into Kyle Busch’s left rear. Busch went low and threw up a massive shower of sparks. Your front end washed and went high into two others, including teammate Johnson… You went into the wall, on your side, rolled a few times to be upside down.

We’re glad you are OK. We look forward to good things from you and the #24 this season. We’ll also concede that when you made the move, your outside was clear but by the time you went up that Daytona pavement it was crowded with sheet metal at speed. All in all it was a bad call and a move you’ve spoken out about in the past when it was the #24 in the garage after being crunched by a rookie move. You had a shot and blew it.

On Kyle Busch… Time and again he showed skill, determination and strategy in pulling the 18 out of trouble and back into position. Love him or hate him there is no doubt this guy can drive. At introductions he was jeered and booed… Gordon’s move with just a few laps left seemed to take all that negativity from the grandstands and pack it out the door.

Defending Sprint Cup Champion Tony Stewart was in the prime spot at the restart. Stewart was run down by a train on the outside. From what seemed like nowhere, Kyle Busch put the dented nose of the 18 into the draft of the 14 and the two pushed around to find the front yet again. Stewart looked ready to climb the podium but Busch slid from behind Stewart at just the right time and spot to roll by Stewart with that dented nose just in front for the win.

Busch took a car that was beat up and about as aerodynamic as the hauler that brought it and pushed it into victory lane at the Bud Shootout. Stewart took the flag on the inside and practically side by side with all the 14 could give but it just wasn’t enough against Kyle Busch.

Hats off to Kyle Busch and the #18 team for a drive, an effort, and a move that kept the 18 competitive to the win.

Stewart has nothing to hide and should be proud of a great Stewart-Haas race and result with the #14 team.

Gordon gave us footage for the 2012 highlight real and put a teammate into the garage.

The Bud Shootout. A preview of the Daytona 500 or a one-off to drive passion in NASCAR fans? We’ll find out next Sunday. Let’s go racing!

The hibernation is over and there is activity in the garages as Speed Week opens at Daytona. We’ll be able to see some action and maybe get a surprise ending. Who could have called it beforehand that a young driver on his second Sprint Cup start would roll over the Daytona checkers for the oldest continuous team in NASCAR? Certainly there are eyes on Trevor Bayne and the Wood Brothers #21 Motorcraft Ford but what of other drivers and teams shifting and shaking for 2012.

Hint – If you want the LATEST on who is driving what for whom, don’t check nascar.com… Go to Jayski’s.

A simple example… How long has David Ragan been out of the #6 and UPS pulling for the bulk of the season…? There is even a front page story (2/15) on nascar.com all about Ragan in the #34 for Front Row Motorsports… Yet check the “Drivers” link and there he is, in UPS brown, sporting the #6. Hopefully, the folks in charge of the NASCAR home website will get this updated before the halfway point of the 500. (more…)

Superbowl Sunday….  Really…? So what…?

It seems America shuts down for the Superbowl. Why…? The previews and predictions and the dissection of the minutia of the teams’ seasons leading up to this thing are mind-numbing. It is not just the sports programs going on and on about it, both before and after the game, but everybody on the TV seems to have some segment dedicated to the game. Regular news channels go on and on about the teams, the halftime show, the commercials…  Really?

Why…?

What do we get out of this game? As a fan, seriously…, what do you get from it? How is your day-to-day life affected by the game of football? You may get some blather around the water cooler about “the game” yesterday…  You might even win a few bucks if you play the points… But what do you really get from it? What do any of us get from it? (more…)

Realistically…  None of it matters. Yes, close quarter 2×2 racing took its toll and some of the most experienced and fastest drivers were sent to the cap and out of contention. Yes, a record number of cautions and restarts kept the deck shuffled.

This is Daytona! The new surface and the racing style set in motion for the Daytona 500 created a touch and go and hook and push race that created the final scenario of a Wood Brothers Motorcraft #21 Ford victory.

Rookie Trevor Bayne, in his second Sprint Cup start and his first run at Daytona, hooked with some of the best drivers throughout the day, watched as many fell by the wayside in damaged cars, and managed to keep the historic #21 mostly clean and clear to the green-white-checker.

Was this sheer beginner’s luck? No… Not here. Not at Daytona. The 20 year old (birthday the day before the 500) kept his nose and the car clean, backing out of tight spots and driving safe. Beginner’s luck…? Driving nose to tail approaching 200mph for most of 200 laps…? No… Not here. This racing style set up by a new, smooth surface was a new deal for most of the drivers. Drafting isn’t new by any means but requiring it to run at speed lap after lap set tension and fatigue at high levels while magnifying the slightest mistake.

Keeping out of the mess took some driving. Trevor Bayne earned this win. The Wood Brothers needed this win. A team that has been running a short season for the past couple of years and has had to endure hushed whispers in the garage has won the 2011 Daytona 500.

Now we have something new to cheer for in NASCAR. “Go Dale Jr.” has a nice ring to it. Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch, Kevin Harvick….  Johnson…  Gordon…  Whatever hat you have on your head to show your allegiance on race day doesn’t matter when a 20 year old rookie puts some shine back onto an iconic name of NASCAR racing.

The Wood Brothers have Daytona this season and that is something every fan should be able to cheer for.

Matt Kenseth takes 1st in the 2nd of the season
Matt Kenseth takes 1st in the 2nd of the season

He showed us, didn’t he? After a week of “the luck of the rain” and all that, Kenseth drove that Ford Fusion to the stripe in the Auto Club 500 with every single lap counted and accounted for. There can be no argument that the #17 team really did win this one. Yet, the accomplishment of winning the first two races of the season is still put to the back as people still insist on dragging Dale Earnhardt, Jr. through the infield grass. Yes, yes, yes. Let’s give Kenseth the two races. His grill was in front at the end. That said, let’s give Dale Jr. the benefit of our eyes and look at what really happened.

Dale Jr. dove left to go under Vickers. Vickers dove much more sharply to block. Dale went below the line. Vickers maneuver made him go loose which made him slow a bit. Dale turned back to the track and… Oh look! The back of Vickers’ car is right there!

So now, the front of the 88 touches the back of the 83. Not fender to quarter panel, but front to back. A touch. But enough of a touch to send the already loose 83 up the track and into the traffic. So, what have we learned. We’ve learned that any action involving Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is a polarizing event on race day. We’ve learned that accidents and crashes happen in NASCAR. We’ve learned it is sometimes very easy to point a finger and ignore the very obvious.

The “obvious”…, at least for this incident and this running of the Daytona 500, is that any two cars could have made that same moves and the results would have been the same. You simply can’t throw cars around at those speeds and not expect they will go loose, slow down, speed up and touch. Who’s fault was it…? Dale Jr….? Vickers…? Both…? Nobody…? All of the above…?

Yes.

The Daytona 500 was dampened by rain early on race day. It cleared up and the race was under way on time but was still under the threat during the race. The rain returned and shortened the race at lap 152 leaving the leader at that time, Matt Kenseth in the DeWalt Ford, to be the winner. Not to take away from Kenseth and Roush-Fenway, but I did feel cheated out of what was shaping up to be an “edge of the seat” finish. As it was, the rain not only shortened the race but snipped the show. There was hard racing left and some of the heavy hitters had their race day drowned in the clouds. But – on the other coast…

Tour of California finishes Sunday stage in the rain
Tour of California finishes Sunday stage in the rain

The Tour of California, America’s big multi-stage cycling event, has rain all day and the cyclists race onward. Yes, these athletes straddled the saddle all day in wet conditions. Skinny tires and a top speed of maybe 40-45 mph on a good hill was the course of the day while a steady rain fell on racers and spectators. Yes, it is a different set of circumstances than race day for NASCAR, but the comparison can still be made. Florida and Daytona race day – California and Tour race day. Opposite sides of the country and some would say opposite sides of racing. One is gasoline and machine and the other is blood and machine. One is loud and one is “green”. However, the simularities are staggaring. Teams, drafting, crashes, mechanical issues, flat tires, sponsors, endurance…  Yes. Racing is racing. 600 horsepower or one human is not the issue. The issue is the rain. The issue is the rain and the ironic circumstance of rain on two coasts changing the dymamic of two races at the same time.

The Daytona 500 has several teams combine their resources to get off to a good season start. Stewart is an owner. The Wood Brothers limit their season. Petty and DEI reform themselves by merging with competitors. The rain comes and cuts the rug under some of these plans for a gold star to start the season. The Tour of California has some athletes showing their stuff after being out of the limelight for a while. Lance Armstrong (7 time Tour de France winner) is back in the sport. Floyd Landis (disgraced in a performance drug scandal) is back in.

It still comes down to the rain. Rain on NASCAR sucks for the fan. Rain on cycling sucks for the riders. I suppose what I’m saying is that rain, while necessary, can suck.