Surprising and Not Surprising: The Daytona 500
In spite of the unusual happenings that perpetually occur at Daytona, this year a six hour plus rain delay with tornado warnings, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 56th running of the Great American Race.
Surprising: With so much focus pre-race on the return of the No. 3, formerly driven by Dale Earnhardt Sr. and now by rookie Austin Dillon, the son of the Intimidator and NASCAR’s most popular driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. instead stole the show with his second Daytona 500 victory.
This was Junior’s 20th victory in the Cup Series and, with the win, he joined Bill Elliott, Michael Waltrip, Sterling Marlin, Matt Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson as two-time Daytona 500 winners.
“I’ll never take this for granted,” Junior said. “We’re two time Daytona champions.”
In addition to the coveted win at Daytona, Earnhardt Jr. had a big weekend overall. The team bearing his name, JR Motorsports, won the Nationwide Drive4COPD 300 race with driver Regan Smith at the wheel.
Not Surprising: In spite of several on-track incidents, the driver of the aforementioned No. 3 for Richard Childress Racing, did quite well for himself, starting from the pole and finishing ninth.
Austin Dillon was also the highest finishing rookie of the race, taking the early lead in a Sunoco Rookie of the year battle.
“That’s what this year is about — experience, trying to finish races and getting better each week,” Dillon said, “We have a long year ahead of us, I’d like to use some of this momentum going forward. I know it’s going to be a long, tough year, and hopefully we’ll be there at the end of these races and try to learn something.”
Surprising: Goodyear had a little scare early in the race when both Kyle Larson and Greg Biffle had tire problems, causing hard hits into the wall for the rookie and veteran racers.
Larson, in the No. 42 race car formerly driven by Juan Pablo Montoya, actually hit the wall twice in the opening laps, going a lap down and soldiering on to finish 38th.
In spite of his blown tire early in the race, Biffle had a much better finish than Larson, taking the checkered flag in the eighth spot in his No. 16 3M Ford.
“It was a good night,” Biffle said. “We had a really strong car but the 88 was real fast. We just couldn’t hold him off.”
Not Surprising: With the combo platter of the rain delay, potential for additional weather coming in, and the pent up energy of the first race of the season, it was not surprising that there were a number of pit road incidents that created some major mayhem for several drivers.
Early in the race, Matt Kenseth had contact on pit road and ended up spinning to pit backwards in his box. Both Kyle Busch and Aric Almirola removed equipment out of their pit boxes and had to serve costly penalties.
And then there was one of the more controversial calls, with Kasey Kahne called for speeding, all of which he did in an effort not to get hit by Michael Annett who had lost control of his vehicle coming to his pit.
Surprising: After dominating most everything during Speedweeks, from the Sprint Unlimited to the second Duel race, it was a bit surprising that Denny Hamlin did not claim the big prize. He did, however, come home in the runner up position in his No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota, which was his best finish ever in the Daytona 500.
“I thought — the Duels and the Unlimited — I felt like our car didn’t have quite the speed,” Hamlin said. “It was a solid run for us and really it was a fun race.”
Not Surprising: Given the manufacturer change to Chevrolet and a new alliance with Richard Childress Racing, it was not surprising that Casey Mears and his GEICO No. 13 team had a great run in the Great American Race.
In fact, team GEICO finished in the top-10, getting their driver and crew chief Bootie Barker off to a great start for the season.
Surprising: The Labonte brothers, Bobby and Terry, not only made the race but had surprisingly good finishes, 15th and 20th respectively.
Brother Bobby extended his consecutive start street for the Great American Race to 22 while elder brother Terry most likely ran his last Daytona 500 competition.
Not Surprising: Because it was after all Daytona, there were several big crashes, collecting many good drivers, to no one’s surprise. One of those hard hits, however, impacted the only female in the field Danica Patrick.
“I think more than anything I am just upset because the GoDaddy car felt really good and it was the best car that I had all Speedweeks,” Patrick said. “I felt like everything was going pretty well, so it’s just upsetting.”
“It’s a bummer, but you know that is the excitement of speedway racing that anything can happen, and it was unfortunate that I was on the short end of the accident.”
Surprising: With a more than six hour rain delay, some of NASCAR’s finest were up to some surprising activities to pass the time away. In fact, several of the racer dads were busy with their children, from Jeff Gordon making Lego creations to Keelan Harvick suiting up in his dad Kevin’s fire suit.
Probably most novel, however, was David Ragan, still clad in his own fire suit, who went out to pick up pizza for his team during the break.
Not Surprising: While Junior reigned triumphant in Victory Lane, just like in the Olympics, there was some agony of defeat in this year’s running for the Great American Race.
Most agonizing were those drivers impacted by engine or fuel pick up woes, including Clint Bowyer, Martin Truex, Jr. and Tony Stewart.
“If it was going to blow up, I wish it would have blown up four hours ago,” Clint Bowyer said. “I could have been home watching. Just disappointing — the guys work so hard for this race. Everybody is out there having fun and we broke our toy.”
“It’s definitely a tough break for our team,” Martin Truex Jr. said. “I went to bed thinking this was my best chance to win the Daytona 500.”
The Cup Series moves on next to Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale, Arizona for The Profit on CNBC 500 on March 2nd.
Charlie Kimball looking for more success after biggest season to date
Last year, Charlie Kimball had his best year to date – finishing ninth in the point standings after scoring his first IndyCar career win at Mid-Ohio. Over the off-season, Kimball has spent time reflecting back on the season, letting the win soak in.
For Kimball, one of the moments that stood out about the win was the podium ceremony.
“I guess it was Wednesday or Thursday after Sonoma, the week after the next race, I got an envelope from the team with all of Floyd’s photos from Mid-Ohio. It was his last race before he passed on. For me it was very special,” Kimball comments. “For me having that vision of him pushing through the crowd to get to Victory Circle to congratulate me, it brought home how special that was, to share that win with Floyd, everything he’s done, not just for Chip, everything he’s done, all the drivers. Every time at the track he would pull me aside asking me how I was, how my family was at home, knowing that racing is important, but it’s not everything.”
One of the things that has helped Kimball grow as a driver is his relationship with Scott Dixon.
“Having Scott to learn from, he’s so very good at so many things. He’s been with Chip Ganassi Racing for so many years, he’s young as far as long-term career length. He’s going to be a competitor for a long time,” Dixon commented. “Any day I feel I can get within a couple of 10ths of him on a test or race day, I know I’m doing a good job because that will be the benchmark.
“As much as he’s taught me how to do things in the racecar, drive style, technique, fuel saving, he’s a master at that, he’s taught me as much out of the car about how to handle myself, be a member of the team, develop and build the team, and also in the public eye, handle the media, handle the challenges and pressures of being a full-time IndyCar driver and a successful one.”
Now with that win behind him, Kimball is looking for more success this year.
“All the way along Chip’s advice has been to build the foundation for a long-term career, not one year flash in the pan. Try to build a one-way street, so when I take that next step I stay there. I think that’s helped,” he commented. “Going away at the end of the season, having a little downtime, doing a lot of work with the Novo Nordisk allowed me to reflect on that and know coming into this season we’ve prepared as a team and we know we can win because we’ve done it. That lays the groundwork to have a great year. ”
He will kick off the year next month at St. Petersburg, which is an event that Kimball considers as one of the crown jewels in the IndyCar Series and compares to the first day of school.
“While you see some teams and drivers at different test days throughout the years, Media Days like that, the physicals in Indianapolis, it’s the first time you’re there all together with the team and crew members. Inevitably you have friends on different teams, throughout the paddock,” he commented. “To be in an environment where the weather is good or great, compared to the weather in Indianapolis this year, to a city that really embraces the Grand Prix, that has such a level of enthusiasm and excitement, really enjoys having us in town, it’s awesome. It’s really nice to start that way and keep that momentum building that whole year off that first springboard.”
Off the track, one of hte unique things is about Kimball is he does have diabetes. Teammate Scott Dixon says that when they’re working together, though, that is something that flies under the radar.
“It’s only at lunchtime that you see him break out a needle. He prepares himself so well with his dietary needs or training. He does a first class job on that sort of thing,” Dixon added. “He’s done a great job in the last year. Even the tests we’ve had in the pre-season so far, he’s definitely upping his game.
“When he first started, some people might have written him off. But he’s a smart guy. If he can’t do it, he’ll look and try to achieve it. For him to get a winat a tough road course like Mid-Ohio was huge for him and the team. He’s getting stronger and stronger each year.”
Denny Hamlin Rebounding From Dismal 2013
Denny Hamlin was entangled in multiple issues during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series last season. The problem that halted Hamlin’s charge towards his first career Sprint Cup title occurred in Fontana, California after he slammed the inside barrier and was diagnosed with a severe back injury that sidelined him multiple weeks.
However, the setback injury was just the beginning to Hamlin’s dismal 2013 Sprint Cup season. Following his return to the racetrack, Hamlin posted a horrific 17 finishes that were worse then 20th position. But, he concluded the season with a victory in the season finale at Homestead Miami-Speedway which is proving to be the only momentum Hamlin needs to rebound from the dismal season.
Budweiser Speedweeks began and it was obvious that Hamlin was back with vengeance. He easily stole the Sprint Unlimited and the Budweiser Duel victories and quickly focused on winning his first career Daytona 500.
But, Hamlin came up one position short from scoring the biggest victory and moment of his racing career. However, the second place finish proves that Darien Grubb, crew chief for Hamlin, is prepared to give his driver a chance at the 2014 NSCS championship.
The quest towards an elusive first title officially has began for Hamlin and moving towards Phoenix International Raceway and other events he’ll have to continue to improve and solidify his name in the championship discussion.
Earnhardt Jr. says winning the 500 is the “greatest feeling you can have”
As the Daytona 500 closed into the final 25 laps, Dale Earnhardt Jr. had put himself in position to win the sport’s greatest race and take home the biggest victory of them all.
The things all changed when a caution flew with 17 laps to go. It was under that caution that his Daytona 500 winning chances start to soak in.
“I’m enjoying particular pieces of it,” Dale Jr. said over the radio. “But the entire experinece is driving me crazy. It’s hard to be excited, a little nervous; this is for the big prize.”
Earnhardt said that feelings he was experiencing at the time were ones that a driver always feels in that position.
“When you’re close enough to the front to win races, there’s a lot on the line, it’s a big race, and you want to win it so badly, your team wants to win it so badly,” Earnhardt said after the race. “You realize at that moment, especially inside of 20 laps to go, you’re in the top five, you realize at that moment there’s countless people watching on television, there’s countless sitting in the grandstands with your shirts and hats on, your team over on pit wall, your crew chief, your family back home watching. There’s so many people pulling for you that want to see you win, it’s a heavy weight.”
Earnhardt Jr. was once again able to grab he lead on the restart and led all the way till the incident with seven laps to go. Under that caution as the field was getting ready to restart, a piece of bare bond (black tape) flew up from the track surface and stuck to the front grill of Earnhardt’s car. Earnhardt Jr. tried to use the pacecar to get it off, but wasn’t able to.
“I’m sorry,” Earnhardt Jr. said over the radio as the team talked about. Crew chief Steve LeTarte, quickly changed the tone, saying, “Don’t be sorry. Just stay in it. It’s okay bud. We’re going to make it.”
The field would take the green flag for a green-white-checkered and Earnhardt Jr. would get the run on the inside due to a push from teammate Jeff Gordon. He would then hold off the challenge from Denny Hamlin for the win as the caution waved for a wreck behind them.
As soon as he crossed the finish line, the excitement was evident with Earnhardt Jr. and the entire No. 88 National Guard Chevrolet team as screams erupted from everyone. The win means a lot for Earnhardt Jr. as he wanted to deliver crew chief Steve LeTarte a Daytona 500 victory as LeTarte moves off the pit box and into the broadcast booth in 2015.
“Hell, yeah,” Earnhardt beamed on the radio. “I’m gonna burn this @#$%! down. What a day, what a day, can you believe this Steve?”
“I love you, man. I love you,” Steve LeTarte replied.
In the media center post-race, Earnhardt Jr. says the emotion that he spread in victory lane simply comes from this being the greatest feeling that a NASCAR driver can experience in a single event.
“Just trying to explain what that feeling is to people, I’ve been trying to tell people for 10 years what that felt like,” Earnhardt Jr. said, referring back to his first Daytona 500 win in 2004. “It’s just hard to put it into words what winning this race really means you.”
Earnhardt Jr. said that the first Daytona 500 win back in 2004 felt special due to working with his uncle Tony Eury Sr. as the crew chief, as well as his cousin Tony Eury Jr. and uncle Danny Earnhardt on the team.
This year’s win feels special due to the guys that Steve LeTarte has assembled on the team.
“He’s put an amazing team around me that we all really enjoy working together,” Earnhardt Jr. commented. “And Rick (Hendrick)’s here to make all that possible. It just seems like it’s too good to be true really.
Earnhardt said that he knew that the win was possible due to simply how strong the racecar was.
“I didn’t know it was as good as it was till tonight,” Earnhardt commented. “But in practice, a couple times throughout the weekend, I noticed it was something unique. When we got the opportunities to sort of work our way into the lead, hold it, I was able to fight guys off, like you were saying, hold the lead, hold the lead, keep moving line to line.”
Earnhardt said combining that with lessons that he had picked up in how to hold off the charge were what led him to victory lane.
Over the past couple of years, Earnhardt Jr., LeTarte and the entire team have bonded closer together, and in the process, got stronger on track as well.
“This group is unique and special,” Earnhardt commented. “That’s what makes winning this race that much more special. Obviously it’s the biggest race and most important race we run. But the people you do it with is really the icing on the cake. We really all are best friends, enjoy working with each other. We pull for each other. Lucky enough to have Amy with me, my sister Kelley, LW, my staff, Mike Hoag, Laura that helps with HMS. All those people we grind every week throughout the season. When you got great people around you, it just makes that whole experience so much more special.”
Last year, they finished off the year with a solid second place finish at Homestead-Miami Speedway to finish fifth in the points standings.
“We were standing there tearing apart racecars, talking about how great the season was,” Earnhardt Jr. commented. “A lot of these guys, like Jason Burdett has been in this sport for a long time, he’s my car chief, said that’s the most fun he’s ever had in a season in the sport ever. That was the biggest compliment. I took it personally as a compliment. I know he meant he was really enjoying himself.”
Now this year with the new Chase format, Earnhardt has virtually already locked himself into the Chase and says that this is just the start of what is to come. Earnhardt compared it to when he used to go go-karting.
“You know, when you’re a kid, especially when you’re growing up around racing, me and all my buddies would go to pay to ride the go-kart ride, whatever racetrack we were at. Every racetrack, Talladega, every place would have them. We’d get a hundred bucks from daddy and go ride the go-karts till the wheels fell off, till we ran out of money,” he said. “On that last ride, you let it all hang out. You didn’t care if you got kicked off. If you didn’t get kicked off, something was wrong, on the last ride. This is Steve’s last ride. He’s going to let the rough side drag all year. He’s got a little racing left in him, I think he’s going to try to get it all out. That’s good for me. I’m fortunate to be on the ride with him.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Promises to “Seize the Moment” After Winning his Second Daytona 500
After a rain delayed start, Dale Earnhardt Jr. earned a hard fought victory in a thrilling Daytona 500 under the lights at Daytona International Speedway. The joy on his face was unmistakable as he took a victory lap around the track to celebrate with thousands of his fans.
This was Earnhardt’s second Daytona 500 victory but that did not diminish the excitement level of the celebration. And although he could not decide which win was more satisfying, he savored every moment.
“When I crossed the finish line, I was relieved that I’ve done it again and I’ve done it with the people I’m with,” he said. ”Initially the reaction was, this is better because I’m back in Victory Lane. It’s different because it’s the people, you know. I was talking about that earlier. It’s better because you had a taste of it before. To win it the first time, you are blown away and sort of overwhelmed. The experience is a blur. It doesn’t sink in. You don’t absorb much of the whole thing. I can’t even remember half of it even after the fact, what we did that week. I don’t even remember going over and putting the car in there. It was just all so much of a flash.
“So now I realize that. I’m surrounded by so many great people. We got a great team. So many people are able to enjoy this. I’m reminded to let it sink in, reminded to enjoy it. I really enjoyed driving down in front of the fans there. I was having the time of my life inside that car going down the front straightaway.
“When I got to Victory Lane, I couldn’t wait to hug everybody, just enjoy it. Didn’t do that the first time ’cause you’re just blown away.
“So this one’s funner.”
This victory may also signal the beginning of a “new” Dale Earnhardt Jr., one who is willing to do whatever it takes to win.
This victory may also signal the beginning of a new era in Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s career as he seems to have found the missing ingredient
“There were a couple laps where I had to run Jeff Gordon right on the fence, down the turns, the straightaway, right on his door, to keep him from drafting by me. I hate to do that to my teammate. I hate to do that to anybody. But that’s what it took. That’s what you had to do,” he explained.
Earnhardt recounted conversations with crew chief Steve Letarte as they struggled last season to capture those elusive wins.
“I talked to Steve about how we were not in the right place at the end of these other races. We’d make a move and finish second. We knew we didn’t have a shot at winning, knew we didn’t have a shot at the leader at the end. Why? What do we need to do?” he asked.
“Tonight,” Earnhardt continued, “it was all about not giving an inch, not running fifth, not sitting there in fifth place all night and being okay with it. We wanted to be in the lead every lap, be in first every lap. That’s what my motive was.”
The victory at Daytona also means that he is guaranteed a spot in the Chase as long as he enters the next 25 races of the NASCAR Sprint Cup regular season and remains in the top 30 in points.
But even as he celebrates this victory, Earnhardt is anticipating a season of continued success.
“We have a lot of confidence coming off such a strong year, obviously winning this race. Our confidence couldn’t be higher,” he emphasized. “Confidence is a great thing. It’s half of the battle, you know, being confident in what you’re doing. When you have the most, you’re in perfect situations to have some good things happen, so hopefully we can seize the moment.”
This is only the first race of the season but for Dale Earnhardt Jr. fans, it doesn’t get much better than this.
Who is Landon Cassill?
Who is Landon Cassill? That’s a good question.
He might be the most anonymous driver in the Cup series right now. I could probably count on one hand how often he was mentioned yesterday on FOX. But yet he spent most of the Daytona 500, the biggest race in America, in the top 15, finished 12th in a go or go-home car, and got an 18 race sponsor the day before the 500. Why isn’t anybody in the media talking about this? Who knows? But to his fans, this anonymous success isn’t new.
A quick biography on Cassill before 2012:
He was a development driver for Hendrick Motorsports for a few years, drove a limited schedule in the No. 5 car in the NASCAR Nationwide Series for JR Motorsports and won the 2008 Rookie of the Year in the Nationwide Series but was let go for unknown reasons. In 2009 he only made one start in the NNS before getting a chance in the Sprint Cup Series in 2010 for longtime owner James Finch. Finch, who won Talladega the year before with Brad Keselowski in the greatest finish, in my view, since the 1979 Daytona 500, needed a driver to make the Michigan race, as the No. 09 car was a go or go-homer. Landon made it and spent the remainder of the year driving for a variety of owners. In 2011 Cassill was the full time driver for Finch beginning with the Fontana race, excluding the road course events. He made every event and had four top 20s.
In 2012, Cassill joined the BK Racing team, a team formed from the ashes of the former Red Bull Racing NASCAR team. It came together about a month before Daytona, and somehow they put two cars on the track for all of 2012. Due to being such a young team Cassill underperformed this season, but he and the team began to show promise near the end of the season, starting ninth at Michigan and had nine top 30s in the final 10 races.
In 2013, Cassill left BK Racing over a major contract dispute and joined Joe Falk’s team after Daytona. Falk had made a return the previous season into Cup Racing when Richard Childress Racing closed down the 33 team and sold the assets to Falk. Falk had seen a lot of struggle in 2012. Even though his primary driver Stephen Leicht won the Rookie of the Year he did not qualify for 6 races. Leicht also had one single top 30 finish in 15 starts.
This is where Cassill really started to shine. He took the 33 car, didn’t miss a single race the entire season, and had five top 30s after the second Daytona race. Unlike Leicht he brought a variety of sponsors to the team, such as Moon Shine Attitude Attire, Justin Original Workboots, KCI Kansas City, Precon Machine, Bicycle NASCAR Trading Cards, Interstate Moving Services, CRC Brakleen, ERC Acquired TMone, and Pirate Oilfield Services. While most of these were one race deals, Moon Shine was on Landon’s car alone for nine races, and only Precon Machine had been with Leicht. Falk’s team eventually grew to include the 40 car, an R&D team that was usually shared by Cassill and journeyman Tony Raines. The two drivers alternated between cars, with Raines typically parking whatever car he was in.
Last week, not only did Cassill race his way into the Daytona 500 in the No. 40 while the No. 33 was being “rented out” by RCR, but he also got Falk a new sponsor for 18 races (Nabi Tablets), spent most of the Daytona 500 in the top 15, and tied his career best finish of 12th in the Sprint Cup series.
Now, a lot of people may believe that Cassill isn’t that great because he hasn’t had a top 10 or won a race in the Sprint Cup Series. But Cassill never had the equipment or the money to compete up front with guys like Jimmie Johnson or Kyle Busch, yet he is consistently making races. He’s only missed two Cup races in his entire career, woos sponsors, and finishes in the top half of the field more times than not. I think of it like the Olympics. Some events have like 50 people competing in them, and some people are going to write off the guy who finishes 20th or 22nd. The reality is that these are the top 50 people in the entire world at what they do and just being there is impressive enough, never mind beating 20 or 30 of them.
Can Cassill win races? Yes, eventually. The only question is if he’ll get an honest shot to. If he keeps doing what he has been doing the past few years though, I think it’s only a matter of time.
