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  • Ten Ways NASCAR Can Improve Tandem Racing

    Ten Ways NASCAR Can Improve Tandem Racing

    Debates started last year about the likability of two by two racing that is now occurring at both Daytona and Talladega on the NASCAR superspeedway circuit. Some tolerate it and others despise it, particularly fan favorite Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who has taken to calling it “foolish racing.”

    [media-credit name=”David Yeazell” align=”alignright” width=”259″][/media-credit]So, what can NASCAR do about this kind of racing? While the sanctioning body could follow Jack Roush’s advice to “fix the front and the back of the car so if they have contact, there is an inclined angle that would drive the rear wheels off the ground to stop it,” there are indeed some other possibilities.

    Here are ten ways that NASCAR could improve the two by two racing that has become the norm at restrictor plate tracks.

    10.  Since some have dubbed the style “Noah’s Ark racing”, with the two by twoing like the animals trudging onto the ark before the flood, NASCAR should definitely have the drivers come out two by two for driver introductions.

    Most drivers acknowledge that they have already paired up prior to the event. But just in case the fans are not aware of the duos, NASCAR could really spice up the driver intros by having them come out in their pairings, one in front and one behind, to build suspense as to who is partnering with whom. Then the drivers could separate for the big ‘tandem reveal.’

    Better yet, instead of some of those cheesy driver intro stagings where drivers come out to wild music or crazy drumming, NASCAR could literally build an ark and have the tandem pairings appear together out of that.

    NASCAR may just have to keep the drumming for that style driver introduction or at least consult with Humpy Wheeler, retired track promoter extraordinaire, for some suitable side effects.

    9.  Since one of the biggest complaints regarding tandem racing is the inability of driver of the push car to see, NASCAR should encourage a new activity for the fans in the Fan Zone, that of making cardboard periscopes.

    The sponsors, such as Home Depot and General Mills, ought to be all over this one.  Home Depot could supply the building materials and General Mills, who has already done a special Wheaties cereal box promo with driver Clint Bowyer, could provide the cardboard boxes (for those old enough to remember the cardboard cereal box periscopes, this one is a no brainer).

    Fans could make the periscopes as a fun-filled race day activity and the best fan concoction could be presented to each pushing driver at driver introductions.

    Just in case NASCAR needs some advice on how to build these cardboard up periscopes, here is a helpful link: http://www.instructables.com/id/Cardboard-Periscope/.

    8.  Again, since NASCAR is trying to engage new fans in the racing experience, another fan promotion could be encouraged at tandem race tracks, that of honorary pit crew stenciler.

    One of the biggest issues that has now evolved with this form of racing is that the manufacturer’s brand name is being rubbed off the front and back bumpers of the race cars.  To solve that concern, each manufacturer could have a fan contest to select fans that could very quickly, in 13 seconds or less, stencil the names back on the cars during the pit stops.

    This would not only encourage brand identity, but would also get the fans involved in a whole different aspect of the sport.  And there would be no better way than brand stenciling to get up close and personal with the race team.

    7.  Speaking of brand identity, while this may not make the racing any more exciting but to appeal to the adult fans in the crowd, NASCAR may just have to invite one of its primary sponsors, RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company, back to the track for a special cigarette promotion.  After all, the ‘friends with benefits’ type racing may just necessitate a bit of a short smoke break after the intense on-the-track coupling experiences.

    6.  NASCAR may also need to make a change to address the fact that there is inherently an odd number of cars on the track, with 43 starters.

    So, to increase interest, the last car qualified in should get to select a car from outside the field with whom to partner. Just think how interesting this past weekend’s race could have been if Joe Nemechek had selected say Kyle Petty or Rusty Wallace or even better yet Danica Patrick as his wing person.

    5.  In the interest of interest as well as safety, it would also behoove NASCAR to install the back up beeping devices in every race car. In this way, fans at the track and at home would hear the beep, beep, beeping and immediately know who is backing up in the field to find their tandem partners.

    Not only can fans and announcers alike track the cars going forward, but all could keep track of those purposefully dragging their brakes to find the second half of their particular dynamic duo throughout the race and especially on those fateful restarts.

    4.  Another way to involve the fans that NASCAR should consider for this style of racing is to allow a lucky fan at home to do the spotting for their particular race tandem. This would eliminate the wacky practice of having the pushee driver in the front’s spotter take over the spotting duties for the tandem.

    Heck, most of the drivers were confused anyway about who was in their ears from the perches high above on the spotters’ stand so one more weird voice should not be too disconcerting. And it would most certainly liven up the action for all stuck at home unable to attend the race for whatever reason.

    3.  Since the two car tandem style of racing has also been compared to the tango, NASCAR should insist that the dancing pairs perform at least one dip together below the yellow line at some point during the race.  Additional points toward the Chase may also be awarded for style, control, and degree of difficulty of the dance by visiting NASCAR officials of the day Carrie Ann Inaba, Len Goodman and Bruno Toniolli.

    2.  One of the most intriguing ways that NASCAR could make the tandem racing more interesting is to utilize the now defunct qualifying draw to select a very special surprise.

    Just as in days of old, the driver, crew chief or team designee would need to visit the NASCAR spinning ball area outside of the famed NASCAR hauler to select their number.

    But instead of determining the qualifying order, a random number will be designated for that the one special team that will get super glue instead of Vaseline or Pam on their car on the very last pit stop of the race.

    Won’t that be an interesting twist for whoever decides to hook up with that particular car at the tail end of an upcoming Daytona or Talladega race?

    1.  The final way that NASCAR could make the tandem racing more interesting is to approach it all strictly as the square dance that it truly is. Each tandem racing pair should be instructed prior to the race to carefully monitor the NASCAR channel for their calling instructions.

    Drivers will be instructed to “Circle Left, Come Down the Middle, and Do Sa Do.” But the best part will be when NASCAR, sometime during the race but hopefully in the second green, white, checkered attempt, will call “Partner Trade” and the cars will have to scramble to find a whole new partner for the race finale.

    Oh, but that already happened this past race weekend, didn’t it?

    God bless tandem racing and God bless NASCAR.  See you next in Talladega!

  • From Victory Lane to the Garage: Trevor Bayne Doesn’t Get Chance at Daytona Sweep

    From Victory Lane to the Garage: Trevor Bayne Doesn’t Get Chance at Daytona Sweep

    The hardest part for Trevor Bayne was not being able to show what his No. 21 Motorcraft Ford could do. Standing in the garage area looking at a race car that was just as good if not better than the one sitting just out front in the museum, Bayne was suddenly brought back down to earth.

    “If it was going be a winner, we’ll never know, but I think it could have been for sure,” said Bayne.

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”253″][/media-credit]Instead, just five laps after the green flag the team was packing up and heading home, memories of February long gone. After starting on the outside of the front row, Bayne found a drafting partner early in Clint Bowyer before he started to fall through the field. He landed on the front bumper of the No. 2 Dodge of Brad Keselowski but found out that these dancing partners had two left feet.

    “I wanted to be a pusher because I know that these things can happen,” Bayne explained. “He got to us and was pushing us down the frontstretch and I was still kind of lifting a little bit, letting him get to my bumper and then I got back to the gas wide-open. I don’t know if I turned down more getting in or if he kind of came up across our bumper, but either way, our bumpers caught wrong and it sent up spinning.”

    Keselowski turned the No. 21 entering turn one and Bayne starting spinning toward the inside of the track. Bowyer and Jeff Burton who were drafting on the inside of the No. 2 and No. 21 got collected as Bayne clipped Bowyer’s machine and shot back up into the wall head-on.

    “It happens all the time but it’s tough that it is our car,” said Bayne. “I hate tearing up a good race car and they duplicated what we had here in February, which is hard to do, so I’m thankful for the Wood Brothers standing behind me through everything I’ve been through this year.”

    The 20-year-old has been through more than he and the rest of the sport could imagine. Just 24 hours after his birthday in February he won the Daytona 500 for one of the most famous teams and family in the sport. It was just his second career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start and it shot him to super stardom.

    Bayne can no longer walk through the garage or any area for that matter without being recognized. Something that seemed unimaginable a year ago when he saw the likes of Jeff Gordon or Kyle Busch and the swarms of fans around them. Bayne has his own following now and no longer has to think about how cool it would be like Gordon or Busch.

    Yet, for all the good there has been the bad. What started in Daytona in February came full circle Saturday night at the same track.

    “It’s not fun, I can promise you,” said Bayne of his trouble. “It takes about a half-second and you say, ‘Oh, here it goes,’ because you get sideways and you know the point of correction. You know at what point you can still correct and then you know when it’s too far … It’s going to happen again tonight, I’m sure, but it’s just really unfortunate for us. I wanted to back-up what we did here in February, obviously, but we aren’t going to get the chance to do that.”

    He would have given it a valiant try though. On top the speed and qualifying charts, Bayne was storyline “a” entering the weekend. There was never any doubt that he was going to be fast or would have a drafting partner. All eyes were on the red and white Ford that while able to fly under the radar in February was now expected to be at the front of the field on Saturday night.

    Except the fan favorite and fantasy league shoe-in, Bayne finished 41st on Saturday night. And while he was disappointed at the turn of events Bayne left Daytona with the right mindset, something he’d been praised for since he arrived on the NASCAR scene.

    “I can’t explain what I’ve been through this year,” he said. “It’s tough at times and it’s good at times, but I just know that I’ve got really good people behind me and that’s why I say that about Ford and everybody at Wood Brothers and Roush Fenway on the Nationwide side. I’ve got great people behind me, so that gives me confidence. If I didn’t have that and I didn’t have my faith and everything else, right now that would be a pretty bad blow I can promise you that.”

  • The Final Word – It is weird & different, but I like the Daytona-Talladega two car two-step

    The Final Word – It is weird & different, but I like the Daytona-Talladega two car two-step

    [media-credit id=22 align=”alignright” width=”255″][/media-credit]Have you ever noticed that what goes on in NASCAR has a lot of similarities to regular life? When I was a boy, sometimes my daddy would come up behind me and gave me a sharp tap.  It made me go faster, something like bump drafting did out on the track at Daytona. Today, the bump has become more of a massage, including the use of lubricants, and it involves a lot of sliding around. No question, it sure is different, it raises things to a certain level of excitement, and I like it. At least, I do when it comes to discussing the racing applications.

    The reason is simple. There is no way in God’s creation that you or I could pull it off. Saturday night, we saw Brad Keselowski send Trevor Bayne to the promised land when he got too far inside and spun his partner. I could have done the same thing at 30 mph. Driving up to 190, with only the car you are pushing in your sights, with only him and a spotter keeping you from disaster, takes a lot of skill and guts. There is very little room for error. Do it right, and the pair of you can go from the back to the front in a hurry. Do it wrong, and one of you ends up sitting with Trevor Bayne…or Carl Edwards. As they thunder to the line, we have two partners who may or may not stick it out together to the end racing against two or three other teams who are wondering the same thing. It is different, it might be what Dale Earnhardt Jr calls “weird racing”, it might even make you feel a tad uncomfortable, but you can’t say it is not pretty exciting.

    Thanks to a push from Matt Kenseth, David Ragan and UPS finally got to stick it to Denny Hamlin and Federal Express, who finished 13th. It marked the first Cup win for the 25-year old, lifting him into the Top 20, and even placed Ragan in the final wild card spot for the Chase with nine to go. All-in-all, a rather successful day. Not so for Ryan Newman (23rd) and Mark Martin (33rd), a pair of boys who have been sliding as of late and have yet to find some solid ground to rebound with.

    Maybe that will come on Saturday as the boys make their first Cup visit to the 11-year old facility in Sparta, Kentucky. It is about 3-hours away from the hometown of the Waltrip brothers, with Michael making a return to the track in a car with his Hall of Fame brother’s mug on the hood. As you can tell, there are a lot things in life that can make you feel uncomfortable than just lubricated bumpers being massaged by the guy behind. Enjoy the week!

  • Notes From The NASCAR Nation: Is Danica Patrick The Secret Sauce?

    Notes From The NASCAR Nation: Is Danica Patrick The Secret Sauce?

    Is Danica Patrick the “secret sauce” in a highly successful marketing concept. It recently became apparent that the answer is a resounding yes.

    Over the years it has been very well known that “Go Daddy.Com” has been the primary sponsor for Danica Patrick’s racing career both in the Indy Racing League and her proposed transition to NASCAR. Let’s face it, the fact that this very attractive race driver has been the face, and in all honesty the body, of the Internet domain company’s advertising campaign has become a marketing marriage made in heaven.

    [media-credit id=22 align=”alignright” width=”258″][/media-credit]However there was some brief speculation regarding the future of this marketing relationship, following a report initiated by “The Wall Street Journal”, that said “Go Daddy.Com” had been sold. The story confirmed the fact that the company’s founder and CEO, Bob Parsons, had indeed sold his company to a trio of investors that included KKT and Company, Silver Lake Partners and Technology Crossover Ventures. The sale price of the ultra successful company was a whopping $2.25 billion.

    It turns out that Danica Patrick fans have no reason for concern here. First off no has a stronger belief in her future in motorsports than Bob Parsons. While he will no longer be the “Go Daddy” owner, he has to agreed to stay on as the company’s CEO. He’s also made it crystal clear that the sale of the company he founded will not have any impact on “Go Daddy’s” relationship with his favorite race driver.

    In a comment made to “ESPN” following the announcement that “Go Daddy” had been sold, Elizabeth Driscoll, the company Vice President of Public Relations, said: ” I can tell you that Bob’s been very vocal about how well Danica Patrick has fit into “Go Daddy’s” marketing efforts. The new investors have specifically said they don’t want to mess with “Go Daddy’s” secret sauce.”

    If you’re like me then you probably found yourself wondering why Patrick was being referred to as “secret sauce?” Driscoll’s statement became just a little bit more clear when it was revealed that she meant Patrick was the magic ingredient in the company’s customer service and marketing and they were “very much looking forward to the future on the Internet and the race track.”

    At least we’re now sure that Danica Patrick is going to have full sponsorship for her future racing endeavors. We’re just not exactly sure at the moment where these endeavors will take place.

    But seriously, secret sauce? Isn’t that something they put on hamburgers at fast food restaurants?

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Daytona Coke Zero 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Daytona Coke Zero 400

    With firecrackers sparkling, patriotism soaring and flags flying high in celebration of the July 4th holiday weekend, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the Coke Zero 400 run under the lights at Daytona International Speedway.


    [media-credit name=”David Yeazell” align=”alignright” width=”261″][/media-credit]Surprising: Sentimental favorite Trevor Bayne and points leader Carl Edwards both surprisingly had a world of trouble at the world center of racing.

    Bayne, piloting the famed Wood Brothers No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire and Auto Center Ford, was making his triumphant return to the superspeedway after winning the Daytona 500 and then having to get out of the car for a bit as a result of a never-diagnosed illness.

    The young driver’s high hopes were dashed early, when he was turned by Brad Keselowski, in the No. 2 Blue Deuce for Penske Racing, on Lap 5 of the race. Bayne and team were unable to repair the car and he finished 41st.

    “I don’t know if I turned down more getting in or if he (Keselowski) kind of came up across our bumper, but, either way, our bumpers caught wrong and it sent us spinning,” Bayne said. “You know that can happen here.”

    “It happens all the time, but it’s tough that it was our car,” Bayne continued. “I hate tearing up a good race car. If I didn’t have my faith and everything else right now, that would be a pretty bad blow I can promise you that.”

    Bayne was not the only one that had a tough night. Points leader coming into the race Carl Edwards had his hands full as well behind the wheel of the No. 99 Subway Ford for Roush Fenway Racing.

    Edwards was running third, being pushed by teammate Greg Biffle, when he hit the wall on lap 23. Edwards’ car was severely damaged, allowing fumes to get into the car and sickening the driver.

    While Edwards did get his car back on the track, he finished 37th, losing the points lead to Kevin Harvick.

    “We don’t ever give up and that’s the thing,” Edwards said. “I told my guys to keep their heads up. We’ll take this bad day and keep our pride.”

    “We knew coming here we could come out losing a bunch of points and we lost about as many as we could, but that’s OK,” Edwards continued. “We’re still right there. Hopefully we’ll be leading it after next week.”

    Not Surprising:  There was another Cinderella glass slipper waiting and not surprisingly this one was polished with redemption for one driver who was definitely due one at Daytona.

    David Ragan, who had come so close to winning the Daytona 500 but was penalized for changing lanes in the waning laps, was pushed to his first ever Cup victory by teammate Matt Kenseth.

    This was Ragan’s first victory in 163 Cup races but his fifth top-10 finish in 2011. The driver of the No. 6 UPS “We Love Logistics” Ford for Roush Fenway Racing scored his fourth top-10 finish in ten races at Daytona.

    “It was a tough one in February and coming back here we knew that we’d have a shot to win,” Ragan said. “When we qualified, that’s probably the first time I really felt like we’ve got a car that’s fast enough that we can win this thing, so we made a pact with our teammate Matt Kenseth that we were gonna work together through thick or thin.”

    “I just tried to not make any mistakes, tried to put ourselves in good position and we wound up obviously being in the lead on the last restart and that was the winning moment for us,” Ragan said. “I’m happy about the win.”

    Surprising:  While this year has been one of change on pit road, particularly for the over the wall gang with the new fueling system and the elimination of the catch can man, there was another surprising change on pit road during this race. The gas can man became the grease man as well.

    From rags covered in lard to cans of Pam, greasing the bumpers became a part of the pit crew dance. And another pit road command from atop the boxes became “Right side tires and grease the bumpers.”

    Not Surprising:  With the new style of tandem racing, it was not surprising to see a race record high of 57 lead changes. There was also a track record broken for 25 different leaders, with the previous record being 22 set in this year’s Daytona 500.

    It was also not surprising that after all of the racing, the finale came down to the second attempt at a green, white, checkered finish.

    Clint Bowyer, who had been at the front of the pack in his No. 33 Wheaties Fuel Chevrolet, ended up finishing 36th, thanks to that final green, white, checker attempt.

    “We got some damage in the beginning of the race and laid back in the field with our RCR teammate Jeff Burton until about 30 to go,” Bowyer said. “That last caution came out at the wrong time as we were making a run at the leaders.”

    “Nothing we could have done there at the end,” Bowyer concluded. “That’s just restrictor plate racing for you I guess.”

    Surprising: The surprising tandem dubbed ‘Harvard’, comprised of Kevin Harvick, driving the No. 29 Budweiser Folds of Honor Chevrolet, and Paul Menard, behind the wheel of the No. 27 Quaker State/Menards Chevrolet, finished strong.

    In fact, Harvick’s finish was strong enough to catapult him over Edwards to lead the point standings by five.

    “We had a plan to stick with the No. 27 (Menard) all night and I think we ran every lap with him,” Harvick said. “The first green-white-checkered, we had a great run and the timing was perfect.”

    “The second one, we just didn’t have quite the timing and got a couple of guys underneath us and then we just got a little bit too far behind,” Harvick continued. “But still, everything worked pretty good.”

    Not Surprising: In contrast to the relief of the ‘Harvard’ tandem, it was not surprising to see equal if not more amounts of frustration boil over for many of the traditionally good plate race drivers who did not have the finish they, or their fans, envisioned.

    In addition to Jimmie Johnson, who finished 20th in his No. 48 Lowes Summer Salute, fan favorite Dale Earnhardt, Jr. also struggled late in the race, finishing 19th in his camouflaged No. 88 National Guard Heritage/Amp Energy Chevrolet.

    “Oh man, I don’t know,” Junior said after the race. “I’m really ticked off. Damnit. I was just trying to get to the finish line.”

    “What kind of move can you make in racing like this?” Junior continued. “There ain’t no move you can make.”

    “You just hold it on the mat and try not to wreck into each other,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “You see how good we are at that.”

    Surprising: In addition to his appearance in the movie ‘Cars 2’, it was a bit surprising to see Jeff Gordon, this week piloting the No. 24 Pepsi Max Chevrolet, starring as the race’s Lucky Dog. Gordon used his veteran skills for an incredible save after a wild spin on lap 157 to finish sixth.

    “Somebody got in the back of the No. 4 (Kasey Kahne) and pushed him up into me and I had nowhere to go,” Gordon said. “Then the car came around and luckily I straightened it out somehow and came back and fixed it.”

    “Miraculously there on those last two restarts we avoided more wrecks,” Gordon continued. “It was awesome and how we finished sixth is unbelievable.”

    Not Surprising:  One other driver benefitted greatly from the Lucky Dog phenomenon. AJ Allmendinger, driver of the No. 43 Air Force Ford Fusion for Richard Petty Motorsports, got the distinction after the first green, white, checkered attempt and went on to power his way to a top-10 finish.

    “I felt kind of bad because Marcos (Ambrose) and I were racing for the lucky dog, but I was happy the yellow came out twice so we both got our laps back,” Allmendinger said. “After that, it was just trying to miss the wreck.”

    “We didn’t quite miss it but I stayed wide open and kind of bulled my way through there and finished 10th.”

  • Fireworks on the track and in the sky

    Fireworks on the track and in the sky

    Daytona’s Coke Zero 400 showed promise. Time and experience had improved the Nationwide race immensely so the Cup series should be just as good. Realistic expectation perhaps, but it didn’t come to pass.

    [media-credit id=22 align=”alignright” width=”219″][/media-credit]All week drivers had been asked about the two car tango. There were many opinions and explanations on how it worked. Some liked it. Some didn’t. One of the biggest detractors of the tandem drafting was Dale Earnhardt Jr. “I’d rather have control of my own destiny and be able to go out there and race and just do my own work and worry about my own self. It’s really weird and kinda wrong on some levels to race that way and to think like you think. You take care of somebody and you feel this obligation to take care of them and then worry about having them take care of you and how that makes them feel. Been growing up all these years racin’ for number one-lookin’ out for number one. Doing my job. This is what I need to do. I need to do this to get up through the pack. This is how my car drives and now you are doing it so different. Your thought process and everything you think about during the race is nothing near that. It is just different and weird. It won’t be like that forever I assume and hopefully I am alive and still racin’ when it goes back to the way it was because I just really enjoy lookin’ out for number one, man. If you had a car that drive up through there and you were smart about drafting and knew what you were doing, you could make some cool things happen and that was pretty fun.”

    Elliott Sadler says he likes the two car draft and offered this explanation, “I like the 2 car drafting that we do now and I’ll you the reason behind it. Drafting – restrictor plates – are a tough part of our sport. We hear drivers talk about it all the time. Old drafting where you have 40 cars in one bunch in one pile a lot of the finishes you got are out of your control. A lot of the wrecks you get in, everything really is determined by everyone else around you. We have a lot of those same factors in the 2 car draft. Where things can happen around you and catch in a wreck not of your doing. But with the 2 car tandem if you know what you’re doing as a drafting partner and you make the right decisions as a 2 car tandem you can work your way to the front and actually the pack will split up a little more so actually the big wreck has a little bit less chance of happening and as a driver that’s a good thing. But I do think it’s harder to draft this way.”

    Both drivers were involved in huge last lap crashes of their respective races. The Sprint Cup race ended with two crashes on the white flag lap. The crashes took out 15 cars in the first and 18 cars in the final wreck just yards before the start finish line. This is significant when you remember that the starting field is 43 cars. Many of the cars that did finish were damaged from earlier wrecks in the event.

    At some point words from the drivers and NASCAR start coming back to you. Words like cost containment measures, no down force, racing for track position, driver safety is a priority. At that point you begin making observations.

    Let’s start with cost containment. NASCAR implemented the COT and eliminated testing as cost containment measure for teams. They did so in 2008. Let’s take a good look at this race and ask about the cost containment. 30 cars were involved in the last lap melee. Several more were damaged in the wrecks that happened before the white flag. Let’s break it down to teams. HMS lost 3 cars and damaged the fourth significantly. Joe Gibbs had damage to 2 out of the 3. RCR lost 2 out of 4 with damage to a 3rd. Roush Fenway, had significant damage to 2 out of the 4 but did win the race with a pristine car. Richard Petty Motorsports lost 1 and damaged a second. Red Bull lost 1 and damaged the other. Penske Racing seriously damaged both cars. Those are just the major teams. How cost effective is the decision to not make changes to the car? But even drivers do not believe there will be changes made. “I don’t think they’re going to address that to be honest with you. I think its goes against what they’re trying to do and we’re not turning each other around, the interface works really well and so well we can push.” Stated five time series champion Jimmie Johnson. But at what cost? How long will it be before a driver is seriously hurt?

    NASCAR has stated since 2001, that driver safety is paramount and utmost on their list of priorities. Yet we still have not learned that three lap runs for the checkered flag on super speedways is always disastrous. In was disastrous in 1992 when Rusty Wallace took a wild ride through the tri-oval grass at Talladega. It was disastrous in 2001 when Dale Earnhardt lost his life in a turn 4 crash at Daytona. And it was disastrous in 2011 when 30 cars wrecked on the last lap of the Coke Zero 400. We lost a hero. We hurt another. We destroyed millions of dollars worth of equipment. What does it take for NASCAR to see that Green White Checker finishes don’t belong on restrictor plate tracks?

    The COT’s safety systems have been tested and proven for sure. But they are not fail safe. The cage that surrounds the driver in the new car is stiffer and unyielding. This transfers more impact to the driver. “The driver compartment is stiffer and stronger than it has ever been before it’s going to absorb the impact far less even though we have some impact material and foam around the driver side,” stated Jeff Gordon. He did go on to add that he would not trade the safety measures for what they had before.

    Injuries are not always obvious. In the case of Carl Edwards he lost a crush panel in front of the right rear wheel on his Subway Ford Fusion in an early race crash. After only a few laps on the track Edwards returned to the pits after becoming ill in the car from Carbon Monoxide poisoning. Edwards, who does not run a Koolbox system which would have provided him with a Carbon monoxide filter, did finish the race but was treated with Oxygen post race.

    This race showed the instability in the cars. Numerous times we saw cars in tandem pairs be passed by another tandem and the pair be pulled apart as the side force of the cars was disrupted. The aero dynamic wave, if you will, caused the two cars to become unstable on the track with several cases of spins and wall contact resulting.

    There is no doubt that this race was costly to teams. Thankfully there were no injuries. At least not physically but the financial injuries will take some of the smaller teams a great deal of time to recoup.

    The cup race did not live up to its sister series race. It was a long fairly uninterrupted affair that saw teams dropping back and waiting to the very end to make a run for the front. Those were runs that simply didn’t happen. Some because the tandem was broken up by needed pit stops after the late caution that took pole sitter Mark Martin out of the race. Some because they had simply fallen too far back to make the run and then were caught in the final melees typical of Restrictor Plate racing. Sadly, there seems to be no hope of returning to the old school racing at Daytona or Talladega. But hopefully we will carry with us as a sport the lessons learned from this years Coke Zero Demolition Derby.

    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ * * * * ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

    Congratulations to TNT on a great broadcast with readable graphics and limited interruptions for commercials. This was definitely the best broadcast of the year.

    Kudos to Wally Dallenbach and Kyle Petty for having the courage to get in to cars and demonstrate and describe what we were about to see even though they themselves had never done it before.

    Congratulations to Joey Logano on his win in the Subway Jalapeno 250, and also to Kyle Busch for pushing him to that victory.

    Congratulations to Danica Patrick for finally displaying the skills that all of her fans believed her to have in a stock car.

    Congratulations to David Ragan on his victory in the Coke Zero 400 and also to Matt Kenseth for pushing him to that victory.

    That said, to all the competitors in all the series thanks for giving us everything you have to give, you are our heroes. Most importantly, thanks to all the families who shared their loved ones with us so we could cheer our favorite driver and favorite teams. You are the true heroes of the sport and we are forever in your debt.

  • David Ragan – Another Freak Winner at Daytona?

    David Ragan – Another Freak Winner at Daytona?

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”226″][/media-credit]At Daytona in February, Trevor Bayne, barely out of his teens won NASCAR’s biggest race, the Daytona 500. As the circuit moved back there just last night, it was another surprise winner, David Ragan. Or was it such a big surprise?

    The big money was on Dale, Jr. this weekend. We’ve been told by every media outlet and anyone who follows this series that Junior was going to win soon. His record at Daytona and Talladega bear this out. Nowhere is Junior better than at the restrictor plate races. Call it inherited from the family. Yet, I didn’t feel that way. Somehow, it always seems to be a surprise. Oh, I could go into details of all the surprises at those two tracks, but you all know that . Many of us saw David Ragan’s rise from bumbling kid to someone who could drive a racecar. I’ll still remember that debut at Martinsville when he hit everything but the pace car. Jack Roush had faith in him, though, and gave his a primo ride in the fabled No. 6. That was Jack’s first car he seriously ran in the Cup series and the former ride of Mark Martin, Roush’s most successful driver.

    Many thought Roush was crazy. The skinny kid from Georgia and the son of Ken Ragan, just didn’t have it. The statistics proved it out. He had only won one Nationwide Series race and had never won a Cup race. He nearly won the Daytona 500 this year, but jumping the start proved to be his downfall and the guy who was pushing him in that weird two-car tandem nonsense went on to win.

    UPS is a big sponsor in this series and the talk was Ragan was in trouble. He just hadn’t done the job and UPS was going to demand another driver for 2012 if they were to stay with Roush-Fenway. The pressure was on and Ragan knew it. After the debacle that was the Daytona 500, he looked forward to this race more than any other. He had to win.

    There is an opinion that what happens at Daytona and Talladega has little to do with the worth of a driver. Many consider restrictor plate racing a freak of nature in NASCAR terms. Drivers have won here that have won nowhere else in cars that can’t compete in “normal” races. Since the 1987 regulation that required restrictor plates, we’ve seen drivers like Derrike Cope, john Andretti, Michael Waltrip, and Jamie McMurray win. Not that this is a bad list, but they were all surprises. In fact, may drivers have lived on wins at Daytona and Talladega. All four of his victories have been at those two race tracks. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. has won 18 times, but 7 of those have come at Daytona and Talladega. Some drivers and teams are just better at those races, but the record shows that a large number of long-time stars have won, not only at the restrictor plates tracks, but lots of other places, too.

    So, what does this all mean? Should David Ragan now be considered as a driver who has “made it’ and continue a staple of the Roush-Fenway stable? I do not know. I do know that RFR is in frantic negotiations with Carlo Edwards and Matt Kenseth’s sponsor just announced they were not coming back. Couple that with rising drivers like Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. and Trevor Bayne and Ragan’s mid=pack finishes most everywhere else, and his job security is less than optimistic. Time will tell, but they can’t take the thrill of a Daytona win away from him. Just like Trevor Bayne, he is king for a day, but will it last?

  • Hoorah’s And Wazzups: Daytona Drama

    Hoorah’s And Wazzups: Daytona Drama

    When the green flag fell on NASCAR’s Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series’ events at Daytona, there was one thing evident to those of us at home watching on television: the first two thirds of these races were going to be like watching paint dry, but the final one third was going to be exciting and loaded with drama.

    [media-credit id=22 align=”alignright” width=”238″][/media-credit]However, during the conclusion of these two races, the Sprint Cup’s Coke Zero 400 treated us to the drama and exhilaration of a first time Daytona winner for the second time this year. The Nationwide Series’ Subway Jalapeno 250 treated us to a dramatic finish that wasn’t resolved until the final one half lap of the race and, on yes, Danica was there is a very big way.

    **********

    Hoorah to David Ragan for scoring his first ever NASCAR Sprint Cup win, in the Coke Zero 400, after 163 efforts to get there. That win moves Ragan to 17th in the championship points standings and could line him up for a starting berth in the Sprint Cup Chase’s wild card program.

    Hoorah for Ragan’s sweet redemption. Last February he was in line to win the Daytona 500 when he was penalized by NASCAR for changing race lanes, following a restart, prior to crossing the start finish line. After that experience he had to feel like the speedway owed him one and collecting that debt had to be sweet.

    The Roush Fenway Racing Ford driver seriously needed this first win and the timing of that visit to victory lane could not be better. It comes at a time when his primary sponsor’s, United Parcel Service, contract is up for renewal and Ragan’s Daytona performance could greatly help that renewal cause. Hoorah to UPS for getting their first win as a primary sponsor since Dale Jarrett invited them to victory lane back in 2005. All year long the famed delivery company has been promoting the marketing slogan “we love logistics.” One has to believe that UPS was thrilled with the logistics behind Ragan’s first Cup win.

    Hoorah to the winner’s Roush Fenway team mate Matt Kenseth who was pushing Ragan to the checkers in the two car draft tandem. Kenseth’s strong Daytona performance is also timely. In recent days it was announced that his primary sponsor, Crown Royal, would not be returning to the team next year. His strong Daytona finish, combined with a good year as a Chase contender, could go along way towards landing another sponsor.

    Wazzup with Crown Royal waiting so long in the season to announce this decision to withdraw from racing? The timing here is terrible. Having to spend the final few months of the 2011 season trying to locate a replacement sponsor is not going to be easy.

    On the topic of Roush Fenway Racing teams, Wazzup with Carl Edwards’ misfortunes during the Coke Zero 400? Working towards lap 23 of the race, Edwards was hooked up in the two car draft with team mate Greg Biffle. In an effort to avoid potential contact with the duo of Kurt Busch and Regan Smith, Edwards accidentally nudged Biffle’s front bumper. The result was a spin and a hard hit into the fourth turn wall. The impact led to broken crush panels on Edwards’ Ford which in turn allowed carbon monoxide to infiltrate the car’s cockpit causing a feeling of illness for the driver. The result was a 37th place finish and a fall to second in the points standings. Edwards is now five points behind new leader Kevin Harvick.

    ***********

    Wazzup with Ford driver Trevor Bayne setting a new NASCAR record he absolutely didn’t want to create? Last February Bayne stunned us all by becoming the youngest driver to ever win the Daytona 500. Filled with anticipation regarding the Coke Zero 400, Bayne was spun and sent nose first into the wall only five laps into the race. He accidentally set a new series’ record for the worst finish in Daytona’s July race by that season’s Daytona 500 winner.

    The old record was set by Hall Of Fame inductee Cale Yarborough who won the 1983 Daytona 500 only to suffer an engine failure, after five laps, in the July race.

    ***********

    Hoorah to Jeff Gordon for an amazing display of driving after being spun on lap 157. Gordon was charging towards the front of the pack when he was accidentally clipped by Kasey Kahne. Gordon spun in traffic and did an amazing job of saving his car in what appeared to be the making of a restrictor plate racing “big one.” That recovery led to a sixth place finish. Hoorah to the traffic behind him, and the spotters who guided their drivers, for taking quick thinking evasive action.

    Wazzup with the “big one” arriving during the first green-white-checker attempt? On lap 163 there was contact between Mark Martin and Joey Logano. Martin’s car went around and slammed hard into the backstretch. By the time the melee was over, there were no fewer than 12 wadded up race cars being hooked to wreckers following the massive clean up.

    Wazzup with the second multi car accident that occurred a matter of feet from the checkers at the conclusion of the second green-white-checker attempt?

    ***********

    Hoorah to Joey Logano for winning the Nationwide Series’ Subway Jalapeno 250 as well as his first ever win at Daytona. The double duty Sprint Cup driver only led the last half of the final lap but, in restrictor plate style racing, sometimes that’s all you need.

    Logano had to accomplish this feat by charging his way back through the field. On lap 26 the eventual race winner found himself spinning through turn three after getting tapped by Brian Scott, his Joe Gibbs Racing team mate.

    Hoorah to Turner Motorsports driver Reed Sorenson who had a very good Saturday night at Daytona. First off, there was the matter of the Nationwide Insurance Dash For Cash program which paid a $100,000 bonus to the highest finishing driver of the four who were eligible for the program. Sorenson’s third place finish locked the bonus down. Adding the $44,000 plus he earned for his race finish, he had a very lucrative night. All of this was sweetened by the fact that he left Daytona on top of the championship points standings.

    Hoorah to driver Danica Patrick for a very strong performance during the Nationwide Series race. Any pre race doubt that she might have difficulty dealing with the two car draft procedure was quickly erased. If there are any critics left who question if she’s ready to move to NASCAR full time, they were also silenced. She spent much of the race drafting with her Junior Motorsports team mate, Aric Almirola, and handled the tricky maneuver with the greatest of ease. She even led a total of 13 laps in the race and, during the late stages of the event, had many of us thinking that she might become the next Daytona victory lane surprise visitor.

    Unfortunately, Patrick got caught up in that multi car wreck on the final lap, just a matter of yards from the checkered flag, but still managed to limp across the finish line in tenth.

    By the way, Wazzup with that final lap crash on the front stretch. According to the video replays, the car driven by Mike Wallace got incredibly loose and all of a sudden there was a major crash festival. Patrick later commented “Wallace was loose like a fish out of water and then all of a sudden it turned into a cluster.”

    Hoorah to Kevin Harvick Inc for fielding four teams in the Subway Jalapeno 250 and having them start first through fourth after qualifying. It marked the first time that any one racing organization has accomplished this feat.

    Unfortunately, the outcome was not what KHI was hoping for. Clint Bowyer finished 34th following a crash that was triggered by a two car draft hit from Kevin Harvick himself who finished 18th in the race. Tony Stewart was strong during this event only to have to settle for 13th after getting caught up in the aforementioned last lap “big one.” The KHI bright spot was Elliot Sadler who ran strong all night and finished eighth.

    ***********

    In some final thoughts: Hoorah to King Richard Petty who celebrated his 74th birthday on July 2nd. Sprint driver Jeff Burton gets a Hoorah for celebrating his 44th birthday as well as making his official 600th series start.

    Wazzup with the radio communication problem Carl Edwards had during the practice session prior to the Coke Zero 400? Edwards was running the two car draft with his Roush Fenway Racing team mate Greg Biffle but they were unable to talk to each other on their in car radios. A quick trip to the garage area, to have the situation looked at, turned up the solution: the volume on Edwards’ radio was turned down.

    Hoorah to TNT Network analysts Kyle Petty and Wally Dallenbach for their in car demonstration on how the two car draft system works during a NASCAR restrictor plate race. Instead of sitting behind a desk and giving us a lecture, they climbed inside of race cars and presented a visual aide on exactly how intense this form of racing can get. It was a job well done.

    Wazzup with the on air timing of a Viagra commercial during the TNT broadcast of the Sprint Cup race? During their “wide open coverage” of the race, the network presented sponsor commercials on a separate box located on the lower right hand corner of our TV screens while continuing to show us the live action from the race track.

    On lap 77, TNT aired a Viagra commercial at the same time they were showing driver Joe Nemechek taking the race lead. Nemechek’s car was sponsored by Extenze, that other male enhancement product and a direct competitor of Viagra. We know how the Extenze situation turned out. Nemechek finished 30th, one lap down, in the final standings. It’s not exactly clear how things turned out for the middle aged couple in the Viagra ad.

  • Redemption in Daytona: David Ragan Scores First Career Win in Coke Zero 400

    Redemption in Daytona: David Ragan Scores First Career Win in Coke Zero 400

    It was fourth of July weekend in Daytona Beach and there were more than just fireworks in the sky. Starting on the pole for the 50th time in his career was Hendrick Motorsports’ Mark Martin who did his part in putting HMS on all three restrictor plate poles this season.

    [media-credit name=”David Yeazell” align=”alignright” width=”254″][/media-credit]In following the previous plate races the Coke Zero 400 was about finding your drafting partner and it didn’t mean a teammate. Pairings such as David Gilliland and Tony Stewart became friends while the duo of Kurt Busch and Regan Smith looked to continue the success they experienced at Daytona in February.

    Unlike February, Trevor Bayne would not be the driver going to victory lane. The No. 21 Ford brought out the first caution on lap six after he got turned by Brad Keselowski in turn one. The first of many incidents of bumpdrafting gone bad.

    After the restart Martin, who had led every lap to that point, lost the lead to his teammate and fan favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. Working with Jimmie Johnson as they did in Talladega, Earnhardt Jr. was happily pushed to the front before losing the lead to Kurt Busch.

    Point leader Carl Edwards wouldn’t get to challenge Busch. As he and teammate Greg Biffle attempted to drive high around Busch and Smith the No. 99 got turned into the inside wall by Biffle on lap 24. Damage to the rear decklid of Edwards would take him out of contention.

    Edwards misfortune became teammate David Ragan’s fortune as he was pushed to the lead by teammate Matt Kenseth after the restart. From there many other drivers, such as Kasey Kahne and Martin Truex Jr., took their shot at the lead as the race ran green until lap 49.

    Dave Blaney would bring out the third caution of the night in a single car accident. Blaney hit the wall hard on the right side of his No. 36 machine. It was also during this stage of the race that a story was developing in the Edwards pit. After his wreck there were rumors that Edwards had thrown up inside the car and that there could also be carbon monoxide factors.

    Edwards would stay in the car, as the team worked to get him cooled off and the car vented. Eventually they went behind the wall before returning later in the event.

    Once the race went back green it went through it’s longest green flag run. Paul Menard and Kevin Harvick made their way to the front for a few laps. Next came Tony Stewart, a three-time Daytona winner, making his appearance on lap 70.

    Another unusual pairing, Joe Nemechek and Travis Kvapil, not only caught attention but drove to the lead for a few circuits and ran amongst the leaders during a late stage in the race. When Kyle Busch was pushed to the lead by teammate Joey Logano he became the 17th leader during the 31st lead change.

    Lap 92 brought the first round of green flag pit stops during which Jeff Burton and teammate Clint Bowyer went to the front. The two had been running in the back to avoid trouble but made sure each led a lap for the bonus points.

    The next pairing to drive to the lead were the two drivers that lost their drafting partners in earlier wrecks. Brad Keselowski and Greg Biffle took the lead before being passed by Denny Hamlin and Ryan Newman and soon there was a new track record for leaders with 25, besting the previous of 22 in the Daytona 500.

    The final round of pit stops took place with 30 laps to go. Again they occurred under green but the drama was just around the corner. On lap 159 Jeff Gordon spun in turn four but avoided taking the rest of the field with him. It happened while racing three wide but Gordon still rebounded for a sixth place finished.

    On the first attempt at a green-white-checkered finish the big one broke out on the backstretch. Martin, Truex Jr., Bowyer, Mears, Nemechek, Kvapil, Smith, Busch, Stewart, Reutimann, Vickers, Cassill, Kahne, Logano and Gilliland all got a piece of it.

    It set up a second attempt at a green-white-checkered finish that placed David Ragan in the lead. Looking for redemption for his mistake in the Daytona 500 on the green-white-checkered finish, Ragan stayed in line and was pushed by Matt Kenseth toward his first career win.

    As he was coming to the checkered flag more wrecks broke out behind him. First in turns three and four and then coming toward the finish line. This time it involved Reutimann, McMurray, Ambrose, Hamlin, Stewart, Kurt Busch, Jeff Burton, Kvapil, Newman, Montoya, Johnson, Cassill, Vickers, Smith and Earnhardt Jr.

    Out in front though was David Ragan beating Matt Kenseth, Joey Logano, Kasey Kahne and Kyle Busch. It was his first career win in 163 Sprint Cup Series starts. In the points, Kevin Harvick is now on top over Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Clint Bowyer and Ryan Newman.

     

    Unofficial Race Results
    Coke Zero 400, Daytona International Speedway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/Cup/race.php?race=17
    =========================================
    Pos. No. Driver Make Points
    =========================================
    1 5 6 David Ragan Ford 47
    2 16 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 43
    3 37 20 Joey Logano Toyota 41
    4 13 4 Kasey Kahne Toyota 41
    5 38 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 40
    6 4 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 39
    7 31 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 38
    8 10 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 37
    9 30 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet 36
    10 9 43 A.J. Allmendinger Ford 34
    11 19 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 34
    12 20 83 Brian Vickers Toyota 32
    13 36 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 32
    14 25 22 Kurt Busch Dodge 31
    15 26 2 Brad Keselowski Dodge 30
    16 39 34 David Gilliland Ford 28
    17 15 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 27
    18 17 16 Greg Biffle Ford 27
    19 6 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 26
    20 8 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 24
    21 12 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 24
    22 18 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 23
    23 11 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 23
    24 28 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet 21
    25 23 0 David Reutimann Toyota 19
    26 21 51 Landon Cassill Chevrolet 0
    27 7 71 Andy Lally * Ford 17
    28 41 32 Terry Labonte Ford 16
    29 27 38 Travis Kvapil Ford 0
    30 43 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 0
    31 24 47 Bobby Labonte Toyota 13
    32 32 13 Casey Mears Toyota 13
    33 1 5 Mark Martin Chevrolet 12
    34 38 7 Robby Gordon Dodge 10
    35 34 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 10
    36 3 33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 9
    37 14 99 Carl Edwards Ford 8
    38 35 135 Geoff Bodine Chevrolet 6
    39 40 36 Dave Blaney Chevrolet 5
    40 29 60 Mike Skinner Toyota 0
    41 2 21 Trevor Bayne Ford 0
    42 33 66 Michael McDowell Toyota 2
    43 22 97 Kevin Conway Toyota 0
  • A Coke Delivery by Ragan with Zero to go

    A Coke Delivery by Ragan with Zero to go

    The duo of David Ragan and Matt Kenseth teamed up to take the double green-white-checkered flag finish on Saturday night in the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona.

    Ragan started fifth and led for 15 laps. Kenseth led 14. Ryan Newman led the most laps with 25 and finished 23rd.

    Pole sitter Mark Martin was involved in a multi-car crash in the closing laps and finished 33rd.

    The driver who moved forward the most was Joey Logano. He started 37th and finished third.

    The hard luck story of the night was Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne. A lap four accident sent the young driver to the garage for the night and a 41st place finish.

    The race finished in double overtime after a caution came out on lap 157 (of 160 scheduled) after Kasey Kahne slid up the track and had contact with Jeff Gordon who was then tapped by Mark Martin. Gordon had nowhere to go. Kyle Busch would find himself part of the action as he scraped along the wall followed by Joey Logano. Gordon was then missed by inches by the duo of Casey Mears and Landon Cassill. Somehow Gordon hit nothing hard enough to cause significant damage.

    On the first overtime restart we would see the first of three accidents in ten extra laps that would be run of the race.

    The first overtime green flag would have Ryan Newman and Denny Hamlin who were side by side followed by Kenseth and Ragan. Newman is able to drop in front of Hamlin and it’s first the “big one” as Martin is side swiped by Brian Vickers and Logano in turn one which collects Tony Stewart, David Gilliland, Brad Keselowski, Ragan, Casey Mears, Cassill, David Reutimann, Martin Truex Jr., Joe Nemechek and Clint Bowyer.

    The next restart the duos of Ragan / Kenseth and Newman / Hamlin hook back up. Logano has Kahne on the outside while Newman / Hamlin are sliding back.

    With one lap to go the duo of Ragan / Kenseth led, followed by Logano / Kahne heading into turn three.

    Trouble behind the leaders of Ragan / Kenseth who win the race and we have two wrecks in turns three and four.

    As the drivers head into turn three Reutimann was pushing Cassill in the middle while Ambrose following Allmendinger was clipped by Cassill. Marcos Ambrose spun in front of the two along with Stewart and Vickers who were on the inside were clipped by Ambrose who then came back into Cassill and Reutimann as they crashed into the outside turn three wall.

    Cassill slid down into Vickers where Stewart squeaked out from the incident. The other four drivers crashed and slid down to the apron. After that more trouble hit the field coming out of turn four as Paul Menard following Kevin Harvick on the outside line came down on Jamie McMurray in the middle with Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the low line see the two get together.

    Earnhardt Jr. was hit from behind by Burton and Newman

    [media-credit id=22 align=”alignright” width=”242″][/media-credit]. The force of the momentum pushed McMurray sideways and into the outside line of his teammate Montoya with Burton crashing into Johnson.

     

    Earnhardt Jr. spun on the apron where he was just missed by Hamlin. Newman is hooked into the back of Burton as they hit Johnson. At this point cars were everywhere spinning and crashing into each other. Burton headed for the inside wall as Montoya and Newman are crashing on the outside wall. Hamlin and Johnson eat some grass of the infield as does McMurray. This all unfolds in front of Stewart who rides the apron dodging and ducking the others.

    CHECERED FLAG for Ragan for his first time of the season. Kenseth scores second followed by Logano, Kahne, Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon, Harvick, Menard, Montoya and Allmendinger.

    Onto the Lap By Lap Coverage

     

    Well fans HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!

     

    It’s about Daytona Duels tonight, of course we are not talking about the duels at the start of the year, we are talking about the racing duels that has been the talk of the town for the last race and last night’s Nationwide race that came down to the last lap that also ended up in a big pileup.

    The duel drafting has been the interest of not only the fans, but the drivers. But as the case with Daytona, there will be drivers who like the style of the race that is run and there will be drivers who are not happy with the racing on the track.

    We will see the numerous lead changes on the track like usual, but now it will most likely be due to the duos swapping the driver in the front of the two car team up with the driver pushing from behind which allows the others duos to pass on by during the change.

    Last night’s race, the spring race at Talladega and the Daytona 500 did not see the big action until the closing laps of the race. And we also did not see the big pack racing like we used to see, which left many drivers in the dust as they did not hook up with any other driver on the track. If you hook up with someone, you have a chance to be in the front. We will see if the teams have learned lessons from the 500 and if they can move to the front.

    Enough about the what and where, let’s go to the who and when as we start the race for the spectacular night race.

    The veteran Mark Martin is on the pole with this year’s Daytona 500 winner of Trevor Bayne who will lead the 41 other drivers to the 400 miles of racing tonight.

    Clint Bowyer and Jeff Gordon will line up in the second row. David Ragan starts fifth. Gordon’s teammates Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson start 6th and 8th respectively. Robby Gordon and Bobbie Labonte head to the back of the pack.

    NOW, LET’S GO RACING!!

    GREEN FLAG as Martin is pushed by Gordon and Bayne by Bowyer. Earnhardt and Johnson are the third group and pulling away from the field. Lap 2 Andy Lally is by himself which breaks the field apart as he has no help.

    Lap 3 drivers are looking to hook up with someone to make their runs. Lap 5 two drivers head to the garage…

    YELLOW FLAG lap 5 as Bayne heads nose first into the outside turn one wall after Brad Keselowski is offset to the left side of Bayne, which is not the side you want to be on which first sends him towards the apron to skip off the right side of Bowyer’s car then into the outside wall.

    Bobbie Labonte and Jamie McMurray picked up some damage from checking up for the accident. Bayne heads to the garage with major damage.

    Just to keep you up to date the two cars that headed into the garage were Kevin Conway and Michael McDowell. Mike Skinner takes his car to the garage.

    GREEN FLAG lap 9 as the Martin / Gordon team get the two some going. Lap 10 Earnhardt / Johnson are the second group followed by Ragan / Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards / Biffle. Lap 12 Ragan / Kenseth are the new second group.

    Lap 15 of 160 the Martin / Gordon team continue to lead followed by Earnhardt / Johnson who take the lead in turn three. Lap 16 the inside line is filled with Kurt Busch / Regan Smith followed by Edwards / Greg Biffle.

    Lap 19 the top three teams run two seconds in front of Ragan / Kenseth, Joey Logano / Kyle Busch. Lap 20 we now have six groups battling for the lead. Lap 21 Kurt Busch is the leader again with Smith. Earnhardt / Johnson contend with Edwards and Biffle on the outside.

    Lap 23 after the contact with Bayne, Keselowski did not have any help and was out in the cold and lapped.

    YELLOW FLAG lap 24 as Edwards is spun out after there was too much momentum carried by Himself and Biffle as the drifted out towards the outside wall at the exit of turn four. Keselowski will be the lucky dog.

    The leaders head to pit road. Several leaders remain on the track but the next lap we see the Hendrick teams pit the next time by. Currently the top ten drivers are Kevin Harvick, Paul Menard, Ragan, Kenseth, Smith, Martin Truex Jr., Kurt Busch, David Reutimann, Casey Mears and Landon Cassill.

    GREEN FLAG lap 27 as Harvick / Menard pull away from Truex Jr. / David Reutimann. Lap 29 Smith / Kurt Busch lead followed by Truex Jr. / Reutimann. Lap 31 Truex Jr. / Reutimann lead for a moment with Ragan / Kenseth on the inside.

    Lap 32 new players in the mix are Kasey Kahne / Brian Vickers. Team Hendrick have dropped to the back for a strategic move to keep it safe and sane. Lap 36 Michael Waltrip racing leads Ragan / Kenseth by a car length. Red Bull racing run as the third group.

    Lap 37 Ryan Newman / Denny Hamlin are the new third group followed by Harvick / Menard, Truex Jr. / Reutimann, Keselowski / Biffle and Mears / Cassill.

    Lap 39 Ragan / Kenseth lead. Lap 41, we are ¼ way through the race as Kahne / Vickers take the lead. Lap 43 we see seven groups leading the race as a possible lead change will occur. Kenseth / Ragan, Kahne / Vickers, Mears / Cassill, Truex Jr. / Reutimann, Newman / Hamlin are followed by Harvick / Menard.

    Lap 45 Smith / Kurt Busch run 13th / 14th and moving up. Lap 46 there are about six different groups on the track at the moment. Lap 47 on the move is A.J. Allmendinger / Marcos Ambrose moving into 11th and 12th.

    YELLOW FLAG lap 48 into 49 as Dave Blaney smacks into the outside turn one wall at the same time Edwards brought his car to pit road to shut the engine off. The leaders head to pit road. We see the same move by the teams where some stay out on the track while others head in. One interesting move is Earnhardt Jr. heads into pit road while Johnson remains on track.

    Your top twenty drivers are Travis Kvapil, Johnson, Bobbie Labonte, Kahne, Truex Jr., Smith, Harvick, Reutimann, Menard, Kurt Busch, Vickers, Cassill, Kenseth, Mears, Ragan, Newman, Ambrose, Allmendinger, David Gilliland and Tony Stewart. It looks like the Hendrick team heads to pit road on one lap to go like last time. After the drivers head to pit road we see Kahne, Truex Jr., Harvick, Menard, Reutimann and Vickers in front. Edwards is six laps down.

    GREEN FLAG lap 54 as a shuffle occurs on the track with drivers looking for their “wingman.” Truex Jr. / Reutimann lead the race followed by Kenseth / Ragan. Lap 57 we see a duos running to the front as Smith / Kurt Busch take the lead on lap 59 followed by Kenseth / Ragan, Kahne / Vickers, Truex Jr. / Reutimann.

    Lap 60 Kyle Busch and Logano are teamed up followed by Menard / Harvick and Stewart / Gilliland. Lap 63 we have been watching some of the team playing with running as a string of four drivers. In front we see Kenseth / Ragan, Kahne / Vickers then the second four pack of Menard / Harvick, Truex Jr. / Reutimann.

    Lap 65 we see a few swaps in the duos to lead/ pusher as Kahne / Vickers takes the lead followed by Truex Jr. / Reutimann then Kenseth / Ragan, Menard / Harvick. Lap 68 new drivers in the mix of Joe Nemechek and Kvapil enter the mix in the top ten.

    Lap 71 the team of Stewart / Gilliland take the lead for the first time tonight. Lap 73 we see a four duo battle for the lead between Stewart / Gilliland, Kahne / Vickers, Mears / Cassill and Kvapil / Nemechek. Edwards is back on pit road.

    Lap 75 your top ten drivers are Mears / Cassill, Kahne / Vickers, Nemechek / Kvapil, Kyle Busch / Logano, Truex Jr., / Reutimann.

    Lap 77 off pace we see Robby Gordon running 35th with help from G. Bodine. Bobbie Labonte is on his way to being lapped. It looks like Edwards is in the garage.

    Lap 80 (Halfway Home) Kahne / Vickers are the leaders followed by Mears / Cassill and Nemechek / Kvapil. Lap 84 Terry Labonte / Andy Lally are in the top ten checking out the front pack. It has been a while since the last pit stops so we should see some in the next ten laps.

    Lap 87 Kyle Busch / Logano make a run for the lead with Kahne / Vickers on the inside line. Lap 88 there are about ten duos in the front. Kahne / Vickers, Kyle Busch / Logano, Menard / Harvick, Mears / Cassill, Terry Labonte / Lally, Nemechek / Kvapil, Smith / Kurt Busch.

    Lap 91 Kahne / Vickers are the first drivers in for green flag stops. Lap 92 Stewart / Gilliland, Terry Labonte / Lally are in. Lap 94 Reutimann / Truex Jr. are in with others. Lap 95 Kyle Busch / Logano are in with others. Martin and Jeff Gordon are in.

    Lap 96 Mears / Cassill are in. Johnson / Earnhardt are in. Lap 97 Jeff Burton / Bowyer are the leaders. Lap 99 Bowyer is scored as the leader with Burton and the last leaders to pit at this time.

    Lap 100 (60 to go) Vickers / Kahne will go back to the lead followed by Truex Jr. / Reutimann, Kyle Busch / Logano followed by Allmendinger / Ambrose then Keselowski / Biffle. They in turn are followed by Ragan / Kenseth, Harvick / Menard, Newman / Hamlin.

    Lap 104 In the top twenty we see Juan Pablo Montoya, McMurray, Mears / Cassill, Kvapil / Nemechek.

    Lap 105 Ragan / Kenseth, Keselowski / Biffle are second. Lap 108 a smooth swap in the front by Hamlin / Newman but they jam up the front running pack of Truex Jr. / Reutimann, Keselowski / Biffle and Mears / Cassill.

    Lap 110 (50 to go) Truex Jr. / Reutimann have Keselowski / Biffle on their outside for the lead. Hamlin / Newman then Montoya / McMurray, Mears / Cassill, Harvick / Menard, Bowyer / Burton, Kyle Busch / Logano, Ragan / Kenseth, Kurt Busch / Smith.

    So far we have seen 3 cautions for 11 laps and 45 lead changes among 22 leaders. 34 drivers are on the lead lap while 41 drivers are scored as running in the race.

    Lap 115 (45 to go) it’s a battle between Harvick / Menard, McMurray / Montoya. 44 to go Bowyer / Burton are in the mix for the lead. 43 to go as we see Childress Racing working on the four car draft with Harvick, Menard, Bowyer and Burton nose to tail.

    40 to go Harvick / Menard are on the inside line while Bowyer / Burton are on the outside line. 38 to go as it’s Newman / Hamlin, Vickers / Kahne, Bowyer / Burton joined by Mears / Cassill. 35 to go we hear that Logano may have melted his radiator fan as when he turns it on it trips his breaker on his car.

    34 to go McMurray / Montoya are closing in on the front once again as Newman / Hamlin continue to lead.

    32 to go we are closing in on the next set of green flag stops. 31 to go McMurray / Montoya head in for their stops. 30 to go Ragan / Kenseth are in. 29 to go Truex Jr. / Reutimann are in. 28 to go as Kahne / Vickers are in followed by Gilliland / Stewart. 26 to go Harvick is the leader with Menard.

    26 to go Keselowski / Biffle are in with Ambrose / Allmendinger. 25 to go as Martin / Gordon are in. 24 to go Earnhardt Jr. / Johnson are in. Robby Gordon is busted on pit road for a team issue. 23 to go Lally and Terry Labonte are in.

    22 to go Newman / Hamlin are in along with Logano / Kyle Busch are in. 21 to go Mears / Cassill are in. Bowyer / Burton are in with Ragan / Kurt Busch.

    20 to go Harvick / Menard are on the track still and come in with 19 to go.

    18 to go Newman / Hamlin are the new leaders followed by Kyle Busch / Logano. They are followed by Burton / Bowyer, Harvick / Menard, Kahne / Vickers, Truex Jr. / Reutimann, Kenseth / Ragan, Johnson / Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon / Martin.

    15 to go Newman / Hamlin are followed by Kyle Busch / Logano, Harvick / Menard and Burton / Bowyer.

    13 to go Newman / Hamlin, Kyle Busch / Logano are almost stringing to a four car team.

    11 to go Newman / Hamlin, Kenseth / Ragan as Kyle Busch / Logano break up.

    10 to go Newman / Hamlin continue in front with Kenseth / Ragan, Harvick / Menard, Kahne / Vickers, Truex Jr. / Reutimann, Kyle Busch / Logano.

    8 to go as Newman / Hamlin are in front Jeff Gordon and Martin close in on the top ten.

    7 to go Kenseth / Ragan jump to the front as Newman / Hamlin slip back.

    6 to go Kenseth / Ragan, Harvick / Menard, Kahne / Vickers, Newman / Hamlin, Kyle Busch / Logano.

    5 to go as Harvick / Menard are all over Kenseth / Ragan.

    4 to go as three wide teams drive through turns one and two with Jeff Gordon / Martin move into 7th and 8th.

    3 to go Kenseth / Ragan continue to lead as it is three wide in turn four as Jeff Gordon is sideways in the middle three wide as Kahne slides up in front of Gordon and is tapped by Martin when Gordon has nowhere to go. Kyle Busch scrapes along the wall followed by Logano. Gordon is missed by inches by Mears / Cassill.

    Johnson / Gordon come in leaving Earnhardt Jr. on the track. Gordon remains on pit road for additional repairs as the others who came in for a stop.

    We are going to a GREEN-WHITE-CHECKERED finish. Currently we see Newman, Hamlin, Kenseth, Ragan, Vickers, Kahne, Harvick, Menard, Logano, Martin, McMurray, Mears, Montoya, Cassill, Truex Jr., Reutimann, Bowyer, Burton, Smith and Kurt Busch are the top twenty.

    GREEN FLAG as we are plus 2 on the counter as Newman and Hamlin are side by side followed by Kenseth and Ragan. Newman is able to drop in front of Hamlin and it’s the big one as…

    YELLOW FLAG as Martin is side swiped by Vickers and Logano in turn one which collects Stewart, Gilliland, Keselowski, Ragan, Mears, Cassill, Reutimann, Truex Jr., Nemechek and Bowyer. Clean up will take a while

    Lap 166 we are at one to go as Newman, Ragan, Kenseth, Hamlin, Harvick, Menard, Logano, Kahne, McMurray, Montoya, Earnhardt Jr., Gilliland, Keselowski, Burton, Kyle Busch, Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Vickers and Allmendinger are the top twenty.

    GREEN FLAG #2 as Ragan / Kenseth and Newman / Hamlin hook back up. Logano has Kahne on the outside while Newman / Hamlin are sliding back.

    WHITE FLAG as Ragan / Kenseth lead followed by Logano / Kahne heading into turn three.

    Trouble behind the leaders of Ragan / Kenseth who win the race and we have two wrecks in turns three and four.

    As the drivers head into turn three Reutimann is pushing Cassill in the middle while Ambrose following Allmendinger is clipped by Cassill. Ambrose spins in front of the two along with Stewart and Vickers on the inside are clipped by Ambrose who then comes back into Cassill and Reutimann as the crash into the outside turn three wall.

    Cassill slides down into Vickers where Stewart squeaks out from the incident. The other four drivers crashing and sliding down to the apron. After that more trouble hits the field coming out of turn four as Menard following Harvick on the outside comes down on McMurray in the middle with Earnhardt Jr. on the low line see the two get together.

    Earnhardt Jr. is hit from behind by Burton and Newman then chain reacts by Hamlin. The force of the momentum pushes McMurray sideways and into the outside line of his teammate Montoya with Burton crashing into Johnson.

    Earnhardt Jr. spins on the apron just missed by Hamlin. Newman is hooked into the back of Burton as they hit Johnson. At this point cars go everywhere spinning and crashing into each other. Burton heads for the inside wall as Montoya and Newman are crashing on the outside wall. Hamlin and Johnson eat some grass of the infield as does McMurray. This all unfolds in front of Stewart who rides the apron dodging and ducking the others.

    CHECERED FLAG for Ragan. Kenseth scores second followed by Logano, Kahne, Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon, Harvick, Menard, Montoya and Allmendinger.

    The race lasted for two hours and forty-three minutes.

    We saw 58 lead changes among 25 leaders. 6 cautions were on the track that lasted for 20 laps. 26 drivers finished on the lead lap with 41 drivers were shown running the race.

     

    Unofficial Race Results
    Coke Zero 400, Daytona International Speedway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/Cup/race.php?race=17
    =========================================
    Pos. No. Driver Make Points
    =========================================
    1 5 6 David Ragan Ford 47
    2 16 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 43
    3 37 20 Joey Logano Toyota 41
    4 13 4 Kasey Kahne Toyota 41
    5 38 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 40
    6 4 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 39
    7 31 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 38
    8 10 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 37
    9 30 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet 36
    10 9 43 A.J. Allmendinger Ford 34
    11 19 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 34
    12 20 83 Brian Vickers Toyota 32
    13 36 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 32
    14 25 22 Kurt Busch Dodge 31
    15 26 2 Brad Keselowski Dodge 30
    16 39 34 David Gilliland Ford 28
    17 15 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 27
    18 17 16 Greg Biffle Ford 27
    19 6 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 26
    20 8 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 24
    21 12 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 24
    22 18 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 23
    23 11 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 23
    24 28 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet 21
    25 23 0 David Reutimann Toyota 19
    26 21 51 Landon Cassill Chevrolet 0
    27 7 71 Andy Lally * Ford 17
    28 41 32 Terry Labonte Ford 16
    29 27 38 Travis Kvapil Ford 0
    30 43 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 0
    31 24 47 Bobby Labonte Toyota 13
    32 32 13 Casey Mears Toyota 13
    33 1 5 Mark Martin Chevrolet 12
    34 38 7 Robby Gordon Dodge 10
    35 34 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 10
    36 3 33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 9
    37 14 99 Carl Edwards Ford 8
    38 35 135 Geoff Bodine Chevrolet 6
    39 40 36 Dave Blaney Chevrolet 5
    40 29 60 Mike Skinner Toyota 0
    41 2 21 Trevor Bayne Ford 0
    42 33 66 Michael McDowell Toyota 2
    43 22 97 Kevin Conway Toyota 0