*Credit photo to Sporting News 

Kyle Busch won his sixth race of the Sprint Cup season and picked up the second Cup restrictor plate win of his career, much to the dismay of the crowd on-hand at Daytona International Speedway for Saturday night’s Coke Zero 400. But, whether or not you like Kyle Busch is irrelevent – what you cannot deny is that the action at Daytona was exciting once again and should be considered another victory for the Car of Tomorrow.

Paul Menard led the field to green after winning the Coors Lite Pole Award during Friday’s qualifying session, and he held onto the position for the first 19 laps of the race, before finally surrendering it over to former DEI teammate, Dale Earnhardt Jr. The lead for Junior was short-lived, however, as AJ Allmendinger brought out the first caution of the evening on lap 20 after he cut down a right-side tire and smacked the wall, and it was Kyle Busch leading the field off of pit road. Earnhardt and Busch then swapped the lead back-and-forth a few more times and controlled the position between them until Jimmie Johnson finally took over on lap 75, and then Jeff Gordon moved to the front on lap 79.

Tony Stewart had been moving towards the front and easily had one of the best cars in the field, but some flu-like symptoms finally caught up with Smoke, and after a lap 71 caution involving Greg Biffle and Juan Pablo Montoya, Stewart called upon his former Joe Gibbs Racing ‘mate, JJ Yeley, who failed to qualify for the race and was standing by in the no. 20 pits as a relief driver. It took the team two pit stops, but they made the driver change and got Yeley out on the track at the tail end of the field. For Stewart, this was the second time he needed a mid-race substitute in his career, the last time coming at Dover in 2006 when the team used Ricky Rudd to relieve Stewart, who was recovering from a shoulder injury.

Matters then appeared to be getting worse for the Gibbs camp when Denny Hamlin got Kyle Busch loose on lap 82. Busch got so loose, in fact, that he was forced down onto the apron and sank all the way back to 37th place, near his new teammate, JJ Yeley. A caution on lap 110 helped Busch make up some ground, though, after Elliott Sadler hit the wall and bunched the field back up. Busch was amongst a handful of cars charging up to the front of the field, in a group that included Yeley, Martin Truex Jr. and Kasey Kahne who started in the back of the field, and Daytona 500 winner, Ryan Newman, who was recovering from an earlier spin with Jamie McMurray back on lap 44.

Under the caution, Carl Edwards stayed out on the track to collect 5 bonus points for leading a lap, and then it was Earnhardt Jr. and Denny Hamlin swapping the lead back and forth for several laps. Busch had worked his way back into the top-ten by lap 110, and it’s a good thing for him, because the final 40 laps of the race brought out seven more cautions.

The fifth caution of the evening came with just 37 to go when David Gilliland got loose and hit the wall, bringing Ryan Newman with him and setting off a chain reaction behind them which also resulted with Jeff Burton in the wall. Gilliland had been running inside the top-five for most of the race until a pit road misque during the previous caution shuffled him back to 14th and in what would become the danger zone.

The mele’ continued just 7 laps later when Jamie McMurray couldn’t clear the no. 83 car of Brian Vickers and got spun out as a result, and then five laps after that, Ryan Newman was involved in his third accident of the day, this time spinning along with Denny Hamlin. Then, on lap 139, JJ Yeley – who had been making steady progress working his way up inside the top-15 and flirting with the top-ten – got turned sideways by David Ragan, and Jeff Burton and Casey Mears ended up in the wall behind them.

The 9th caution of the race came on lap 149 when Boris Said was spun by Joe Nemechek, and with the field bunched up together, Kyle Busch re-assumed the lead when he passed Jeff Gordon on lap 155. Another caution came out a lap later with a big spill involving Dave Blaney, Jimmie Johnson, Paul Menard, Regan Smith, JJ Yeley, David Reutimann, and Denny Hamlin, amongst others.

The field lined up for the sixth green-white-checkered finish of the season. Kyle Busch was out front, followed by Jeff Gordon and Carl Edwards. A slow restart caused Edwards to get into the back of the no. 24, turning Gordon around onto the apron, but NASCAR chose not to waive the caution flag. Then, Edwards and Matt Kenseth ducked out of line and pulled up next to the race leader, but Kenseth’s car “couldn’t hold it down” on the high line.

In an unlikely turn of events, the race turned into Carl Edwards running side-by-side with Kyle Busch, but Carl’s teammate – Matt Kenseth – was pushing Kyle, and Kyle’s brother – Kurt Busch – was pushing the no. 99. As the two cars took turns pulling their nose ahead of the other, the cars started piling up behind them, and NASCAR finally brought out the caution. Officials then turned to video replay to decide who was in front when the caution flag actually came out, and it was determined that Kyle did in fact pull ahead of Edwards right at the last moment, naming him the winner.

Edwards went onto finish 2nd – his best Daytona finish – with his Roush teammate, Matt Kenseth in third, and Kurt Busch in 4th, despite starting all the way back in the 36th position. David Ragan recovered nicely from a pit road penalty that put him at the end of the field on lap 113, and he went onto finish 5th. Robby Gordon had a very solid race and even led a lap at one point, and he finished 6th. Kasey Kahne appeared to be headed for disaster when he was forced to pit with less than 10 to go due to a right fender rub, but he rebounded into the 7th position. After leading the most laps in the race, Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s car faded in the latter stages, as he settled for 8th. 9th place went to Clint Bowyer, who had a very quiet day as he worked his way up from 25th. And, Mark Martin rounded out the top-ten finishers after starting from the outside pole. There was also a point in the race where Mark got the opportunity to run up front with his three Hendrick teammates for next season.

Other Notables: Kevin Harvick finished the race in 12th, but it wasn’t enough to keep him in the top-12 in points, as he now sits 13th in the standings ….. Polesitter, Paul Menard, finished 15th ….. Driving in relief of Tony Stewart, JJ Yeley finished 20th, which was just enough to keep Stewart two points in front of Harvick ….. Jimmie Johnson finished 23rd ….. After appearing as though he might be in line for the victory on the final restart, Jeff Gordon plummeted to a 30th place finish ….. Last year’s race winner, Jamie McMurray, finished 32nd ….. Daytona 500 winner, Ryan Newman, finished 36th ….. Jeff Burton wound up 37th, ending his 23-race streak of top-15 finishes.

Grades:
the Racing - 95%
the Drama – 96%
Coverage – 92%
Pre-Race – 89%

Overall Grade: 94%

Recommended Reads:
- Kyle Busch Captures Win in Exciting Finish at Daytona International Speedway – (Racing for the Win)
- Live on Type Delay: Firecracker (Coke Zero) 400 – (RevJim’s Rans ‘n’ Raves)

Complete Results (from nascar.com):

Sprint Cup Series Standings (from nascar.com):

Post from: EveryJoe

Rating the Race: Daytona – Coke Zero 400

Through 55 years of racing at NASCAR’s top level, the Wood Brothers have established themselves amongst the all-time winningest teams in the sport’s history with an accumulated 97 wins amongst the organization. The organization has housed such legendary names as Cale Yarbrough, David Pearson, Davey Allison, AJ Foyt, Tiny Lund, Dale Jarrett, Ricky Rudd, and Dan Gurney. The team made history in the late 70’s when they were invited to the White House by former U.S. President, Jimmy Carter … Yet, Wood Brothers Racing has not visited Victory Lane since Elliott Sadler’s 2001 win at Bristol Motor Speedway, and the organization has been relegated to one of stock car racing’s proverbial laughing stocks in recent years.

With the team struggling, and the evolution of the NASCAR economy seeming to work against them and the Ford Racing program, team owner Glen Wood sought to keep the driving program afloat by signing veteran drivers Bill Elliott and Ken Schrader to drive the no. 21 Ford for the team in 2007. The end result, however, was less than desirable as the combination failed to net the Wood Bros. a single top-ten finish, and much hasn’t changed in 2008 with Elliott again behind the wheel this year, this time being complimented by Jon Wood on occassion.

So, what does a team do when they’ve fallen so far off of the mark of excellence that they themselves established so long ago? They go out and fetch themselves the 31-year-old Aussie that’s largely credited with the revival of Ford Racing in Australia - Marcos Ambrose. Adequately named the “Tasmanian Devil,” Ambrose, a former Formula Ford Euro Cup and 2x former V8 Supercar Championship Series champion, broke into the NASCAR scene in 2006 when the Wood Brothers / JTG Racing partnership signed Ambrose to compete in full-time in the Craftsman Truck Series. Not being cleared by NASCAR to compete in the first three races of the season, Ambrose was limited to 22 races in which he garnered 4 top-ten finishes, including a pair of 3rd place runs at Nashville and Kansas.

The team then set Ambrose’s sights on the Nationwide Series in 2007, where Marcos tallied 6 top-ten runs through 35 events and ultimately finished 8th in the overall points standings, and was the third highest ranked non-Cup regular in the standings. 2008 has gotten Marcos off to a bit of a slower start in the series, where he currently sits 13th in points, but a 2nd place run at the road course in Mexico earlier in the season prompted a callup from the Wood Brothers this past weekend at Infineon.

Slated to make his long-awaited Sprint Cup debut behind the wheel of the famed no. 21 Ford Fusion, Ambrose got the weekend off to a great start when he was the 7th fastest during qualifying, and then led the final practice session on Saturday. Looking to prove his road course prowess was no joke and that he belonged at NASCAR’s premier level, Ambrose then established himself as one of the top cars in the field and definitely one of the guys to beat on Sunday, though looking at the box score following the race, you’d have never known it unless you’d watched the race yourself.

Marcos ran with the leaders and stayed up around the top-five all day long, even when pit strategies shuffled several of the other race leaders back into the pack. Only some unprovoked contact from Elliott Sadler late in the race kept him from getting the finish he deserved, and yet, even after a 42nd place run, both Ambrose and the Wood Brothers organization were rather upbeat following the race.

“Just awesome,” he said. “I couldn’t believe it. Here I am, passing Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon, racing with Earnhardt Jr, it’s just fantastic. It’s what I dreamed about, what I dreamed it would be like. It’s certainly like that. It’s just fantastic. It’s just a real shame we couldn’t finish the race.”

While most people probably find it tough to see the silver lining in a 42nd place finish, those that have followed the Wood Brothers throughout the years know that they’ve been far from competitive the last few years, and that even though the finish wasn’t indicative of the good run, it’s a huge morale booster for the organization to have a car run as well as Marcos did on Sunday. Ambrose is now scheduled to compete in seven more Cup events in the no. 21 car, including next weekend at New Hampshire and the August road course race at Watkins Glen.

*Credit photo to Newscom.

Post from: EveryJoe

Is Ambrose the Ticket for the Wood Bros.’ Return to Prosperity?

Recent Pole Winners:
2007 – Jamie McMurray
2006 – Kurt Busch
2005 – Jeff Gordon

Best Driver Ratings (from racingone.com):
1. Juan Pablo Montoya – 115.3
2. Tony Stewart – 113.9
3. Kurt Busch – 109.3
4. Ryan Newman – 104.3
5. Boris Said – 103.9

Best Average Finishes (from racingone.com):
1. Juan Pablo Montoya – 1.0
2. Jeff Gordon – 8.7
3. Mark Martin – 9.2
4. Ryan Newman – 9.8
5.  Tony Stewart / Clint Bowyer – 10.0

Most Wins – Jeff Gordon (5)
Most Wins (Active) – Jeff Gordon (5)
Most Poles – Jeff Gordon (5)
Most Poles (Active) – Jeff Gordon (5)
Most Top 5’s – Ricky Rudd (10)
Most Top 10’s – Mark Martin (13)
Most Manufacturer Wins – Chevrolet (9)
Track Qualifying Record – Jeff Gordon (75.950 seconds / 2005)

Odd Facts:
- A Sprint Cup race at Infineon has never seen more than 9 different leaders in any one race, and has never had more than 10 lead changes. Compare that to Talladega, which sometimes sees more than 50 lead changes in a single race.
- Michael Waltrip holds the record for the most laps run at Infineon and the most starts at the track without a DNF (18 races). His best finish at the track, however, is 4th, which came in 2004.

Six-Pack Challenge:
Winner – Tony Stewart
2nd Place – Juan Pablo Montoya
3rd Place – Jeff Gordon
4th Place – Boris Said
5th Place – Jeff Burton
6th Place – Scott Pruett

Lock of the Week – Juan Pablo Montoya
Sleeper Pick – Marcos Ambrose
Steer Clear of – Kasey Kahne

Post from: EveryJoe

Fantasy Preview: Infineon

Recent Pole Winners:
2007 – Jimmie Johnson, Ryan Newman
2006 – Jeff Gordon, Ryan Newman
2005 – Ryan Newman, Jimmie Johnson

Best Driver Ratings (from racingone.com):
1. Greg Biffle – 113.7
2. Matt Kenseth – 111.9
3. Mark Martin – 104.4
4. Jimmie Johnson – 101.5
5. Kyle Busch – 101.5

Best Driver Average Finishes (from racingone.com):
1. Carl Edwards – 9.1
2. Ryan Newman – 10.0
3. Martin Truex Jr. – 10.5
4. Tony Stewart – 10.6
5. Mark Martin – 11.1

Most Wins – Bobby Allison, Richard Petty (7)
Most Wins / Active Driver – Jimmie Johnson, Ryan Newman, Mark Martin (3)
Most Poles – David Pearson (6)
Most Top 5’s – Dale Earnhardt, Mark Martin (19)
Most Top 10’s – Richard Petty, Ricky Rudd (26)
Most Manufacturer Wins – Chevrolet (28)
Track Qualifying Record – Jeremy Mayfield (22.288 seconds / 2004)

TZ’s Six-Pack Challenge:
Winner – Tony Stewart
2nd Place – Greg Biffle
3rd Place – Jimmie Johnson
4th Place – Kyle Busch
5th Place – Martin Truex Jr.
6th Place – Jeff Burton

Lock of the Week – Tony Stewart
Sleeper Pick – Juan Pablo Montoya
Steer Clear of – Kevin Harvick

Post from: EveryJoe

Fantasy Preview: Dover

The six Winston Cups that Dale Earnhardt brought to the famed #3 Chevy team owned by Richard Childress Racing from 1984 to 2000 without a doubt legitimized the Childress organization in ways that even Richard himself had never dreamed possible. That legendary status suddenly (and sadly) came to a screeching halt at the 2001 Daytona 500, however, and we all know the story behind that. After renumbering the #3 to the #29 and replacing the legend with a rookie, Kevin Harvick appeared as though he might continue that legacy for RCR by bursting onto the scene with 2 wins, a 9th place points finish, and Rookie of the Year honors in ’01 – despite running only 35 races – but, that “success” story has had its ups and downs itself.

Although Harvick has been the only driver in succession to Earnhardt in the [now numbered] 29 car, Childress has struggled mightily in finding permanent fits for his other cars. Things have looked bleak at times, with only 16 wins for the entire organization since the death of Earnhardt Sr, but they really started picking up the momentum the last two years.  Harvick’s 2003 performance was the only top ten points finish for an RCR team from 2002 to 2005, but in ’06 Harvick and Jeff Burton both made the Chase for the Cup field, and in 2007, all three Childress cars wiggled their way into NASCAR’s “playoffs”.

There’s been a lot of talk in the garage and in the media that it may be up to RCR to knock Hendrick Motorsports down a notch or two, but there are still a lot of question marks that remain within the teams. While all three of the Childress drivers possess enormous talent and potential, they’ve all also been either streaky or unproven throughout their careers. RCR’s 2008 campaign will be determined by the answer to three questions:  1) Can Kevin Harvick remain consistent for the course of 36 races?  2) Is Jeff Burton’s driving career past his prime, or have the last two seasons told the true Burton story?  3) Was 2007 merely a fluke for the young Clint Bowyer?  I honestly don’t know the answer to those questions, in my mind making RCR the ultimate wildcard for 2008.

Cup Series Roster:

07: Clint Bowyer – After looking impressive at times in his 2006 rookie season, Bowyer finished only 17th in points that season, but he absolutely exploded last year. He picked up his first career Cup victory, recorded 17 top-ten finishes, and for the first half of the Chase for the Cup remained in contention with leaders Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, finishing third overall. I don’t think he will finish even remotely close to that high in points again next year, and honestly, he’s not one of my favorites to make the Chase field. I’m expecting him to finish somewhere around 15th or 16th this year. He just hasn’t proven anything to me yet.

29: Kevin Harvick – Seven years in the Cup Series, and four of them spent inside the top ten in points. After frustrating years in 2004 and 2005 – finishing 14th in both – Harvick has rebounded nicely with 4th and 10th place finishes, winning six races in ’06 & ’07. Aside from his confrontation with Juan Pablo Montoya last year, he also seems to be leaving a lot of the drama off the track, and that could have a lot to do with it. His short career has already had numerous ups and downs to this point, but I believe he’s as legitimate now as people thought he was earlier on. I’m sticking to my earlier predictions … the 2007 Daytona 500 winner will go onto finish 5th in the points this year.

31: Jeff Burton – His move to RCR late in 2004 has absolutely re-ignited his career. If you recall, at the end of his tenure with Roush Racing, Jeff couldn’t even get a primary sponsor for his ride in most of the races, and finally his relationship with Jack Roush had to come to an end. Burton has qualified for the Chase field in each of the last two seasons and has won two races for Childress. Despite his recently re-found success, I often find myself struggling at the notion of Burton being a legitimate force on the track. Still, I can’t deny the consistency he’s shown in the Chevy’s … somewhere between 8th and 10th for Burton this year.

Post from: EveryJoe

Season Preview: Richard Childress Racing

It’s hard to imagine that a team like Yates Racing would no longer be considered to be in NASCAR’s elite organizations, but the first thing that comes to my mind when I think of the course that this company has undergone over the past few seasons is the phrase, “My, how the mighty have fallen.” It wasn’t long ago that Robert Yates had the likes of the rising Elliot Saddler and racing legend Dale Jarrett driving the no. 38 M&M’s and no. 88 UPS Chevy Monte Carlo’s and both drivers were contending for championships. Fast forward to 2008, and Doug Yates – Robert’s son – now controls ownership of the race teams and runs the company with the help of Max Jones.

2007 was a complete catastrophe for the Yates teams – perhaps the worst year in the company’s history. The two teams were fielded by David Gilliland (driving in his first full-time season in the Cup series) and Ricky Rudd (driving in his final full-time season). The teams finished the season 28th and 33rd respectively, bringing home a total of (1) top five and (3) top ten finishes … oh, and a Budweiser Pole Award via Gilliland’s efforts at last year’s running of the Daytona 500. The only bright spot from last season is the fact that both cars did manage to maintain their positions inside the top 35 in owner’s points, meaning that Gilliland and Travis Kvapil (replacing Rudd in the now no. 28 Chevy) will have guaranteed starts in the first five points races of the season. That’s of little consolation for the team, though, when they consider the fact that in 2005 their teams finished 13th and 15th in points with 19 top ten finishes and a win, and 9th and 15th in points with 2 wins and 28 top ten’s. In fact, Dale Jarrett’s win at Talladega in October of 2005 was the last time the Yates family has visited Victory Lane, and if last year was any indication of things to come, it may be quite sometime before they receive another ticket to go back there.

NASCAR brand-name sponsors have apparently taken notice to the fallout inside the Yates camp, because it was only early Thursday afternoon that they finally landed their first primary sponsor for either of their cars when they signed Experien Consumer Direct for the first seven races on the hood of the no. 38 car. Yes, they’ve gone from decorating their cars with M&M’s, Snickers, and UPS to opening up the Daytona 500 with Experien and a sponsor TBD. Oh, and what are they going to do 2 months from now when that contract expires? All hope is not lost, though. At the end of 2006, Yates partnered their engine department with that of Roush Racing, who started coming on very, very strong towards the end of last season, primarily with Matt Kenseth. I’m sure both organizations have had their people working around the clock in the offseason to get things right for both camps. If that’s the case, then the potential of David Gilliland should shine brightly right away – provided he can keep the nose of the car clean, and Travis Kvapil could possibly bring home some consistent finishes as well by the end the year. It should be interesting.

Cup Series Roster:
28: Travis Kvapil – He hasn’t raced in the Cup Series since 2006 when he raced 31 races for Penske Racing and finished 36th in driver points, failing to record a top ten finish. He did, however, race the full schedule in 2005 – his rookie season in Cup – and brought home two top ten finishes en route to a 33rd place points finish. Don’t let the numbers fool you, though. Despite his poor performance in the Cup Series thus far, Travis did win the Craftsman Truck Series Championship back in 2003 in what was only his third season of racing the trucks in a brilliant season which saw him finish 22 of the 25 races that year in the top ten, finishing all but one lap. If Doug Yates can somehow find a way to put some solid equipment behind him, Travis should not only have no problem keeping this car inside the top 35 in owner’s points, but could perhaps find enough consistency to bring home a 20th to 25th place points finish.

38: David Gilliland – David seemed as though he was a perfect match for the NASCAR circuit when he first debuted in the Busch Series in 2006. In only his seventh start he was able to bring home the checkered flag at Kentucky Speedway and then quickly found himself in the Cup Series after Yates had parted ways with Elliot Saddler mid-way through the year. In only his 8th start in the Cup Series, David won the pole award at Talladega and went on to finish a very respectable 15th in that race, though his average finish in the fifteen races he participated in that year was only 28.3. 2007 got off to a great start, though, as he won the pole award for the Daytona 500 and finished 8th in the “Great American Race”, officially scoring his first career top ten finish in the big leagues of racing. The season was downhill from there, though, as David would capture only one more top 10 finish on the season, coming in with an average finish of 27.4. He’s looked good at times in many races, but the big problem he’s had is being able to avoid trouble on the track … purely a sign of his inexperience. If he’s able to maintain a high level of awareness to his surroundings on the track, then I’m confident that he’ll eventually get this car to victory lane and possibly even cruise to a top 20 finish in the points standings. That’s a big “if”, though … much easier said than done.Driver Roster: C+
Off-Season: C+
2008 Outlook: B-

Post from: EveryJoe

Season Preview: Yates Racing