Last lap wreck at Daytona injures fans, mars Tony Stewart's Nationwide victory

By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Tony Stewart won Saturday's DRIVE4COPD 300 at Daytona International Speedway, but the elation of his victory disappeared in the wake of a heart-stopping wreck that saw Kyle Larson's car demolished after flying into the crossover gate that provides access from the asphalt to the main grandstand. 

As Stewart dodged the crash and crossed the finish line, the front clip of Larson's car sheared off , ripping the engine out of its compartment. The front suspension and engine ended up on the walkway at the bottom of the stands.

A tire from Larson's car also flew into the grandstands.

Regan Smith led as the cars approached the checkered flag, but Smith tried to block Brad Keselowski, who was running second, and turned across the nose of Keselowski's car.

There were no immediate reports as to the extent of injuries, but emergency medical personnel arrived on the scene with stretchers and removed one spectator who was tightly strapped to the gurney. Other fans appeared to be receiving treatment at the scene.

The emergency in the grandstand tempered Stewart's fifth victory in his last six February races at Daytona and the 11th Nationwide Series win of his career.

"Fortunately, with the way the event's equipped up, there were plenty of emergency workers ready to go, and they jumped in on it pretty quickly," NASCAR president Mike Helton told ESPN. "And right now, it's just a function of trying to determine what all damage is done.

"They're moving folks, as we've seen, to care centers and taking some folks over to Halifax Medical (Center), so we'll be able to update later on, but right now, all we know is everybody's working real hard on determining what all happened."

Larson climbed from his car almost immediately and was evaluated and released from the infield care center.

Drivers, Larson included, were more concerned with the safety of the fans than the outcome of the race.

"The important thing is what's going on on the frontstretch right now," Stewart said after climbing from his car. "We've always known since racing was started this is a dangerous sport. But it's hard. We assume that risk. It's hard when the fans get caught up in it.

 "As much as we want to celebrate right now, as much as this is a big deal to us, I'm more worried about the drivers and fans in the stands right now. I could see it all in the mirror and it didn't look good from where I was either."

Smith said he wasn't about to surrender the victory to Keselowski 200 yards from the finish line.

"We made a move to try and win the race," Keselowski said. "We were in the catbird seat. Regan was in a good spot. He was first and I was second, and we were pushing. I kind of had the run and the move to win the race, and Regan obviously tried to block it, and that's understandable.

Sam Hornish Jr. crossed the stripe in second place, followed by rookie Alex Bowman, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Parker Kligerman.

The last-lap wreck wasn't the only serious incident of the event. A 13-car wreck in Turns 1 and 2, triggered by contact between the No. 43 Ford Mustang of Michael Annett and the No. 3 Chevrolet Camaro of Austin Dillon -- both championship hopefuls -- stopped the race after 116 laps and set up the finish.

Annett was transported to Halifax Health Medical Center. Richard Petty Motorsports later reported that Annett, whose car slammed the outside wall nose-first, was treated for bruising on his chest and received a CT scan. He remains in the hospital for further observation.

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The Biff Brings it Home In Texas!

Greg Biffle wins the Samsung Mobile 500
at Texas Motor Speedway Saturday night.
Photo Courtesy of Nascar.com

 Greg Biffle robbed Rick Hendrick once again of his 200^th   career Cup win at Texas Motor Speedway Saturday night to end a winless streak of 49 races as he drove past Jimmie Johnson (who only lead 156 of 334 laps), with 30 laps remaining to capture the checkered flag at the Samsung Mobile 500. Poor Rick. That box of "200th victory hats" still awaits, yet second place is nothing to sneeze at and Jimmie and the rest of the Hendrick stable are holding their own so far this season! While as a die hard Hendrick Fan, it's hard to feel bitter about Greg Biffle winning the race. He is the younger generation of Nascar's Mark Martin. Plain and simple, he is a nice guy. He loves puppies. He puts out an annual calendar of Nascar drivers and their respective dogs; many of them rescues. He is an avid animal lover and he and his wife Nicole are huge supporters of local shelters and the need to find homes for strays. How can you not love them?

There were only two cautions for 10 slowed-down laps, both for debris, and the race finished with a record 234 consecutive laps of green-flag racing.

At the end of the race Biffle said his hands were hurting from fighting the wheel through the wind. He expressed that there were no major incidents because every driver was dealing with the same conditions and maybe more cautious because of the.

The aforementioned Mark Martin finished third in a Michael Waltrip-owned Toyota, followed by Jeff Gordon, then Roush driver Matt Kenseth. Polesitter Martin Truex Jr., another Waltrip car, was sixth after leading 69 . Kasey Kahne, the first-year Hendrick driver, finished seventh ahead of another Roush driver, Carl Edwards. Harvick and Earnhardt rounded out the top 10.

Kasey Kahne winner of the Camping World Truck Series Race
At Rockingham
photo courtesy of Nascar.com

Incidentally, Kasey Kahne had an even more impressive weekend aside from his finish at Texas last night. Kasey climbed through the field after starting in the back to win Sunday's Camping World Truck Series race at Rockingham Speedway, the first NASCAR race at the track since 2004. I feel very confident that Kasey will continue to shine once again on the track. He has had a rough few years but change is about to come for the young gun! My friend Patti lights candles every Sunday I swear!

Next week, Kansas Motor Speedway! Another track on my bucket list!

By Sherri Breaton

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Smoke Rains on Kyle Busch's Parade....

Tony Stewart, winner of the Auto Club 400 by default due to rain.
Photo courtesy of Nascar.com

Well sort of... it was more like Mother Nature who did it but nonetheless Tony Stewart was deemed the victor in the rain shortened Auto Club 400 from Fontana, California. Stewart was in the lead when cars were parked due to the rain. Since showers were forecasted for the rest of the day and the halfway mark had come and gone, the defending Sprint Cup Champion earned the victory with only 129 of 200 laps run. Although Kyle Busch, led the most laps at the California track, he failed to become the first driver for Joe Gibbs Racing to win here.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. had another impressive finish coming in third followed by Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards,  Greg Biffle, Ryan Newman (Tony’s team mate), Martin Truex Jr., Kurt Busch and Jimmie Johnson rounded out the top ten respectively.  

I was quite happy to hear that NASCAR has reduced the sentence to car/team owner Rick Hendrick for the “incident” at this year’s Daytona 500 involving the car not passing inspection and violating some body frame rules. Crew chief, Chad Knaus and car chief, Ron Malec, were both released of their suspensions and allowed to resume command on the pit box (although nothing every truly changed as they were allowed to remain there during the appeal process). The 25 driver points that were previously deducted were reinstated, however, the $100,000 fine remained intact.

As it stands this week in the overall points, fellow dog lover Greg Biffle is sitting in first place followed by expectant father Kevin Harvick (do you think this new baby will make him smile more? LOL), then Dale Earnhardt Jr. (can you believe I am saying this??), then Tony Stewart and Matt Kenseth round out the top five.

Dale...the elves in the trees are waiting to make cookies... PLEASE SHAVE!
Photo courtesy of Nascar.com

I kid about Dale Jr., but I really do root for this guy to have a good season. Years past rumours swelled that his lack of finishing in victory lane were directly attributed to his discord with his step-monster Teresa Earnhardt. Everyone expected great things from Jr., once he started driving for Hendrick’s in 2008.  While “great things” clearly have not happened, I do feel in my heart that they will. Dale is a talented driver, with the brains, experience and funds backing him from Hendrick’s that should enable this. I think he is still somewhat “gun shy” since his second degree burns in 2004. That was a pretty serious accident and I am sure beyond painful and I wonder how much this plays with his mind when driving still.  He just hasn’t seemed the same ever since. I think this might just be the year that Jr. finally shines through. I just really wish he would find a razor. Didn't he used to be one of Gillette's Young Guns?? UGHHHH it just does nothing for him...he looks like a cross between the Lucky Charms Leprechaun and a Keebler cookie elf. Come on Dale...I realize you can look like Sasquatch and the fans will still vote you number one favourite but can't you just clean it up a little for the female fans in the audience?!?!

This week NASCAR returns to it's southern roots as we head to Martinsville Speedway for the Goody's Fast Relief 500. Founded in 1947 by the late H. Clay Earles, Martinsville Speedway is only track which has hosted NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races every year since the division’s inception in 1949.  At .526 miles in length, Martinsville Speedway is the shortest track on the Sprint Cup circuit. But because of its size and shape – described most often as the shape of a paperclip – Martinsville offers some of the most exciting and close racing in the sport.  Also because of its size, fans are closer to the action than any other track. The cars are never more than a few hundred yards away and sometimes they seem close enough to reach out and touch. This track is on my "bucket list" of tracks to watch a race!!!


By Sherri Breaton

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The Smoke Show in Vegas

By Sherri Breaton

Tony Stewart wins the Kobalt Tools 400 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Photo courtesy of Nascar.com 

Tony Stewart was able to hold off Jimmie Johnson twice on a restart to win the Kobalt Tools 400 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. With only four laps left, Tony maintained the lead and captured the checkered flag .461 seconds ahead of Johnson. Greg Biffle, Ryan Newman and Carl Edwards came home third through fifth, respectively. Clint Bowyer, Paul Menard, Jamie McMurray, Trevor Bayne and Dale Earnhardt Jr. completed the top 10.  While last week was considered a sweet revenge for former crew chief Dariun Grubb with his win in Phoenix with Denny Hamelin, this week was even sweeter for Smoke as this is the first time he has been able to clinch a victory in the city of lights in the desert.

Tony Stewart leads Jimmie Johnson on a restart at the
Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Photo courtesy of Nascar.com 

It’s also equally ironic that Stewart is running Hendrick’s engines and was able to beat the 5 time champ to the finish line. Jimmie was rough on the restarts after countless cautions.

Said Johnson on the restarts:

"They were awfully strong, (the Stewart team), the last two restarts ... second to the last restart, I just blew it. He got away from me. The next to the last start, I felt like I got a good one. He still cruised away.” Ya, you blew it.

Besides the obvious disappointment in missing the win by “that much” the fact that the #48 Lowe’s Chevy was able to rebound from having to start from the rear due to having to utilize the back up car as a result of a wreck in practice, to a solid second place finish is nothing to be ashamed of.

The #48 team is still embroiled in the appeals process as a result of the car they were planning on using in the Daytona 500, (keys words...”planning”...the car never made it to the racetrack and as karma would have it, Jimmie crashed and burned on lap two and was out of the race for the night) was deemed illegal.

Rick Hendrick was denied Tuesday, setting up one last-ditch plea to prevent crew chief Chad Knaus from having to sit out six races along with car chief Ron Malec, and driver Jimmie Johnson from losing 25 points.

I have to agree with Kyle Petty on this so called “committee” that oversees the appeals process at NASCAR. This panel is made up of a bunch of “old farts” as Kyle says, retired drivers, owners, crew chiefs, mechanics, officials etc, that decide the outcome of these infarctions. As Kyle said on air during the pre-race show, “you would be hard pressed to find two people on that panel who have actually attended a race in the past two years if not more”. They really need to change this process and have a committee consisting of recent retires and/or people who are current with today’s racing standards and what is considering “cheating” and what is considered “pushing the limitations of technology and trying to beat your competitors at the same game”.  Hendrick said he will now make one final appeal to John Middlebrook, a former General Motors executive who serves as chief appellate officer on the National Stock Car Racing Appeals Panel. No date has been established yet for the final appeal. For now we will wait and Chad will remain on the box until such time.

Next week, we are on to Bristol Motor Speedway, and the always fan favourite “driver introductions”. Bristol is the only track that allows the drivers to choose the song in which they will be introduced to. Some of them in the past have been both funny and ironic. I will provide the full list along with the race recap next week post race. 

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Victory for Hamelin in Phoenix

Denny Hamelin wins the 2012 Subway Fresh Fit 500
Photo courtesy of Nascar.com

Phoenix International Speedway
Photo courtesy Nascar.com

"It feels so good to be competitive again!"


Those were the words shouted out over the radio by Denny Hamelin to his crew chief. Denny finally redeemed himself with his 18^th career victory  at Sunday's Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. In his second race with 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup championship crew chief Darian Grubb calling the shots from his pit box, Hamlin managed to hold off Kevin Harvick in a 53-lap green-flag race to finish the 312-lap race at the one-mile track. The win allowed Hamlin to take over the series points lead for the first time since giving it up in the final race of 2010 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. As an at-home spectator, it wasn't exactly a nail biter of a race. Quite frankly it was somewhat anti-climactic after last week's Daytona 500. I was waiting to hear that Juan Pablo Montoya took out a hot dog vendor's cart. I am quite sure, however, it was sweet justice for Darian Grubb, who was fired from Stewart-Haas Racing after last season even though he helped Tony Stewart win the Cup championship. It must feel good to beat Tony Stewart to victory lane.


Kevin Harvick lost fuel pressure with less than two laps left but still managed an impressive second place followed by Greg Biffle in third, then by Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr., and Jeff Gordon. Pole-sitter Mark Martin and Joey Logano rounded out the top 10.

Other drivers encountered their fair share of trouble:

Clint Bowyer (30th) blew two right front tires in the first 25 laps. Kasey Kahne (34th) hit the wall early in the race. And Stewart (22nd) fell two laps down after being unable to restart his Chevrolet after turning it off in an attempt to save fuel under caution.

The starting line-up at Phoenix
Photo courtesy of Nascar.com 

The often used tactic of shutting down the engines to save fuel then quickly restarting them bit Tony right in the butt late in the race. He lost a lap during a caution when he couldn’t re-fire his car and had to get a push from the wrecker to make it back to the pits. He finished 22nd.

“I just shut the car off like we did at Daytona and turned it back on, and it never re-fired,” Stewart said. “That’s all I can tell you. I don’t know why it didn’t re-fire. I honestly don’t know. It’s not really my department. I just turned the switch back on, and it never re-fired. I don’t know why that was, but it definitely cost us a good day.” Judging by his demeanour in that post race interview with Tony, I would hate to be the electronics guy on his team once Tony gets back to the hauler. Crew chief Steve Addington said a faulty circuit breaker apparently was the problem.

Could a new rivalry be brewing??? Keep and eye on Ryan Newman and Carl Edwards in future races.  While Ryan Newman conceded Carl Edwards likely didn't wreck him intentionally on lap 256 of Sunday's NASCAR race at Phoenix International Raceway he wasn’t happy about it. Newman, who was on the outside of Edwards heading into Turn 3, ended up being hit broadside by the 99 car, sending him hard into the wall. "I don't consider that a deliberate move by any means. (But) we know plenty of times in this sport, what comes around goes around." Have at it boys!

Once again my team, the #48 Lowe’s Chevrolet in caught up in a so-called “cheating controversy” *cough*.  On Feb. 17, NASCAR ruled the car had illegally modified sheet metal between the roof and the side windows, an area known as the C-posts. Chad Knaus was fined $100,000 and suspended six races. His car chief Ron Malec was also levied a six week suspension. Jimmie Johnson was docked 25 points as a driver and Jeff Gordon lost 25 points as an owner.  An appeal date has not yet been set, and Knaus can work until the appeal hearing. Knaus said he looked forward to the appeals process, insisting the car that failed the visual inspection in Daytona was the same one that passed repeated inspections in four previous restrictor-plate races at Daytona and Talladega last season. This is nothing new for this team as Knaus has been suspended four previous times, one coming when Johnson won the 2006 Daytona 500 and Darian Grubb filled in. Knaus also had a two-race ban in 2005 overturned on appeal. Chad Knaus and Jimmie live by the motto "if you ain't cheating, you ain't trying”. But people are completely naive if they think that the Lowe’s team is the only team bending the rules, or the metal per se. I understand the accusations and what is at stake. I mean if Chad is going to “cheat” at any given race and is consistently and frequently penalized for technical violations and found guilty of trying to gain an illegal advantage wouldn’t he cheat with a championship on the line (or five)? Did he and maybe he just never was caught?  Could that explain why Jimmie has such an incredible record in previous Chases?

Crew Chief Chad Knaus & Car Chief Ron Malec for the #48
Photo courtesy of Hendrick Motorsports

I am sure that what a lot of fans think-a lot of non-Jimmie Johnson fans for sure. I personally find it hard to believe Johnson and Knaus won those champions and 55 Cup races all while cheating.  Jimmie is far too talented of a driver and Chad is an extremely brilliant crew chief. They do not have to cheat to win. Chad is only doing what a good crew chief should do – look for loopholes in the rules and try to find an edge in a sport that has long applauded and encouraged mechanical resourcefulness. However when you’re the sport’s most successful crew chief, and it’s most penalized, that only raises the cloud of suspicion and tarnishes your reputation even more. Chad doesn’t seem too fazed by any of it. He was quoted this weekend as saying “As far as my reputation goes, I’m not too concerned about that. What we want to do is go out there and do the best thing we can for Hendrick Motorsports and the best things for Lowe’s and try to win races and championships.”

We will await the appeal and see what the outcome is. Like most other professional sports teams, the Lowe's Chevy is a well oiled machine. They have over 500 people working at the Hendrick garages in Charlotte, NC. If they do end up losing Chad for some races, I do not foresee it being detrimental to the team as a whole. After all, Jimmie IS in the driver's seat.....

Next week...It's Vegas baby!!!! 

Denny Hamelin doing his victory burnout
Photo courtesy of Nascar.com

Incidentally, did anyone catch the commercial for Tide? Boy did I call that one right last week hahaha ... in case you missed it...
http://www.sbnation.com/nascar/2012/3/4/2843959/tide-nascar-commercial-daytona-500-jet-dryer-explosion-2012


By Sherri Breaton

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Oh What A Night! 2012 Daytona 500

Photo courtesy Getty Images/Nascar.com

The title “Daytona 500” refers to the amount of miles, not amount of hours required to run the race. Right???
The 2012 Daytona 500 will definitely go down as one for the history books. It was the race that never wanted to start, and then seemingly never wanted to end! Thirty-six plus hours and multiple mishaps later, Matt Kenseth held off Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Greg Biffle in a green-white-checker finish to win the event for the second time in four years, but not without incident. Honestly by the time the checkered flag flew just after 1am Tuesday morning, Sasquatch could have crossed the track riding a unicorn and it would have seemed par for the course.

For the first time in its 54 year history the race was postponed to Monday due to rain. Initially scheduled for noon, the race was once again rescheduled due to ominous weather on the forecast for midday.  Surprisingly, the people came back for day two and filled the grandstands once again in hopes of finally seeing the race. You have got to love NASCAR fans, they are loyal and they sure as hell are troopers! It’s not like in other sports where the seats start to empty mid third period in hockey or at the start of the fourth quarter in football (baseball...yeah I would leave too, man those games can be painfully long and boring!). NASCAR fans stick around to the end-rain, shine, fire, fog, and delay after countless delay.

Shelter from the rain. Jimmie Johnson and daughter Genevieve at the Daytona 500  Photo credit AP

As a Jimmie Johnson fan, the race could not have started out any worse.  Just after the field completed their first lap, an unintentional tap from Elliott Sadler in the No. 33 Chevrolet sent Johnson's No. 48 Chevy into the outside wall near the exit of the tri-oval. Then David Ragan in the No. 34 Ford came barrelling into Johnson's car and that was all she wrote.

Thankfully he was not injured and he packed up the family and headed home. To put into perspective how long this race took to complete from this point, Jimmie was already home “tweeting” from his couch as he cheered on his remaining team mates on TV!!  Besides Ragan's and Johnson's cars, Trevor Bayne, Danica Patrick and Kurt Busch also sustained major damage in this wreck but they all eventually returned to the race (Bayne was never able to catch up after the wreck and had a disappointing day as the defending champion). David Ragan was pissed off to say the least, referring to “whoever was at fault” as a “bonehead” on air shortly after. Can’t say as though I blame the guy. It’s the biggest race of the year and without a lap in the books you are gone to the garage for the night.

Photo credit Tom Pennington/Getty Images/Nascar.com

Interestingly, what seemed destined to become the “Danica 500”, never really amounted to that. The media hype and scrutiny surrounding the only third female in history to start at the Daytona 500 (and one who has been marketed as a sex symbol at that!) has been borderline ridiculous.  From the crash footage on Saturday where she “expertly removed her hands from steering wheel and let the car go” (insert giant eye rolls from every driver in NASCAR-no this is NOT new but suddenly SHE does it and it’s ingenious), to the pre-race interview with Darrell Waltrip where he ridiculously states that “within one week she has become THE face of NASCAR”, it was becoming overkill-not just for the “other drivers” but clearly from the look on her face when DW said that, to her as well.  But it will go down in the record books that she finished ahead of Jeff Gordon, Kurt Busch and Jimmie Johnson, so she will always have that to brag about. Don’t get me wrong, I am not “anti Danica”. She is going to bring in a lot of money and crowds to the track. Many people got sloshed over the weekend playing the “Danica500 Drinking Game” whereby they had to down a shot for every time “Danica” was mentioned on the broadcasts. Needless to say most people were probably completely trashed before driver introductions were underway. She is pure gold to NASCAR public relations. Just let the girl drive. She can drive. Just let her.

Photo credit Getty Images/Nascar.com

And now for my weak attempt at stand-up comedy, following the race I posed this question in my Facebook status regarding the next bizarre incident of the night, “How many NASCAR drivers does it take to blow up a jet dryer??? ..... Just “Juan”.  (I will be here all week, order the roast beef and tip your wait staff generously)

As expressed by many in social media feeds, Juan Pablo Montoya has hit just about everything on a track aside from the pace car! Somehow, inexplicably JPM crashed into a jet dryer under caution, being driven by Michigan International Speedway attendant Duane Barnes, causing a unbelievable ball of fire that you could almost hear Eddie Murphy yelling “NOW THAT’S A FIRE!!”. Both vehicles were burnt to a crisp, but thankfully, both drivers were able to escape the explosion without any serious injuries. JPM was later quoted as saying that Barnes “looked pretty scared”. Understatement of the year considering this guy was riding shotgun on a 200 gallon tank full of rapidly igniting jet kerosene. I know I would have needed to change my Underoos after that one had it been me!  Oh and what did they use to clean up the track after the fire? A whole whack of Tide detergent! Seriously! I can see the commercial prospects now-remember Dawn dish soap and the waterfowl following the oil spill? Use Tide to clean up when you accidentally set your driveway on fire! And oh the irony of after waiting forever and a day for the track to dry, we sit at home and now watch them pour thousands of gallons of water onto the track to wash away the fuel. Good grief!

This little two hour long mishap created the next off the wall set of events to transpire. Dale Earnhardt Jr verbalizing on air over his radio that he needed to “relieve himself”. Yes he needed a bathroom break, as did Kyle Busch and a few other drivers. So one by one we watched drivers emerge from their cars on the backstretch as they were red flag parked while cleaning up the fire, and run to port-a-potties and stand around and chat. And tweet. Yes that is right. For the first time in known professional sporting history, an athlete was posting live updates to his Twitter account from the car. Thank you Brad Keselowski for making that time go by much more entertainingly that having to endure one more minute of Michael Waltrip or the Fox split screen coverage of dual commercials (eventually they will get it right and we will actually see the race all of the time).  It was quite comical to see the drivers all mulling around in a virtual “tweet up”  in a circle around Keselowski, who had pulled out his phone to provide real-time updates to his fans by posting photos and answering questions. As an avid tweeter myself during races, I just about fell off my couch when he posted his first tweet before my eyes on my computer screen as I am watching him do it on the tv screen in front of me. The powers of social media prevailed as his number of followers skyrocketed from about 65,000 at the start of the race to almost 200,000 by the time the fire out! (In a related note, a jealous Kurt Busch was later seen secretly attempting to start his car on fire in order to drum up some followers for himself...allegedly....kidding, just kidding!) There were rumours abound that NASCAR officials were considering fining him for using an “unauthorized recording device”, however this proved to be false. In a statement released today, NASCAR said “Nothing we've seen from Keselowski violates any current rules pertaining to the use of social media during races. As such, he won't be penalized. We encourage our drivers to use social media to express themselves as long as they do so without risking their safety or that of others”. Joey Logano actually tweeted later that he was jealous he didn’t think to put his phone in his pocket. What is this racing world coming to?  Dale Jr laughed it all off saying they all actually had fun out there killing time and actually put the phone to good use by searching out weather data for the rest of the race. Next week we will see they have added cell phone chargers to the cars mark my words!

Photo credit Douglas Jones/US Presswire/Nascar.com

It was also during this two hour sideshow that two pit crew teams from two different drivers both pulled completely knuckleheaded moves by pulling the tear-offs from their windshields during a red flag thus sending both of them to the back of the pack upon restart. Rule books. Read them.

Poor David Blaney. For over two hours he sat in first place waiting to go green on the backstretch. That’s pretty much where his hopes of any win died. He was the only driver who had not pitted prior to the crash. He wouldn’t stay in first long once the green flag would be waved.

When we were ready to fire up the engines, another comical moment occurred before our eyes-pit crews were being loaded on shuttle buses to bring them to the cars on the backstretch in order to assist their drivers with getting back in their vehicles. What next?

What happened next over the final laps were a couple of multi-car wrecks to thin out the remaining packs. A crash on lap 188 took out Jamie McMurray, Brad Keselowski (who predictably tweeted within minutes that he was out of the race and headed home), Kasey Kahne and Aric Almirola. It also caused a great deal of damage to Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart’s cars. One last dust-up occurred on lap 196 when contact from Joey Logano's Toyota and the Ford of Ricky Stenhouse Jr careened into Stewart's Chevy, causing the 2011 Cup champion to wreck and take Kyle Busch and Ryan Newman with him.

Now we were set for a green-white-checker finish that had the Jr Nation on their feet cheering on the 2004 Daytona winner. He had hooked up with Greg Biffle in a two-car tandem that looked like might just be enough of a push to give him the win. But unfortunately that push wasn’t enough and Matt Kenseth persevered to clinch his second Daytona title!

Photo credit Getty Images/Nascar.com

As if the weekend’s events were not frustrating enough for the drivers and their teams, to cap off the strangest Daytona on record, fog had rolled into North Carolina towards the end of the race leaving the majority stranded in Daytona for one more night without any hotel rooms. “Now believe it or not, I can't go home.” posted 4th place finisher Denny Hamlin on Twitter following the race, “Fogged in. Yet another night in Daytona.”  I am sure there were a lot of “foggy fans” getting up (or not) on Tuesday morning for work Denny.

Next week...we head out west to Phoenix!

By Sherri Breaton

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Daytona 500 Rain Delays - What did they do in the Past?

As of 10:40 AM Monday February 27 the tentative start time is 7 PM Monday tonight with Tuesday as a last option. If not, race will be re-scheduled for a later date.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series cars are covered on pit road as they await the start of the
54th running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla.
Credit: Tom Pennington/Getty Images for NASCAR

Excerpt from yesterday's (Sunday) interview with NASCAR President Mike Helton.

Q. Can you talk about coming in on the backside, some of the points you went over before coming to this decision, and are you reasonably certain that the race will go at 7:00? If not, what's plan B? Is it Tuesday? Is it a day in April?

MIKE HELTON: Yeah, the biggest thing I want to ask is the collaboration of a lot of different groups, from weather experts to FOX to Joie and the group at Daytona International Speedway to our own group, competition guys and operation guys and everybody collaboratively working nonstop since we knew we were going to have an issue yesterday to make the absolute best decision we could, understanding that any decision we make is not going to be universally accepted by everybody because when it rains, it just complicates things to an extreme that you can't correct.

But we do want to make the best decision possible, and we did that with a lot of people's input, a lot of effort and a lot of thought process going into the community, public service groups that have to support the event, the ticket buyers who invested in their money and time to be here to see the Daytona 500 as part of Speedweeks, and the fans who were at home expecting to sit and watch the Daytona 500.

So we've had a mesh of all of those stakeholders in the decision making process, but also a mesh of all the stakeholders in making the decision to come to the one we did today. And in today's world, with the ability to communicate, we felt like that instead of sitting here and waiting all day long with the information that we had that presented not a very favorable forecast between now and later this afternoon, I couldn't sit here and guarantee you we'll start at 7:00, but our confidence of starting at 7:00 this afternoon is a whole lot better than it is at noon, which is why we made the plan.

Q. Is there a Plan B if it doesn't go?

MIKE HELTON: Tuesday is an option. We're focused on today and this afternoon right now, but just so everyone knows, Tuesday is an option before we'd have to reconsider packing up and leaving. But tomorrow is an option.

Q. I'm assuming this is a situation where you guys look at it and say we want enough of a window to get the entire race in, that it's not a situation where we want to get it started and get it halfway. And also, with a 7:00 start, is there a drop dead date or time as far as if it's raining then but we can get on the track at 7:30, we're not going to call it at 7:00? If we can't start exactly at 7:00 we're not going to give up at that point?

MIKE HELTON: You're right, it is a function of the entirety of the event, essentially not started yet. Our effort is to run the entire 500 miles, and that's the decision that we'd make initially that includes the entire 500-mile distance.

And the flexibility throughout yesterday still exists today. We're targeting 7:00 because we feel like it's realistic. If it takes a little bit longer to get ready to go, I think everybody is willing to do that to accomplish the conclusion of the Daytona 500 within a reasonable amount of time. So 7:00 is not a drop dead critical moment. It's just the time that we felt like it gave us our best shot right now. But we could go a little bit later if it's necessary.

Past Rain Delays
1963
First 10 laps run under yellow due to rain.

1965
Rain-shortened -- 133 laps (332.5 miles).

1966
Rain-shortened -- 198 laps (495 miles).

1979
First 16 laps run under yellow due to rain.

1992
Laps 84-89 run under yellow due to rain on backstretch.

1995
Red flag on lap 71 due to rain. Red flag lasted 1:44.

2003
Two red flags for rain. 1st: lap 63; 1:08. Rain-shortened -- 109 laps (272.5 miles).

2009
Rain-shortened -- 152 laps (380 miles).

2012
Race postponed from 2/26 to 2/27 because of rain.

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Get Ready to Start Your Engines!

By Sherri BreatonIn Play! Magazine

Photo Courtesy of Nascar.com

The off-season may have been extended by only a week but for fans like myself along with countless other race fans, it feels like an eternity. In only six more sleeps the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series "unofficially" kicks off with the 34th annual Budweiser Shootout at the Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, Feb. 18. (start time set for 8:10 pm/et. FOX Sports). The Daytona 500 the following weekend is the official start to the race for the Chase.

I am eternally grateful that NASCAR has the shortest off-season of all professional sports. The championship wraps up just prior to American Thanksgiving and kicks off just after that other U.S. holiday.. Superbowl Sunday! Going to Speedweek at Daytona is on my "Bucket List" but in the meantime, my family will continue its ritual of eating fried bologna sandwiches while yelling at the tv dressed in our favourite driver's jerseys (and in my case socks, hat, underwear and a sticker on my face...hey it all helps right? I even garden with my #48 sheepskin gloves and you should see my raspberries!!).

The Bud Shootout is a fun way for both the drivers and fans alike to begin the season each year. With no championship points on the line, and a large purse of prize money, the Shootout is an all out balls to the wall street fight. Criteria for the non-points race are based upon the following qualifications, with eligibility based on a driver having been active in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series during the 2011 season:

• The highest ranked 25 competitors in 2011 Driver Points

• Previous winners at Daytona, including the Daytona 500, Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola, and Budweiser Shootout events

Joie Chitwood III, President of the Daytona International Speedway stated that “The criteria for the 2012 Budweiser Shootout ensures race fans that the best NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers will battle for a coveted victory on the historic high banks. Throughout its long history, the Budweiser Shootout has produced plenty of fireworks on the track and race fans can expect another exciting star-studded night of racing as we kick off the new NASCAR season.”

For those unfamiliar with the format, it's run a little differently than the usual NASCAR Sprint Cup point races. The event runs a total of 187.5 miles in two segments -First a 25-lap segment kicks things off followed by a 10-minute intermission (at this time teams are allowed to do any work that would normally be done during a pit stop). The drivers then lineup for a final 50-lap mad dash to the finish line.

Daytona International Speedway is a large 2.5 mile tri-oval. The turns feature 31 degrees of banking in the turns & 18 degrees of banking in the front tri-oval. Daytona is one of the tracks on the circuit that requires restrictor plates creating 2-car drafting tandem dance that fans have come to expect and some hate. A restrictor plate is a device used to reduce air flow and horsepower in a nascar engine. The restrictor plates are used at Talledega and Daytona to reduce speeds for safety. While it can make for exciting viewing as cars are literally stuck to each other's tails, you won't see the 3 and 4 wide passes and movement around the track as you would see at the other tracks.

I am personally looking forward to the debut of Kasey Kahne wearing a Hendrick Motorsports fire suit. Kahne will be participating in all of the upcoming Speedweek activities despite undergoing successful outpatient knee surgery this past Friday morning for a torn left meniscus. HMS must think he is healthy enough to drive because they have no plans to have a backup driver on standby. I am really hoping for great things this year from Kasey. He is an incredibly talented young driver and I think having the very successful Hendrick team behind him will finally allow him to shine.

Last year's winner was none other than bad boy Kurt Busch. Interestingly and not surprisingly, Kurt was recently named in a Forbes.com article, citing a Nielsen/E-Poll Market Research survey as America's 10th-most disliked athlete! ( A little more next week on KuBu. I honestly hope that if I am mentioning Kurt in my blog this season that it is for positive reasons and not for ripping a respected NASCAR icon-Dr. Jerry Punch- a proverbial new one while awaiting a TV throw for an interview. Time to clean up for your act Kurt!)

Of course all eyes will be focused on last years Sprint Cup Winner Tony Stewart to see if he is able to recapture that momentum that drove him to capturing that much coveted Cup. This quote, from Stewart-Haas Racing team mate Ryan Newman's crew chief Tony Gibson. pretty much sums up why people love the rough and tumble Stewart, “You know, Stewart's just an old redneck guy that loves to race and will drive everything.” . Incidentally Tony Stewart fans, Tony will be appearing (as himself) on Tim Allen's TV show, "Last Man Standing" on ABC this Tuesday Feb 14th at 8pm EST.

You might as well know now that Tony Stewart is my arch enemy as far as on the domestic front is concerned as he is my husband Rick's favourite driver. I am a die-hard Jimmie Johnson fan, driver of the #48 Chevy. I am not a band wagon jumper, I have been a fan since his debut on the NASCAR scene on the Busch circuit in 2000. The rivalry can get pretty intense but when it comes down to it we both respect the driving abilities of each other's driver (having won EIGHT championships between them, but I must point out that Jimmie won his FIVE YEARS IN A ROW..enough said? haha it never gets old saying that!!) and genuinely cheer on the other's driver when our own ends up out of contention.

Me & Rick @ MIS 2010

A lot of people ask me "how can you watch that sport, if you can even call it a sport...". Yes I have heard 'em all, "what's so hard about turning left, turning left, turning left?" or my favourite "why don't you just flush a package of Skittles down the toilet and watch them go around and around and around?". As a female fan I am subjected to even further ridicule, "what does a woman know about cars?". That my friends is the beauty of NASCAR. You see, I can hold my own watching a football game without looking too uneducated about the sport. Personally I am more mesmerized by their tushes in tights. Hockey? Hell I was raised in a rink, a veritable rink rat. My brother was a childhood team mate of Bob Probert for crying out loud. I know my hockey too. Do I ENJOY watching it or going to the games? The Windsor Spitfires...you betcha...the NHL..not so much. Thankfully I married a race fan too! I don't need to really KNOW about cars (how to change a tire, where the wiper fluid goes etc) to understand racing. There is so much more the winning a race then how fast a pit crew can change a tire on a stop.

As many of you may have heard out of the mouths of race fans, "go to a race and you will be hooked". It's not just the tire dust, the noise, the food or the race itself...its the PEOPLE! No I am not going to stereotype anyone here. What I mean is this is the only sport where you are not one side pitted against the other. Its not the Wings against the Leafs. Its not the Lions against the Bears. Its 25 drivers, many team mates but striving for individual success. You will see entire families sporting their "#88" Dale Jr. paraphanelia (the JR Nation has an amazing presence at almost every race anywhere and the crowd goes insane every time Dale takes the lead in any given race). You will also see entire families all sporting completely different drivers on their backs and heads. THAT is what makes it fun! Everyone in those stands is there to cheer on THEIR driver, but in the end you always cheer for whoever takes the checkered flag (unless it's one of the Busch brothers!!).

Follow along each week as I talk about what's going on in the world of NASCAR both on and around the tracks, not just from a "woman's point of view", but that of a FAN. I will mainly be covering the Sprint Cup Series but will definitely touch upon the Nationwide Series and the occasional report on the Camping World Truck Series as well. Get ready to go "green" as we head into our unofficially official first week of racing! Let's go racing boys (and girls!)!!

Agree? Disagree?

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NASCAR-Last-Lap Pass Gives Harvick Win at Fontana

In Play Magazine

By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

FONTANA, Calif.—Hometown boy (finally) makes good.

 

Kevin Harvick, who grew up in Bakersfield—about 150 miles from Auto Club Speedway—needed a last-lap pass of Jimmie Johnson to win for the first time at the 2-mile track, in his 18th attempt.

Harvick won Sunday’s Auto Club 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, powering his No. 29 Chevrolet to the outside of Johnson’s No. 48 Chevy through Turns 3 and 4 and beating Johnson to the finish line by .144 seconds. 

Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCARHonorary starter Sugar Ray Leonard waves the green flag

as Juan Pablo Montoya leads the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series field to

start the Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway.

Harvick, who restarted fifth with nine laps remaining, surged to the front on the final two laps, passing Kyle Busch and Johnson in the process. The victory was Harvick’s first of the season and 15th of his career and moved him up six spots in the points standings to ninth.

Busch, who led a race-high 151 laps, came home third, followed by Matt Kenseth and Ryan Newman. Carl Edwards, Clint Bowyer, Brian Vickers, Kasey Kahne and polesitter Juan Pablo Montoya completed the top 10. Edwards took over the series lead by nine points over Newman.

Busch held the lead until Lap 198, when Johnson passed him to the inside after the cars crossed the stripe. The duel between Busch and Johnson allowed Harvick to gain ground.

A caution on Lap 185 of 200, after Bobby Labonte blew a right front tire and slammed the Turn 4 wall, meant decision time for the crew chiefs. With Labonte’s wrecked car blocking the entrance to pit road, the pits remained closed until Lap 189, when Labonte’s car was dragged to the garage by a wrecker.

Busch, Johnson, Tony Stewart, Bowyer, Harvick, Newman and Edwards stayed on the track during the caution, with Kenseth leading a group of cars to pit road.

“Those guys just started to race,” Harvick said. “They got side by side, and we were able to pull up in there. The more laps we got on our tires, the better we were, but I was really nervous about that last call—staying out—but it all worked out in our favor, and we were able to make up ground.

Credit: Victor Decolongon/Getty Images for NASCARKevin Harvick passes Jimmie Johnson in Turn 4 of the final lap

to win the Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway.

“(Crew chief) Gil (Martin) obviously knew that we were better after the tires had air in them (as pressure built during green-flag runs), and it all worked out today.”

Johnson’s battle with Busch opened the door for Harvick, who led one lap—the one that counted.

“If I could have gotten by the No. 18 (Busch) a lap sooner, maybe that would have made the difference, and I would have had enough of a margin to hold off the No. 29, but he was rolling on the top,” Johnson said. “I did all I could. I was dead sideways. I think I hit the fence one time off of (Turn) 2, chasing Kyle, with the right rear first because it was sliding off the corner.”

After a cycle of stops that began when Busch pitted from the lead on Lap 138, Busch held a 6.5-second lead over Stewart, who began to make up ground throughout the ensuing green-flag run. Stewart had erased all but 1.3 seconds of Busch’s advantage when another cycle of green-flag stops widened the lead to 2.5 seconds.



Andy Lally’s spin off Turn 4 on Lap 170, however, brought out the third caution of the race and bunched the field for a restart on Lap 175. Busch and Stewart took the green flag side-by-side, with Busch in the outside lane, and the driver of the No. 18 Toyota pulled away to a half-second lead within three laps.

Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCARKevin Harvick and crew chief Gil Martin give each other a champagne

shower after winning the Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway.

Notes: Sunday’s race was Harvick’s 39th at Fontana in NASCAR’s top three series. He is winless in 17 NASCAR Nationwide Series and four NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts. He finished third in Saturday’s Royal Purple 300 NASCAR Nationwide Series race. … Harvick’s victory was the first at Fontana for team owner Richard Childress. … Harvick teammate Paul Menard finished 16th, improving on his previous best finish of 18th at Fontana. Menard, who is seventh in the standings, has personal-best results at all five tracks this season. … Dale Earnhardt Jr. came home 12th and fell to 12th in points, 31 behind Edwards.

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NASCAR- Kyle Busch Completes Weekend Sweep At Bristol

In Play Magazine

Credit: Jeff Zelvansky/Getty Images
Carl Edwards and Paul Menard lead the field at the
beginning of the Jeff Byrd 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway

Jeff Byrd 500 presented by Food City

Bristol Motor Speedway

Sunday, Mar. 20

266.5 miles (500 laps)

By Reid Spencer

Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

(March 20, 2011)

BRISTOL, Tenn.—The question isn’t whether Kyle Busch will win at Bristol Motor Speedway—it’s whether anyone else can find a way to keep him out of victory lane.

 

First off pit road after stops under caution on Lap 429, Busch held off polesitter Carl edwards and defending race winner Jimmie Johnson to win his fifth straight race in NASCAR’s top three national series at the .533-mile short track.  



Credit: Chris Trotman/Getty Images
David Reutimann, Brian Vickers and Denny Hamlin bring out the first caution
of the Jeff Byrd 500 on lap 29 at Bristol Motor Speedway



Busch’s victory in Sunday’s Jeff Byrd 500 was his 20th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, his first of the season and his second straight at Thunder Valley. Busch capped his second straight weekend sweep at Bristol, having won Saturday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series event.



Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR
Kyle Busch and the No.18 crew pose with the
Jeff Byrd 500 trophy in victory lane at Bristol Motor Speedway



Last August, Busch became the first driver to win three national series races at the same track on the same weekend when he claimed victories in NASCAR’s Camping World Truck, NASCAR Nationwide and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Edwards finished second for the second time in four races this season, and Johnson finished third, also for the second time in 2011. Matt Kenseth was fourth and Paul Menard fifth. Kurt Busch, Kevin Harvick, Greg Biffle, Kasey Kahne and Ryan Newman completed the top 10.

   

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Late Surge Helps Gordon Break 66-Race Drought

In Play Magazine

By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

Trevor Bayne saw the fairy-tale start to his season come to an
end when he hit the wall in Turn 1 on Lap 50 of the
SUBWAY Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix International Raceway.
Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR

AVONDALE, Ariz.—Jeff Gordon didn’t just drive to end hunger Sunday—he drove to end a famine.

With a convincing victory in the Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix International Raceway, where he beat runner-up Kyle Busch to the checkered flag by 1.137 seconds, Gordon ended a 66-race winless streak dating to April 2009 at Texas.



The win was Gordon’s second at the one-mile flat track and the 83rd of his career, tying him with Cale Yarborough for fifth on the NASCAR Sprint Cup victory list.

He won for the first time in his second start with crew chief Alan Gustafson and in his second race under "Drive to end hunger" sponsorship, an initiative of AARP.

"Pinch me, man. Pinch me," Gordon said in mock disbelief, after killing his engine in an ill-fated burnout on the frontstretch.

Five-time defending Cup champion Jimmie Johnson finished third after starting 28th. Kevin Harvick came home fourth, a substantial improvement over his 42nd-place result in last week’s Daytona 500, and Ryan Newman claimed fifth.

Kasey Kahne, Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch, AJ Allmendinger and Dale Earnhardt Jr. completed the top 10.

In victory lane, Gordon was positively bubbly.



"God, it feels so amazing," the four-time Cup champion said. "I can’t tell you how amazing this feels. So thankful to (owner) Rick Hendrick, all that he does. It’s been a long time, I know. I’m going to savor this one so much, but I’ve got to say thanks to the fans.

"I mean not only the fans at home—I’ve been tweeting lately for the first time and all of the stuff that people have been saying, the motivation has been unbelievably inspiring. And then to see that crowd stick around to see my really lame burnout—because I stink at them—but they love that show. Man, we hope we can give them some more shows like that this year."

Taking the lead on Lap 304 of 312, Gordon prevented Busch from achieving the second weekend sweep of his career. Busch had won Friday’s Camping World Truck Series race and Saturday’s Nationwide Series event.

Polesitter Carl Edwards saw his chances to win the race come to an end early, when he
was involved in a five-car accident on Lap 59. Edwards finished 28th, 60 laps down.

Credit: Tom Pennington/Getty Images

On Sunday, however, he fell nine laps and one position short of matching the feat he accomplished at Bristol last August, when he became the first driver to win races in all three of NASCAR’s top national touring series at the same track on the same weekend.

"There’s always got to be the one car out there to ruin the whole weekend," Busch quipped. "Today it was the 24."

Gordon nosed to the inside of Busch’s No. 18 Toyota at the start-finish line and cleared him in Turn 1 to complete the winning pass.



"He was gaining on me really good, and I knew he was going to get to me eventually, and this place is so flat and it’s one groove that we all run the bottom," Busch said of the sequence where Gordon got to his bumper on Lap 304.

After passing Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon pulled away to win

the SUBWAY Fresh Fit 500 by 1.137 seconds.

Credit: Tom Pennington/Getty Images

"He got so tucked up behind me in (Turns) 3 and 4, he got me loose, and I could not put the gas down," Busch said. "I mean, he was so far up underneath me that I could not go forward."

Busch, at least, could find some degree of consolation in taking over the lead in the series standings by three points over his brother, Kurt.



Gordon had to survive a number of early wrecks, including a 13-car pileup on the backstretch that blocked the track with crippled cars and stopped the action on Lap 67.



Jeff Gordon celebrates his SUBWAY Fresh Fit 500 at
Phoenix International Raceway.
The victory was the 83rd of his career, tying him with
Cale Yarborough for fifth on the all-time wins list.
Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR



Slight contact between Matt Kenseth’s No. 17 Ford and Brian Vickers’ No. 83 Toyota cut Vickers’ left rear tire and ignited a wild wreck that damaged the cars of Clint Bowyer, Jeff Burton, Jamie McMurray, David Reutimann, Casey Mears, Travis Kvapil, David Gilliland, Bobby Labonte, Regan Smith, Andy Lally and Robby Gordon.



"We’re all better racecar drivers than this," a disgusted Bowyer said after the incident. "It’s pretty embarrassing, to be honest with you."

 

The wreck occurred eight laps after contact between Kyle Busch and the No. 99 Ford of polesitter Carl Edwards sent Edwards into the Turn 3 wall. Edwards, who entered the race with the points lead, was able to return to the race but finished 28th, 52 laps back.


"I’m not exactly sure what happened," Edwards said. "I’ll have to talk to Kyle about it. I thought at first he was just frustrated and he turned left to get back in line and he didn’t know I was there. But I watched the tape, and I think he really did get loose. He hit me hard, and I was left with nothing."

Busch acknowledged responsibility for the wreck, saying repeatedly he owed an apology to Edwards.

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