Danica Patrick Suffers Crashes During Speedweeks, But Continues to Learn

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February 29, 2012

[media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignnone” width=”270″][/media-credit]Coming into Speedweeks 2012, things were looking up for Danica Patrick as it was supposed to be a weekend of learning and a weekend where she could do well. Instead, the weekend became one that ended in a headach as in each of the three races she ran, she was involved in a wreck.

The crashes began on last Thursday afternoon with the Gatorade Duel. For the majority of the race, Patrick had stayed out of trouble, testing the waters and running as high as sixth at one point.

However, she wouldn’t make it to the finish. On the last lap, she hit the inside wall hard after contact from Aric Almirola on the final lap.

“I got valuable practice time,” she said afterwards. “But it is never a good feeling for me to not be able to drive the car back to the pits and something about me feels guilty when I see that Go Daddy is all broken up along the side.”

Patrick didn’t let that bring her down for long as the next day, she won the pole for the Nationwide Series DRIVE4COPD 300. She wanted to win the pole for crew chief Tony Eury Jr., as it meant the first Nationwide Series Daytona pole for him despite all the success he had with cousin Dale Earnhardt Jr. in that series.

“Tony builds really good cars and the guys that helped him do that, did a really good job,” she says “I’m really thrilled for Tony Jr.; this is something that he wanted. So for me to push the pedal and give that to him, it feels really good.”

The race wouldn’t go as planned as despite leading laps early, she would be taken out on lap 49 after contact from her teammate Cole Whitt.

“I don’t think it’s ever great when teammates come together,” Patrick said. “We’ll have to figure out what happened and move forward.”

Patrick quickly displayed her displeasure with Whitt over the radio, which Whitt responded by saying, “I wouldn’t expect her to be happy about it. I wouldn’t be happy about it either. I don’t know why anyone would expect her to be like, ‘Oh yeah, that’s great.’ ”

After her wreck in the Gatorade Duel, she would have to start at the back of the Daytona 500. Her race wouldn’t last long as she would be collected in a second lap incident that started when Elliot Sadler got into Jimmie Johnson. Her team would get the car fixed and she would go back out to run some laps.

“Any lap that I turn is progression,” she said. “That’s why I was proud of them for getting me on the track. Was there much to gain for me to get back on track? No. But there was experience as I got back up in pack.”

Patrick would finish in 38^thin her cup debut, but picked up valuable knowledge.

“I honestly I think I picked up a lot of tips and honestly, I wish the race would’ve been a single file line at the beginning like it was when I got back up there,” she said.

As the weekend went, Patrick learned more about the draft and that was most evident in the Nationwide Series. Before the incident with Whitt, she had led a portion of the race, first with help from Earnhardt Jr., and then with help from Tony Stewart.

The success she did have within the wrecks shows that she has picked up lessons since beginning in NASCAR in 2010. When she first started, she was barely running at a competitive pace.

“I’m pleased with some of the stuff that’s gotten better over the year – I can think of the first race here where I was struggling to keep up,” she said. “Then now you can drop the green flag in a Cup race and I’m just hanging out. I know the rules are different, but the level of comfort and proximity of cars next to each other and front and back, and obviously has been improved.”

Her improvement had Elliott Sadler call her the most improved driver in NASCAR’s top three divisions from the beginning of 2011 till now.

“That’s appreciated and I have worked really hard and I’m lucky I drive for a good team that has good resources,” she said when told that. “Tony Jr. is a really, good accomplished crew chief. On the Cup side, we haven’t seen a lot of the great people around me there too, and some really good experience teammates.

“That’s a nice pat on the back; I appreciated that. I still recognize that I have a lot to learn, but I’ve been able to do this in a nice way. I’ve had the backing from the beginning from Go Daddy and it’s been nice because instead of having to go out and show what I’m made of every week, got the most amount spots possible and be desperate. I’ve never had to feel like that. I’ve been able to sit back and observe, not step outside of my comfort zone, because I’ve had a plan since the beginning and so few drivers get that ability to plan long-term and have someone that’s there for them who will follow them wherever they go.”

One of the keys to Patrick being able to pick up as many as lessons as she has is that she doesn’t rest on her laurels. She knows that there is lots that she is going to have to learn.

Going into the Nationwide race, despite winning the pole, she knew it was going to be a challenge.

“It’s going to come down to bump drafting, and being good at that,” she says. “Good at swapping, good at keeping the engine cool, good at keeping in a pack, good at keeping connected, good at strategy so when you pit, you pit with your partner and you don’t get left alone at any point. There’s a lot of stuff that’s going to happen during the race that we’re going to have to manage, so it doesn’t change our strategy.”

Next week at Phoenix International Raceway marks her next challenge. She won’t be running the Sprint Cup race, but the Nationwide race will have its own challenges. Patrick has made three starts at Phoenix, with her best finish being 17^th, which she scored last spring.

This year is all about learning and getting ready for the full Sprint Cup schedule in 2013. Certainly the tricky oval in the dessert will teach her some more.

Surprising and Not Surprising: The Daytona 500

By

SM Staff

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February 28, 2012

[media-credit name=”Credit: Todd Warshaw/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Often called the Great American Race, this year’s 2012 Daytona 500 was most certainly one of the most memorable ones, including buckets of rain, a major conflagration, and even texting direct from the track.

Here is what was surprising and not surprising from the much-delayed, first ever prime time under the lights running of the 2012 Great American Race.

Surprising: While the Daytona 500 has always been unpredictable, it was surprising just how many bizarre occurrences there were during this race, causing many to wonder if this superspeedway now possessed some of its own demons, similar to sister superspeedway Talladega.

The first in the string of strange happenings was the massive amounts of rain that descended on the track on Sunday. This led to the first ever postponement of the Great American Race, which was initially rescheduled until NOON on Monday.

When the rain continued to fall on Monday morning, the next unpredictable moment occurred as NASCAR then rescheduled the race until 7:00 PM on Monday evening. This ensured the 2012 Daytona 500 a place in history as the first ever Great American Race run not only under the lights, but also in a coveted prime-time slot.

The final bizarre event happened on Lap 160, when Juan Pablo Montoya lost control of his No. 42 Target Chevrolet and plowed into a safety jet drier, sending both up in flames. The burning of 200 gallons of jet fuel delayed the race for almost two hours as the track safety crews scrambled to not only to douse the flames but repair the track.

“I have hit a lot of things,” JPM said. “But a jet dryer? I mean, no.”

When all was said and done, this 2012 Daytona 500 will most likely go down in history for its surprising length, taking a day and half to run. This Great American race started on Monday evening and ran into the wee hours of Tuesday morning, capping off a 36 hour delay from its original start time.

Jeff Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, summed it up best. “That had to be the craziest Daytona 500 I’ve ever seen.”

Not Surprising: Since the Ford camp had been strong all Speedweeks long, it was no surprise to see one end up in Victory Lane. Matt Kenseth, in his No. 17 Best Buy Ford, took the checkered flag, giving Ford back to back Daytona 500 victories.

This was the 13^th overall Daytona 500 win for the manufacturer, Kenseth’s second Daytona 500 victory in a Ford, and the second Daytona 500 win for team owner Jack Roush. Kenseth joined Bill Elliott and Dale Jarrett as the only three Ford drivers to win the Daytona 500 more than once.

“It’s nice to go the whole distance and survive a green, white, checkered because you just don’t know what’s going to happen in these race,” Kenseth said. “I wasn’t expecting to win when I woke up this morning, so it feels good to be sitting here.”

“It’s really hard to win these races,” Kenseth continued. “The older you get and the more you race, you realize how hard it is and you really try to enjoy all those moments.”

Surprising: It was surprising to see just how hard hit the Hendrick Motorsports teams were during this running of the Daytona 500. With the exception of Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who finished second in his No. 88 Diet Mountain Dew/National Guard Chevrolet, the rest of the HMS drivers all finished 29^th or worse.

Five time champion Jimmie Johnson’s troubles started early when he crashed out on Lap 2. The driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet sustained a wicked hit to the driver’s door in the early race melee.

“That side hit was hard,” Johnson said. “I could feel help from behind that just turned me around.”

“When I was sitting in the middle of the race track, I knew at some point someone was going to come along,” Johnson continued. “David Ragan had nowhere to go and I unfortunately got drilled by him pretty hard.”

Four time champion Jeff Gordon also had difficulties, but of a different sort. His No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet blew an engine on lap 81 of the race.

“Boy, it’s a shame,” Gordon said. “This just came out of nowhere.”

“First it popped and then it sent up in a big ball of flames,” Gordon continued. “That is never good. So, I knew our night was done.”

This DNF marked the first time that Jeff Gordon failed to compete at least half of a NASCAR race since April 2008 at Texas Motor Speedway.

Not Surprising: With Fords ruling and Matt Kenseth in the winner’s circle, it was no surprise that history was also made for Roush Fenway Racing, scoring the team’s 300^th win. Rough Fenway Racing is the first team ever in NASCAR history to achieve such a milestone.

“This is a special night,” team owner Jack Roush said. “Matt is a real champion and he is really good at these restrictor tracks.”

“Our Fords, the guys did a nice job and Ford Motor Company gave us a lot of support over the winter,” Roush continued. “We certainly had several ways to win it tonight and there are always ample ways to lose as well.”

“Matt did a great job tonight,” Roush said. “It’s great to celebrate our 300^th win here with the 54^th Daytona 500.”

Surprising: While many considered it ‘gimmicky’, it was surprising that the racers seemed to take the halfway bonus pretty seriously. Reminiscent of his lead at the halfway point last year in the Great American Race, Martin Truex, Jr. scored the $200,000 halfway leader bonus, with a little help from ‘friend’ Denny Hamlin.

“We led laps and led at halfway for the bonus,” the driver of the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota said. “It was a good day all in all. We just didn’t lead at the end.”

Truex Jr. finished 12^th, right behind Michael Waltrip Racing teammates Mark Martin, who finished tenth in his No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota, and Clint Bowyer, who scored the 11^th spot in his No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota.

Not Surprising: Given all the machinations NASCAR made in response to the fans’ and drivers’ concerns about tandem racing, it was no surprise that pack racing was back. And the drivers seemed to be please that it was.

“I like the rule changes,” Dale Earnhardt, Jr. said. “It definitely suits my style better and I can do things on my own.”

“In the old package you needed someone else the entire race and that’s not fun.”

Surprising: While most of the NASCAR drivers, teams, and yes even the orange cone have gotten into the use of social media, it was surprising to see it taken to yet another level at this year’s Daytona 500.

Brad Keselowski, driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge apparently had his phone with him during the race and took the opportunity to not only tweet a few pictures when the race was red flagged, but also to check the weather at the request of some of his fellow competitors.

Demonstrating the power of social media, particularly Twitter, Keselowski actually gained more than 130,000 new followers as a result of his connectedness out on the race track and the media attention that garnered.

While Keselowski acknowledged the power of the social media, he would have traded it for one thing.

“I gained a lot of followers but I’ll take the win first,” Keselowski said.

Not Surprising: With all the strange happenings on the race track, it was not surprising that the debut of the third female driver to compete in the Great American Race was somewhat eclipsed. Danica Patrick made her Cup debut in the No. 10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet for Tommy Baldwin Racing in cooperation with Stewart Haas Racing.

Patrick ended up finishing 38^th after getting collected in the multi-car crash involving Jimmie Johnson and others on lap 2 of the race. She will not race again in the Cup Series until May 12^th at Darlington.

“I kind of feel like I almost need to put the whole week in perspective,” Patrick said. “It’s just been up and down, from running good in the Duels to crashing on the last lap, to qualifying on the pole, to running well in the Nationwide race to crashing.”

“A lot of this stuff is obviously out of your control at times,” Patrick continued. “But I learned a lot and I got a lot of great experience.”

Surprising: With the Toyota of Kyle Busch looking strong after a win in the Bud Shootout, it was a bit surprising that teammate Denny Hamlin ended up being the highest Toyota finisher in the Daytona 500.

“We were right where we wanted to be,” Hamlin said of the end of his race, finishing fourth. “But we didn’t have any teammates up there and those two Roush cars up front had a good plan and executed it really well.”

“We had an awesome effort this weekend,” the driver of the No. 11 FedEx Toyota said. “We didn’t qualify well and we didn’t finish that well in the Duel, but we showed that we had one of the best cars today.”

As pleased as Hamlin was, Kyle Busch, who took his No. 88 M&M’s Brown Toyota Camry to a 17^th place finish, was most disappointed.

“I thought we were in a good spot late in the race, but a couple of cars got together behind me and I got clipped,” Busch said. “We were in the back of the line and we couldn’t make anything happen.”

“It’s disappointing to be down here for two weeks and have nothing to show for it.”

Not Surprising: Sadly, but not surprisingly, there was no Cinderella winner at this year’s Daytona 500. Defending champ Trevor Bayne’s repeat fairy-tale performance was thwarted by the wreck that swept up Jimmie Johnson in the early laps of the race.

“I have no idea what happened,” the driver of the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion said. “I got low and slowed down and at the last second I think it was the 34 car that hit us in the right side door and put us into the grass.”

“Man, this is tough,” Bayne continued. “I hate this for my Ford Racing team but we’ll be back.”

The Final Word – You would think Phoenix just has to be tamer than Daytona, but…

By

Ron Thornton

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February 28, 2012

[media-credit name=”Credit: Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”243″][/media-credit]Okay, just what in sam hill was that? In the end, it was Matt Kenseth being chased by Greg Biffle and Dale Earnhardt Jr coming home, with all appearing to have a shot at the win. In the end, it was Kenseth taking his second Daytona 500, and Junior beating out Biffle to be the runner up. That, my friends, proved to be one of this event’s most boring moments. Really.

Where do you start when reflecting upon the Bizarro 500? The rain that finally managed to wash out a Sunday 500? A Daytona 500 starting under the lights on Monday? Maybe you liked the 1.1 laps put in by Jimmie Johnson before Elliott Sadler tagged his inside back fender. By the time they were done beating the stuffings out of ole Jimmie his Chevy was done for a 42nd place finish and two big points in the standings. It also turned the days of Kurt Busch (39th) , Danica Patrick (38th), and Trevor Bayne (35th) into total crap. That was just the beginning.

Maybe you liked the optics of Ryan Newman’s adventure. Tire goes down, he goes sliding, then comes to the pits for help. Well, there are all kinds of help, but Newman probably wasn’t planning on leaving the pits at the same time his tire was leaving his car, causing A.J. Allmendinger to rear end him. After that, a 21st place finish probably wasn’t all that bad, but others were not so fortunate.

Sometimes you wreck, get things put back together, then pad on a few more laps even after your own race is basically done. Then there are times you just plain blow up. Jeff Gordon was riding around when all of a sudden he waved for folks to go by. Why? Well, the explosion under the hood gave us the answer. Gordon was done on the spot, logging a 40th place result. I mean, the best recovery probably was that of Clint Bowyer, who actually ran out of gas and still managed 11th.

Sometimes no fuel is better than a full tank, like a full tank of jet fuel to run a track dryer. Juan Pablo Montoya left the pits under caution, tried to catch up to the field all the while complaining about his car, which immediately broke in to a high speed sideways slide into the rear of the truck to liven things up just a bit. The FOX folks came out of a commercial break to show Montoya (36th) crawling out of a car that it looked like somebody had stomped it into the ground as a Texas style barbecue shot flames high into the air along the outside fence. The good news is that while some may have taken a bit of a lickin’ on this night they all kept on tickin’.

You would have to think that even with 30 less hours to get set for the race at Phoenix this Sunday, that event should be a much tamer affair from what we had just witnessed. That is, unless you consider events of Phoenix races past. There was that Lap 66 mess last year involving Andy Lally, Bobby Labonte, Brian Vickers, Casey Mears, Clint Bowyer, David Gilliland, David Ragan, David Reutimann, Jamie McMurray, Jeff Burton, Paul Menard, Robby Gordon, and Travis Kvapil. A few laps before that, Carl Edwards found himself heading to the garage in an incident that involved Kyle Busch and eventual race winner Jeff Gordon. Then there was the fall race that saw Vickers ambush Kenseth, never mind the carnage from the two Nationwide races. Oh, this does not bode well for tameness at all.

Back in the day, when I had hair and a higher voice, I loved watching figure eight racing. Sometimes it would feature solo cars, or two cars chained together, or maybe they even trailed a camper trailer. When they met at the intersection it would cause a joyous explosion of sheet metal and wreckage. While it has been years since I’ve seen these races, I understand the world championships still take place in Riverhead, New York, with other events featured across the United States.

Phoenix International Raceway is not amongst them, but you might be hard pressed to notice the difference as NASCAR action resumes this Sunday in the Subway 500. Enjoy the week.

Matt Kenseth gets more than he expected to from Daytona Speedweeks

By

SM Staff

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February 28, 2012

[media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photography, Inc.” align=”alignright” width=”248″][/media-credit]For as fast as Matt Kenseth’s No. 17 Best Buy Ford Fusion was winning his second Daytona 500 in four seasons wasn’t an easy Monday night drive.

Kenseth, who won a rain shortened event in 2009, won the 54^th Daytona 500 in a green-white-checkered finish over Dale Earnhardt Jr. and teammate Greg Biffle. He became just the ninth driver to win multiple Daytona 500’s and has broken the six-year streak of first time winners.

“It feels great, we even went overtime a little bit since we didn’t quite go the whole distance the first time we won it,” said Kenseth.

“Feels great. We had a really fast car all day, had a lot of adversity to overcome, a lot of problems with the car. We were able to get it figured out and had a great pit stop at the end that put us in position, and it feels great. I wasn’t expecting to win when I woke up this morning, so it feels good to be sitting here.”

Right from the green flag gremlins started to arise. For all 202 laps, 500 miles the team had problems with their radio either static or the team occasionally not being able to hear Kenseth. Fortunately he was able to hear the team and spotter Mike Calinoff.

Then came the water problems, the race wasn’t even 70 laps old. Before pit stops Kenseth told crew chief Jimmy Fennig to get the motor guys ready because they were going to have to work on the car. Fearing that something was keeping the water from staying inside the car, evident by the amount of water that started gushing from it during their pit stop.

But in another round of good fortune Kenseth was able to stay on the lead lap and by the time the race hit the lap 150 mark he was back in the mix.

From there Kenseth dodged the wrecks, a fire and a green-white-checkered finish to lead the final 38 laps, 50 total, on his way to his 22nd career win. It was the second Daytona 500 win for himself and Fennig who won with Bobby Allison in 1988. It was Roush Fenway’s 300^th career win.

Kenseth’s win capped off Roush’s week long domination. Biffle and Carl Edwards sat on the front row for the Daytona 500, Kenseth started fourth after winning his Gatorade Duel race last Thursday. Then they finished one, three, eight Monday’s race.

“I think the 16 had one of the strongest cars all week, and I think ours was right there, as well,” said Kenseth. “Our car for some reason was a lot faster out front than it was in traffic. It took a long time to get to the front. But like Thursday once we were in the front, it was hard for anybody to get locked onto you.”

Lessons from Thursday’s Duel helped in the 500. Kenseth knew what his car liked and didn’t like, what it could do and what others would be able to do behind him. But until the very end Kenseth was waiting for Biffle and Earnhardt Jr. to make a run at him, at least he entered turn three and saw that he was sitting pretty.

“Greg, if he could have passed me on the last lap or two laps to go or whatever, he certainly would have,” Kenseth said.

“But we did have a pretty good plan on restarts that worked well together to help both of us get to first and second and get in line, because that’s where our cars were strong was on the bottom when we got in line like that. It was a good combination of working together, trying to help each other, and it was best for both of us to get the best position we could get.”

The position it puts Kenseth in is Daytona 500 winner and current point leader. Still disappointed over how his 2011 Chase ended, he’s looking for more this upcoming season. Heading to Phoenix, where he’s a past winner, Kenseth knows the real season is about to begin and he’s anxious to show he’s ready to contend for the championship again.

“Last year was a great year for us,” Kenseth said. “I think we went almost two years without a win or something like that. So last year was a really special year. I really still to this moment feel like I really let these guys down in the Chase, but I feel like we ran good enough in the Chase performance-wise and as far as what the team gave me to use and what Jimmy did and the pit crew did to race for a championship and we were able to win a few races along the way.

“We were in position to win a few more that we didn’t win. Last year was a great year for us. I think it built a lot of confidence. It really made me feel good and be happy. So you always hope after the offseason to go into the next season and be strong. You never expect to come down here and win, but I didn’t expect to be as strong as we were down here. So I’m real anxious to get to the next few tracks and see how we are.”

The Only Thing Missing from the Daytona 500 was the Locusts

By

SM Staff

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February 28, 2012

[media-credit name=”Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”286″][/media-credit]There was something in the air on Sunday that you just kind of knew that NASCAR had once again been beaten by its arch nemesis Mother Nature. The monsoons like rains were unrelenting and the track was being to resemble the Everglades more than NASCAR’s crown jewel Daytona International Speedway. But what was to come no one could have possibly predicted.

History was made during this years Daytona 500. It was a foregone conclusion that history was going to be made regardless of who won when NASCAR vice president Mike Helton announced that the Daytona 500 would be run during prime time on Monday evening. Fox broadcasting was in. All of its affiliates and stations would broadcast the rain delayed season opener during its most expensive broadcast time frame. Starting at 7PM EST and running to its conclusion. It would be the wee hours of Tuesday morning before the sport would crown its Daytona champion for 2012. But it was all that happened in between the start and finish that would make it memorable.

The anticipation on the starting grid was thick you could almost cut it with a knife. 43 of the best stock car drivers in the world had waited 36 hours to get the Daytona 500 underway. They were ready to race. They were under the lights. They were in prime time. The pressure of the 500 is normally pretty high but this made it more so.

The classic under the lights phenomenon took place early on. The cool night temperatures and the lights take us back to our roots of Saturday night racing and always bring a more aggressive driver to the track. That aggression showed it’s head on the second lap of the race in the form of a multi-car pile up that took out 5 time Jimmie Johnson and involved the sports new star Danica Patrick.

Patrick who was a victim of other people’s crashes in every race that she ran at Daytona sat patiently and dejectedly in her mangled car while crew chief Greg Zipadelli and team made the extensive repairs to get her back on the track. Many of her detractors pointed fingers and said see she can’t drive. However, the truth was light years from that. The truth was that she showed the guts and tenacity of her muse the honey badger. She refused to quit. Even when she had made up as many spots as possible and was given the option of parking the severely injured Go Daddy Chevrolet she persevered. At the end of the 6 hour race she exited her car pale and obviously exhausted with a smile and the patience to answer the mass of media’s questions. Her skill set is lacking yes. But so is the skill set of every other rookie who has ever driven a cup car at Daytona including names like Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt Jr, Rusty Wallace, Ken Schrader and yes even Richard Petty. She showed however, that she has the tenacity to acquire the skill set with help from her team and teammates.

The racing calmed down for many laps with the Roush boys showing the way for most of the race. There were some blown engines due to anomalies that couldn’t be explained completely but were attributed to the rain delay and the moisture’s effect on the gauges, including 4 time champion Jeff Gordon whose Hendrick Motorsports AARP Chevy expired very early on.

The next real excitement would come for the $200,000 half way bonus. The pack surged, positions were traded wholesale and from the middle of the pack a long shot emerged and with help from Greg Biffle’s Ford, Martin Truex Jr would claim the big half way pay day.

But the biggest and strangest event of the night was triggered when the yellow flew with 40 laps to go. Juan Pablo Montoya knew he had a problem. The car was vibrating violently in every gear. But he had no warning when the car suddenly snapped to the right and into a truck drawn jet blower and then slide to the bottom of the track. The driver of the jet blower and Juan Pablo Montoya were not injured. But the grand jewel of NASCAR was not so lucky. 200 gallons of jet fuel and diesel ignited out of the third turn setting the track all the way to the grass and including the safer barrier on fire. The spectacular fire could be seen for miles in the night sky.

The red flag found drivers racing for the porta johns and Brad Keselowski tweeting the activity to world on his phone. The 2 hour delay pushed the Daytona 500 into the wee hours of the morning Tuesday.

The damage to the track was minimal and patched and the cars again fired to take the green. The race would see more cautions including the final which would collect current champion Tony Stewart. Stewart would restart the race on a Green White Checker deep in the pack with a car whose tow was out 2 to 3 inches according to radio communications with crew chief Steve Addington. Stewart would finish a disappointing 16th on the lead lap and moving through towards the front.

The race win would go to Matt Kenseth in the Best Buy Ford. Kenseth would hold off the tandem of Greg Biffle and Dale Earnhardt Jr for the win. Earnhardt Jr would make a last turn pass and run to take second.

One would think that all the strangeness that could possibly effect a race would be done, especially since the checkered flag had flown and the winner had been crowned. But not so in this case, within an hour of the finish of the race the track was enveloped in a thick dense fog that shut down the airport and prevented drivers and teams from leaving the track until Tuesday morning.

Today, many are talking about the jet dryer crash and TV ratings are the highest for any race in Fox Broadcast history. They are talking about Brad Keselowski’s tweeting during the red flag. NASCAR says that he broke no rules and there will be no fines. They are talking about the fact that Greg Biffle could not advance on Matt Kenseth in the final two laps of the races even with a pusher. Some say he was protecting Kenseth’s win. Some say he found the new catch in the aero package two cars are no longer faster than one or the pack. Some are talking about Danica’s Daytona Fizzle. Frankly, those folks are just wrong. Danica’s misfortunes were not of her own making and she showed a great deal of skill and tenacity. The one thing that no one is talking about this year is a boring race, because this may very well have been the most memorable Daytona 500 in history.

Congratulations to Matt Kenseth on his Daytona 500 victory. It was well deserved.

Kudos to Dale Earnhardt Jr and his 88 team on an incredible run it is an incredible start to what promises to be an even better year.

Kudos to Tony Stewart and his Office Depot team for pushing the envelope to the max with a car that would have been near impossible to drive for some.

Kudos to Denny Hamlin for showing the strongest and most dedicated performance all night only to come up a little bit short at the very end.

Congratulations to James Beuscher on his NNS win. And to John King on his NCWTS win.

That said, to all the competitors in all the series thanks for giving us everything you have to give, you are our heroes. Most importantly, thanks to all the families who shared their loved ones with us so we could cheer our favorite driver and favorite teams. You are the true heroes of the sport and we are forever in your debt.

Jimmie Johnson’s campaign for a six pack gets off to a rough start in Daytona

By

SM Staff

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February 28, 2012

[media-credit id=42 align=”alignright” width=”223″][/media-credit]Since he won the big race back in 2006 Jimmie Johnson hasn’t had very fond memories of the Daytona 500.

Monday night proved to be more of the same when the five-time champion’s bid for a second 500 win ended on lap two. Johnson was running in the outside lane when contact from Elliott Sadler sent him head-on into the outside wall. As other cars piled in behind Johnson was hit again in the driver’s side door by David Ragan.

Johnson would be able to walk away with only the wind knocked out of him. He’d be OK though, just a bit confused on what had happened since the field was still coming up to speed.

“We were all just trying to make our lane work,” said Johnson. “A lot of energy in the lane, I was kind of pushing the 78 [Regan Smith] a little bit. I could feel some help from behind, just turned me around. Sent me down to the inside lane and back up to the outside lane. When I was sitting in the middle of the racetrack, I knew at some point someone was going to come along unfortunately. David Ragan had nowhere to go. I unfortunately got drilled by him pretty hard.”

Johnson was credited with a 42^nd place finish on Monday, another race to forget. Since his 2006 victory Johnson hasn’t finished higher than 27th and has started his season from the garage. Even worse for Johnson and company was how early the wreck happened.

All the hard work during the offseason, testing in early January and excitement about not only the season starting but the biggest race of the year, almost a waste of time. After being in Daytona for almost two weeks practicing and racing, then waiting out the rain Sunday and into Monday night, only to head back home before he even broke a sweat.

“I’m just really bummed out for this whole Lowe’s team,” Johnson said. “To work as hard as everyone did at Hendrick Motorsports to get this Lowe’s Chevrolet and to have it barely complete two-and-a-half miles of green flag racing is pretty sad. Disappointed, but nothing I can do about it now. We’ll just go on and go to Phoenix and set out marks on winning that race.”

But unfortunately for Johnson his Daytona tale doesn’t end there. While he’s won at Phoenix four times he might have to do so this weekend either without crew chief Chad Knaus or lighter in the pocket and in points. The 48 team is now playing the waiting game to see what penalties, if any, NASCAR hands down from the car failing initial inspection for the Daytona 500 last week.

The 48 had illegally modified C-posts, the sheet metal between the roof and the rear quarter panel. NASCAR did not eject Chad Knaus had they had done in 2006, saying in part because the infraction took place before qualifying. The team had to fly new pieces down to Daytona and fix the car before they could get on track.

However, NASCAR President said it was highly likely the team would be penalized following the running of the Daytona 500. Johnson currently sits 37^th in the standings with only two points.