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  • John King goes from anonymous and unassuming to Daytona winner

    John King goes from anonymous and unassuming to Daytona winner

    [media-credit name=”Credit: Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]John King walked down pit road at Daytona on Friday night to his No. 7 Red Horse Racing Toyota and no one paid any mind.

    King, a rookie, would be making just his eighth career start and wasn’t on the map when it came to contenders in the Camping World Truck Series. Most didn’t know his name and some didn’t even know what he looked like before he climbed out of his truck hours later in victory lane.

    Starting 23rd King dropped to the back with his teammates looking to avoid the big wrecks. Then as the laps wound down and the field thinned they found themselves near the front of the field. And then after three wild green-white-checkered attempts NASCAR had a new winner.

    “It’s unbelievable, a dream come true,” said King.

    “I knew what the organization was when we went to Red Horse, I didn’t know how great it was, though. I mean, everything. Toyota is unbelievable, the backing and support you get from them. Joe Gibbs Motors, you can go on for days with the horsepower they’ve got. I’ve never driven anything so smooth in my life as that racetrack. It’s just a dream come true.”

    Entering the night King only had one personal expectation and goal: finish the race. Having never raced at Daytona or any superspeedway for that matter, he was looking to just stay out of trouble and log laps. He told the team before the race to help keep him clean and they’ll get whatever they could at the end.

    As the race neared is final 15 laps the Red Horse Racing drivers of King, Todd Bodine and Timothy Peters were ready to gang up on the leaders. Following a hard wreck by the dominant truck of Miguel Paludo on lap 84, King was already near the top 10. By lap 90 he was running seventh and soon found himself in a position he never dreamed of.

    At the races schedule 100 lap mark King sat fifth as the race went into overtime. On the second attempt at a green-white-checkered finish King was riding behind leader Johnny Sauter and being pushed by Bodine. With the white flag just yards away contact from King sent Sauter into the fence and King to the lead.

    “I don’t know that I was getting pushed, all I know was the closing rate was real fast, I couldn’t get off of him,” King said of the incident.

    “I’m a rookie. I’ve never pushed in my life. This is my first time at Daytona or any superspeedway. I apologize to him from the bottom of my heart. It wasn’t my intention at all. Without wrecking him, I was good to go. I couldn’t get off of him. Once I got up to him in the tri-oval, that’s all I had.”

    Now holding the lead with one more attempt to finish the race coming up, King wasn’t thinking about trying to win the event. He was clearly torn up about the wreck with Sauter as he talked to his team over the radio. It left Chad Kendrick doubling as crew chief and psychologist for his driver.

    “I’m telling you, this is probably one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet,” said Kendrick. “When the caution came out, you could hear the concern in his voice, like he was truly almost sad about wrecking Johnny. I told him we’d worry about it at the end of the race. We had a race to run, we still had laps to go. At that point we were legitimate contenders.

    “That was Daytona. That happens at Daytona. It’s happened a million times. It will happen again. So we both hate it for Johnny. But it was a racing incident; he was going as hard as he could, Johnny was going as hard as he could. I kept reassuring him it’s fine. It’s a racing incident. Johnny has been around long enough, he understands that. It was okay. Don’t worry about it anymore. Don’t have a second thought about it. Let’s go win it.”

    King did. Keeping Peters behind him as he took the white flag and another violet wreck broke out behind. Joey Coulter went airborne into the fence following contact from James Buescher who had been hit by Ron Hornaday. The race was declared over and King was sent to victory lane.

    He now leads the points heading into the second race at Martinsville on March 31. Before then though, everyone will be trying to find out who John King is and where he came from. And of course, how he became a winner at Daytona.

    “I came off of dirt late models, went to late model stocks after that,” said King. “We’ve run a few truck races. This is feature win No. 3 for my whole career. This is it. I’ve won one dirt late model and one late model stock race. It’s unbelievable. I couldn’t imagine being here. We’re here.”

  • Rookie John King wins Crash-Filled NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona

    Rookie John King wins Crash-Filled NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona

    [media-credit name=”Credit: Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]When the trucks hit Daytona International Speedway, they’ve been known to create a lot of sparks. This year was no exception as after three green-white-checkereds (GWC, rookie John King took the checkered flag.

    “I’m a rookie – I’m not supposed to be here,” King said afterwards in victory lane. “This is unreal. This Red Horse Racing team is unbelievable. I don’t know what to say. This is a dream come true.”

    A caution with seven to go for Parker Kligermann and others wrecking would set off the chain of GWCs. Kligermann wrecked after Dusty Davis and David Starr squished him in the middle, collecting Bryan Silas and Ross Chastain.

    On the first GWC, it was Jason White leading them to the green, but Johnny Sauter taking the lead with help from Ron Hornaday, before dropping down inline on the bottom in front of White. Sauter looked to have the win in hand before a caution came out before the field took the white flag when Brad Keselowski wrecked. Clay Greenfield got into the back of Keselowski, turning him into Rick Crawford. Rookie Max Gresham was also collected in the wreck with significant damage.

    On the restart, Sauter looked to have the win in hand again as he pulled ahead with help from King. However, coming to get the white flag, King turned Sauter into the outside wall, collecting Brendan Gaughan, Starr, Grant Enfinger, Matt Crafton, Nelson Piquet Jr., Chris Fontaine and Ryan Seig.

    “It was substainable help,” Sauter said of the contact he got from King to send him around. “He’s obviously getting help from behind – that’s Bodine, typically known for driving over his head at these places.”

    “I apologize to Johnny Sauter,” King said. “I shouldn’t have been there. I closed up real fast. … I couldn’t get off of him.”

    The field then restarted for the final attempt at a green flag finish with King leading Todd Bodine, Timothy Peters and Joey Coulter. On the restart, Bodine and Coulter didn’t get a good start on the outside, causing them to drop back through the field as King pulled out to the lead with help from Peters. Coming to get the white flag while Coulter and Bodine were trying to mount a charge back to the front, James Buecher would turn Coulter into the outside wall. The contact would cause Coulter to go airbourne and make contact with the catch fence. Coulter were emerge from the crash with no injuries, while a track spokesperson reported two fans were injured but would be okay.

    Coulter’s wreck would hand the win to King, who was making his eighth Camping World Truck Series start.

    King’s Red Horse Racing teammate Timothy Peters would be credited with second for his third top-10 at Daytona.

    “It was an action-packed night,” Peters said. “We were fortunate enough to keep our nose clean all night long. That right there is what it’s all about, seeing that boy right there celebrating in Victory Lane.  That’s a special place.  It couldn’t have been a better night for Red Horse Racing as a company, 1-2 finish, Todd coming in fifth.

    “Can’t say enough about my guys, Butch Hylton, guys on pit row, Service Central, Tire Kingdom, Toyota Tundra, Joe Gibbs Engine.  It was an awesome night tonight.  These guys worked hard on our truck since we left Daytona last year. We got some momentum.  It’s showing.  We’re going to be a force to be reckoned with in year.”

    Justin Lofton would be scored in third to score his first top-10 at Daytona.

    “It was an exciting one,” he said. “I mean, we had a game plan of sticking to the bottom.  Unfortunately our teammates were taken out halfway through the race.  Team owner (Eddie Sharp) was spotting for me also.  That definitely helps a lot.  It was a really cool run.  We had good pit stops all night.  We played the right strategy.  Eddie kept me calm.  When they would get that run on the outside, I wanted to drive up there, but he kept me down.  We found ourselves in the right place at the right time.  I tried to push Timothy to get us in a better position.”

    Travis Kvapil , who found out just a couple weeks before Daytona that he’d be racing, came home in the fourth position.

    “All the credit goes to Robby Benton and the RAB racing team,” he says. “They brought me a solid Toyota Tundra tonight. We just kept it out of trouble. We knew we had a strong truck – just kept out of trouble, made the right moves at the right time. To come out of here with a top five finish makes me really happy.”

    Jason White would round out the top five, followed by Todd Bodine, Chris Fontaine, Ward Burton, Ty Dillon and Clay Greenfield. Dillon was able to come home with a ninth-place finish after barely dodging the wrecks at the end.

    “Going into tonight, we knew it was going to be a wild night and we just wanted to finish the race,” the rookie said. “We played it a little conservative – it hurt us a bit. Felt like I was a magnet tonight. We had a strong truck, could do whatever we wanted, and we’d make it to the end.”

    The three wrecks at the end weren’t the only action for the night, as there was action for fans from top to bottom.

    On lap seven, Paulie Harraka got sideways and shot up into Jason Leftler, taking him out, while Dakota Armstrong wrecked behind them.

    “It’s just too good to be true,” Leftler said afterwards. “The truck was really good. The truck was fast. Kind of just sitting there, couldn’t get anybody to work with me that early in the race. It just happens. I don’t know what happened, the No. 5 (Harraka) just shot up into me. The next race is at Rockingham and there’s no question that I’ll be quick there.”

    On lap 60, eventual race winner King moved up to the track, hitting Cale Gale, turning him and collected TJ Duke, Matt Crafton, Mike Skinner and J.R. Fitzpatrick.

    “Can’t teach patience,” Skinner said afterwards. “You can’t teach people how to drive racecars; they obviously are great racecar drivers. I’m not going to blame Cale for that; I wish he would’ve just rode behind us. I was running half-throttle, the other veterans were running half-throttle; they were just running all over.”

    “It’s just one of those things,” Gale said. “We got a little behind in a fuel window there, came back on track and were trying to move up. I don’t know what happened there. I tried to be patience. I was to the point of ‘Do I need to ride and wait it out?’. I guess it’s just our fault.”

    Pole Sitter Miguel Paludo wouldn’t find much luck as with 30 laps to go, he would make hard contact with the inside wall after getting loose behind teammate Nelson Piquet Jr.

    “That was a hard hit for sure, I lost my breath,” Paludo said. “All in all, it was a good day for us. Got the pole, led some laps. Just got loose up there; I had been loose all day. Just so proud of my guys, having all three Turner Motorsports trucks up there. We’re going to win some races this year.”

    The next race for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is in five weeks at Martinsville Speedway.

  • NextEra Energy Resources 250 Lap-By-Lap

    NextEra Energy Resources 250 Lap-By-Lap

    [media-credit name=”daytonainternationalspeedway.com” align=”alignright” width=”274″][/media-credit]At the end of the NextEra Energy Resources 250, it was rookie John King scoring his first ever NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win.

    Lap 1: Miguel Paludo leads lap 1 with teammate James Buescher in toe.

    Lap 9: Top 8 are single file as Paludo continues to lead Buescher around. From ninth on back, they are side-by-side.

    Lap 17 – Jason Leftler, Paulie Harraka, Dakota Armstrong wreck – Paulie Harraka got sideways and shot up into Leftler with Armstrong wrecking behind them. Pit stops – Paludo the first truck off of pit road

    Restart as Paludo starts on the inside with Joey Coulter to his outside

    Lap 28 – the top four, Paludo, Buescher, Brad Keselowski and Jason White, are single file while the rest of the back runs side-by-side

    Lap 35 – Top 15 are single file as Paludo continues to lead Buescher, Keselowski and White.

    Lap 40 – Top 3 are single file (Paludo, Buescher, Keselowski) while White and Mike Skinner are side-by-side for fourth

    Lap 42 Caution for debris…..pit stops….Paludo leads Buescher, White, Brendan Gaughan, Keselwoski and Hornaday

    Restart on Lap 47 as James Buescher takes the lead after Gaughan gives him a good push on the outside. Buescher drops down in front of his teammate, Paludo.

    Caution on Lap 50 as there is debris on the race track, which fell off of Armstrong’s truck. Some trucks choose to make pit stops and add fuel. Most drivers choosing to stay out as they are not in their fuel window, yet.

    Restart lap 55 – Miguel Paludo now leads Buescher on the bottom as White runs third

    Lp 60 – Top nine are single file, and then the field is double-file from 10th on back as Paludo leads Buescher, White and Justin Lofton

    Caution Lap 62 – Cale Gale, TJ Duke, Matt Crafton, Mike Skinner wreck. John King moves up the race track into Cale Gale, collecting others behind them. J.R. Fitzpatrick also caught some damage as he’s going to need to replace the rad……..Pit stops: James Buescher first off pit road, followed by Miguel Paludo

    Restart 32 to go as Buscher leads the field to green and jumps out in front with help from Brendan Gaughan.

    31 to go Nelson Piquet Jr and Miguel Paludo finds their way back up the outside and slot down infront of Buescher.

    30 to go Top five are single file – Piquet Jr, Paludo, Buescher, Brendan Gaughan and Travis Kvapil. Jason White and Joey Coulter run side-by-side for sixth.

    24 to go Top-three Turner Motorsports trucks are single-file – Piquet Jr., Paludo, Buescher – while White is side-by-side with Gaughan for fourth. The top 10 are Piquet Jr., Paludo, Buescher, Gaughan, Kravil, White, Ron Hornaday, Todd Bodine, Coulter and Johnny Sauter.

    17 to go White has brought that outside line to line-up with leader, Piquet Jr., to battle for the lead

    16 to go Caution as Miguel Paludo makes hard contact with the inside wall coming out of turn 4. Piquet Jr. weaved slightly back and forth, Paludo went to move to not hit him and lost the track. Chris Cockrum hit the debris, putting a big hole in the left front corner. As the incident happened, White took the lead so he is the new leader

    Restart 10 to go as White and Piquet Jr. are side-by-side for the lead

    9 to go White continues to lead as Piquet heads up so its now Buescher and Sauter side-by-side for second

    8 to go White and Buescher are side-by-side for the lead as the whole field is two-by-two

    7 to go White and Sauter lead as Hornaday and Buescher are side-by-side for third

    Caution 7 to go Parker Kligermann got sideways and spun, collecting Bryan Silas, Ross Chastain, David Starr – Dusty Davis came down as Starr slightly moved up, squishing Kligermann in the middle and sending him around. Jason White leads Johnny Sauter, John King, Ron Hornaday, Todd Bodine, Brendan Gaughan, Joey Coulter, Justin Lofton, Travis Kvapil and Timothy Peters.

    Green-White-Checkered will be the name of the game as drivers try to conserve as much fuel as possible.

    Green flag comes out and its Jason White and Johnny Sauter side-by-side for the lead

    In turn 1, Johnny Sauter to the lead after help from Ron Hornaday – Sauter drops down in front of White and takes the lead.

    Caution comes out as Brad Keselowski, Max Gresham, Rick Crawford wreck. Clay Greenfield gets into the back of Keselowski, turning him down the track into Crawford. The field did not take the white flag so there will be another green white checkered.

    Green flag……Sauter and John King pull ahead coming out of turn two

    Caution: John King turns Johnny Sauter into the outside wall, collecting Brendan Gaughan, David Starr, Joey Coulter, Grant Enfinger, Matt Crafton, Nelson Piquet Jr., Chris Fontaine, Ryan Seig. The incident came together in combination when Sauter came up to block while King tried to figure out what to do with the run that he got after being pushed by Todd Bodine. They did not take the white flag so there will be a third and final attempt at a green-white-checkered……..King, Bodine, Peters, Coulter

    Green flag……The top four are single file down the backstraightaway with King leading over Peters.

    Caution comes out as Buescher turns Coulter and sends him up into the catch fence on the final lap, giving John King the win.

  • Rookie King wins first NCWTS race at Daytona

    Rookie King wins first NCWTS race at Daytona

    [media-credit name=”Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”258″][/media-credit]Rookie John King survived three green-white-checker flag restarts and won Friday nights NASCAR Camping World Truck Series NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona International Speedway.

    King turned race leader Johnny Saunter around on the second green-white-checkers restart, igniting a multi-car crash behind them. NASCAR had to red-flag the race to clean up the track.

    The race ended under caution on the third attempt after another multi-car crash. Joey Coulter slammed into the outside wall, lifting off the ground, hitting the catch fence and then back across the track.

    This was King’s first NASCAR victory in just eight starts.

    Teammate Timothy Peters finished second, giving Red Horse Racing a 1-2 finish in the series opener.

    Justin Lofton finished third, Travis Kvapil fourth and Jason White finished fifth.

  • Race No. 2 – 54th Annual Daytona 500 Daytona International Speedway, February 26, 2012

    Race No. 2 – 54th Annual Daytona 500 Daytona International Speedway, February 26, 2012

    [media-credit name=”daytonainternationalspeedway.com” align=”alignright” width=”288″][/media-credit]Happy Birthday to Me!

    This year’s Great American Race happens to fall on my quarter-century milestone, and what a better way to spend my birthday than with some 200 mph high octane pack racing! My living room will be transformed into a pit of NASCAR fans on Sunday afternoon, but could never rival the ‘stadium-seating’ that was brought in during my brother’s collegiate days in the Delta Sigma Phi house at Clarkson University. This was hands-down the coolest Daytona 500 party I was ever able to (and will probably ever) attend, however I am excited for this year’s racing season to formally kick-off on Sunday.

    In an effort to expand the sport’s following I’ve decided to share my Daytona 500 this Sunday with some non-NASCAR/non-racing fans. My living room will be full on Sunday of half die hard’s and half newbies; the die hard’s pleading their case on why each of their drivers are the best and cheer for. Nonetheless, it will be exciting to watch the action in my living room and exciting to see the pack duke it out for one of the most prestigious crowns in all of motorsports.

    Bud Shootout Recap

    Just like each restrictor plate race, last weekend’s Bud Shootout turned out to be a roll of the dice. It’s either feast of famine with these races, and I (just like most fantasy players) ended up on the short end of the stick when the dust settled last Saturday Night.

    My Dark Horse pick wasn’t really a Dark Horse because he does have 2 wins at Daytona, but like I said last week, the criteria for entrance to the Bud Shootout doesn’t yield many Dark Horses in general. Jamie Mac found the front quickly last week in the first segment, reaching the point just four laps in. He showed that the No. 1 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet would be a contender all night, leading a total of 5 times for 11 of the 75 laps. My misfortune came on the final lap of the Bud Shootout last week when McMurray was collected in a multi-car incident, which sent the No. 24 of Jeff Gordon for a wild ride on his roof, netting McMurray a 16th-place finish when all was said and done.

    My Winner Pick last week is the guy that can “see the air” on the Superspeedways (despite the fact that he hasn’t won in 3 years). Dale Earnhardt Jr. is a fan of the way the racing has morphed back to the pack at Daytona, “I like it better. The closing rate is a little fast. Guys will go flying backwards and forwards. I think we made a lot of great improvements don’t get me wrong. I think we have really made a lot of great improvements and I have more of my destiny in my hands in this type of racing.” said Jr. following his Bud Shootout efforts.

    Despite being a bit more comfortable behind the wheel on Saturday Night, Dale Jr couldn’t make it through a lap 55 incident that collected his No. 88 National Guard/Diet Mountain Dew Chevrolet. Jr. finished 20th and I finished the weekend looking like a buffoon.

    Daytona 500 Picks

    With complete disregard for claiming to know what I am talking about, I’ve decided to make my picks a little bit differently this week…
    It is probably not a great idea because of Ford’s complete dominance of Daytona 500 practice and qualifying sessions, but I would like to have a little fun this weekend for my birthday and also bring in some outside help in making my picks.

    Because of my rocky start last week, and the complete craps-shoot it is to choose a driver to win a restrictor plate race, I’ve decided to make my picks based off a total random draw. My picks this week will be based off my girlfriend’s random draw of playing cards (0-9), and I will provide historical data and insight as to why that driver stands a chance to take the Checkered Flag on Sunday Afternoon.

    So using Price is Right rules, I will have my girlfriend Casey select four cards at random, and the closest driver (by car number) to the cards selected (without going over of course) will be the drivers I will pick this week for Matty’s Picks.

    Here’s a photo of the draw:

    [media-credit id=24 align=”aligncenter” width=”169″][/media-credit]

    Dark Horse Pick

    Via random draw (and a pre-determined list of possible Dark Horses and Winners), Casey selected the 10 of Spades (0) and the 6 of Diamonds. So on the nose for the Dark Horse this week is a Roush Fenway Racing driver that everyone can agree on as a Dark Horse, Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

    Not much Sprint Cup history here for my Dark Horse pick, as Stenhouse will make just his second start in the Sprint Cup series on Sunday, but based off his practice speeds, it looks like Casey didn’t do too bad picking my Dark Horse this week.

    Last year’s NASCAR Nationwide Series Champion didn’t stretch his points lead when it came to the three races on Superspeedways in 2011, (8th at Daytona in February, 38th at Talladega in April, and 28th back at Daytona in July), but his practice speeds for this year’s Daytona 500 have been nothing to frown at. He was 12th quick in the first practice session, 14th in the second, his highest mark on the leaderboard came in the third practice session, and his most recent efforts landed him seventh in the sixth session earlier today.

    I’m not emptying my bank account on Stenhouse for Sunday’s race, but with his Roush-Fenway FR9 Ford Fusion looking strong in practice, I will not count him out just yet.

    Winner Pick

    Casey selected the Ace of Clubs and the Deuce of Spades when it came down to my winner pick, and via Price Is Right rules, (with no driver in the No. 12 car) this would bring us to the No.13 of Casey Mears. I’m not sure that Mears is shown on anyone’s list of ‘Winner Picks’, so I will bypass that pick and head for the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet of Tony Stewart.

    Now how can I be mad at the random draw of the No. 14 car this week? Coming off a second-place (closest finish of the Bud Shootout by the way) in last Saturday’s race at Daytona, and a win in the first of the two Dual races Thursday, what is there not to like? Yes, I know he’s not in an FR9, but really, what is there not to like about this pick?

    Smoke will be making his 14th start in the Great American Race on Sunday, a race that has evaded him 13 times before. Despite being winless in the big dance, Smoke has tallied an impressive 16 victories at the World Center of Racing including:
    3 – Sprint Cup wins in the July race
    3 – Bud Shootout Wins
    2 – Gatorade Dual Wins
    2 – International Race of Champions (IROC) Wins
    6 – NASCAR Nationwide Series Wins

    This Stewart-Haas racing team is so confident in their chances that after his win on Thursday, Stewart came across the radio and said “Keep it clean, please“. Spotter Bob Jeffrey added “Don’t put anything on our race car. That’s going to be the Daytona 500 winner.”

    Seriously, what’s not to like about this? He’s starting third on Sunday and has a race record that rivals anyone in history…

    That’s it for this week. I’d like to thank Casey for her help with my picks this week and until next time, you stay classy NASCAR NATION!

  • Lessons Learned in the Two Duels

    Lessons Learned in the Two Duels

    [media-credit name=”David Yeazell” align=”alignright” width=”281″][/media-credit]The two Gatorade Duels are over. The 150-mile qualifying races saw the field go back to pack racing, the kind of racing preferred by the fans, and little “two car tango.” In fact, the drivers couldn’t do much pushing because their cars overheated. Elliott Sadler had overheating problems during his race and Jimmie Johnson was spewing water while pushing Greg baffle. In the end, NASCAR had it all figured out, and accomplished what they set out to do. We did, however, learn some things.

    First, the Fords are fast. Doug Yates, who supplies all the engines for Ford stockers, seems to have come up with the most horsepower at least at this restrictor plate track. But the car with the horsepower doesn’t always win, as we saw in the first duel. Marcos Ambrose and Carl Edwards should have had the brute force to win this one, but it was Hendrick powered Chevrolets that won and finished second. In fact, the Hendrick power plants put seven cars in the top 10 in both races and Ford had only five. Earnhardt-Childress put four cars in the top 10 and Toyota Racing Development only two, both in the second duel. Dodge scored only two top 10’s. And yet Kyle Busch showed power in winning the Budweiser Shootout on Saturday night. To sum it up, don’t give the race to Ford drivers just yet. It’s anyone’s game.

    Second, there are going to be a lot of cautions on Sunday. With a smaller spoiler, downforce will be lacking and no human is skilled enough to bump draft and push another car without making the occasional mistake. We saw it in the Shootout and we saw it today. And remember, many drivers just did not go all out today while they will in the latter stages of the Great American Race.

    Third, Tony Stewart just seems to have the knack for getting to the front and staying there at Daytona, so I look for him to be a factor and maybe even is your winner on Sunday. He’d better pay attention to Marcos Ambrose, though. Ambrose has learned the formula at these restrictor plate tracks. After finishing a strong third in the Shootout, he also finished third in the first qualifying race today. The same could be said for Kevin Harvick, Regan Smith, and Jimmie Johnson. And that’s leaving out Polesitter Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle, who dominated the second duel, and Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who is always good here. Want the truth? It’s anyone’s game.

    Finally, the overheating problem will continue unless NASCAR makes changes in the cooling systems before the race. I’ve been told that this is not likely to happen, but who knows? It is supposed to be a lot cooler on Sunday in Florida, but we may see a lot of overheated cars try to push the limit. The dominant theory is that in the last two laps, the drivers don’t worry about whether their engine gets hot and spews water. That could result in disaster if an overzealous driver goes too far and blows up at the front of the pack at 200 mph. Let’s hope “cooler heads” prevail.

    As I write this, we are only 61 hours away from the green flag of the Daytona 500. It was a long off-season, but from what we’ve seen, the competition is better and all looks well for a very enjoyable Daytona 500. My only hope is that we can go at least this race without the words points and Chase being used in a sentence by the voices and talking heads on the race broadcasts. After all, this is the Great American Race. The winner should not be known as the guy who is leading the points, but rather the guy who won the race.

  • NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: THE DAYTONA 500

    NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: THE DAYTONA 500

    [media-credit id=22 align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]NASCAR officially kicks off its 2012 racing season this Sunday with the 54th annual running of its great American race: the Daytona 500. From what we’ve observed from Daytona preliminary events, such as the Budweiser Shootout and both Gatorade Duels, there’s plenty of reason to believe that Sunday’s 500 is going to be filled with massive excitement and quickly become a true test of man and machine.

    THE STORY BREAKDOWN

    Two car tandem racing is virtually over in NASCAR Sprint Cup racing. This aspect to the restrictor plate events, at Daytona and Talladega, hit huge last year and was not well received by the fans. The truth be known, NASCAR officials weren’t that thrilled about it either.

    To counteract the concept, NASCAR issued a series of rule changes during the preseason that included reductions in the grill openings on the front of the cars, a reduction in the the engine’s cooling systems and a reduction in the size of the rear spoilers. They also eliminated the multi-channel radio systems the drivers used last season to set up their two car tandems. At no point did NASCAR actually forbid the use of tandem racing. They just used the rule changes to make it unfeasible. Too much time spent in a two by two grouping could lead to engine overheating issues. Drivers discovered that anything past three laps caused a significant rise in the water temperature gauge.

    However, that doesn’t necessarily mean we won’t see the two car tandem on Sunday. Don’t be too surprised if you see it during the final three laps of the race when it’s race to the checkers time.

    Changes to size of the rear spoiler has created some changes in the handling package of the cars. Drivers are going to have to be very careful with bump drafting especially when making contact with the left rear side of the car in front of them. The possibility of launching a multi-car, “big one”, crash is very present. We certainly saw evidence of that during last Saturday night’s Budweiser Shootout as well as Thursday’s Gatorade Duels.

    ************

    We will all be watching the progress of Danica Patrick during the Daytona 500 as she makes her official NASCAR Sprint Cup debut. She has been “THE” story all during Speedweeks over the past few weeks. Last year Patrick ran a limited NASCAR Nationwide Series schedule while completing the final year of her contract with her Indy Car team. This year she’s racing the full time Nationwide schedule plus ten Sprint Cup events.

    It’s been very obvious that her transition from Indy Car to NASCAR has been handled with a great deal of intelligence and patience. The progress of that effort is definitely beginning to show. On Sunday she will join Janet Guthrie and Shawna Robinson to become only the third female driver in Daytona 500 history to start the Great American Race. A top ten finish on Sunday will earn her the record of being the highest female finisher in the 500. Guthrie currently holds the record with an 11th place finish in 1980. From what we’ve seen so far this year, a top ten for Danica Patrick is actually very possible.

    ************

    Will we see another Cinderella story, similar to Trevor Bayne’s stunning win last year, at the conclusion of the Daytona 500 on Sunday? From what was observed during the Shootout and the Duels this week it’s extremely possible. NASCAR’s restrictor plate races has a tendency to rewards drivers and teams that we least expected to see in victory lane.

    Keep an eye on Kurt Busch and the James Finch owned Phoenix Racing operation. I don’t think anyone would be that surprised if they won this year’s Daytona 500.

    *************

    There’s also a couple of emotional angles connected to Sunday’s Daytona 500 that could create a special moment in victory lane. Mega team owner Rick Hendrick has 199 NASCAR Sprint Cup wins. It’s been reported that, for quite some time, Hendrick has been bringing a large bag of racing caps, commemorating his 200th win, to the race tracks just waiting for the opportunity to pass them out in victory lane.

    It also seems that Hendrick’s four drivers are involved in some sort of in house competition to give the boss that special victory. This is especially true of Dale Earnhardt Jr because another Daytona 500 win on Sunday would also eradicate that pesky 129 winless streak that everyone keeps asking him about. You’ve also got to believe that team newcomer Kasey Kahne would love to start his new job off right by giving Mr H that 200th win.

    Meanwhile in Ford land, Jack Roush is celebrating his 25th season as a NASCAR Sprint Cup team owner. You can bet that anyone of his four drivers would love to start that anniversary off with a Daytona 500 win and then finish the 25th season by giving their boss another Sprint Cup title.

    THE LAS VEGAS BREAKDOWN

    With NASCAR restrictor plate racing’s tendency to create surprise endings, one has to believe that there is a large variety of drivers who could possibly win the Daytona 500. To help us sort through the possibilities, we again turn to the professional number crunchers from “The Las Vegas Insider”, (LVI).

    Topping the LVI’s Daytona rankings is a quartet of drivers that has to be considered top notch wager considerations. Kevin Harvick, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr and Kyle Busch are rated at 10 to 1 odds to win the 54th running of the Daytona 500.

    Kevin Harvick has proven he can get the job done. He’s a two time winner at the Daytona Speedway with five top finishes and nine top tens. He also has a healthy average finish ratio, (AFR), of 15.6. Also, his Daytona driver rating of 86.3 ranks him tenth among his Sprint Cup peers.

    Not even landing a race car on its roof, during last Saturday night’s Budweiser Shootout, is going to deter four time NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon’s chances for victory this Sunday. The three time winner Daytona 500 winner, and six time speedway winner, also has career stats that includes 12 top fives, 19 top tens, an AFR of 15.5 and a Daytona driver rating of 89.4 which ranks him fourth among Sprint Cup drivers.

    Get ready Junior Nation, Sunday could be your favorite driver’s day. There is an aura of increased confidence and determination from Dale Earnhardt Jr these days and it seems to be coming from crew chief Steve Letarte. Earnhardt’s Daytona Speedway numbers are strong and includes two wins, eight top fives, 13 to tens. He also has an AFR of 15,0 along with a Daytona driver rating of 87.1 which places him eighth on the driver list. Sunday could very well be the day he finally returns to victory lane.

    Never overlook the presence of Kyle Busch in any Sprint Cup race he enters. He certainly proved that last Saturday night when he stole the Budweiser Shootout during the final 100 feet of the race. He has one win at Daytona along with five top fives, six top tens along with a 17.6 AFR. His Daytona driver rating of 98.7 has him ranked at first on the list.

    All by himself, at 12 to 1, is Tony Stewart who is another outstanding wager consideration. “Smoke” already has enjoyed an outstanding week at Daytona with a second place in the Budweiser Shootout and a win in last Thursday’s first Gatorade Duel qualifying race. When you add up all of Stewart’s Daytona wins, from all of NASCAR’s racing divisions, he’s visited victory lane there 16 times. None of them has been for winning the Daytona 500. However he does have an excellent Daytona driver rating of 98.2 which ranks him second among his peers. If you believe in the power of numerology, Sunday will be Stewart’s 14th Daytona 500 start in car #14.

    At 15 to 1 are five noteworthy drivers featuring Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards, Kasey Kahne, Jamie McMurray and A J Allmendinger. Johnson is a former 500 winner with six top fives, nine top tens and an AFR of 17.0. He’s also ranked 6th in the series’ driver ratings with a healthy 87.5.

    Believe it or not, Carl Edwards is still seeking his first victory of any kind at Daytona. But he does have five top five finishes along with six top tens and a 17.9 AFR. But this is one those high powered Roush Fenway Fords that has been so strong during Daytona Speedweeks. Edwards proved that point by taking the pole position last Sunday. He’s definitely wager worthy.

    Kasey Kahne’s numbers at Daytona aren’t that strong but, bear in mind, that he is now sitting in the best ride he’s ever had in his career. As the new member of Hendrick Motorsports, Kahne will be starting the new racing season with high expectations. No one should be surprised if he wins on Sunday.

    Jamie McMurray, and his Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet, has been very impressive during Speedweeks. The car has displayed a great deal of speed and good handling. He’s a two time winner at Daytona and appears that the obstacles that plagued this team all through last year may be gone. McMurray is a good long shot wager consideration.

    A J Allmendinger will be making his debut for Roger Penske Racing in a points paying event. His Dodge has showed some strength during Speedweeks. He’s also a long shot option worthy of a second look.

    Looking now at the LVI’s middle tier rankings, the trio of Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski and Clint Bowyer will be seeking their first Daytona win on Sunday and are ranked at 20 to 1.

    But it’s the LVI’s 25 to 1 group that’s really interesting. Matt Kenseth, a Daytona 500 winner and the winner of a Gatorade Duel last Thursday is in this group. So is Roush Fenway Ford driver Greg Biffle who also has a win at Daytona and will be starting Sunday’s race on the outside pole. Kurt Busch is also in the 25 to 1 group and his Phoenix Racing  Racing Chevrolet, obtained from Hendrick Motorsports, has looked very strong during Speedweeks. All three of these drivers are solid long shots. Joey Logano is also ranked at 25 to 1.

    All by himself, at 30 to 1, is Jeff Burton. Both this driver and his Richard Childress Racing team seems to be rejuvenated for the new season. At 35 to 1 you will find Ryan Newman, a former Daytona 500 winner, and Juan Pablo Montoya. The 40 to 1 group is led by Michael Waltrip Racing drivers Martin Truex Jr and Mark Martin along with Richard Childress Racing’s Paul Menard.

    In the LVI’s lower tiers you will find Danica Patrick ranked at 60 to 1 for her NASCAR Sprint Cup debut. David Ragan, a former Daytona winner, Reagan Smith, Trevor Bayne and Ricky Stenhouse Jr are ranked at 75 to 1. From this group, Bayne and Smith could possibly turn into lucrative long shots. Closing the LVI Daytona rankings, at 100 to 1, are Bobby Labonte, David Gilliland and Dave Blaney. All others, not listed, are automatically rated at 30 to 1.

    Now for the disclaimer: NASCAR wants to remind you that these posted numbers should be viewed as informational and entertainment data. They neither encourage, nor condone, the placing of wagers on their races.

    The trouble with betting on the Daytona 500 is the fact that NASCAR restrictor plate racing is so very unpredictable and can easily send the completely unexpected to victory lane. Trevor Bayne and David Ragan scoring their first ever Cup wins at Daytona last year is a perfect example. One possible approach is to spilt your wager budget between the strong contenders and the serious long shots.

    Or you could do something really nice and donate your wager budget to the Chad Knaus, “Oops I Did It Again” punishment fund. (Come on, you knew I was going there sooner or later.)

    THE RACE BREAKDOWN

    The 54th running of the Daytona 500 is 200 laps/500 miles around the Daytona International Speedway’s mammoth 2.5 mile tri-oval with its 31 degrees of banking in the turns. It’s anticipated that the 168,000 seats, and the infield camping area, are going to be completely filled.

    The Daytona 500 is also one of the most lucrative motorsports events in the world. The purse for the 2012 race is a record setting $19,142,601 with the winner’s share being at least $1,431,325. There’s also a $200,000 bonus to the driver who leads lap 100, the halfway point of the race.

    The first ever Daytona 500 was held in 1959 and was won by Lee Petty. Since that time 518 drivers have competed in at least one Daytona 500 while 306 drives have competed in at least two or more Great American Races. There has been 35 different winners of the Daytona 500. “King” Richard Petty leads the Daytona 500 win list with a total of seven victories.  Jeff Gordon leads the modern day active drivers with six Daytona wins, including three Daytona 500’s. The Wood Brothers, the 2011 defending Daytona 500 champions, holds the Daytona record for team wins at 15.

    The 54th Annual Daytona 500 will be broadcast live by Fox Sports with the pre race show beginning at 12 pm eastern time. The re air will be presented on Wednesday, February 29th, on SPEED beginning at 12 pm et.

  • Danica Patrick wins the DRIVE4COPD 300 Pole Following Duel Crash

    Danica Patrick wins the DRIVE4COPD 300 Pole Following Duel Crash

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photography, Inc.” align=”alignright” width=”229″][/media-credit]Following a nasty crash yesterday during the Gatorade Duels, Danica Patrick came back in full force and won the pole for the Nationwide Series DRIVE4COPD 300, which is set to be run on Saturday afternoon.

    With a speed of 182.741 mph, this marked the first pole of her career in 26 starts. She also became the first women to win a pole in the Nationwide Series since 1994 when Shawna Robinson won the pole at Atlanta.

    For the 29-year-old, she wanted to win the pole not only for herself, but for crew chief Tony Eury Jr.

    “Tony builds really good cars and the guys that helped him do that, did a really good job,” she says “I’m really thrilled for Tony Jr.; this is something that he wanted. So for me to push the pedal and give that to him, it feels really good.”

    This marks the first Daytona Nationwide series pole for Eury Jr., despite the number of wins at Daytona with his cousin Dale Earnhardt Jr.

    Just yesterday, Patrick found himself at the tail end of a bad deal as she hit the inside wall hard after contact from Aric Almirola on the last lap. For most of the event, Patrick had done well, keeping herself in the thick of the action, running as high as sixth.

    “I got valuable practice time,” she says. “But it is never a good feeling for me to not be able to drive the car back to the pits and something about me feels guilty when I see that Go Daddy is all broken up along the side.”

    The wrecks are a part of the learning curve, no doubt, and Patrick says that she does have lots to learn. After qualifying, she was continuing to pick up tips from her team owner, Earnhardt Jr., by talking with him about side drafting and running the inside line versus the outside line.

    Patrick has been working hard at learning everything that she can, which has shown on track. Last year near the end of the year, she was capable of consistently running in the top 15. Elliott Sadler says with what she’s learned, she has become the most improved driver in all of the three series.

    “That’s appreciated and I have worked really hard and I’m lucky I drive for a good team that has good resources,” she says. “Tony Jr. is a really, good accomplished crew chief. On the Cup side, we haven’t seen a lot of the great people around me there too, and some really good experience teammates.

    “That’s a nice pat on the back; I appreciated that. I still recognize that I have a lot to learn, but I’ve been able to do this in a nice way. I’ve had the backing from the beginning from Go Daddy and it’s been nice because instead of having to go out and show what I’m made of every week, got the most amount spots possible and be desperate. I’ve never had to feel like that. I’ve been able to sit back and observe, not step outside of my comfort zone, because I’ve had a plan since the beginning and so few drivers get that ability to plan long-term and have someone that’s there for them who will follow them wherever they go.”

    In looking back to her first ever NASCAR start, Patrick recognizes how far she has come, though.

    “I’m pleased with some of the stuff that’s gotten better over the year – I can think of the first race here where I was struggling to keep up,” she says. “Then now you can drop the green flag in a Cup race and I’m just hanging out. I know the rules are different, but the level of comfort and proximity of cars next to each other and front and back, and obviously has been improved.”

    With her winning the pole for the Nationwide race, it show strength in the learning curve, but also marks a confidence boost.

    “Its always good to have something that brings your spirits up,” she says. “I think when you’re fast like this, it also gives someone an incentive to work with you, if I’m in a position without a teammate or without someone who has talked it over with me. Hopefully it will open up some deals.”

    Patrick says that beyond making her feel better, it also gives her some respect and credibility as people will want to work with her. However, she knows that her success tomorrow will all depend on how well she runs.

    “It’s going to come down to bump drafting, and being good at that,” she says. “Good at swapping, good at keeping the engine cool, good at keeping in a pack, good at keeping connected, good at strategy so when you pit, you pit with your partner and you don’t get left alone at any point. There’s a lot of stuff that’s going to happen during the race that we’re going to have to manage, so it doesn’t change our strategy. But we do get the first pit box if we want it, which I like that. Not having to wander through a sea of signs looking for my pit box.”

  • Robby Gordon Takes Exception to the Past Champion’s Provisional

    Robby Gordon Takes Exception to the Past Champion’s Provisional

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photography, Inc.” align=”alignright” width=”274″][/media-credit]Robby Gordon worked hard to earn his way into Sunday’s 54th annual Daytona 500 but upon further review he says he might have worked too hard.

    Gordon overcame a smoking right front in Thursday’s first Gatorade Duel race to finish ninth in his No. 7 Mapei / Menards / Speed Energy Dodge to lock into Sunday’s race. He’ll start the Daytona 500 from the 17th position.

    “Making the Daytona 500 is the big event for NASCAR racing,” said Gordon afterwards.

    “When you look at it, besides pure speed, I think three guys make it on speed, obviously Terry [Labonte] takes a past champion, which I still disagree with that, I think that should be based if you were with that team when you won the championship, not because you won the championship you’re in.

    “That takes a spot from teams that are working hard to get into the Daytona 500. Rules are rules. We made it fair and square to be fast enough. Proud of my guys, proud of the team, excited to be in the Daytona 500.”

    What Gordon was eluding to was the fact that NASCAR allows drivers who are past champions, such as Bill Elliott or Terry Labonte, to become automatically locked into a race because those accomplishments. What it does though it takes up spots from other drivers looking to make their way into the race, such as Gordon was on Thursday.

    Elliott won the Sprint Cup Series championship in 1988 and Labonte in 1984 and 1996. Neither driver runs a full NASCAR schedule and neither were locked into the Daytona 500 entering Speedweeks. And neither qualified on their speed from last Sunday’s qualifying session.

    While Elliott failed to race his way into the big race, Labonte only completed 12 laps in his No. 32 C&J Energy Dodge for FAS Lane Racing before heading to the garage. The plan was to keep the car in one piece before attempting to race all day on Sunday.

    With Labonte parked it left Gordon and his small team fighting for their lives. Unlike Labonte, Gordon and company race nearly every weekend although they were unable to remain in the top 35 in points at the end of the 2011 season. Had they, Gordon wouldn’t have had to race his way in on Thursday.

    “It’s crazy that you can actually finish seventh I the 150s, which would put you 14th on the grid, you load your stuff up and go back to North Carolina,” said Gordon.

    “I’ve been in that position and I get it. I’m not complaining about the rules. It’s really tough these days to get in. That’s the point I was trying to make, not so much Terry Labonte, 32 car. I don’t really care about them. I focus on our 7 car. Just try to do the best we can and win the Daytona 500, so I’m really proud of my guys.”

    Plenty of reason to be, Gordon only has a company of about 10 employees, only about seven or eight of which built the car he raced into the Daytona 500. But watching others find a way to circumvent the rules can be irritating.

    “Obviously I got a lot of respect for Terry, this is not a Terry Labonte thing,” said Gordon. “There’s only eight cars that make the Daytona 500. He takes one of those spots, now seven guys make the Daytona 500, four make it on qualifying races, three make it on speed. We’re a small team, too. I guess I should hire Kurt Busch and I could put my other car in the show too.

    “It’s just not right. Why take a free ride when the rest of us have to bust our butts to get into the 500? It is what it is. It’s the rules. Like I said, we don’t make the rules, we just play by them, and sometimes you can manipulate them.”

  • Daytona Introduces Short Track Races For Speedweeks 2013

    Daytona Introduces Short Track Races For Speedweeks 2013

    Daytona track president Joie Chitwood III: “Grassroots short track racing is the foundation of this great sport.”

    [media-credit name=”Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”222″][/media-credit]Recently announced to take place at Daytona during Speedweeks 2013 is the inaugural “UNOH (University of Northwestern Ohio) Battle at the Beach” event that will include three non-point special races for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series, NASCAR Whelen Modified tours, and the Late Model division of the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series.

    All these series are used as stepping stones to NASCAR’s more lucrative national series, such as Sprint Cup and Nationwide.

    The series’ will race on a temporary oval slated to be a quarter mile (0.4) in length built on the 2.5 mile superspeedway’s back stretch.

    “When I think about adding a short track event here, it’s just an opportunity to connect with that local racer supporting NASCAR,” Mr. Chitwood said.

    He also went on to say he is thrilled to give young drivers the opportunity to fight for a win at the” World Center of Racing”.

    “Many of NASCAR’s greatest stars cut their teeth on short tracks around the country and we look forward to hosting the stars of tomorrow in 2013. Whether it’s a hobby or profession, everybody should have the chance to race at Daytona. ”

    The criteria for setting the field in the event include: winners of the 2012 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and West events as well as the series champions will automatically be locked into that series’ race at Daytona next year.
    Additionally, winners of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour or NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour races this season and series champions will be locked into the Modified event.

    The top 10 finishers in this year’s NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Division I national standings will earn a starting spot in the Late Model race.

    And the champions of the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, NASCAR Toyota Series from Mexico, and Euro Racecar NASCAR Touring Series this season will earn a protected starting spot in whichever one of the three 2013 Daytona races they choose to run.

    The remaining spots in next year’s features at Daytona will be filled through time trials and heat races.

    The “UNOH Battle at the Beach” event is scheduled for February 18-19, 2013, the Monday and Tuesday before the Daytona 500. Days that are also known as Daytona International Speedway’s “dark days”.