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| Photo courtesy of Nascar.com |
0.013 of a second..yep that’s all that stood between Hero
and Zero (well technically second place rather than first) at the 2012
Budweiser Shootout at the Daytona International Speedway Saturday, February 18,
2012. Less than a QUARTER OF A SECOND between the driver I love to hate - (Tony
Stewart) and the driver I love to hate...Kyle Busch....seriously...not a fan. I
should probably clarify something, Kyle is a wheel man. He can drive the wheels
off of anything and has clearly proved that time and time again. That man can
drive. Period. I just can’t get past his persona, his attitude...his, well....
HIM!
The Bud Shootout has always been billed as the wild ride
intro to each year’s racing season and this year did not disappoint. As a fan
watching, with no points on the line, you always root for your driver and/or
his team mates. But holy smokes, depending on who your team is...there were not
many left standing on Saturday night in Daytona! With a fast driven fun filled
night under the stars, the fans were left rooting for not too many drivers in
the field, and trust me Kyle was not my pick (with all of Hendrick’s drivers in
the garage I was honestly throwing my support behind Brad Kesolowski... for
some reason, I like this guy. I respect his driving. Yes he is not the “cleanest”
but neither was Dale Sr. lol.)
My personal “scary Nascar crash moment” of the night came with only two laps to go and Jeff Gordon when skidding for what seemed like an eternity on the driver’s side before flipping as my Gramma used to say “ass over tea kettle” multiple times then finally and thankfully landing on its roof. Rescuers rushed to the scene and after a few moments pulled Gordon out of the vehicle seemingly unharmed, though not the same can be said about his car. Gordon was treated at Daytona infield medical center, and later released.
KyBu would naturally whine later on the post race telecast stating he “needed to talk to the 24 to find out what that was all about”. Gordon explained the incident, saying, “Every time I got to Kyle’s bumper, he just started getting so sideways, like he was a lot tonight.” It’s called BUMP DRAFTING Kyle!
The return to pack racing also brought a return to the old-fashioned slingshot that once made Daytona unique. Busch hooked up with Tony Stewart in a final-lap dance to separate from the field, then pulled to the outside of the defending Cup champion and crossed the finish line so close you needed a slow-motion camera to determine who won. What a thrill for all of us yelling at our televisions trying to figure out who exactly won (as much as I hate to admit, I was really praying for Tony!). I was wrong. However the fans love this kind of finish!!! Tony Stewart agreed: "It was definitely a lot more fun, and you felt a lot more eager to be engaged in the race this way than in the two car deal," he said. "I actually had fun racing at Daytona again, which I haven't had for a while, so I'm really, really appreciative to the work that NASCAR has done in the offseason, and the test session, and even after the test of the changes that they made to try to make it better for us out there. I don't know what the consensus is from everybody else, but I had more fun as a driver than what we've had in the past”.
So this is the official kick off to Speed Week and the Great American Race- The Daytona 500. I will be reporting back later in the week, post qualifying with my hopefuls and happenings prior to engines being fired! Although no longer driving for Team Hendrick, my pick has to be Mark Martin. Please if there is a God in Nascar Heaven...he will allow Mark a Daytona 500 win before he gets sent to the retired driver's stables....
It really really really really makes me feel like chewing drywall nails to say this but congratulations Kyle Busch on [robbing Tony Stewart of..]... winning the 2012 Budweiser Shootout....
side note...thank you to my Dad for coming home with a lovely Tony Stewart Office Depot #14 Nascar jacket for me........if will wear it...hopefully nobody pelts me with stones and vegetables and stuff...but I promise I will wear it!!! :)))
Agree? Disagree?
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