6 years ago today Dale Earnhardt won the Daytona 500 for the first and only time in his 20th try. After taking the lead with 19 laps to go, his son Dale Earnhardt Jr. passed Tony Stewart on his own for the lead and kept it to win his first Daytona 500 in his 5th try, a quarter the time it took his father. The big wreck of the race happened as Johnny Sauter lost it and got up into Brian Vickers, who then got into 2 time 500 winner Michael Waltrip which led to Waltrip's NAPA sponsored DEI Chevy going for a wile ride and flipping and on end on the infield. There was a hope that Waltrip would make it 3 out of 4 500's won, but it is no doubt that all of Dale Earnhardt Incorporated's employees will be rejoicing that the son of the founder has won the race the vexed his father for so long. I want to congratulate Dale on his win, and wish him best in the resumed Busch series race tomorrow.
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I am sitting here, watching the Nascar race in Dover, and I notice that they have a new rule, and I for one am really liking it. Racing back to the yellow has been a big thing in Nascar for a long time. If the leader slows to let a friend or teammate, or even anyone else, by him on the track, there was previously a gentleman's agreement that no one would pass. This is not a rule, only a recommendation. Jeff Gordon passed the leader last week, and unlike the views of the person in chat, they did not pat him on the back and make his actions a new rule, instead they ruled what he did was not right and have now made a rule that when the yellow flies, that is how people sit under yellow aside from pits changing the order. Also, the first lapped car gets the lap back. It has gone well, thus far.
I was watching TV tonight, and saw a Speed Channel special edition of Trackside, the race weekend show that looks over the happenings of the week, and this one covered the history of Nascar's leadership, and it's future. The first thing they looked at was how it got started so long ago now in Daytona. Then they looked at the point when Bill France Sr. turned the reigns to his son Bill France Jr., right at a time when the major circuit was under going some big changes, primarily the new sponsorship of Winston on the name. Then they looks towards the fact that France Jr. turned the reigns to his son Brian France this week, right when the sport is undergoing more change, like the new name sponsor next year, Nextel. This will make for some interesting times in Nascar.
So, I was on IRC tonight, as I always am, and someone asked in the channel if there any Nascar fans in. I, being an avid fan, said I was. The person then went on to rant about how Jeff Gordon is a bad driver and should know better than what he did on Sunday and that Nascar has to stop handing him championships and giving him special treatment. I may not be a decades lone Nascar fan, but I do know that Jeff Gordon almost didn't win a race at all last year, never mind the championship, and the year before he raced hard to get the championship he earned and only someone who really hated him could even think of claiming he didn't work for that. What did Jeff do? He made a mistake, being only human and all, and he hit three of his own employees on Jimmy Johnson's crew. A one year or lifetime ban on Gordon is overkill for something he will not do again.
Racing at Bristol. I have done it to a minor degree in Nascar Racing 2002, and I can tell you that it is clear to me why tempers flare, wrecks are frequent, and it gets... tough. I know the only reason I won the race I ran on the PC is because of the ability to take the easiest route through a group of cars and literally plough my way up a few spots. The race tonight had a record number of yellow flags, and looking at many of the wrecks and how easily a one man into the wall incident can quickly become a several car wreck, I am damned happy that I have not raced it on realistic damage, because I doubt I would have made it to half way. Therefore, it is with great relief that there were no post race fights, and only one person taken tot he hospital, on the way to another Busch victory.
Ok, I am really not feeling well, and my parent's have many plans for me this weekend(off??) so I won't be able to blog the race, and may not even blog it post finish. I will, though, blog the finish and the winner, so that should be acceptable. Dave Blaney is the on pole, and while I had hopes that DEI would have another good week, it looks like their cars are having issues. I wish all the drivers the best of luck, and I will talk to you all later.
Sadly, the taping of the Daytona 500 was stopped after TSN, which I mistakenly taped instead of Fox, moved on in their broadcast to other events while the second rain delay was in effect. Sadly, the point at which I would have simply stopped it and waited for it to resume, I was at work and could not do so. My father taped it, but I think he was likely not around to conserve tape. Therefore, I have been forced to consult Nascar's website to find out that Michael Waltrip took the lead from Jimmie Johnson just before the yellow from Ward Burton followed by the red flag for rain, and the race never came back on, giving Waltrip his 3rd win in 3 seasons, after going about 500 starts without a win. Dale Earnhardt Jr, never got his lap back, but it was still a win for DEI.
Barely a lap later, caution #5 flew when Ward Burton got into trouble off turn 2, going hard into the wall, and gave Jr., who was at the inside front, got one of two laps back, as well as all three of the other cars, and gave Dale a chance that a lot of people likely thought was out of the cards, a chance to win. The caution actually flew at lap 106, and the #22 of Burton is being towed away at this point. It looked like a very hard and painful hit, and brings back to mind a quote from Darryl Waltrip, 'To those who say that these driver's aren't athletes, well, you try to flip and wreck like these driver's do, like they have to train for' Well, it seems on coming back from the commercials that the rain is falling again, and it looks a lot like the track is under darkness. More in a few.
Ok, so the rain doesn't appear close to ending, and I want to go to bed, as it is past 4 AM. I will try to watch a little more in the morning, and hopefully the race did go longer. Yes, I had not planned on this being a 24 hour blogging event that it is likely only last about 6 or so hours, perhaps less. I know at 6:30 my time the taping finished, so it is very possible that I missed the end of the great American Auto Race.
At lap 103 we see caution #4 from Mike Skinner's car having serious problems and leaving streaks of debris across the race track. If the race were to end right now, it would be official today, no need to wait around. If the rain does hit, there will be no hope, as the rain is expected to last for several hours. All images they have shown of the clouds off turn 2 show clouds that are big, black and brooding. At the caution Dale Jr was not able to get his lap back, and Jimmy Johnson is in the lead. Only 3 cars not on the lead lap. 2 laps later we go back to green.
At lap 95 the third caution of the day flew due to a wreck involving as least the #7 of Jimmy Spencer. They were again on a commercial and I have little info, but with so few laps until the midway point and rain not even on the horizon anymore, looming on the track, and a few cars not confident of the rain situation have pitted. It appears that Spencer was trying to get around Jeff Green, the pole sitter for the day, and ran out of track and was forced into Green, causing both to wreck. They went back green at lap 100, and a short time later they hit over halfway and made the race official, certainly easing some of te considerable tension, but not enough as rain could still fall at any moment. Both drivers are fine.
Sorry so late, but things have worked against me. When I left off the races were in a red flag. After a little over an hour, the race went back to green, giving them a much better chance at going at least half way. Now coming back to the race, I see there is about 75 laps gone or so, and Michael Waltrip is in the lead, Dale Earnhardt Jr. who had battery issues right as the cars were ready to hit the track again, has just gone to the pits with power issues. Sterling Marling has been black flagged, claiming he was forced down by another driver. All of the crews are very tense as rain is on the horizon and there are now just a few laps from half way. Sterling is on the tail end of the lead lap, and Dale Jr. has just gone 2 laps down after the unfortunate pit stop. 9 laps to halfway now.
The race right now is insane. they just came back from a commercial break to Ryan Newman in the #12 Alltel Dodge flipping end over end down the back stretch. Ken Schrader is seems was also involved, then in an attempt to hit pt row, it ended up he ran right into Bobby Labonte, in the pit row wall. It appears on replay that Kenny Schrader knocked Newman into the wall, he then headed down pit row while Newman when sideways into the infield and lost a tire, and a part appeared to have dug in, thus causing him to flip, first sideways then end over end. Then, as Schrader was heading down pit row, he got into Bobby Labonte, who was also involved in the last pit stop, and the two cars got into the wall.
The good thing is that it appears all three drivers are going to be just fine. Unfortunately the cleanup from the wreck has delayed the race to the point that rain has now begun to fall on the track, and the race has been red flagged. I do not know right now who is/was the leader, but this is problem heaped on problem for getting this race done today. I am happy to hear that Kenny Schrader and Bobby Labonte have been cleared from the infield care center, and I await word on Ryan Newman. Race leader Dale Earnhardt Jr. says that the weather looks bad, and it is clearly pouring down in the sunshine state, specifically over the Daytona International Speedway. I will try to keep this up to date, but I have to leave in 45 minutes, but I am told my father is taping it for me.
We are under the first caution at lap 43 from the 18 of Bobby Labonte spinning off of turn #2. there appears to be no damage to his car, and most of the cars in the race have come in to top up gas and change left side tires as most of them were just in about a dozen laps ago. Tony Stewart was in the lead when the race went yellow, and the leader as they go back green on lap 46 is Dale Earnhardt Jr. Michael Waltrip, who had fallen back after the first round of green flag pit stops at lap 30 or so, is in the second spot. These two cars, when running 1-2, are almost impossible to beat as many drivers will tell you. Go DEI!
While I can't blog the whole race, as I work at 2:30, I will do the first hour or 2. At lap 3 Michael Waltrip is in the lead, with Dale Jr. in 3rd. Sadly, the major problem of Restrictor Plate racing, that they all get really bunched up, is once again an issue after only 5 or 200 laps. After 7laps Michael and Dale are 1-2, and they seem to be happy with this arrangement. Also, I found it eerie seeing that, as it brought me back 3 years ago this weekend. The great American race is on, and it is heating up. But, I add, there is still about 190 laps left and the winner is not yet decided. The racing has become a little strung out with the lead ten or so being single file, and then the rest or two wide behind them. No Big One yet, and hopefully this will be a super speedway race without one.
So Tony Stewart is the defending champion, and a much calmer driver. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is going for the speed week sweep. The anthem is over, the flyby done. Travolta gave the famous words, and the engines have roared to life. The 2003 Nascar season is now fully underway, though this race is being started early due to the threat of rain. The RCR owned # 30 AOL Chevy is on the pole, and Earnhardt Jr. trying to do what no driver has done in a very long time, if ever, and something his father never was able to do, win the precious speed week sweep. The RCR and DEI teams are in there top 4 spots at start. the cars have been changed. The dominating teams are still dominating, but the fuel cell will for a lot of pit stops. So, that all said, Let's go Racing for 2003!!!
So, the prerace is not even on, the race track is not even close to open, I would think. It's 2 AM CST, and the prerace is about 9 hours away, but here are my thoughts on the Daytona 500, the opening of the 2003 Winston Cup season. So far I have to agree with what my father has said, that the Chevy's, specifically the DEI and RCR cars, have done very well, with Dale Earnhardt Jr. winning all three of the races thus far in speed week in Daytona, and he is the hand down favorite for a good number of fans to win the Daytona 500. "Three times, Dale Earnhardt Sr. won all the preliminary races, only to come up short in the Daytona 500 - a race he didn't win until his 20th try. " See you all back here around 10:30 or so for the pre race round up.
Well, it appears that with 2 to go, Tony Stewart will win the Nascar Winston Cup Championship. 1 to go. Kurt Busch took the lead from Ryan Newman, and held ti until the end of the race for I believe 4 for the year. He will surely be a contender for next year. Atlanta, Richmond, Watkins Glen. Those are the races Tony Stewart. He began the season with a DNF due to a blown engine at lap 2, and he finishes it the last race as the winner of the Nascar championship. congratulations to Tony, to Kurt, to Joe Gibbs and his company, and the whole Home Depot crew. He raced 36 races. Won 3. 15 DNF's. A season that had so many peaks and valley's that you would swear you were a smurf in the rockies. tony, you earned this, don;t let anyone take that away from you! Congrats.
Well, a short few laps after they last went green, John Andretti seems to have lost an engine spectacularly and left a bunch of smoke and oil covering the track, with Tony Stewart a little ways behind, but thankfully Andretti went high, and Tony went low. Tony had gained several spots on the track, now up to 15th. Andretti's oil took Robbie Gordon into the wall as well. Ryan Newman is still in the lead. They are pacing lap after lap around the track while the cleanup crew rushes to clean that up well enough that it is not responsible for making a driver, especially not one of the two who can take the championship, wreck. Well, it looks like with 23 to go we will go green. Let's finish this beast, shall we? The championship is decided now!
With 43 laps to go Matt Kenseth seems to have left a good deal of liquid behind when his car blew up on the track. There was no caution for several laps, though at 228 Tony Stewart complained enough to get a caution flag, number 5, and he got his lap back which gives him a chance to get back to the back of the pack, and make his way back up in the next 40 or so laps. All the leaders except Ryan Newman went for the pits and most except for Dale Jarrett took 2 tires and gas to make it to the end. Mark Martin has to be worrying because his teammate Matt Kenseth brought this caution with an engine that blew up. Same engine shop. Same set up. More gear. Uh huh. After the pits Tony is 20th, and Mark is 6th. This is going to be interesting. Restart at lap 234.
Well, Dale Jr. has fallen off the pace, and around lap 150 or so the next round of green flag stops began. At the end of the green flag stops we have, yet again, Joe Nemechek in the lead. What a car they have there! At lap 185 Jimmy Spencer crashed hard into the wall, erupting in flames and nearly getting a photographer as well. It doesn't look like Spencer had help, it just looks like his rear got loose and he went up not the wall. Right now, Tony Stewart is a lap down in 21st, while Martin is in 7th. the good thing is, as long as Tony does not lose more spots, he is the winner of the championship. If it finished right now then it would be Martin at 43 back. This is getting interesting. Restart at lap 205, leader is Dale Jarrett.
At lap 94 Michael Waltrip brought out the third caution of the day with a meeting with the wall out of turn 2. It appears he was helped there by Jamie McMurray in the 40 of Sterling Marlin. Hopefully this round of pit stops is a little less dangerous. Of course the top 2 in points headed to the pits, and it looks they both got 4 tires and gas. I haven't seen last week's race, but I thought it good to congratulate Matt Kenseth on the win. He leads the field with 5 wins this year. Back to today, Michael Waltrip says that McMurray was not to blame, but instead blames the bad conditions on the track, saying anything out of the groove being gravel. Restart at lap 104. Joe Nemechek in the #25 restarts in lead again. A lot of drivers are getting loose on the restart. What a race!
At lap 11 Dale Earnhardt Jr. took the lead from Kurt Busch. This is the second time in as many weeks that Dale passed Kurt for the lead. Hopefully this time he can win the race. At lap 43 Joe Nemechek overtook Dale Jr. for the lead. So far almost 50 laps of green flag racing. 15 laps until green flag pits should start. Green flag pits stops started at around lap 55, and after it all shook out Dale Jr. is back in the lead, while Jeff Gordon is a lap back, Jamie McMurray is also back due to jumping the restart at the caution while back, and Dave Blaney is just back on the track only 62 laps back. Yeah.
At lap 75 the second caution came out for 'debris'(a garbage bag) on the track. A lot of cars had just pitted, but many of those drivers are coming back down pit row for a little gas and some tires. Tony, Mark, Jeff, more than half the field in all, came down the pit row. Dale Jarrett, who had pit around lap 30, was able to hold out on his next pit stop, and is likely to be back with the lead lap. Not a good pit for the 10 crew, Johnny Benson who hit a tire from Derrick Cope's crew on exiting the pits, and for the 18 of Bobby Labonte who's gas man spilled a little gas on his fire suit which ignited on him. A very scary moment for the 10, and the 18 crews. Restart at lap 80. These drivers need to recall that if they are not careful, they will ensure that this caution breeds another caution!
I would rather be able to TiVo this thing, so I don't miss a beat, but here goes. At lap 2 Dave Blaney in the #77 Jasper Engines & Transmissions Ford lost it in the corner and went into the wall. This brought out the first caution of the race. Kurt Busch, the pole winner, is still in the lead. It does not look like anyone helped Blaney, he just lost it and his rear came around as they drove into the corner. Restart at lap 6.
So, three races off, and we gather for the last race of the season. The top 10 drivers are so close that the end of this race could change a lot of the points race. 1 & 2 are still fighting it out, while the next 5 guys are only 23 points apart and even Ryan Newman can come out in third. Some drivers are racing for next year. Some drivers are racing for the championship. Others yet are racing for money so they can come back next year. Everyone is questioning this season, and how it can improve next year. Talladega sucked with the smaller gas tank. Tony Stewart has gained a lot of attention this year, not only for his position in the points race. He was in front of the grand jury, he was under the scope. He still managed to be in the lead for the championship at season's end.
There are some fans, like my father, who don't think Tony Stewart has earned the championship. They say that Stewart is in his third year, while Mark Martin is in his 19th. My view is that last season means nothing. This season is all that counts in the championship, and so far Tony Stewart has earned it. Jeff Gordon. Well, he won the season last year. Jimmie Johnson. He led the championship and rocked the sport in only his first year. Many more drivers affected this season, and made it great, too many to list here. It was a long season. It was a hard season. They had September 11th, a late finish due to a canceled race, and It began with the loss of a hero. this year has seen fewer off track hardships for the race. For the last time of 2002, Let's go Racin'!!!!
Ok, so I know I have been absent on race day the last few weekends, which is not a good thing right at the end of the season. Well, my well earned but belated congratulations go out to Kurt Busch on his back to back wins, and to Johnny Benson in the #10 on his first ever win in the Winston Cup series. I watched the race last weekend from my parents on their big screen over satellite, and let me tell you, my father and I, with opposing views on who should win the championship(me for the young guns, and he for the veterans), cheering him on to his win after he took the lead. Now for this weekend. We have the Checker Auto Parts 500 presented by Pennzoil at the Phoenix International Raceway, which has Ryan Newman on the pole.
I am not sure when or if I will be able to blog it yet. I know I work tomorrow, and they have a late start as well as pit crew competition up first for an hour, so I doubt I will be able to watch any live at all. I am still going for Tony Stewart to win the championship, seeing as how Mark Martin lost 25 points to post race inspection, and ended up with the standings around the same as they were in the beginning, if not better for Stewart. We have two races left including this morning's, and the race is still very much in the air. Good luck to all of the drivers, and have a good race!
