It’s time for the restrictor plate racing fiasco to end; Bring back the ‘Great America Race’

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February 17, 2011

Multiple rule changes, restrictor plates, pushing….pushing….pushing, overheating, two-car tandems and bump drafting equals nothing but failure at Daytona.

[media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]This years Daytona Shootout and the Gatorade Duels are everything except the excitement expected from the “Great American Race”. NASCAR’s new attempts and new changes have failed miserably. The changes only prove to be a different look and style of racing, but still lack in any excitement.

Heading into speedweeks, the two-car tandems appeared to be a new exciting style of racing. But that was quickly dissolved after a few laps in Saturday nights shootout and you quickly realized that yes this is a different look, but it’s still horrible racing and the new rules did nothing but “smoke and mirrors” to the real problem, the restrictor plates along with unsatisfactory rule changes.

With speeds exceeding 205 mph, on Wednesday, NASCAR made yet another change by trimming the restrictor plate openings by one-64th of an inch, reducing engine output by about 10 horsepower in attempt to lower the speeds for safer conditions. The change reduced speeds by approximately 5-6 mph but did nothing to provide adequate racing that fans come from all around the world to see. 1–2–3 strikes………..your out!

On Saturday night we also witnessed another huge issue at Daytona, the yellow line rule. The rule that was implemented for safer racing, but only yet again handicaps racing and either results in a horrible finish or very unsafe conditions (if a driver gets spun out because they do not want to go below the line).

So what’s the answer?….. I have no idea except this is not it!

SM PICK ‘EM: Daytona 500

By

SM Staff

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February 17, 2011

New for 2011 is the SpeedwayMedia.com Pick ‘Em game! Each week, our panel of writers will make their picks for Sprint Cup Series races, picking a driver they really think will win, a darkhorse driver and tell us why they picked the way they did.

Throughout the season, we’ll collect, tally and tabulate the points. They’ll get five points if their “Who I Really Think Will Win” pick wins, three points for a top-five finish, one point if the pick finished 6th through tenth, and no points if they finish outside of the top-ten. The same points apply for darkhorse picks, except points are doubled. So, if the driver the writer thinks will actually win does win and the writer’s darkhorse pick finishes second, they will earn 11 points.

Every Thursday, the Pick ‘Em column will be posted along with updated points standings.

RACE: Daytona 500
DATE: February 20

Last week: Only four writers sucessfully picked a driver who finished in the top-ten and each received one point for doing so.

1. Jeffrey Boswell – 1
1. Kyle Brandt – 1
1. Kyle Ocker – 1
1. Mark Odor – 1
5. Ashley McCubbin – 0
5. Barry Albert – 0
5. Ben Gunby – 0
5. Ed Coombs – 0
5. Matt LaFlair – 0
5. Roberta Cowan – 0
11. Ryan O’Hara – NP

KYLE OCKER

Who I Really Think Will Win: Kevin Harvick

Dark Horse Pick: Trevor Bayne

I’m resisting the strong urge of picking Dale Earnhardt Jr. to win this race, while it pains me to do so. The Earnhardt Childress Racing engines are as close to the best as they can get, it’s tough to pick a driver who hasn’t won in I forgot how long that moved to a new shop and has a new crew over a proven setup in Kevin Harvick. Trevor Bayne was quick in qualifying, quick in practice. On these restrictor plate races, you never know who is going to win.

Ryan O’Hara

Who I think will really win: Jeff Gordon

My Dark Horse Pick: Greg Biffle

Comments: Gordon is motivated to get back into the winner circle and Biffle was ever so close of winning last year.

Roberta Cowan

Who I Really Think Will Win: Dale Earnhardt Jr.

I think he and Steve Letarte are out to make a point. They both have one to make.

Dark Horse: Kevin Harvick

Ed Coombs

WHO I REALLY THINK WILL WIN: Jeff Burton

MY DARK HORSE PICK: Dale Earnhardt Jr

COMMENTS (optional): I think that the winner will be someone who is running second through sixth when they take the white flag. Will one of my two picks be there? Who knows if they’ll survive the numerous wrecks cause by the bumper drafting that has them attached all the way around the track.

Jeff Burton had a strong car and drafting partner for the shootout and could win his first Daytona 500. I would not count either guy on the front row both some of the best restrictor plate guys out there BUT, it’s a new draft and as we saw during the shootout, it all depends on who you pair up with at the end as to where you’ll end up.

Jeffrey Boswell

Who I Really Think Will Win: Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
Dark Horse Pick: David Ragan
Comments: Junior pays tribute to Senior with a convincing win in the 500, then celebrates in the infield, spinning out and forming the number “3” in the grass.

Kyle BrandtWho I think will win:
Jeff Gordon – I was really impressed with the 24 in the Bud Shootout. The
Hendrick stable really seems to have their cars dialed in this year at Daytona.

Dark Horse Pick:
Juan Pablo Montoya – I think the 42 has chance to make a statement for himself
here. His experience with the high speeds and full throttle racing will put him
somewhere towards the front come Sunday Afternoon.

Matt LaFlair

Winner: Jeff Gordon. Besides being a three-time winner of the Great American Race, Gordon has been strong throughout Speedweeks thus far and will be starting on the front row for Sunday’s race.

Dark horse: Tony Stewart. I’m again riding the dark horse train for Stewart again this week. Restrictor plate racing has been feast or famine for him, but when it’s good- it’s really good!

And the First Shall be Last…

By

SM Staff

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February 17, 2011

It didn’t even take 24 hours for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. to make ESPN start Tony Kornheiser look foolish. Kornheiser had made a statement on his “Pardon the Interruption” TV show on Tuesday that had NASCAR Nation boiling. His comment that a female reporter who had covered NASCAR for years told him that there was a 60% chance that Junior winning the pole was “fixed” had everyone in an uproar. And then Dale Junior met Martin Junior. Or maybe the other way around.

In a practice long delayed by rain, the two juniors came up on some slower traffic and Martin Truex, Jr. nudged Dale Earnhardt, Jr. into the infield and introduced him to the wall. Earnhardt will not start on the front row for one of the Gatorade Duel qualifying races, and most likely, since he had to go to a backup car, not start on the pole for Sunday’s Great American Race.

What stock car novices like Kornheiser fail to understand is that it is nearly impossible to fix the outcome of anything in this sport, be it qualifying or the race itself. Why? Mainly because it’s an individual sport in many ways. Yes, one baseball player can attempt to throw a game by striking out on purpose with the bases loaded in a crucial situation or one football player can not run so hard to make a tackle, but they play on teams. And regardless of how much NASCAR folks talk about teams, it’s still an individual sport. Just watch how these drivers will abandon a teammate on the last lap if they think they have a chance to win.

Many of us old-timers remember the Autoweek article penned by Al Pearce from several years ago. Pearce wrote a story called “The Call,” in which he said that many teams had intimated to him that NASCAR from time to time would “look the other way” for certain teams so that they would have a better chance to win. NASCAR denied it and there was no evidence that anyone ever got “the call.” Same situation here. Earnhardt beat Gordon on Pole Day by such a close margin that it seems impossible there was any hanky panky going on here.

It did seem like it was going to work out, though. Earnhardt has had many of those historic moments in his career, most recently his win in a Nationwide Series at Daytona last July in a car made to look like his father’s Wrangler car of days gone by. It made for good PR, but no one could ever say it was scripted.

So on the 10th anniversary of his father’s death, Dale Junior will have to race his way to the front without help from the sanctioning body. Just like he won the pole without NASCAR’s help. Feeling a little foolish, Tony? I didn’t think so.

Kurt Busch Wins First Gatorade Duel; Bill Elliott and JJ Yeley Race Into the Show

By

SM Staff

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February 17, 2011

On a balmy Thursday afternoon in the heart of NASCAR racing, Kurt Busch went two for two at Daytona, wining the first of two Gatorade Duel races after his Bud Shootout victory. JJ Yeley, who had to race his way into the show, did just that, along with veteran driver Bill Elliott.

[media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”238″][/media-credit]”This is just an incredible Speed Weeks,” Busch said. “I just don’t want it to end. We just keep doing everything right and it’s just amazing to be able to do this, find the right drafting partners out there to make it happen.”

“This is sweet,” Busch continued. “It’s amazing what partnerships can do out on the race track. When two guys can think the same way without saying a word, things are going to happen for those two guys.”

Busch also paid tribute to young driver Regan Smith, in the No. 78 for Furniture Row Racing, who successfully pushed not only Busch to victory but many of the other drivers who were in the lead throughout the race. Busch also gave credit to Brad Keselowski, his teammate with whom he has tested and who he hopes to partner with in the race on Sunday.

Bill Elliott, who has been having a very good weekend so far between his own performance and the signing of his son Chase by Hendrick Motor Sports, also raced his way in on time. Given that, Michael Waltrip, Daytona 500 winner from ten years ago, has a guaranteed starting spot in this special anniversary year.

“Coming in today we had a little bit of a cushion,” Elliott said. “But the key thing is when you get two really good cars working together, they’re going to be hard to beat. This is the same thing you’re going to see Sunday.”

JJ Yeley, driver of the No. 46 Red Line Oil Chevrolet, also raced his way onto NASCAR’s biggest stage. The driver, who had to have surgery to fuse his neck just last fall, was thrilled to have made the show.

“It’s awesome,” Yeley said. “I’ve never had to make the race on my own without being locked in. The stress that comes with not being locked in is tough and to know we had a lot of help out there, especially with Marcos Ambrose, we got where we needed to be.”

From the drop of the green flag, the race mirrored the Bud Shootout, with drivers almost immediately finding a partner and buddying up. Further back in the field, the drivers raced as a pack, at least for a bit, until finding their ideal mate.

Ryan Newman was the first driver to have problems early in the race, getting a nudge and going for a spin. Newman was able to recover, however, and ended the race in the tenth position.

While the duos found their speed together, some swapping back and forth was indeed needed to keep the engines cool, just as NASCAR had intended. Also interesting in this first true race on the new surface at Daytona was the fact that no teams had to take tires, most pitting for their sole stop to take fuel only.

The only other caution came late in the race for Michael McDowell, the driver of the No. 66 MRO HP Racing Toyota. McDowell’s chances at a place in the Daytona 500 expired in a huge puff of smoke, forcing a green white checkered finish.

But when the green flag flew for the final laps of the race, Busch, being pushed by Smith, emerged as the front runner, taking the checkered flag. With his win in the first Duel race, Busch will now move up into the pole position with Dale Earnhardt, Jr. having to go to the back of the field due to a practice wreck.

“It’s just going to be one of those moments in time that I’ll remember for a long time, leading the field to green,” Busch said. “I’ll just make sure to massage my calf so I don’t cramp up with Regan Smith behind me.”

With Kurt Busch as victor, Regan Smith, Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth and Kasey Kahne rounded out the top five finishers. Juan Pablo Montoya finished sixth, AJ Allmendinger finished seventh, and Mark Martin, Paul Menard and Ryan Newman completed the top ten in the first Duel race.

What?! Tony Stewart Has a Girlfriend…Say It Ain’t So!

By

SM Staff

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February 17, 2011

[media-credit id=22 align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]It’s just days away from the 53rd running of the Daytona 500. Finally, after three long months NASCAR fans have something with a little substance to talk about; but forget all the hype of who is sitting on the pole, all of those crazy conspiracy theories and speeds reaching upward of 206 MPH during last weekend’s Budweiser Shootout and focus on something that really matters…Tony Stewart’s love life.

Last week female fans across the land collectively lost their minds when former crew chief, Larry MacReynolds commented on the Stewart’s relationship status during the driver’s Shootout qualifying lap, naming Sprint Car driver Jessica Zemken as his girlfriend.

Like a dog whistle blowing in the wind, Stewart’s lady fans instantly stopped what they were doing, cocked their heads to the side to ensure proper processing of what they were hearing and then promptly freaked the hell out!

I know this because suddenly my Facebook, Twitter and cell phone blew up with messages and texts in an outrage over the news. It was like animal instinct Armageddon. You would have thought that the nation was under attack again based solely on the intensity of how fast my social networks were working; instead it was just poor Jessica who was taking the brunt of the terrorist attacks.

Naturally, in an attempt to write something factual and well researched, I Googled my subjects. In my quest to search of the real truth behind the vicious rumor, I stumbled upon a website dedicated to the brutal dissection of Stewart’s private life. Sweet Jesus, it was like striking gold! How did I go so long as a NASCAR fan without realizing that sites like this actually exist? Does every driver have one?

It was like hot buttered bliss drizzled atop a train wreck. It was cat calling at it’s finest from a bunch of house fraus that would never in a million years be able to snag themselves their own Tony Stewart, but by-god they can dream can’t they and once they realize that the glass slipper will never fit their own foot, they do what they do best, talk some smack until it makes them feel better about their own lives.

Ladies, are you really that surprised? This can’t possibly be the first time that you have heard her name romantically linked to Stewart. In 2009, she was photographed multiple times on pit road and in Victory Circle at Watkins Glen, a spot traditionally held for the driver’s wives or girlfriends.

That same year I ran into her while covering a race on the east coast. I was heading into an infield bathroom that is primarily used by media, track employees, drivers and their crews, along with their families and friends while Ms. Zemken was heading out. When I say ran into her, I mean I literally ran into her. I was the victim of an accidental “motor boating,” not sure what that term means? Google it, I promise it will not disappoint! While I can say that I do admire a good pair of chest cushions when I see one, my face had no business being in between them! Talk about your awkward situations, but let’s just say for the record that Tony is a very lucky man!

Look, who am I to judge anyone? I’m okay with a little harmless trash talking now and again, because somewhere, someone is talking smack about me, we are all fair game when it comes to scrutinizing and I admit that I enjoyed reading some of the posts on this bitchy blog, it was a good laugh, but before you go judging a pretty blond by her cover, open the book and flip through a couple pages and you’ll find that this one has a good storyline as well.

Zemken may look like a living Barbie, but she grew up with racing in her blood. Her father Ray was a DIRT modified racer who spawned Jessica’s passion for driving. She began racing on the go-kart track at the age of eight and with over 100 victories in that genre, set her sights on modified sprint cars just prior to her high school graduation.

Realizing at an early age that nothing comes easy and if you want it done right, then do it yourself. At the age of 17 she assembled her own race team and won the 2004 Utica-Rome Speedway Track Championship (located in Central N.Y.).

The following year she was competitively kicking ass and taking names. In 2010 she completed her first year as a driver with Tony Stewart Racing as a “true outlaw,” competing in 410 and 360 sprint car races, including stints in the World of Outlaws and All Star Circuit of Champions. The girl has a couple other assets under her fire suit, not just the obvious ones.

Alright, alright…I know that you don’t always want the meat because you’re too distracted by the potatoes and sadly this is one of those cases where others will overlook true attributes for the analyzing of the cosmetic appeal.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and if your driver is happy, can’t you just be happy for him? Maybe you should take a step back and give your own lives a little attention and stop playing the “Bitter, party of one” card.

The truth of the matter is that no one would ever be good enough for “your man” unless it were you. Am I right? We cut down others in order to make ourselves feel better, it is a glorious little savior at times, but some have turned it into a destruction filled art form. It has become a habit or hobby if you will to talk hurtful gibberish, add to that the veil of anonymity that the Internet provides and it becomes a cesspool for like-minded behavior.

Who has that kind of time? Not this girl and if I did, I would certainly be spending it on more valuable and rewarding activities, like writing about you! If I had a sassy little emoticon, I’d insert it right here. Probably that cute little winking smiley face that says “just kidding y’all,” or am I?

We are NASCAR fans ladies and to read that if you will “no longer buy” No. 14 swag or are setting your sights on another, more romantically available driver just because you hate who your driver has chosen as a mate is downright embarrassing to the rest of us!

Just know that I’ll still be wearing my Smoke gear proudly and will delight in the satisfaction of knowing that his soft cottony touch be all over me and not you. Scandalous isn’t it? See you on the message boards! (Insert big toothy smiley grin emoticon here.)

Justin Allgaier Leads Nationwide Series Practice, Bobby Santos III Wrecks Hard

By

SM Staff

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February 17, 2011

Following last night’s practice, NASCAR decided on a tapered spacer/restrictor-plate combination designed to disrupt airflow to the carburetor after the speeds were at 200mph. The spacer openings go up to 1 1/16th inches with the openings in the plate, which is positioned beneath the spacer, at 61/64ths inches.

However, during the first practice this morning, Trevor Bayne had a speed of 198.627mph, so NASCAR changed the restrictor plate to a smaller size.

“NASCAR is in a hard position where they don’t know what to do with the plates with the speeds and the smooth track,” Tony Stewart commented. “NASCAR is doing a good job with it and I don’t think we’ll know what we got till qualifying on Saturday.”

“We didn’t get to test at Daytona so now we’re finding out that NASCAR is not happy with the tapered spacer and restrictor plate,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. said. “So we’ve got to practice a lot as we’ve got to try different things with the gears.”

The only incident during practice was when Bobby Santos III wrecked hard, causing practice to currently be delayed. Santos said the wreck happened as something broke in the steering.

“I’m fine – just a little sore,” Santos said. “Walked away from the wreck; it could’ve been a lot worse than that.”

Car Owner Jimmy Means said they were done as they had no cars left, though Earnhardt Jr. said that they’re going to donate Aric Almirola’s backup to Means to try to get Santos qualified in the race.

That’s pretty neat,” Santos said. “It’d be an honor to have anything to with Dale so that’d be cool to do.”

Once the cars got going again after they repaired the wall from Santos wreck, Justin Allgaier topped the charts at 194mph.

“Yeah, it’s a lot of fun,” Allgaier said. “They changed the restrictor plate a little bit ago and it actually made it a lot easier.

“Its all about going out there and staying center – staying center is the key. It’s actually harder to be the follower than the leader. As you’re the follower, you got to make sure you stay in their tire tracks and watch the RPMs. If you’re the leader, all you got to do is worry about staying connected.”

Helping Allgaier get to the top of the chart was Jason Leftler.

“Wow, the motor program is awesome,” Leftler said. “Got to thank all the people at Hendrick Motorsports as they got a lot of power. The cars are awesome. The cup guys are going to partner up, so Justin and I partnered up and worked together. There’s been a lot of changes at Turner Motorsports and hopefully they’re all for the good. Hopefully we’ll be at the front tomorrow with how fast and slick this car is, but if not, we’ll hook up with Justin and get up there.”

Meanwhile, Stewart felt that NASCAR went too far with the change.

“My personal opinion is that they went too much on the plate here,” Stewart said. “The air now has more power than the cars to. It’s really hard now to pass. I think if they leave it the same, we know what to do. I think they just went too far, but we’ve got some tricks in our bag.”

Meanwhile, Danica Patrick focused on getting to even know the draft at all.

“We got going with some people yesterday and I found that you need to make friends – you need to get some people to run with you,” Patrick said. “It seems as they slow you down more and more, they’re going to run a lot like the Cup cars – or at least Jr says that so I’m going to take it as truth.”

While all the focus was on the drafting, defending champion Brad Keselowski was working on getting to know his new team.

“It’s good to go into the off-sesason with momentum and we spent a lot of time trying to move that momentum over to the Cup side,” Keselowski said. “The cause-and-effect is that we’ve got a bunch of new guys on the Nationwide side so we’re just ready to get out there and see how things go.”

Besides the plates, teams are also having issues with the new ethanol fuel system as they find that it is leaking fuel.

NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: The tail gate parties start at Daytona

By

SM Staff

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February 17, 2011

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will officially launch the first of 25 tail gate parties this Friday, February 18th at the Daytona International Speedway, with the running of the Next Era Energy Resources 250. It appears that NASCAR’s truck drivers are going to be in for a highly competitive season based on a mix of returning veterans, hopeful new comers and some new driver-team owner configurations.

[media-credit name=”Barry Albert” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]THE STORY BREAKDOWN

One of those major changes in team configuration involves Germain Brothers Racing, the defending series champions. The Germain’s will be kicking off the 2011 racing season Friday night with four truck teams.

First, and foremost, is their No. 30 Toyota Tundra driven by defending series champion Todd Bodine who has already served notice that he will be seeking his second consecutive, and third overall, title. Bodine will have a very busy Daytona weekend doing triple duty. He’s entered in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, Nationwide Series and Sprint Cup Series races. Tire Kingdom will be the primary sponsor for all three events.

After a 2010 season of part time runs in trucks and Sprint Cup, Max Papis will be running the full truck series schedule this year driving the No. 9 Germain Toyota with GEICO Insurance on the hood.

New to Germain Racing this year will be their No. 77 Toyota with Justin Lofton behind the wheel who is considered by many to be one of the up and coming young talents with a very bright future. Lofton Cattle, the driver’s family owned business, will be the team’s primary sponsor.

Making his return to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will be Brendan Gaughan. The eight time series race winner will be driving the Germain Brothers’ No. 62 Toyota Tundra. He’s also sponsored by a long time family owned business: the Las Vegas based South Point Hotel and Casino. Gaughan has a guaranteed start in the Daytona season opener, as well as the first five races of the season, due to his team recently acquiring the owner’s points from the No. 6 team operated last year by Rick Ware Racing.

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There has also been some significant changes at Kevin Harvick Inc (KHI) for the 2011 truck season. Former NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Elliott Sadler will be making his official debut Friday night as a new KHI full time driver. Sadler will be behind the wheel of the No. 2 One Main Financial Chevrolet at Daytona for the first of a series of truck racing appearances. Sadler will be driving a KHI Chevrolet full time in the Nationwide Series and, because of that arrangement, he is ineligible to collect championship points in the truck series. That’s due to the recent change in NASCAR policy that states a driver must choose only one series championship to compete for. However, Sadler’s appearances in the KHI truck can be used to help them win the coveted owner’s championship.

Also new from KHI is their No. 8 Chevrolet that will be driven by Nelson Piquet Jr with sponsorship from Qualcom. The 25 year old Brazilian raised more than a few eyebrows with his NASCAR debut last season and will be a driver to watch this year.

His truck will convey a special decal at Daytona commemorating the victims of last month’s devastating flooding in Rio De Janerio.

Piquet also hopes to get a leg up on the series’ Rookie of the Year title with guaranteed starts in the first five races. KHI has transferred the owner’s points from their signature team, the No. 33 driven by Ron Hornaday Jr, to Piquet’s No. 8. Hornaday, a four time series champion, has past champion’s provisionals to fall back on in case he has trouble qualifying for a race. Needless to say, no one expects that to happen.

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One of the major team changes for the new season involves Randy Moss Motorsports. While International Truck and Monaco RV returns as the team sponsors, long time driver, and former series champion, Mike Skinner will not be there. He has been replaced by Travis Kvapil, another former series champion, who will have a very busy year racing the full time schedules in both the NASCAR Camping World Truck and Sprint Cup Series. This driver change was a move that surprised a lot of series observers.

Speculation that said this change was coming began just prior to last Christmas and was officially announced during the final days of last month. That didn’t leave Skinner a lot of time to put a new ride together. But the good news here is the fact that Skinner was able to make an eleventh hour deal with Eddie Sharp Racing to drive a second team Toyota with Cushman Utility Vehicles on the hood. There is just enough sponsorship available for the team to participate at Daytona and the second event on the schedule at Phoenix. The hunt is on to see if they keep this arrangement on a full time basis.

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Also a new configuration is the official debut of Vision Aviation Racing, the Las Vegas based team who recently merged with Billy Ballew Motorsports. Las Vegas drivers Justin Johnson and Dusty Davis will be the principals for the 2011 season except for Daytona. Feeling like their young drivers were not ready for the high banks of Daytona just yet, the team has placed Aric Almirola, who drove very well for Ballew last year, in their lead No. 51 truck with Vision Airlines as the primary sponsor.

The second truck, the No. 15 Toyota, is considered to be a part time, development, ride for 2011 but it will be at Daytona with NASCAR veteran Michael Waltrip behind the wheel. Raceview Dot Com, Vision Airlines and the Wounded Warrior Project will be the sponsors.

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Up and coming driver Jason White will be bringing his Gunbroker Dot Com sponsorship to a new team this year owned by Joe Denette. This is the guy who won the Virginia State Lottery in 2009 and decided to invest some of his new found fortune into NASCAR team ownership.

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On the subject of up and coming drivers, Joey Coulter will be making his series debut at Daytona driving a second team Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing. Coulter has a guaranteed start for the Daytona race. Childress recently acquired the 2010 owner’s points from Brent Raymer Racing and that places his new driver within the top 25 in those standings.

Coulter has spent the last two seasons developing his skills in the ARCA Series where he scored his first series win last year. He will be having a very busy 2011. Coulter is also a full time mechanical engineering student at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte campus.

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What would a national NASCAR series be without Kyle Busch? The “Rowdy One” will be driving his self owned Toyota in 15 truck series events this year with all of the races fully sponsored. The remaining ten events will be driven by a returning Brian Ickler with some of the sponsorship program still pending. As a full time Sprint Cup driver, Busch has opted to compete for that series’ title and cannot win the truck title per NASCAR’s new title. But he’s definitely in the running to win his second, consecutive, truck series owner’s championship.

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THE RACE BREAKDOWN

Friday’s Next Era Energy Resources 250 is 100 laps, 250 miles, around the Daytona International Speedway’s 2.5 mile tri oval.

The race has a healthy 45 entries for the 36 truck starting field. 18 of those entries are on the go or go home list. That means these teams are outside of the top 25 in owner’s points and do not have a guaranteed start in the race. These teams will have to rely on qualifying speeds to make the race.

The defending race champion is Timothy Peters.

The Next Era Resources 250 will be broadcast live by the SPEED Channel with the pre race show beginning at 7 pm eastern time.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Crashes At Daytona: Goes From Pole to Hole In Daytona 500

By

SM Staff

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February 16, 2011

DSC_3287A — Earnhardt Jr. crashes at Daytona

[media-credit id=22 align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]After waiting several hours for the weather to clear, Sprint Cup practice for the Gatorade Duels finally started. It took only a few moments before the new “love bug” drafting claimed its first victims.

Coming off turn four, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was linked nose to tail with Jimmie Johnson. Just as Earnhardt Jr. started to move left, Martin Truex Jr. came hard into his right rear bumper and sent both cars spinning into the infield wall, just at the entrance to pit road.

NASCAR started the day by issuing teams smaller sized restrictor plates, 57/64 diameters, along with mandated smaller radiator grill openings.
These changes were implemented in an effort to slow the 200+ mph race speeds and reduce the two by two drafting to a minimum.
Unexpected rain showers had dampened the speedway and delayed early morning practice for several hours.

Once the track was cleared for practice, it didn’t take long for teams to start testing their new restrictor plates and resume their two-by-two drafting around the 2.5 mile super speedway.

After just a few green flag laps, it was once again Earnhardt Jr. posting the fastest times with speeds in excess of 195 mph.

Once he was tagged in the rear bumper, the car of Earnhardt Jr. went tail first into the inside retaining wall, bounced off and then collected the car of Martin Truex Jr. with the front bumper of the No. 88 Amp Energy Chevrolet.

With his primary car all but destroyed, Jr’s Hendrick Motorsports crew immediately pulled out a back up car.

Qualifying for the front row of Sunday’s Daytona 500 has already been completed, and, with Dale Jr. winning the pole position, this unfortunate series of events will have huge impacts on tomorrows first Gatorade Duel and Sunday’s Daytona 500.

Earnhardt Jr. will be relegated to the rear of the field in both events.

His efforts in the Gatorade Duel will have no impact on this situation. According to NASCAR rules, Earnhardt Jr. cannot improve his starting position unless some other unfortunate driver crashes, changes an engine or has to go to a back up car.