by Mike Maruska
2/18/2008
What a way to get your first win in 81 races. And not a bad race to choose either. Ryan Newman gets a well-deserved and popular win (how about that burnout, or was it a smokeout?). The difference came down to a battle of teammates, and the two Penske cars got a better bump draft than the Gibbs cars, who had a bigger gap between them.
On the surface the success by the Dodge teams looks like a big surprise, but all of the Dodge teams have made gains on restrictor plate tracks in recent years. Kurt Busch had a top 5 driver rating at three of the four plate races in 2007. Ryan Newman nearly won the 2006 Daytona 500 had fellow Dodge driver Casey Mears gone with him. Evernham placed two drivers in the top ten in last years Daytona 500. Ganassis Reed Sorenson finished in the top five in each of his Daytona races this week. They didnt lead a lot of laps but were all around at the right time and got good finishes. 6 of the top 10 and 8 of the top 15.
California will be a big test for all the teams, but especially Dodge. Penske cars ran well last year at intermediates, but can GEM and Ganassi find consistent speed? That is the bigger test.
Random Thoughts and Notes
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As I mentioned last week I had a soccer game meaning the race was watched on tape delay. I saw the first 8 laps live, left the house and then had to spend the rest of the afternoon avoiding all of my favorite websites, email and even my cell phone to successfully escape the NASCAR world temporarily. If youve ever taped a race, you know how tempting it is to look up the winner.
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The Gibbs cars combined to lead 136 of the 200 laps. Obviously a restrictor plate race is different than other tracks, but that doesn’t bode well for pure horsepower for the other manufacturers. Chevy led 31, Dodge 23, Toyota (Non-Gibbs Division) 5, and Ford led 8. Let’s not get carried away yet and crown the Gibbs drivers. Hendrick, Roush and RCR will have something to say over the next three weeks about speedway supremacy.
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Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin (and you could probably throw in Tony Stewart too) are going to have a blow up at some point this season. It will most likely come when they are fighting for the lead in the first third of a race. The team is not going to implode as the Fox booth alluded to, but there will be an incident.
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Dale Earnhardt Jr had the second best driver rating (115.6), hung out in the top 5 all day and looked fairly strong in the nighttime. The one thing missing was any semblance of teammates.
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Other notable finishes: Bobby Labonte narrowly missed a top 10 in 11th. After getting hung out to dry, Jeff Burton sunk to 13th place. Sam Hornish Jr finished 15th and had a very impressive 90.1 driver rating. In his final Daytona 500 Dale Jarrett finished 16th. That’s his best finish since an 11th at Atlanta two years ago.
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Furniture Rows Sunday didnt turn out like their big Thursday. Both cars finished in the 40s. Dont feel too bad, the two collected over $500,000 in prize money for the effort. That will go a long way towards paying bills for the small organization.
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Does the CoT signify the end of the Big One? The combination of the wing and the heavier body has kept cars against the wall instead of hurtling back towards the pack. Car after car hit the wall and stuck there. Even my wife asked why the cars werent creating huge melees. The more cars that are around at the end of restrictor plate races the better.
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Top five commercials: Amp (Junior fighting a Gorilla), Toyota (kids controlling drivers’ cars with remote controls), NAPA (90 Bristol Car), Fedex (Hamlin speed-reading), UPS (Dale Jarrett finally racesand winsin the truck)
Least favorite: Carl Edwards in the Claritin spot. The product may not cause drowsiness, but its ads do.
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Fox unveiled the new Gopher Cam. Its a ground level camera in each turn that gives another new perspective. As someone born in Minnesota, Im all for more exposure for Gophers, but I still prefer the crane cam. There is just something about the sweeping shot of the lead pack through an entire turn.
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If anyone has a connection with a Fox Sports producer, I would love to see one simple change. When a pit road reporter is talking, they highlight their name with a yellow bar on the ticker. My immediate reaction is theres a caution, then realize its merely Krista Voda talking. When I was a youngster, I had the Crayloa 64-color box. Almost any of the other 63 colors would work. How about a nice periwinkle or purple mountain majesty?
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