Tag: Daytona 500

Matty’s Picks 2013 – Vol. 2 Phoenix International Raceway – SUBWAY Fresh Fit 500 – March 3, 2013

We head west this week for the first of two annual visits to the one-mile, low-banked, tri-oval that is Phoenix International Raceway, more commonly known as PIR. The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series makes its first stop on the west coast this season (Phoenix also happens to be the final west coast stop on the tour as well) and NASCAR fans will get their first look at the new GEN6 car on a more traditional style track this weekend.

One interesting fact about the two races at PIR is that contrary to the more traditional NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races measured in miles, the ‘500’ in SUBWAY Fresh Fit 500 is actually in kilometers. This makes Phoenix the only oval to have its race distances measured in kilometers and not miles or laps as, both road course races at Sonoma and Watkins Glen have their races measured in kilometers. So 500 kilometers or 312 laps is the distance this week and with a new car, a perfect weather forecast, and with last fall’s race full of fireworks, I expect Sunday’s SUBWAY Fresh Fit 500 to be just as exciting as last week’s kickoff to the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series’ season in the Daytona 500.

Daytona Recap

It was a fantastic start to the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series campaign last week and I was able to get past my hatred for restrictor plate racing and actually really enjoyed watching the Daytona 500. There were so many unknowns surrounding the race last week that added to the drama of this year’s kickoff to the season that it was hard not to try and gain some new fans of the sport in my non-NASCAR friends and family. Who would win the first race in the new GEN6 car? How would the field of drivers handle the return to pack racing at the plate tracks? How would Danica Patrick handle the pressure of being the first woman to start on the pole of a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race? Did she have a legitimate shot at winning the Daytona 500?

All the questions were answered last week, and I must say I was thoroughly impressed with the performance of the new car, the return of the pack style racing, and Danica’s performance in the Daytona 500. I completely discounted her being a contender last Sunday, and she absolutely proved me wrong with her performance last week, despite her reaction in the post-race interview.

As for my picks, I was able to pare down the list of potential winners by using a historical trend formula I was able to develop in the 3 month off-season leading up to last week’s Daytona 500. I made the call that the winner would not come from the front row, would not be Kevin Harvick (the winner of the Sprint Unlimited and one of the Duel races), and the winner of the Daytona 500 would have taken home the Harley J. Earl Trophy once before. This left seven drivers for me to pick as my Winner Pick last week (Matt Kenseth, Trevor Bayne, Jamie McMurray, Ryan Newman, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Michael Waltrip).

I went with Dale Earnhardt Jr., who was the second-best pick last week out of the group of elite drivers my formula pared the field down to, and I can’t complain about picking the runner-up given the new car, the style of racing, and the uncertainty surrounding the race at Daytona last week. I picked a Hendrick Motorsports driver to win the race last week, but came up just one position short of starting my season off with a win. Dale Jr. had this to say following his runner-up finish last week:

“Real happy with the way the car run all day. You couldn’t pass much. But when I was able to really see what my car could do, it was plenty capable of winning the race. The guys did a good job all winter trying to prepare for running well. We got 1-2 out of our shop. Really happy with Hendrick and all our effort.”

My Dark Horse pick was just that, a true Dark Horse pick. I went with JTG Daugherty driver, Bobby Labonte who had a respectable points day and managed to dodge all the troubles that come along with a restrictor place race, but did not earn me a Dark Horse top 10 last week. Running as high as sixth with less than 25 laps left in the Daytona 500, Labonte finished his day in the 15th spot as a result of a late-race shot on the right front of the No.47 Kroger/USO Toyota Camry. Not a bad finish, but not exactly what I am looking for going forward.

Phoenix Picks

Phoenix to me is a big short track, if that makes sense. It’s a one-mile tri-oval with a tricky configuration, including inconsistent banking throughout and the 9-degree banked ‘dogleg’ on the backstretch. Fine sand plays a major role on tire wear, after all, the track is in the middle of the desert. Some of the guys you think of when you think recent dominance on short tracks in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, you think Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Jeff Gordon, Ryan Newman, Brad Kesolowski, Jimmie Johnson, and Clint Bowyer.
For Phoenix in particular, it is tough not to make a case for Jimmie Johnson as he has an average finish of fifth in seventeen starts at PIR, and it has been only been three races since Johnson has visited Victory Lane in consecutive weeks. What is holding me back from picking Johnson this week at PIR is his recent history in the desert, as since the reconfiguration in 2011, Five-Time has finished 14th, 4th, and 32nd in the three races since the repaving.

Winner Pick

The other guy likely to be a favorite when the final odds are released this evening is Denny Hamlin. He is the defending champion of this race, a race he won by 7.13 seconds last season, and is the guy I will turn to for the win this week. Mark Martin was the pole-sitter last season when Hamlin won the Subway Fresh Fit 500, and he will look to become the first driver to start inside the first four rows to go on and win a race at PIR since the track’s reconfiguration in 2011. Before the facelift in 2011, just two drivers had won a race at Phoenix after starting outside the top ten, the last being Jeff Gordon in the final race before the repaving in 2011. Since the SUBWAY Fresh Fit 500 is such a short race, the woes of the Joe Gibbs Racing cars from Daytona should not play a factor in this week’s race.

Dark Horse Pick

Why not look at the guy starting first this week at PIR as a guy who may be overlooked by most handicappers as he has not won a race in over 2 years, but has a storied history in the desert. Mark Martin is 9th best in driver rating over the past eight years at PIR, and has really set the stage all weekend for all of Michael Waltrip Racing drivers. In practice today, teammate Clint Bowyer radioed in to crew chief Brian Pattie that if his car was set up any differently than Martin’s, to immediately change the setup to whatever Martin was running. Though the temperature for today’s first practice session was far lower than what is forecasted for race time tomorrow, Martin has looked fantastic since he unloaded on Friday. Watch for Martin to start up front and stay up front for the majority of the day tomorrow.

That’s all for this week, stay tuned for next week’s picks when we roll the dice in Vegas! Until next time, you stay classy NASCAR NATION!

March 2, 2013
Surprising and Not Surprising: Daytona 500

In the double nickel running of the Great American Race, with the first female ever to start from the pole, here is what else was surprising and not surprising from the 2013 Daytona 500.

Surprising: While drivers, crew chiefs, and teams scrambled through Speedweeks into the Daytona 500, surprisingly, the busiest people in Daytona were once again the track workers.

Just as in previous years, from the infamous pot hole in 2010 to the jet dryer flame out last year, the track crew was again called upon to work their miracles.

This time, however, their skills were put to the test the day before the big race after a horrific crash at the finish of the Nationwide race, shearing young driver Kyle Larson’s car in thirds and sending his engine, tire and other car parts into the crowd.

The track workers not only had to tend to the injured fans but also had to make major repairs to the catch fence itself, working tirelessly into the early morning to ensure that the Great American Race would go on without a hitch the next day.

“You try to prepare for as much as you can,” Kerry Tharp, NASCAR spokesperson, said. “You also take away and learn from every incident.”

Not Surprising: With the ‘one team, one shop’ philosophy prevalent throughout the Hendrick Motorsports organization, it was not surprising to see the 48/88 team finish 1/2 at the Daytona 500.

“I was waiting for the run,” two-time Daytona 500 winner and five-time champ Jimmie Johnson said. “The 88 got a big shove and was coming up the inside.”

“I moved down to defend that and we were able to get a one-two for Hendrick Motorsports,” Johnson continued. “For the 48/88 shop so very happy. There are a lot of people put a lot of effort into these cars and I want to thank them all.”

Surprising: While she may have been forging a new path as the first woman on the pole and the first to lead a green flag lap at Daytona, rookie Danica Patrick surprisingly seemed to have more in common with veteran four-time champion Jeff Gordon.

Both the rookie and the veteran had no friends in the final laps of the race, both getting freight-trained to finish 8^th and 20^th respectively.

“I kept asking what was working,” Patrick said. “You needed a hole and you needed people to help you out.”

“I had a little bit of help here today here and there,” Patrick continued. “I had a feeling I was going to get freight-trained.”

“It’s a really tough race,” Jeff Gordon said. “We lost track position and it didn’t seem like we were ever going to get it back.”

“Then we finally did and those last two restarts just didn’t go very well.”

Not Surprising: With a driver rating of 96.5, second best at Daytona, and a good Speedweeks, finishing fourth in the Sprint Unlimited and fifth-fastest in time trials, the driver of the No. 14 Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet had high expectations for the big race.

So it was no surprise that Tony Stewart was absolutely smoked after being taken out early in the race, finishing 41^st.

“The hell with the season, I wanted to win the Daytona 500,” Stewart said. “I was happy with our car, just waiting for it to all get sorted out again.”

“I don’t know what started it, but we just got caught up in another wreck.”

Surprising: At a track known for white knuckle racing and passes galore on every lap, it was surprising just how difficult the drivers found it to pass, especially on the bottom of the track. In fact, a portion of the race was surprisingly run in the single file formation.

Veteran driver Mark Martin summed it up best.

“One of the things that made it hard to pass was nobody would get organized on the bottom,” Martin said. “The top groove was the preferred groove.”

“The problem was that the car on the inside of the frontline wasn’t the fastest car,” Martin continued. “If you would have had the fastest car in the field on the inside, you would have had a whale of a race there at the end.”

Not Surprising: For two years in a row, team owner Chip Ganassi has been lamenting the performance of his race team. Unfortunately, the bad run continued at the 2013 Daytona 500 with drivers Jamie McMurray and Juan Pablo Montoya, finishing 32^nd and 39^th respectively.

Both were in a significant wreck early in the running of the Great American Race.

“You could see it coming,” Montoya said. “They were all checked up and I thought, ‘Somebody isn’t going to check and screw up.”

“And then they did.”

Surprising: Things also went surprisingly awry for two out of the three Joe Gibbs racers. The defending Daytona 500 winner and newest member of the JGR team Matt Kenseth looking incredibly strong, leading many laps during the race until mechanical problems did him in.

And then almost immediately afterwards, teammate Kyle Busch also had mechanical failure, leaving teammate Denny Hamlin to be the lone top 15 finisher.

“It’s really unfortunate,” Busch said. “We were running 1-2-3 and it felt like we were dropping like flies.”

“Something inside the motor broke that’s not supposed to break,” Busch continued. “It’s a little devastating.”

Not Surprising: Since the Daytona 500 can make dreams come true (just ask Trevor Bayne), it was not surprising that there was a Cinderella story and his name was Michael McDowell.

With an underfunded team but a sponsor filled with faith, the driver of the No. 98 K-LOVE Ford finished ninth in the Great American Race.

“We had a fast car,” McDowell said. “This was a great run and a great effort. For us, an under-funded team to come here to Daytona and get a top-10 finish is pretty cool.”

Surprising:

While it may have been no surprise that blooming onions would be on tap for Monday at Outback due to Ryan Newman’s top five finish, it was surprising that kids got to eat at Golden Corral thanks to J.J. Yeley’s top-ten finish in the Daytona 500.

“After a long, hard-fought day at day at Daytona, we were able to log a top-ten finish for our first outing with our new team and Golden Corral on board,” Yeley said. “The best part of it all is making lots of kids happy when they eat for free as part of J.J.’s Monday.”

Not Surprising: Brad Keselowski, champion and NASCAR Ironman, proved he was both yet again, muscling his damaged No. 2 Miller Lite Ford around the track to finish fourth.

“You want to make excuses for not being successful you could do that or you can go out there and put it all on the line and try to win,” Keselowski said. “You just drive it.”

February 27, 2013
NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Daytona

Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson won his second Daytona 500, leading the final ten laps and holding off a late charge from Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

“It was a historic day at Daytona,” Johnson said, “especially for women. Danica Patrick pocketed $357,464 in prize money, while Erin Andrews lost 50 Cents.

“It’s great to win my second Daytona 500, and first for Chad Knaus. As you may recall, Chad was suspended for my first 500 in 2006, but he was with me there in spirit, and in my rear window.”

2. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Earnhardt’s last-lap charge gave him his second consecutive Daytona 500 runner-up finish, and third in four years, as Hendrick teammate Jimmie Johnson took the win.

“I was a day late and a dollar short,” Earnhardt said, “as opposed to a certain rapper, who was a half-dollar short.

“Finishing second at Daytona, followed by a disappointing result in the Chase, has been the story of my career. It’s a case of ‘so close, yet so far away.’”

3. Brad Keselowski: NASCAR’s defending champion overcame early damage after being collected in an early crash and battle back to finish fourth in the Daytona 500. Keselowski led 13 laps on the day, and trails Jimmie Johnson by six points.

“As you may have heard,” Keselowski said, “I was called to speak to NASCAR brass about some comments I made critical of NASCAR. I was politely told to keep my foot on the pedal and out of my mouth.”

4. Greg Biffle: Biffle qualified fifth and finished sixth at Daytona, the top finisher among the Roush Fenway Racing trio, as Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. finished 12^th and Carl Edwards finished 33^rd.

“Stenhouse is dating the hottest driver in NASCAR,” Biffle said, “while Edwards is the coldest driver in NASCAR.”

5. Regan Smith: Smith, in the No. 51 Phoenix Racing Chevrolet, finished a strong seventh in the Daytona 500, leading one lap.

“50 Cent says ‘He doesn’t see black people,’” Smith said. “If memory serves me, there once was a wrapper named ‘6 Cents’ who also didn’t see black people, but did see dead people.

“As the driver of the car once piloted by Kurt Busch, I’m proud to say that Phoenix Racing no longer sees crazy people.”

6. Mark Martin: Martin finished third in the Daytona 500, moving up with a late charge while pushing Dale Earnhardt, Jr. to a second-place finish.

“I’m now 0-29 at Daytona,” Martin said, “so finishing third is nothing special. It’s like ‘kissing a sister,’ and I want to do that about as much as Erin Andrews wants to kiss a ‘brother.’

“My man 50 Cent said he didn’t see any black people at Daytona. I say, Look, Fitty, it’s Sunday at Daytona. There’s only one ‘race.’”

7. Danica Patrick: Patrick started on the pole at Daytona and became the first female driver to lead a lap in the iconic NASCAR event. She eventually finished eighth, by far her best Sprint Cup finish.

“The No. 10 GoDaddy.Com Chevrolet not only had horsepower,” Patrick said, “it had girl power.

“Kudos to Erin Andrews for rejecting the advances of 50 Cent. What kind of man complains about the lack of black people, then goes in for a kiss on the girl in the white ‘wrapper?’

“I guess I silenced most of my critics with my performance, but not all of them. There are some creeps still monitoring the GoDaddy.com website who wish I’d show more of myself.”

8. Ryan Newman: With Tony Stewart knocked out early, Newman led the charge for Stewart-Haas Racing, leading three laps and finishing fifth at Daytona.

“I hate it for Tony,” Newman said. “His run of bad luck continued in the 500. Tony can’t catch a break, unlike the Daytona catchfence, which catches brakes, tires, and engines. You’ve got to hand it to NASCAR fans for coming to the race on Sunday despite what happened on Saturday. Those fans have a commendable ‘debris de corps.’”

9. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer finished 11^th in the Daytona 500, one of only two Toyotas in the top 11.

“Judging by what happened early in the race,” Bowyer said, “Jimmie Johnson was not the Hendrick driver I expected to win the race. After the race, I felt like I was back at Phoenix when I kept asking, ‘Where’s Jeff Gordon?’

“I’m just pleased my Toyota engine didn’t blow up like those of the Joe Gibbs Racing cars. Those JGR engines are like milk—that expiration date will sneak up on you.”

10. Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.: Stenhouse, in the No. 17 Roush Fenway Ford, finished 12^th at Daytona after starting 28th, joining teammate Greg Biffle in the top 12.

“It looks like Danica Patrick and I have taken our driving to another level,” Stenhouse said. “It remains to be seen whether our relationship will follow. I sure hope so. Until then, though, Danica and I will collectively be known as ‘Hot And Bothered.’

“I hold a unique position among NASCAR drivers. I’m the only driver who can say he’s dating a ‘fellow’ driver and still retain his manhood.”

February 26, 2013
Matty’s Picks 2013 – Vol. 1 Daytona International Speedway – Daytona 500 – February 24, 2013

It’s another NASCAR season, and I’m proud to be kicking off the third season of my weekly column devoted to picking a couple drivers with the potential to make some noise on Sunday afternoon. Before I begin my outlook on the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Season and tomorrow’s 55th running of the Daytona 500, I’d like to share my thoughts and prayers for all those fans injured today at Daytona International Speedway on the final lap of the NASCAR Nationwide Series’ DRIVE4COPD 300. It is extremely unfortunate when fans who show up to be entertained, actually become a part of the action.

After a stellar rookie season in 2011, my sophomore season as a NASCAR handicapper saw its ups and downs, which is why I am excited for a clean slate to start off this 2013 season. We’ve got a new reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion for the first time since 2004, a few newcomers to the Sprint Cup Series, a new driver/driver relationship known as “Stenica”, a few team changes, one less manufacturer, and an entirely new race car to start off this 2013 season. With so many unknowns to start this 2013 season, selecting winners this season is looking to be my toughest task yet as a sports journalist.

Nothing to recap this week as I move out of my three-month NASCAR hibernation (which couldn’t come soon enough this year as my Buffalo Bills finished at the bottom of the AFC East standings with a dismal 6-10 record, and my fainted Buffalo Sabres currently fight to lift themselves from the bottom of the NHL’s Eastern Conference Standings) so, we’ll move into my thoughts on the 55th running of the Daytona 500.

Daytona Picks

I absolutely loathe restrictor plate racing as it tends to be more mayhem than actual racing talent, but I will not take away from the excitement surrounding the start of the 2013 campaign and reserve my comments for the time being.

Though it is said that the four restrictor plate races on the schedule are “a roll of the dice” in picking winners, but I tend to pare down the potential list of winners using historical trends. For instance, it has been twelve years since the last driver took home both the Daytona 500 and the Sprint Unlimited (formerly the Budweiser Shootout) in the same year. This feat has been claimed five times by four different drivers, but the last time a driver won at Daytona in consecutive weeks, dates back to 2000 when Dale Jarrett took home the Daytona 500 and Sprint Unlimited in the same year for the second time in his storied career. For this reason alone, I eliminate Kevin Harvick as my Winner Pick for tomorrow’s Daytona 500.

It has also been a dozen years since the winner of the Daytona 500 has come from the front row, and if you’ve ever solicited advice at the Roulette wheel, anyone with experience will tell you to never bet against the recent trends . Dale Jarrett not only won the Sprint Unlimited and Daytona 500 in the year 2000, but he did it by starting from the pole position of The Great American Race. It was the second year in a row that the winner of the Daytona 500 came from the first starting spot, and for this reason I’ll eliminate Danica Patrick and Jeff Gordon from contention tomorrow.

Last year’s Daytona 500 marked the first time in seven years a repeat winner took home the Harley J. Earl Trophy, the second-longest streak of first-time winners (the longest streak of new winners being seven races, from the inaugural race in 1959 to The King’s second Daytona 500 victory in 1966). Sticking with historical trends, I am making a prediction that the winner of tomorrow’s race will have taken home a Daytona 500 at least once already. This means that the winner will come from either Matt Kenseth, Trevor Bayne, Jamie McMurray, Ryan Newman, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., or Michael Waltrip. The two other drivers with Daytona 500 wins (Jeff Gordon and Kevin Harvick) have been eliminated from my list of potential race winners under previous historical trends.

Winner Pick

So, we’ve got the list down to seven potential winners based on my historical trend formula, and out of these seven drivers, I’m most comfortable saying Dale Jr. will walk away as the second driver in two years to win their second Daytona 500 win. Dale Jr.’s first Daytona 500 win came back in 2004, giving DEI their final Daytona 500 victory before merging with Chip Ganassi Racing, forming Earnhardt Ganassi Racing. He has visited Gatorade Victory Lane more recently than 2004 as he started off his career with Hendrick Motorsports with wins in both the Sprint Unlimited and his Budweiser Duel race prior to the 2008 Daytona 500. He was also the runner up in both his Duel race and Daytona 500 last season.

This year, Jr. has looked extremely comfortable in the No. 88 National Guard Chevrolet, and the No. 88 car has looked comfortable in the pack draft. This is the style of racing the Earnhardt family is known for and the Hendrick camp has put a truly magnificent product on the track again for Dale Jr. He’s been in the mix of the faster cars all week, including winning the final practice session on Friday for the 55th Annual Great American Race. I’ll be watching the No. 88 to immediately work his way to the front from his starting spot in the middle of the pack, and for Jr. Nation to start their 2013 season off with a win.

Dark Horse Pick

It is tough to call a past NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion a Dark Horse, but there is a guy making his 65th start at Daytona International Speedway this week who has shown he can keep his nose clean and finish the race strong. Bobby Labonte will be another driver starting mid-pack on Sunday, and will look to keep the nose of his Kroger Toyota clean in order to finish strong in his No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Toyota Camry.

Now, is been 324 races since his last victory, so I’m stretching here for a Dark Horse pick, but Labonte’s recent history at The World Center of Racing has be believing he might play a factor in Sunday’s race. Drivers like to draft with guys with experience, and experience Labonte has. Watch for the No. 47 to mix up the front of the field come lap 199 on Sunday.

That’s all for this week, so until we head west for the second stanza of the season, you stay classy NASCAR NATION!

February 24, 2013

Crunching the Numbers: Daytona

As the 2013 season gets underway this weekend at Daytona for the Sprint Cup Series, Nationwide Series, and the Camping World Truck Series, it’s time once again to analyze the statistics and see just who you should be watching this weekend at the “World Center of Racing”.

First on the docket of racing this weekend will be the Camping World Truck Series, which will take to the high banks Friday night in the Nextera Energy Resources 250.

Top 10 Camping World Series drivers at Daytona International Speedway (last 10 races):

Driver	Races	Win	Top 5	Top 10	Pole	Laps Led	Avg. Start	Avg. Finish
John King	1	1	1	1	0	6	23.0	1.0
Todd Bodine	8	2	6	7	0	136	9.0	5.4
Timothy Peters	5	1	2	3	0	17	23.0	6.4
Kyle Busch	4	0	3	3	0	18	19.2	7.8
Ty Dillon	1	0	0	1	0	0	4.0	9.0
Clay Greenfield	1	0	0	1	0	0	26.0	10.0
Chris Fontaine	2	0	0	1	0	0	19.0	13.0
Justin Lofton	3	0	1	1	0	0	17.0	13.0
Dusty Davis	1	0	0	0	0	0	16.0	13.0
Matt Crafton	10	0	1	4	0	1	16.2	14.6

Who to Watch: Defending winner John King returns in 2013 after winning in his first attempt last year in a wild finish. King will be with a different team, but is batting 1.000 in his career at Daytona, so he will definitely be one to keep an eye on. Todd Bodine leads the series regulars with 2 wins and an average finish of 5.4. Other series regulars who run well at Daytona include Timothy Peters with 1 win and an average finish of 6.4 and Ty Dillon, who finished top 10 in his first outing last year. Throw in Cup regular Kyle Busch with an average finish of 7.8 and Friday night’s Truck race should be a great race, as usual.

Next up will be the Nationwide Series taking on the famed 2.5 superspeedway in Florida in the Drive4COPD 300 on Saturday afternoon.

Top 10 Nationwide Series drivers at Daytona International Speedway (last 10 races):

Driver	Races	Win	Top 5	Top 10	Pole	Laps Led	Avg. Start	Avg. Finish
Tony Stewart	6	4	4	5	1	146	10.2	4.2
Austin Dillon	2	0	2	2	0	8	23.5	4.5
Kurt Busch	2	1	1	2	0	65	9.5	5.5
Kyle Busch	10	0	5	7	0	132	12.9	8.7
Matt Kenseth	3	0	1	2	0	39	7.3	9.7
Brian Vickers	5	0	2	4	0	12	17.2	11.8
Kasey Kahne	6	0	1	4	0	5	14.5	12.5
Dale Earnhardt Jr	8	1	4	5	0	62	8.5	12.8
Parker Kligerman	1	0	0	0	0	0	2.0	13.0
Elliott Sadler	4	0	1	3	0	49	9.5	13.8

Who to Watch: The field will be stocked full of Cup regulars, with Tony Stewart as best by far when the Nationwide Series rolls into Daytona. Stewart has 4 wins in 6 starts and has finished no worse than 10th in all but 1 start. This year should be more of the same from Stewart as he will be the one to beat for the win. Others to keep an eye on will be Austin Dillon with a 4.5 average finish in 2 starts, as well as the Busch brothers and Matt Kenseth, all of whom have an average finish of 9.7 or better. Should be another exciting race for NASCAR’s 2nd tier series.

Rounding out the weekend will be Sunday’s 55th running of the Daytona 500, which should be even more of a spectacle than usual with the points race debut of the Gen6 car.

Top 10 Sprint Cup Series drivers at Daytona International Speedway (last 10 races):

Driver	Races	Win	Top 5	Top 10	Pole	Laps Led	Avg. Start	Avg. Finish
Carl Edwards	10	0	3	7	1	2	14.4	11.1
Matt Kenseth	10	2	5	7	1	164	15.7	11.1
Tony Stewart	10	2	3	4	0	149	13.3	12.0
Kevin Harvick	10	1	2	5	0	90	15.7	14.1
Kurt Busch	10	0	4	6	0	82	20.3	14.4
Dale Earnhardt Jr	10	0	3	5	1	78	9.0	14.9
Kasey Kahne	10	0	2	5	0	24	15.0	15.5
Bobby Labonte	10	0	1	2	0	3	28.0	16.3
Paul Menard	10	0	0	3	1	37	20.8	16.6
Kyle Busch	10	1	3	4	0	252	13.9	16.8

Who to Watch: The top 10 is a virtual who’s who of restrictor plate masters with recent Daytona winners Matt Kenseth, Tony Stewart and Kevin Harvick, who have 5 wins among them in the last 10 races at Daytona, being book-ended by a consistent Carl Edwards and Kurt Busch. All 5 of these drivers have an average finish of 14.4 or less over the last 10 races and all of the top 10 drivers could be threats for the win on Sunday. The one X-factor, however, will be the debut of the Gen6 car and the vast array of unknowns associated with it, so anyone could be a winner in the “Great American Race” this year.

February 20, 2013

Remembering a Legend – 12 Years Later

The high banks of Daytona showed no mercy to a legend on that fateful day, 12 years ago, when Dale Earnhardt, Sr. was taken from this world. Dale was more than a driver to fans around the world; he was “The Intimidator”, an icon of all that was right with NASCAR and stock car racing, and a hero to many. To drivers, he was the one guy you did not want in your mirror, ever. He has been long remembered as one of NASCAR’s most aggressive drivers for good reason; he wanted to win above all else.

In NASCAR, drivers come and go; but few are missed as much as Dale Earnhardt, Sr has been. From that hard, cold stare when he got in the car, to the soft, southern smile and demeanor when he was not, he lives on in the stories and memories of so many. Ask anyone connected to NASCAR – whether driver, official, or fan – and they will very likely have a story or memory of Dale Sr. on the track or off.

Mentions of the man and his talent, personality, and that legendary ability to “see the air” coming off other cars are still heard around the sport. This past weekend, during the Sprint Unlimited, the discussion of side drafting by Brad Keselowski and Michael Waltrip turned into a “Dale Sr. understood it better than anyone..” discussion.

Everywhere you look, that famous No. 3 and Dale Sr. are still there.

It has been 12 years since many of us watched him crash into the wall at Daytona. Like many, I watched and expected to see him climb from the car like so many crashes before that. Unfortunately, that was not to be.

If you are in North Carolina and want to remember Dale, stop by the DEI shop in Moorseville today, February 18, 2013. They are hosting a memorial and you can sign the guest book, leaving your memories of Dale Sr. for all to read.

I expect that 12 more years may pass and still, “The Intimidator” will be alive and well in the hearts of fans the world over. I know this NASCAR fan will always remember the man, the legend, and the black No.3 speeding down the backstretch, looking for the front of the pack, for many years to come.

February 18, 2013
NASCAR Singing in the Rain with New Air Titan

Photo Credit: Mike Meadows/ISC

After thirty hours of rain delay and one colossal jet dryer flame out during last year’s Daytona 500, NASCAR vowed to find a new way to dry wet race tracks.

And they have done just that, unveiling the new Air Titan, which will not only dry tracks quicker but also help ensure that NASCAR will be singing in the rain if it happens to interrupt this year’s Daytona Speed Weeks festivities.

“NASCAR is really excited to officially introduce our track-drying technology, which we are naming NASCAR’s Air Titan,” Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR senior vice president of racing operations, said. “Having the first Daytona 500 rained out certainly put more of an emphasis on the importance for the fans attending and those watching.”

“Everyone knows the time it takes to dry a track and the impact it’s had on our fans attending an event and those watching us on television is really the main reason our chairman Brian France tasked the folks at the R & D Center to come up with a solution to reduce drying time,” O’Donnell said. “And what we look at is an 18 to 24 month process to get us to Phase 1, where we were able to design, develop and test the Air Titan and have it ready for Speedweeks in Daytona.”

“It’s been a thoroughly-tested scientific process.”

O’Donnell advised that the ultimate goal of Air Titan is to reduce the track drying time by 80 percent or down to about thirty minutes. And its first true test may be if the rains come at anytime in the next two weeks at Daytona International Speedway.

So, how will this new Air Titan help NASCAR sing, instead of sigh, in the rain?

“We’ll have basically two sets of identical equipment on opposite sides of the track that will move in the same direction and do one complete pass of the race track,” O’Donnell said. “The system basically works by having compressors feed air at a high rate of speed through a hose to the Air Titan modules.”

“The Air Titan is able to blow air in narrow, highly pressurized sheets over the race surface down onto the apron,” O’Donnell continued. “Then on the apron we’ve got a regenerative air vacuum truck, which obviously absorbs the water.”

“And then we’ll have jet dryers behind each cycle, we’ll have five of those, that will move at a rate of speed of approximately 3 to 5 miles per hour.”

O’Donnell admitted that this new Air Titan technology is brand spanking new and will really be put to the test at Daytona before being rolled out at other tracks.

“Daytona will really give us the first chance for us to see it work,” O’Donnell said. “Speedweeks historically has a lot of product on the track.”

“So we’re going to use this as a test,” O’Donnell continued. “We’ve still got some work to do there for the other tracks, so we’ll look at options in the future, but Daytona will just be Phase 1.”

O’Donnell also admitted that powering the new Air Titan might just be one of NASCAR’s most significant challenges, especially given its green commitment.

“We’ve still got some work to do from powering the Air Titan,” O’Donnell said. “There’s still some challenges there and some logistical challenges depending on where we’re racing.”

“I think we’re able to power it right now, but you’ll see how many air compressors it takes to power the Air Titan,” O’Donnell continued. “When you see the air compressors, there are a number of them.”

“We’re going to have 17 of them out on the track,” O’Donnell said. “We have to look at how do we reduce that, how do we look at how they’re powered, are there greener technologies we can use.”

“So we’re really excited about actually having the Air Titan out there and the fact that it works and excited to now just focus on that power aspect of it moving forward.”

While NASCAR knows this is groundbreaking technology when it comes to track drying, O’Donnell also acknowledged that jet dryers and other equipment will still be needed, at least in the short term. But in the long term, jet dryers may be singing in the rain at junk yards instead of race tracks.

“I think the way the system was developed really for Phase 1 was in combination of what exists today, i.e., jet dryers, vacuums, the Air Titan, and using a combination of all of those to have the most efficient means possible to dry the track,” O’Donnell said. “I think moving forward would we love to have an all-in all in one system?”

“Absolutely, that’s the ultimate goal if we can get there.”

“I think if everything works where we see it going in the future, you could see jet dryers being a thing of the past,” O’Donnell said. “You could see that model where the tracks have gone out and purchased jet dryers that they now are purchasing the Air Titans and having their own air supply at each track because obviously they host more than just NASCAR events.”

“So I think that model that’s existed in the past will continue; we’ve just got to work through some of those things to get it where it needs to be.”

While NASCAR may be singing in the rain over its new innovation, the main focus of the leadership of the sport is to get the fans singing as well in spite of any rain. And to also get the television broadcasters and the sponsors signing in the rain will be the ultimate goal.

“When fans come to the racetrack, they’ve invested a significant amount of time and money to come to a race, and understanding now that they may have the opportunity to see that race happen that day we think is huge for the industry,” O’Donnell said. “We also think it’s huge for our television partners.”

“We know that when a red flag comes out, that’s a challenge, and so speeding up any downtime we think is a win-win for the entire industry, the tracks, the drivers, the race teams, the fans,” O’Donnell continued. “That’s the goal is to get this down to as short a time as possible, and if we do that, we think it’s a benefit to the entire industry.”

“We know it’s imperative for us to innovate every day,” O’Donnell said. “One of those is the Air Titan.”

“At the end of the day we feel like we’ve got the best story to tell.”

So, thanks to the new Air Titan, let the stormy clouds chase everyone from the place, NASCAR has a smile on its face because they are just singin’, singin’ in the rain.

February 12, 2013
Brian Vickers and Trevor Bayne Look for Healing in Nationwide Series

Photo Credit: brianvickers.com

Two NASCAR stars, Brian Vickers and Trevor Bayne, were sidelined due to serious illness just a few years ago. Now both drivers are looking to heal their careers in the Nationwide Series this season.

In May of 2010, Cup driver Brian Vickers was visiting Washington, DC when he began to experience chest pains and trouble breathing. Initially, Vickers downplayed his symptoms, especially since he was young and in great shape.

But when the pain persisted and even intensified, the driver of the then No. 83 Red Bull Racing Toyota sought emergency medical treatment. It was then determined that Vickers was suffering from blood clots in both lungs and also in his leg.

Vickers knew almost immediately that this would impact his racing career. In fact, he almost delayed seeking treatment because he was fearful of losing his Cup ride.

“I didn’t want to go to the doctor because they were going to take me out of the car,” Vickers said at the time. “Going through the CT scans, they found the blood clots in both lungs and my left leg.”

Because Vickers was put on Coumadin, a blood thinner, to treat the clots, it was determined by his medical team that he indeed did have to step out of the race car and focus on his physical healing. Vickers ended up being out for the remainder of the season, watching only as a supporter of his beloved race team.

But Vickers health challenges continued after a clot was discovered in a finger in his left hand. At that time, the driver underwent further testing to be diagnosed with May-Thurner Syndrome, a rare condition causing clots, as well as having a hole between the right and left atrium in his heart.

Vickers then decided to undergo heart surgery to fix the hole, as well as have a stent placed in his left leg to assist with his circulation. Vickers made the difficult decisions about the surgeries after learning that he was at high risk for stroke without it.

“I would rather die than have a stroke,” Vickers said at the time. “I don’t want to run the risk of living like a vegetable.”

This additional surgery ensured that Vickers would not be ready to get back on the race track until the 2011 season. Unfortunately, Vickers dreams of returning in triumph were not to be, starting with involvement in the ‘big one’ at Daytona and then having issues and run-ins with several drivers, most notably Matt Kenseth.

Vickers finished the 2011 season in the 25^th position in points, with just seven top-10 finishes. The year ended even more dismally when his team, Red Bull Racing, folded up their NASCAR tent and left the sport.

For the 2012 season, although Vickers started without a ride, Michael Waltrip snatched him up and put him in the No. 55 MWR Toyota for several races. Vickers showed his talent in the shared ride with Mark Martin, with three top-5 and five top-10 finishes in eight races.

With redemption and career healing in mind, Vickers will be back behind the wheel of a race car full-time for the 2013 Nationwide season for Joe Gibbs Racing. He will also return to MWR for nine Cup races in the car shared again with Mark Martin.

“I’m looking forward to being back in the Nationwide Series and in NASCAR,” Vickers said. “I learned a lot over the last three or four years, from being taken out of the car being sick to not being full-time this past year with everything that happened leading up to the season.”

“My perspective on life changed through all these events,” Vickers continued. “There are no guarantees in life.”

“I’ve learned that the hard way,” Vickers said. “My focus is on 2013 and I think the success this year will lead to great opportunities next year.”

Photo Credit: Streeter Lecka/Getty Images North America

Like Vickers, Trevor Bayne is also looking to heal and rejuvenate his racing career by competing in the Nationwide Series full-time in 2013. But Bayne, like Vickers, went from being on the top of the world in 2011 as the Daytona 500’s youngest race winner to being hospitalized with double vision a few short months later.

Bayne’s medical drama began just as suddenly as Vickers’ issues when he complained of numbness in his arms while competing in the Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway. Bayne initially thought his problems were due to an insect bite but he continued to experience nausea, fatigue and vision issues and was hospitalized at the Mayo Clinic for further testing.

Although his doctors never officially confirmed it, the young Roush Fenway driver said that Lyme disease had been causing all of his problems.

“They wouldn’t confirm it because it’s such a hard thing to define,” Bayne said. “Lyme is something that hides in your bloodstream.”

“It is hard to diagnose,” Bayne continued. “But if they treat it and it goes away, to me that seems like a pretty good answer.”

Sadly for Bayne, however, his illness caused him to be sidelined just enough so that others were behind the wheel of his race car. And he had to stand by and helplessly watch while his rival and teammate Ricky Stenhouse Jr. catapulted to fame after clinching the Nationwide title.

Bayne’s 2012 season was not much better as the youngster had just six Nationwide starts, all because of lack of sponsorship. With no funding, Bayne had just one more start before the season ended, again with his teammate Stenhouse Jr. holding the 2012 championship trophy.

“If you would have told me it would look like this, I wouldn’t have believed you,” Bayne said. “It’s been a little bit of a roller coaster.”

Bayne is especially ready to start the 2013 season, knowing that he can not only compete full-time with sponsorship but that he now has a chance at the Series championship himself.

“I still want to make it in this sport,” Bayne said. “And I want to be a top name that is contending for championships.”

“This is my opportunity to do that.”

Bayne will be working with Stenhouse’s former crew chief Mike Kelley, as well as one of his sponsors, Cargill. The youngster will also be running a part-time Cup schedule for the Wood Brothers, with whom he won that unforgettable Daytona 500.

After both drivers’ medical battles, there is no doubt that both Bayne and Vickers are beside themselves with hope for their 2013 healing season prospects.

“I think as a person, you grow and evolve through life experiences,” Vickers said. “Every day is an audition.”

“I think we’ve got a lot to show here,” Bayne said. “I’m competitive and I want to be a part of the championship at the end of the year.”

“It’s what keeps us going.”

February 9, 2013
Kenseth ‘incredibly disappointed’ in not completing Daytona sweep

[media-credit name=”David Yeazell” align=”alignright” width=”240″][/media-credit]For the first time in 30 years it looked like Daytona was going to be swept. Matt Kenseth came within half a lap of winning the 2012 Daytona 500 and Coke Zero 400 before Tony Stewart passed him on the backstretch.

Kenseth ended up finishing third after leading a race high 89 of 160 laps. His No. 17 Zest Ford for Roush Fenway Racing was the class of the field and dominated early from the pole. But when it came down to tandem drafting at the end, he and teammate Greg Biffle were again unable to make it work.

“I guess you need to be happy when you finish that good, but also when you have restrictor plate cars that fast it doesn’t happen very often and you sure want to figure out how to win with them,” Kenseth said afterwards. “You always second guess your moves but I feel we had one of the fastest cars here all three races this year so I’m happy to get third, but yet on the other hand I’m incredibly disappointed because I feel my team kind of deserved to be down there holding the hardware and I kind of let them down.

“But overall, we had a really fast car. We had a pretty good race and made our way back to the front after the pit road thing and we were in contention, we just didn’t get it done that last lap.”

Right from the green flag it was clear that Kenseth was the driver to beat. Easily picking up where he left off in February. He and Biffle teamed together and stuck their Fords on the yellow line, where they were stayed and were able to fend off all challenges.

The competition repeatedly tired to overtake them on the outside, but were continually unable to make the lane work. The only problem that Kenseth had all night was pit road, when he came down for his pit stop on lap 124 and seven cars wrecked behind.

Instead of stopping for service he continued through pit lane and escaped without penalty. But he gave up all his track position. No worries, he and Biffle wasted no time in showing their strength and rejoining the fight at the front.

The final restart put Kenseth back together with Biffle, Stewart with Kahne on the outside. Going down the backstretch Stewart got a hard enough push from Kahne to charge ahead of Kenseth and take the lead. It was the winning pass and Kenseth fell to third when another wreck started off turn four.

For Kenseth he did everything he could to keep Biffle with him, deciding to drag the brake when Biffle got disconnected. That move was just enough for Stewart to clear Kenseth and take another win away. Kenseth had been unable to charge for the win at Talladega when he and Biffle became disconnected there.

“If he was by himself [Stewart], I knew we would pass him as long as me and Greg could get rolling again,” said Kenseth. “I knew we would pass him somewhere over by turn four, hopefully, so I got him [Biffle], made a run and tried to go outside of Tony and he made a block real high and I still kind of had position and then from there I’m not really sure what happened. They just started wrecking behind us.”

Hindsight is always 50/50 and it’s no different for Kenseth and what he might have been able to do differently. There were a few things he said, but you never know how they would have played out or what turn the race would have taken.

He remains the point leader heading into New Hampshire, now 25 up on Dale Earnhardt Jr. But, it won’t make missing out on a rare NASCAR accomplishment any better.

“Daytona has been wonderful to us this year, really starting last July when we were able to push David [Ragan] to his win and finish second,” he said. “Obviously, we had a really good Speedweeks [this year] and then to come down here and sit on the pole and be able to lead – the most laps I would think – so, we were up front most of the night and had one of the fastest cars.

“We didn’t get caught up in a wreck and still got a good finish, so it’s hard to be disappointed with that, but the racer in you, when you have a car like that, you certainly want to figure out how to try to win with it.”

July 8, 2012
Kenseth aiming for Daytona sweep; Wants more wins with Roush by seasons end

[media-credit name=”David Yeazell” align=”alignright” width=”232″][/media-credit]With every Daytona or Talladega event there are list of drivers who consistently are considered the favorites. In years past the likes of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tony Stewart or even Kyle Busch were at the top of that list.

Recently though, a Roush Fenway Racing driver has found himself the leader of the pack. Earlier this season Matt Kenseth won the Daytona 500 for a second time and comes into this weekend’s Coke Zero 400 looking to become the first driver in 30 years to sweep the events at Daytona International Speedway.

“Like anywhere else, you’ve got to have fast race cars and here the race cars obviously have more to do with your success or failure than some of the other race tracks, so you’ve got to have that and we’ve had that so far this year at the plate races,” said Kenseth on Thursday.

“Hopefully our car will run like it did the last two races and we’ll be fast enough to work our way toward the front and hopefully stay there.”

When Kenseth won the Daytona 500 back in February it was his second Daytona win in three years. Then he went to Talladega and backed it up by running up front and leading a race high 73 laps. He was in contention for the win on the green-white-checkered finish but finished third.

Afterwards he said he felt stupid, having not stayed connected with teammate Greg Biffle. Had he done so, Kenseth might be heading into Daytona undefeated on the plate tracks. But what he has accomplished isn’t bad and according to Biffle and fellow teammate Carl Edwards, the reason RFR as a whole have been so successful lately has been their cars and engineering.

“A decade ago was a lot different than now with the rules on the cars,” Kenseth when asked about RFR finding the same success Dale Earnhardt Inc. used to have at plate tracks. “I think the cars are just incredibly close to being the same at these plate races. In my opinion, it’s probably mostly engine.

“There are two things that make you go fast here for qualifying especially, you kind of see the speed of the cars, and the race has a little bit more to do with maybe strategy or some moves you make or don’t make and things like that in the draft. But I think horsepower and aerodynamic drag are two things that make your cars go fast or slow down when you come to Daytona and Talladega.

“For whatever reason all of our stuff runs good and Dough Yates does a great job with all that stuff. Certainly the plate stuff has been really good and it’s a different year with fuel injection. It’s the first year we’ve done that, so it seems they’ve done a really exceptional job on hitting that just right on the plate stuff.”

Things have been going right for Kenseth too. Second last year at this race, a win earlier this year. Then last week he announced he was leaving RFR at season’s end for destination unknown. Or at least, unconfirmed. The following Sunday he became the winningest driver at the Miller Lite Slinger Nationals in Wisconsin.

At Daytona on Friday Kenseth shared a story about Slinger and what his favorite moment was. It wasn’t winning. After giving Kyle Busch a ride up to the track, in which he picked on Kenseth the whole time, he got the best of Busch in the race. To which he says Busch drove off the track wide-open and blew off media for the top three finishers.

Kenseth chuckled when telling the story and how he didn’t have to give Busch a ride home. Had he, Kenseth might have reminded Busch that he and his No. 17 Zest team would be receiving their Daytona 500 rings a few days later.

Kenseth has been a busy boy in a big spotlight. Yet it doesn’t bother him, saying he’s not going to be anymore high or low profile than before. He’s called it a super year, from with winning Daytona and having success at RFR. Going forward he doesn’t expect himself or anything else to change.

Right now though, it sure is nice to be back behind the wheel. Saturday before the race he’ll be inducted into the Daytona 500 Champion’s Walk of Fame. Then it’s onto trying to win at Daytona again, then next week at New Hampshire and the week after that. A mindset that even though a busy last few weeks, Kenseth hasn’t lost sight of.

“There are certain things that are a little awkward at Rough because you know that you’re not gonna be there next year and they know that,” said Kenseth. “So maybe it’s a little bit different walking in and talking to Jack or doing some of that stuff but I think you just work through that.”

“All those decisions were based on what I felt was best for next year and beyond, not what was best for this year. I think this is best for this year and we’re not gonna change any strategies or anything that we do or don’t do. We’re gonna go out and try to race as hard as we can to the end of the year and try to hopefully win some more races and have a shot at winning a championship.

“So, that’s what it has always been about and that’s what it is still about.”

July 5, 2012