NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Daytona

By

-

February 25, 2014

dalejr_davidyeazell — Photo Credit: David Yeazell

Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Earnhardt withstood a long rain delay and held off numerous challenges to win his second Daytona 500, beating Denny Hamlin to the line. The win ended a 55-race winless streak and instantly qualified Earnhardt for the Chase For The Cup.

“That six hour, 22 minute rain delay didn’t bother me at all,” Earnhardt said. “What’s 6:22 when I’m used to waiting 55 races for a win? And what better way to celebrate such a huge win than to join Twitter. By the time you read this, I should have 750,000 followers, and the best thing is, none will require a restraining order.”

2. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin topped off a successful Speedweeks with a runner-up finish in the 500, making a bold move at the front befire finishing behind Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Hamlin won the first Gatorade Duel and led 16 laps in Sunday night’s race.

“How about that piece of black plastic that clung to Dale, Jr.’s grill?” Hamlin said. “Some say it was the ‘Man In Black,’ Dale Earnhardt, Sr., making his presence known. NASCAR made an even more outlandish claim—that it was proof that their ‘Drive For Diversity’ program is actually working. Here’s the most interesting part: ghosts are a lot like NASCAR drivers—-mostly white.”

3. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski, in the No. 2 car with the classic Miller Lite paint scheme, challenged for the win at Daytona and finished third behind Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Denny Hamlin.

“I hear that Danica Patrick exceeded 1,000,000 Twitter followers,” Keselowski said. “That’s a lot, maybe too many for one web site to handle. I can see this ending in one way only—with a ‘crash.’”

4. Jeff Gordon: Gordon finished fourth at Daytona as Hendrick teammate Dale Earnhardt, Jr. powered to the win. Gordon gave Earnhardt a boost on the final lap, helping Junior hold off Denny Hamlin at the end.

“Dale deserved to win,” Gordon said. “His No. 88 National Guard Chevrolet was by far the strongest. This could very well be the year Junior wins the Sprint Cup. In other words, it could finally be when ‘A Little E Goes A Long Way.’”

5. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson started 39th after going to a backup car and finished fifth after leading 15 laps. Last year’s Daytona 500 winner joined race winner Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Jeff Gordon as Hendrick Motorsports took three of the top five spots.

“That rain just wouldn’t stop,” Johnson said. “And, trust me, I know long ‘reigns.’

“I’m on a quest for my seventh Sprint Cup championship. It would be awesome to be mentioned in the same sentence with Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt, Sr. Contrary to what Tony Stewart says, six titles give you the right to ‘challenge’ Petty, not two.”

6. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth started third after winning Thursday’s second Gatorade Duel and finished a long day at Daytona with a sixth-place finish. Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch finished second and 19th, respectively.

“Did you see Kyle cross the finish line?” Kenseth said. “He did it in reverse. But that’s really no surprise. Just look at the sponsors on the No. 18 car—it’s got ‘good backing.’”

7. Austin Dillon: Dillon survived involvement in three accidents at Daytona and put the Richard Childress Racing No. 3 Chevy in the top 10 in the return of the “3” made famous by Dale Earnhardt, Sr.

“That ‘3’ on the side of my car means a lot,” Dillon said. “At Daytona, it indicated the number of crashes I caused.”

8. Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.: Stenhouse led the way for Roush Fenway Racing with a seventh at Daytona, joining teammate Greg Biffle, who finished eighth, in the top 10. It was Stenhouse’s best finish ever in the 500.

“That was one of the best Daytona 500’s of all time,” Stenhouse said. “I can’t wait to catch a replay of the race, and neither can Dale Earnhardt, Jr. fans. That’s the only way their favorite driver will have multiple wins this season.”

9. Greg Biffle: Biffle battled Dale Earnhardt, Jr. over the final laps at Daytona before the mad scramble relegated him to a finish of eighth.

“How about Madison Rising’s performance of the national anthem before Saturday’s Nationwide race?” Biffle said. “They claim to be America’s most patriotic band. I certainly agree. Their music is best listened to with a hand over the heart, and two over the ears.”

10. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished 13th at Daytona in the No. 4 Chevrolet, the highest finisher among the Stewart-Haas Racing stable.

“Tony Stewart challenged Richard Petty to race Danica Patrick,” Harvick said, “and the ‘King’ accepted. But really, what does King Richard stand to gain with a win? The last thing he needs is another feather in his cap.”

The Final Word – Earnhardt wins at Daytona and all is right with the world

By

Ron Thornton

-

February 25, 2014

Jeff Gordon is correct. Now that Dale Earnhardt Jr has claimed his second Daytona 500, all is right with the world. Now, what on earth has made a 20 race winner, one who has won exactly three races in the past 279 events, all that popular?

A movie script career has as much to do with it as any. The son of a legend who won his first two races in 2000 with the team owner, his dad, joining him in celebration. Then came 2001, his father’s death on the sport’s biggest stage, Junior’s victory in Daytona that summer, his six wins in 2004 including the Daytona 500 to match the Intimidator in just his fifth attempt. Then came the drama and the disappointment of the next decade. His fans, and the driver himself, needing one more flash of sunshine, and ironically it came on a day when the race would go through a six hour rain delay. It came in a race that began with a slant No. 3 leading the way on the pole, its first appearance since that tragic day in 2001. It came as a black sheet of tape left Ryan Newman’s car to find a place on the front grill of Earnhardt’s auto, making it possibly even faster over the final few laps. It came, finally. We long needed a happy ending to the script, and on Sunday we got it.

Earnhardt’s total joy at victory swept along his fans, and maybe a few not part of Junior Nation. Hoots, hugs, and fist pumps for all. Of course, it is just one race, but if you are going to win just one, this is the one to win. For a week, at least, all is right with the world.

Steve Letarte will begin his new career with NBC next season as a Daytona 500 winning crew chief. That has a nice ring to it. The 34-year old leaves an employer he has been with since he was 15 to take a job that will have fewer demands and allows him more time with his wife and two children. In short, he gets to have a life. Now, being known as a season championship crew chief has an even nicer ring to it. To borrow from Robert Frost…

To the broadcast booth he’ll soon leap
But he still has promises yet to keep,
And miles to go before he’ll sleep,
And miles to go before he’ll sleep.

Rick Hendrick had a very good day, as both Six-time and Four-time also managed Top Five finishes. Denny Hamlin won the Sprint Unlimited, won his duel race, but was first loser when it counted, finishing just behind Junior. Brad Keselowski rounded out the Top Five.

Even the pole sitter had a Top Ten, but the No. 3 had a rather interesting day. It is better to give than receive, and Austin Dillon did his best to do unto others. After leading the first lap, he drifted back. With 55 laps to go, the 23-year old got caught up in the same mess that took out Danica Patrick (40th) and Michael Waltrip (41st). With 38 to go, Dillon spun fellow rookie Kyle Larson into a ten car wreck to end the Target car’s day. With seven left, Dillon got team mate Ryan Newman out of shape and seven more cars needed work. Friends? Who needs ‘em? The last guy who drove that number did not seem to have many of his own in the early going.

If Hamlin was first loser, outside pole sitter Martin Truex Jr was last loser, as his engine blew up 30 laps in. He was gone before the 6 hour rain delay. He could have been home before they got restarted. Clint Bowyer stayed at the track, only to blow up 90 laps after they returned, to wind up 42nd. Sometimes good things do not happen to those who wait.

Larson was already in the midst of an adventure before Dillon mercifully ended his race. He had a right front go down as his car bounced off the wall twice within the opening three laps. Not the start the rookie wanted. Then his right rear went soft. Later, Dillon arrived and Larson finished 38th.

Fuel pump issues left Tony Stewart 35th and hoping his 17th Daytona 500 might be the charm. While such contenders as Matt Kenseth and Greg Biffle had Top Tens, Joey Logano (11th), Kevin Harvick (13th), Carl Edwards (17th), Kurt Busch (21st), and Ryan Newman (22nd) are hoping for better things in Phoenix. Kyle Busch won the Friday truck race, was fourth in Saturday’s Nationwide event, but 19th was his fate on Sunday. Then again, a win in Arizona this weekend and all will be forgotten.

Seven years ago my sister and I, and other family members, were in the stands to see Harvick win. On Sunday, she watched the race from the couch with her daughters at her side. They were bored. I mean, even at three and one, the girls know a repeat when they see one. After about ten minutes, so did their mother. Others were not as quick, as FOX covered up their six hour broadcast hole with a replay of the 2013 event. It would appear thousands did not notice the difference, or the fact some drivers were in cars they were not supposed to be in. For the record, the outcome did not change. Jimmie Johnson still won.

A new season has dawned, a familiar face has returned to a familiar place, and all is right with the world. While the fair weather, fickle, big event fans may have wandered off until Talladega, the rest of us have a Sunday date coming up courtesy of Phoenix International Raceway. Qualifying goes Friday night, and that should be something different.

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Driver Brennan Newberry Tells His Story

By

Michelle Lippold

-

February 25, 2014

As with a lot of drivers, Brennan Newberry’s story started very similar but Newberry himself wasn’t the typical young aspiring driver. Newberry lived in Bakersfield, California where his father, Bob Newberry, drove late model race cars. As a young boy, Newberry was around racing a lot but he did not start out thinking about racing, he was more into showing off the car in the garage to his friends. There were not many young boys in the neighborhood that could top having a real race car in the garage.

Around the age of 8-9, while his dad was working on the race car one day, Newberry asked his dad if he could drive a race car. His father looked at him funny and said, “Nah I don’t think so.” Newberry was not satisfied with that response and said, “C’mon dad I really want to do this, I think this is something I could do, and it looks like fun.” His dad later decided if this was what his son wanted to do then they would to do it right and start with go-karts.

Newberry’s idea of go-kart racing was on dirt and jumping hills, so he was not too thrilled with his father’s idea. The following weekend, his father took him to race go-karts. Newberry thought it was pretty fun and cool, but wasn’t thinking that this was a possible career.

Newberry raced go-karts for fun until the age of 15 when he decided that he wanted to be more serious, he wanted to race for points, be a champion, and most of all he wanted racing to be a career.

Being a racer wasn’t easy though. In school he liked to swim, but was not able to go very far on the swim team because of racing. He missed out on normal school things such as dances, football games, or time with the buddies because his time was spent racing or working on the car. He has no complaints about it though, it was what was needed to be done for his career. His family has been very supportive of him and did without things in order for him to race and further his career.

In 2010, his father formed a team for Newberry to start his career in a limited schedule in the K&N Pro Series. Suddenly Newberry was racing at tracks like Irwindale Speedway, Phoenix and Sonoma. These were tracks where another Bakersfield driver used to race, Kevin Harvick. He raced in his first Toyota All Star Showdown and a limited schedule in the series.

In 2012, with support from his family they decided in order to go further they needed to go all in. With his parents and both of his sisters blessing, he decided to run 10 races in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS). His first race was at Martinsville, then Charlotte and on to Michigan to name a few. The NCWTS was a learning experience for Newberry due to the differences in aero packages on the trucks and how they were different than what he had been driving. During this time he also raced in the ARCA series to help him gain confidence as a driver.

In 2013 Newberry moved to where the center of NASCAR is, he moved to North Carolina. He moved by himself, to fulfill his dream.

2013 was the year of ups and downs for Newberry. He was racing in the NCWTS full-time and started off strong by winning the pole at Daytona in his first attempt there. He was with a new team and everything was new and different.

For the most part it was a year of firsts and so many big moments. He was very well aware of just where and who he was and that he, a young man from Bakersfield, was taking it all in like a sponge. Everyone in his family had made sacrifices and he was going to take in as much as he could knowing his family was behind him 100 percent.

This season Newberry is running full time in the K&N Pro Series and sharing the NCWTS duties with a new teammate. Newberry will be in the NCWTS for 12 races. He has nothing but praise about his teammate, 16 year-old Gray Gaulding. He says that they mesh well together and each of them has different strengths and they will be able to learn a lot from each other.

Newberry also talks about fitness. It’s a must to be a driver if you want the stamina to finish races and keep your mind on the race. He did a triathlon a couple of years ago and really hopes to get the chance to do another one. But juggling a busy race schedule with an event like that is easier said than done. He takes pride in being fit; he takes pride in all his accomplishments.

Newberry never dreamed that first day in the go-kart that he would be where he is today. He owes much to a very supportive family, but doesn’t really take much credit for himself for being where his is today. In his eyes he is living a dream, a dream he didn’t know he had until one fateful day when he realized this is what he was destined to do.

Newberry doesn’t know where this road will take him, or the ups and downs still to come, but one thing that is for sure is that he is living a dream, this is his story and it’s only the beginning.

You can follow Newberry on Twitter at twitter.com/brennannewberry or his website at www.brennannewberry.com.

Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Advance Notes – Phoenix International Raceway

By

SM Archive

-

February 25, 2014

Brian Vickers No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Phoenix Preview

By

SM Archive

-

February 25, 2014

Team Penske The Profit on CNBC 500 Race Preview

By

SM Archive

-

February 25, 2014

Dale Earnhardt Jr. & the Intangible That’s Stopped Him From Reaching His Full Potential

By

SM Staff

-

February 25, 2014

February 18th, 2001 … the final lap of the 43rd annual Daytona 500 …. the black No. 3 entered turn three in third position, but never made it to the tri-oval. 13 years and five days later, the iconic number finally exited that corner, and it did so as the leader of the Great American Race. The No. 3 was back. A side note of this historic occasion is that it would have been the 86th birthday of the Earnhardt family patriarch, Ralph. This day would not belong to that venerable number and rookie Austin Dillon though, but rather another third generation racer, who carried the surname of Earnhardt. This Daytona 500 belonged to Dale Jr. … and I can still hear the rapturous cheers from Jr. Nation two days later. His unequivocal understanding of plate racing and sheer determination against a snarling pack of cars led to yet another Harley J. Earl trophy for the pied piper of Daytona, as Mike Joy put it.

On the ten year anniversary of his first triumph over Daytona International Speedway, the stars aligned once again for NASCAR’s most popular driver. After an enthralling late-race duel with the likes of Johnson, Biffle, Edwards, Gordon, and Hamlin; Jr. held on and emerged as a Daytona 500 champion for the second time in his career. It was a combination of a powerful race car, luck, a plate racing ace behind the wheel, and fate that led to this very popular and widely celebrated victory.

I don’t know Jr. personally, but those who do would agree …. Dale is more confident right now than he’s ever been before. He is a different driver, and a different person. He’s got that swagger that he showcased in the early 2000’s back. In the 500, he drove aggressively and gave no quarter as he just about single-handily held off two lanes of cars late in the event; denying charges mounted from some of the best drivers in the sport. He sliced and diced from the outside wall to the inside apron at speeds upwards of 200mph without trepidation or hesitation, only instinct.

He walked into the media center that night with a pep in his step as he howled triumphantly before sitting down. One of the first statements out of his mouth was that he and his No. 88 team are “going for the jugular this year.” If you didn’t know any better, you’d think we were listening to Brad Keselowski or Tony Stewart … not the somewhat reserved and timid Dale Earnhardt Jr. we’ve seen on TV in the past. He hasn’t stopped smiling since the victory, and I doubt his enthusiasm will wane any time soon. Jr. has been giving funny, engaging, and well-spoken interviews to every media outlet he’s talked to thus far, and even joined Twitter! The clandestine life of NASCAR’s most popular driver is now being broadcast photo by photo, on social media. One of the first tweets he sent out was of him standing with the statue that immortalized his late-great father outside of the speedway.

He is a driver whose demeanor usually corresponds with his performance on the track, so this is a very good sign for the legion of Earnhardt Jr. fans out there. No, he’s not on the level of Gordon, Stewart, or Johnson; nor will he obliterate the competition in 2014. But, he is perfectly capable of being a formidable championship opponent and confidence can go a very long way for a race car driver …. just ask Denny Hamlin. What happened Sunday night at Daytona International Speedway epitomizes just how empowering a win at Daytona can be, and it will certainly leave an indelible mark on Jr.’s career. The raw, uninhibited emotion from him after the win resonated with the NASCAR community and is quite refreshing to see. It’s almost like that endearing feeling we get when an underdog captures the checkered flag, even though the driver of the No. 88 is nowhere near underdog status.

Or is he? The tumultuous career of Dale Earnhardt Jr. is one that will make you feel a wide range of emotions from all across the spectrum. He’s driving equipment that is superior to most of his competitors, he is a perfectly capable driver, has plenty of money, and has battled a different kind of adversity in his career. Himself. Imagine being a young kid, the world at your feet, and then you lose one of, if not the most influential person in your life. In this case, his father. Suddenly, millions turned to him to fill Dale Sr.’s shoes and presumed that he’d be as good as, if not better than his dad. Imagine the immense pressure he must have felt. How does one deal with that?

As if that wasn’t enough to bring him down, he watched the team his father created fall to pieces before his very eyes. Think about looking at everyone around you, knowing that they all expect you to be something you’re not, and never will be. Think about all those who constantly and relentlessly asked Jr. why he wasn’t meeting their unrealistically high expectations for him. After the barrage of unanswerable questions, he was left to cogitate about all those he disappointed, who felt he wasn’t good enough, and labeled him a failure. If you keep piling weight on someone’s back, they will not grow stronger; they will break, and consequently, never reach their true potential.

But now, Dale realizes that it’s not incumbent of him to attempt to emulate his famous father and repeat his successes in order to suffice the contingent of people out there who yearn for the second coming of “The Intimidator.” No longer does he worry about disappointing those who unfairly expect him to be just like Sr. He just wants to be the best that he can be. The mindset has changed from what does everybody else want from me, to what do I want from me? Now that he’s done that, he can be a Sprint Cup champion.

I only see more good things coming from Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2014. He’s confident in himself and is comfortable with where he’s at in life. That’s been the missing piece all these years. He’s always had the equipment and the talent, but the intangible that is self-confidence is what will take him to the next level. Dale Earnhardt Jr. has always had the will to win, but he’s now got the complete package, and can finally, after so many years, attain his full potential as a race car driver.