Results tagged “Daytona 500” from Haddock in the Paddock

The Daytona 500 was supposed to be a continuation of the Hendrick Motorsports dominance. It was supposed to be the coming out party for Toyota.
What it turned out to be was the return of the Dodge.
Roger Penske can finally add a Daytona 500 win to all his Indianapolis 500 wins. Ryan Newman can put his Daytona 500 win total up against Sam Hornish's Indy 500 win total now too.
After the race, Newman gave all the credit to his Penske Racing teammate, Kurt Busch, for giving him a much-needed push to win the race.
"Without a doubt, he could have easily gone three-wide and split us through the center and made one heck of a mess there going into three, but he chose to be a teammate," said Newman, driver of the No. 12 Dodge for Penske Racing. "That's the most honorable thing that he could do. I would have done the same thing to him. Just thank him a bunch. Thank our Penske/Jasper engine group for the great horsepower."
All the talk leading up to the Daytona 500 was about how great the Hendrick cars still were and how much better the team was going to be with Dale Earnhardt Jr. Junior had a chance to win the race, but dropped back on the last lap and finished ninth.
His Hendrick teammates all crashed or had mechanical problems. Jeff Gordon was the first to go with a suspension failure. Jimmie Johnson was next when he spun out. Casey Mears ran up the track and hit the wall with less than 10 laps to go. That left Earnhardt Jr. alone and without a teammate as the race came to an end.
As for Toyota, the Joe Gibbs Racing teammates of Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch made a late surge, but the best they could do was third place.
This was a race for Dodge. Newman and Busch finished 1-2. Then came Stewart and Kyle Busch, followed by four more Dodges.
Reed Sorenson, Elliott Sadler, Kasey Kahne and Robby Gordon gave Dodge six of the top-eight spots at Daytona. Add Bobby Labonte's 11th place and Dodge had seven of the top 11 spots.
“We got a different situation with this car at this racetrack," Newman said about seeing six Dodges finish in the top eight. "I think that's part of it. I think our Penske/Jasper engine did a great job. That made up for two of the six. That's a lot in itself. Just when you're trying to run wide open, the horsepower underneath the hood makes a big difference when the cars are similar. Outside of that, it's probably a part just racing.”

There's been a lot of talk and discussion about whether Toyota can win the Daytona 500. One thing is for sure, they have a better chance than Ford.
There are more Toyotas in the Daytona 500 field than Fords. In that regard, Toyota has already surpassed at least of the traditional powers in NASCAR.
Perhaps the Nationwide Series race was an indication of how the Cup race will play out. Three of the top-four cars were Toyotas. But results in the Nationwide Series, formerly known as the Busch Series, do not always translate into Cup.
Toyota has won races in the Busch Series and now one in the Nationwide Series. Tony Stewart won the Nationwide Series race in a Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing and is considered one of the favorites to win the Daytona 500.
Earnhardt Jr. said it is no surprise the Toyotas are fast, at both the Nationwide and Cup series levels.
"I knew it was real when we first come down here to test," said Earnhardt Jr., who finished third in the Nationwide Series race, the only Chevrolet driver in the top four. "The Toyota has been fast. Those guys, you know, got the knowledge to get cars around the track, know how to get to Victory Lane. They're gonna be tough I think all year."
Denny Hamlin was second and Brian Vickers was fourth in the Nationwide Series race. For the Daytona 500, Michael Waltrip in a Toyota is starting the race on the front row with Jimmie Johnson and the Joe Gibbs Racing drivers, Stewart, Hamlin and Kyle Busch, are all legitimate threats to win the race.
"They build great race cars," Earnhardt Jr. said. "They're a good company. I had the privilege of being able to get a good look at it one time. It's a pretty impressive place. I think they'll always be a challenge."
Joe Gibbs Racing made the switch from Chevrolet engines to Toyotas. They join Michael Waltrip Racing, Team Red Bull Racing, Bill Davis Racing and Hall of Fame Racing as Toyota-powered teams in Cup. Hall of Fame Racing, like Joe Gibbs Racing, is using Toyotas for the first time this year.
"I didn't think they wouldn't have made the change if it wasn't for the better," Earnhardt Jr. said. "It's obviously going to help them a lot over the years."

Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. are the favorites to win Sunday's Daytona 500 according to odds released by betEd.com.
The Hendrick Motorsports trio each has a 9-2 chance of winning the 50th running of the Daytona 500. Tony Stewart and his new Toyota from Joe Gibbs Racing is next at 6-1.
From there, the odds drop off pretty dramatically. Kevin Harvick, last year's Daytona 500 winner, and Kurt Busch are 15-1 to win the race.
The top Ford driver is Matt Kenseth for Roush Fenway Racing, listed at 20-1. Denny Hamlin, who won one of the Gatorade Duels in a Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, is 18-1.
I can see Earnhardt being the favorite. He's already won two races at Daytona this month and probably should have a little better odds than Johnson and Gordon at this point.
As for Stewart, he just has bad luck in the Daytona 500. He's becoming the next Dale Earnhardt in this regard. There's no way he should have these good of odds to win the race.
Kenseth is an interesting pick. Of all the Ford guys, he has the best chance. But the way things have been going at Daytona, any Ford driver is a longshot.
If I was betting on this race, and I would never endorse betting on NASCAR, the two sleepers I would take a hard look at are Reed Sorenson and Casey Mears.
Sorensen isn't even listed and would be a field bet at 10-1. There are only 28 drivers listed with specific odds, meaning a bet for Sorenson would mean a bet for 15 drivers who have very little chance of finishing the race, let alone winning it.
But Sorenson looked really good in his Duel race. Might be worth a look.
As for Mears, the other Hendrick Motorsports driver, he's 30-1 to win the Daytona 500. That's a good bet for a driver and team that presumably has the same equipment as Gordon, Johnson and Earnhardt Jr. Keep in mind that he is driving for the team that put together Kyle Busch's cars last year. That team made the Chase and won a race last year. That race was Bristol, but still, it wasn't like Busch had crap cars all year.
The real longshots are David Ragan, Robby Gordon, Patrick Carpentier and Paul Menard. They are all 120-1 to win the Daytona 500 and quite honestly, that's being optimistic.

Two of Michael Waltrip's Toyotas made it in to the Daytona 500 after qualifying. His car will start second. David Reutimann was fourth fastest in qualifying and is in the race. His starting spot will be determined after the qualifying races on Thursday.
The third car at Michael Waltrip Racing, driven by Dale Jarrett, is not in the Daytona 500. That is making Waltrip a fan of Kurt Busch in the qualifying race.
The 43rd and final starting spot in the Daytona 500 goes to the most recent Cup champion not already qualified. The order of past Cup champions trying to qualify for the Daytona 500 are: Busch, Jarrett and Bill Elliott. If Busch earns a starting spot through the qualifying races, Jarrett can use his championship provisional to get into the race. Jarrett of course can get in the race through the qualifying races too.
"Dale Jarrett has to get in on Thursday -- Kurt Busch is a guy I’ll be pulling for, but mainly I’ll be pulling for Dale Jarrett to be able to race his UPS car up through the middle of it and have a good race on Thursday," said Waltrip, driver of the No. 55 Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing. "I think he learned a lot last night -- he learned that even though his car wasn’t right, it was fast enough to keep up and be in the middle of things. Dale Jarrett’s a racer and he’ll take that type of car, adjust it and I feel real confident about what he’ll accomplish on Thursday.”

Jimmie Johnson is in. No surprise there. He won the pole for the Daytona 500 and continued the dominance he demonstrated in winning his second straight Cup championship last year.
"Today it didn't have a lot to do with the driver," said Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. "I can only mess up a few things, my guys really put the speed in that car and I can't thank them enough."
The next three fastest drivers in qualifying were definitely surprising. Michael Waltrip, who was not guaranteed a starting spot in the Daytona 500, was second fastest in qualifying and will start on the front row with Johnson.
Joe Nemechek, another driver who was not guaranteed a starting spot in the Daytona 500, was third fastest in qualifying. He's in the race, but his starting spot will be determined by how he finishes in his qualifying race on Thursday.
"Have to thank Hendrick Motorsports for awesome engines," said Nemechek, driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet. "Everybody that works on this car. This team is based out of Denver, Colorado. Logistics are tough. There are a lot of challenges they have to overcome. But the team is good; we have some good people in place. Good leadership and that is what it is about."
David Reutimann is in the same boat as Nemechek. Reutimann was fourth fastest in qualifying and did not have a guaranteed spot in the Daytona 500. But after qualifying, he's in the race and his starting position will be determined after his qualifying race on Thursday.
It was also an impressive showing for Toyota, which had three of the top-five qualifiers. Waltrip and Reutimann, both drivers for Michael Waltrip Racing, had no problem qualifying for the race. Last year, Toyota's first year in Cup, Toyota drivers struggled to qualify for races and only one car finished in the top 35 in the owners standings.
The top-35 teams in the owners standings earn automatic starting spots in Cup races. Dave Blaney, who was fifth fastest in qualifying, had the only Toyota team to finish in the top 35.

No. 88 crew chief Tony Eury Jr. talks with Dale Earnhardt Jr. as they begin their first season together at Hendrick Motorsports. Driver Kevin Harvick said NASCAR TV ratings will get better whether or not Earnhardt Jr. is a success at Hendrick Motorsports.
Rusty Jarrett / Getty Images for NASCAR

Kevin Harvick, winner of last year's Daytona 500, was asked during testing at Daytona International Speedway on Monday if Dale Earnhardt Jr. racing for Hendrick Motorsports will give NASCAR a boost in TV ratings and popularity.
TV ratings for Cup races have been down the past couple of years and attendance at tracks, especially California Speedway, has been slipping.
At first, Harvick, who addressed members of the media at Daytona between test sessions, was hestitant to answer.
"I don't think it's going to hurt anything," said Harvick, driver of the No. 29 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing. "I don't think you can add as much drama as they had last year. That got a lot of different headlines from a lot of different angles."
Earnhardt Jr. decided to leave Dale Earnhardt Inc., the team his late father founded and owned, to race for Hendrick Motorsports. It was a drawn-out, public tug-of-war for control of the team between Earnhardt Jr. and his stepmother, Teresa Earnhardt. After months of debate, Earnhardt Jr. left the team to join Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Casey Mears at Hendrick and DEI eventually merged with Ginn Racing to create a four-car team.
Harvick added that he anticipates NASCAR's popularity will rise again whether or not Earnhardt Jr. does well at Hendrick Motorsports.
"I don't think it's just our sport that's in a position to be worried about TV ratings or sponsorship and things like that," Harvick said. "I think the whole country is in a kind of state of limbo right now. As we get into these elections, get them over with, I think everything will come back whether Junior does good or not."

Starting Monday, ESPN Classic will air six of what it considers the best Daytona 500s, or like most sporting events that earn ESPN's classic status, the best Daytona 500s on video.
The list is still pretty good. It starts with the 1976 Daytona 500, in which David Pearson sluggishly beats Richard Petty. It ends with last year's Daytona 500, a drag race finish between Kevin Harvick and Mark Martin.
ESPN Classic will broadcast a race every Monday at 11 a.m. PST. On Feb. 16, the Saturday night before the 2008 Daytona 500, ESPN Classic will televise the top five races chosen on ESPN.com. Fans and viewers can log on to ESPN.com to vote for their favorite race.
Here's a look at the six races:

1976: The Push - On the last lap, David Pearson and Richard Petty wreck together while running first and second, both are the only cars on the lead lap. Pearson gets his car moving first and goes on to win the 500 at a snail's pace. Petty finishes second, a lap down, after he is penalized for having his car pushed across the finish line.

1979: The Fight - The first live, flag-to-flag live televised Daytona 500, drawing a huge audience as it is shown on a day when much of the Northeast was paralyzed by a snowstorm. Donnie Allison and Cale Yarborough wreck late in the race while leading, propelling Richard Petty to victory. Donnie's brother Bobby and Yarborough fight in the infield. The race helped accelerate NASCAR to a national phenomenon.

1990: The Blow Out - Dale Earnhardt is all but the 500 winner when he blows out a tire in turn 3 of the last lap, leading to an unlikely Daytona 500 victory for Derrike Cope. Cope cruised by Earnhardt to win the 500, his first career NASCAR win, and one of only two in his career, the other coming later that season.

1998: Finally - Dale Earnhardt Finally Wins - After years of heartbreak and bad luck, Dale Earnhardt finally wins the biggest race on the NASCAR schedule. Every crew member for all 43 teams lines up along pit road to congratulate Earnhardt.

1999: The Pass - Jeff Gordon pulls a risky pass by Rusty Wallace with 11 laps to go, almost driving through the grass and getting into the back of the lapped and crash-damaged car of Ricky Rudd. Wallace gives him room, possibly preventing a wreck and Gordon holds off defending-champion Dale Earnhardt for the win.

2007: The Photo Finish - After the two best cars driven by Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart crashed early in the race, the race continues to take more twists. Cars are shuffled and reshuffled, culminating in a last lap "big one," which took out many contenders, including Kyle Busch and a sliding, flaming Clint Bowyer. Mark Martin, a part-time driver who was a NASCAR star but never won a championship or a Daytona 500, is nosed out by Kevin Harvick by inches at the finish line. Closest 500 finish with electronic scoring.