2008 Daytona 500

[Mag]

It's almost time, YIPPEEEEEEE!! Go 9 ! :jump::jump:

[GaryG]

I'm rooting for Junior...got a pig in the ground and the beer on ice.

[Marshall Bennett]

I used to love Nascar , now I hate it !! I'll watch Daytona and Talladega ( best chance of a huge pile up ) . They keep changing the rules to favor teams with the big bucks . Muli-millionares are fined spare change for running other drivers off the track . To make matters worse , the telecast came on at 1:00 cst this afternoon and they got the green flag to go at 2:40 . In between was endless bullshit and clips of past races few remember ( the clip of Allison @ Cale was cool , they show it about twelve times a year but its still cool ) . They need to shake up the broadcast team as well , they're nerve racking and lack the basics of the english language .

[Mag]

More TV coverage than usual this year because it's the 50th.

Congrats to Roger Penske for Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch running 1-2.

1 12 Ryan Newman
2 2 Kurt Busch
3 20 Tony Stewart
4 18 Kyle Busch
5 41 Reed Sorenson
6 19 Elliott Sadler
7 9 Kasey Kahne
8 7 Robby Gordon
9 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr.
10 16 Greg Biffle

[GaryG]

It was a great finish even with all the cautions....made me watch Cars again. Of course I watch Cars once a week anyway.

[JustRalph]

Ryan Newman may have just saved his job................ :ThmbUp:

Let's hope he is smarter this year...............he better be.........


Tony Stewart about swallowed his tongue........love it when he gets mad.

He will probably come back and win the championship now........ :lol:

[Mag]

We love Cars here, LOL!

[ezrabrooks]

Headline in the Denver Post's sports page was "HELLO, NEWMAN'!

[DanG]

It was a great finish even with all the cautions....
Even with the rule change still way too many laps run under yellow. The last 20+ laps should have been filled with drama and yet about 70% of them were run under yellow.

Incident: Everyone pit; clean the track up and keep the last 25% as flat out racing.

BTW: I can’t believe they only recently stopped allowing checkered flags while under caution! Wouldn’t we all love if a rider falls early in the Derby the remainder is run under yellow and a rabbit like “Groovy” gets the roses. :rolleyes:

[JustRalph]

Dan, they changed the rule after Jeff Gordon won too many races under caution............ they couldn't afford to pick up all the beer cans being thrown on the track........... :lol:

[Marshall Bennett]

Nascar probably has more rule changes than all other sports combined .

[DanG]

Dan, they changed the rule after Jeff Gordon won too many races under caution............ they couldn't afford to pick up all the beer cans being thrown on the track........... :lol:
LOL Ralph! :D

This is true love from the fans at Talladega!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdQaIChsDJg

[Murph]

More TV coverage than usual this year because it's the 50th.

Congrats to Roger Penske for Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch running 1-2.

1 12 Ryan Newman
2 2 Kurt Busch
3 20 Tony Stewart
4 18 Kyle Busch
5 41 Reed Sorenson
6 19 Elliott Sadler
7 9 Kasey Kahne
8 7 Robby Gordon
9 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr.
10 16 Greg Biffle

Overall presentation of the 50th Running of the Daytona 500 from me
gets a B+ There was much happening the entire week as the teams
shook out their cars and multi-billion dollar enterprises for a new run
at the chase gauntlet. I have to give them points off for how long it
took to get the darn thing started!

Some of the highlighs for me were:

Junior Johnson finally came back to the race track, maybe for the
last time. I had the impression he couldn't get out of there soon enough,
something DW (probably mistakenly) reported when he asked the former
champs to join him in starting the engines. JJ had already left the building.

Dale Jr.'s pre-race interview was kind of cryptic. He sure didn't act like a guy
who started the week off with huge victories for his team and his self
confidence. I say he was acting more like a guy who realized his place in the
Hendrick pecking order on race day. Or maybe he was told the he wasn't to
finish in the top 10 today? He finished 9th.

The 2008 Finish was exciting and historical. Roger Penske became the first
team owner to win both the Dayton 500 and the Indianapolis 500. A J Foyt
has attempted this feat over the past 20 years and has yet to win the
Indianapolis 500 as a team owner. I hope this will motivate him to compete
on a level that will match Penske at Indy. That's a racing rivalry I have
followed since my childhood.
GO A J!

Enough history ... The end of the race was quite dramatic. I have to congratulate
The entire Penske team for an outstanding result that displayed the professionalism
of their organization and the highly competetive nature of the on track competition.

Ryan Newman is now one of the "Great Ones", Ralph.
He is a Cup champion and a Daytona 500 winner, right up there with the King.
I really enjoyed his father's reaction in the winner's circle. He knew what his
son had just accomplished and could not have been more happy. I wonder if
he wasn't just as happy with himself as well? Iwould have if it were my son.

Kurt Bush ran the best race I have ever seen him drive. He was patient
throughout the running never forcing or jeprodizing his track position. When
the late stages came both Peske cars were set up to haul and KB's aggressive
bump draft on the top of the groove sent the pair through the final turn at
195 MPH! Nice ...

After the race Mr Bush was fresh as a daisy and cool as a cucumber while his
buddy Smoke was purely seething after the race.

I love Smoke and I was pulling for him to block and run the high groove. It
looked like he may have thought his chances were better dropping down and
making his run with hard charging teammate Kyle. I'll bet Smoke felt like he
was in a pickle and everyone around him was holding forks.

Kyle Bush had recklessly raced at the front of the pack for the better of 450
miles. When the time to make the money run came I thought Kyle was asleep
at the wheel going around Burton. He might have lost momentum there and
that's not what champions do on the final laps of this race. I hope Tony checks
in with his anger management guru before the next race.

Finally, congrats are in order for one of my favorite Cup drivers, Robby Gordon.
His 8th place finish will help to keep his "one" car team in competition for
a run at the chase. Great way to start the season, Robby.

I'll probably sleep through most of the races until the Firecracker runs back
at Daytona this summer. I truly enjoy the first race of the Cup season and this one
will be memorable to me for many reasons. I hope many of you reading will
keep your own memories from this years event.

Man, I LOVE racing!

Murph

[JustRalph]

Ryan Newman is now one of the "Great Ones", Ralph.
He is a Cup champion and a Daytona 500 winner, right up there with the King.


Murph, I think you better check your facts..............

[cj]

It was a great race...until the end. Way too many cautions, especially from guys fighting for like 18th. Especially frustrating is when the cars that wreck are out of the way quickly, yet the yellow flies for 3 or 4 laps.

[Murph]

Murph, I think you better check your facts..............Thanks for spotting me.

A Cup rookie in 2002, Ryan Newman has not finished higher than 6th place
in the final season standings for any year. This sadly puts him at the second
level of NASCAR talent a'la Sterling Marlin and several others who have won
the Daytona 500.

Murph

http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2002/data/standings_official.html

[Pace Cap'n]

It was a great race...until the end. Way too many cautions, especially from guys fighting for like 18th. Especially frustrating is when the cars that wreck are out of the way quickly, yet the yellow flies for 3 or 4 laps.

And there is always "debris on the track" in case there aren't enough wrecks.

[JustRalph]

It was a great race...until the end. Way too many cautions, especially from guys fighting for like 18th. Especially frustrating is when the cars that wreck are out of the way quickly, yet the yellow flies for 3 or 4 laps.

Cj is right. They need to go to a down finger restart for the last 20 laps.............

[LurkingBettor]

Finally, congrats are in order for one of my favorite Cup drivers, Robby Gordon.
His 8th place finish will help to keep his "one" car team in competition for
a run at the chase. Great way to start the season, Robby.


Sorry, Murph....from the Nascar.com website:

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- NASCAR on Wednesday issued penalties and fines to the No. 7 team that competes in the Sprint Cup Series, as a result of rule infractions found during Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway.

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/nascar/2008/news/headlines/cup/02/20/daytona.penalties/Robby.Gordon.100.jpg
Gordon



The No. 7 car, driven and owned by Robby Gordon (http://www.nascar.com/drivers/dps/rgordon00/cup/index.html), was found to be in violation of Sections 12-4-A (actions detrimental to stock car racing); 12-4-Q (car, car parts, components and/or equipment used do not conform to NASCAR rules); and 20-3.10A (unapproved front bumper cover) of the 2008 NASCAR rule book. The violations were found during opening day inspection for the Daytona 500 on Feb. 8.

As a result, Gordon has been penalized 100 championship driver and owner points.

Crew chief Frank Kerr has been fined $100,000, suspended for the next six Sprint Cup Series events until April 9 and placed on probation until Dec. 31, 2008.

Gordon finished eighth in the season-opening Daytona 500. With the penalty, he drops to 40th in points with 42 -- 16 behind 35th-place Casey Mears (http://www.nascar.com/drivers/dps/cmears01/cup/index.html).

Gordon had announced his switch from Ford to Dodge, along with a new partnership with Gillett Evernham Motorsports, five days earlier and inadvertently had used a Dodge Charger nose that had been submitted to NASCAR but had not yet been approved. Before qualifying for the Daytona 500 on Feb. 10, Gordon replaced the part with an approved Dodge Avenger nose.

[JustRalph]

Thanks for spotting me.

A Cup rookie in 2002, Ryan Newman has not finished higher than 6th place
in the final season standings for any year. This sadly puts him at the second
level of NASCAR talent a'la Sterling Marlin and several others who have won
the Daytona 500.

Murph

http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2002/data/standings_official.html

No sweat. I apologize. I should have just sent you a PM.

I corrected a Boston Globe writer on his article on the 500.......He wrote that Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch received a six race suspension for their little disagreement on track before the 500. Can you imagine what that would do to a team? It was a six race probation........standard in Nascar.

I just got an email back from him and he ain't happy about it. But admitted he blew it. He reminded me that he has written about the Daytona 500 for the last 22 years.........all in the Boston Globe..........

[Murph]

No sweat. I apologize. I should have just sent you a PM.
NO WAY! I need other folks to help keep me honest. I think that's a
character trait or something. You're a helluva racing fan, I can spot the
devoted brethern pretty quickly.

One of these days I may need you show me around that hayfield you folks
in Ohio call a race track, you know ... your buddy Rahals place, Mid America.
I would love to get the grand tour over there sometime.

As for my guys troubles .. I can't invest any thoughts in the matter before mid
summer. I'm going to be way too busy. Thanks for the news LB and to everyone
rehashing the race with us.

Murph