NNS: Daytona Int’l Speedway - Camping World 300
Danni
RESULTS
1. Tony Stewart
3. Dale Jr.
4. Brian Vickers
11. Martin
14. David
18. Scott
I'll come right out and say it – this race was disappointing. I know plate races tend to get spread out at times, but for the majority of this one's duration, the cars were single file playing follow-the-leader. It just didn't seem like passing came easy at all, which was a surprise because the fin on the top of the Nationwide cars usually keep the packs tight.
The first bit of real action we saw unfortunately was a pretty scary wreck nearly halfway into the race. The 14 of David Gilliland was leading Greg Biffle's 16 and Mark Green's 70 when for some reason Biffle jacked up Gilliland's car in the middle of a turn. The 14 turned down and hooked Green's car up hard into the wall. I was surprised that it even occurred, really – I mean, they were single file! It's not like it was a crazy pack where a crash can happen at any moment.
It was hard to get much of an idea what was going on with our drivers because all the TV focused on were the leaders, usually consisting of Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch. From what they showed of Junior, he was pretty loose.
A couple of debris cautions followed because of Marcos Ambrose's blown tire and ensuing sheet metal removal. Things started heating up as a result of the field bunching back together. With only a handful of laps to go, the Big One happened when Brad Keselowski got into the back of Steven Wallace. The resulting spin collected eight other cars. Luckily, this all occurred behind David!
The shooutout to the checkers was pretty wild but it didn't bode well for David. He fought his way up and just kept getting ditched. So frustrating! It was also irritating to watch the rest of the field sort of hand that one to Stewart, but maybe that's because I'm not a big fan of him.
For David, a 14th place finish isn't horrible, but I understood his disappointment in his post-race interview. However, he should look at where the 3 other Cup drivers going for the championship fared – 9th for David Regan, 10th for Carl Edwards and 25th for Clint Bowyer. Those who finished in front of him are within easy reach, but I think possibly another reason for David's dissatisfaction was the fact that the 99 team had been caught with larger holes in their carburetor earlier in the week that allowed an increase in horsepower.
Dale Jr.'s 5 team was also involved in a more publicized infraction involving post-inspection modifications of the car's rear decklid and spoiler. 
Penalties are expected for both teams (and I know the 5 is going to get slammed big-time) and I'm sure David is worried about a points deduction and especially a potential suspension of crew chief Jerry Baxter. The latter would be the most detrimental. I'm just hoping right now that because the carburetor issue wasn't talked about much that it wasn't all that serious.
In general, it seemed as if ESPN gave a lot more attention to David than they did last year – he was immensely underestimated and I think they were probably a little embarrassed they gave so little credit to the man who ended up finishing second in points for the majority of the season. Unfortunately, the interviews he got were conducted by the senseless Shannon Spake. His post-race one concluded with Spake stating cheerfully that David did not make the Daytona 500 last year, but did this year.
Nice going, airhead, way to know your facts.
POINT STANDINGS
1. Tony Stewart
12. David -69
17. Scott -81
*UPDATE: Penalties were handed out Wednesday. The 99 got out lucky, with only a $5,000 fine and a 6-race probation for Jerry Baxter. David, in fact, got bumped up two positions in points as a result of the following: Dale Jr. was docked 50 points and crew chief Chad Walter was fined $25,000 and suspended for 6 races (ouch!). Johnny Sauter, who finished 13th in the race, lost 25 points for an oil tank modification.
1. Tony Stewart
3. Dale Jr.
4. Brian Vickers
11. Martin
14. David
18. Scott
I'll come right out and say it – this race was disappointing. I know plate races tend to get spread out at times, but for the majority of this one's duration, the cars were single file playing follow-the-leader. It just didn't seem like passing came easy at all, which was a surprise because the fin on the top of the Nationwide cars usually keep the packs tight.
The first bit of real action we saw unfortunately was a pretty scary wreck nearly halfway into the race. The 14 of David Gilliland was leading Greg Biffle's 16 and Mark Green's 70 when for some reason Biffle jacked up Gilliland's car in the middle of a turn. The 14 turned down and hooked Green's car up hard into the wall. I was surprised that it even occurred, really – I mean, they were single file! It's not like it was a crazy pack where a crash can happen at any moment.
It was hard to get much of an idea what was going on with our drivers because all the TV focused on were the leaders, usually consisting of Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch. From what they showed of Junior, he was pretty loose.
A couple of debris cautions followed because of Marcos Ambrose's blown tire and ensuing sheet metal removal. Things started heating up as a result of the field bunching back together. With only a handful of laps to go, the Big One happened when Brad Keselowski got into the back of Steven Wallace. The resulting spin collected eight other cars. Luckily, this all occurred behind David!
The shooutout to the checkers was pretty wild but it didn't bode well for David. He fought his way up and just kept getting ditched. So frustrating! It was also irritating to watch the rest of the field sort of hand that one to Stewart, but maybe that's because I'm not a big fan of him.
For David, a 14th place finish isn't horrible, but I understood his disappointment in his post-race interview. However, he should look at where the 3 other Cup drivers going for the championship fared – 9th for David Regan, 10th for Carl Edwards and 25th for Clint Bowyer. Those who finished in front of him are within easy reach, but I think possibly another reason for David's dissatisfaction was the fact that the 99 team had been caught with larger holes in their carburetor earlier in the week that allowed an increase in horsepower.
Dale Jr.'s 5 team was also involved in a more publicized infraction involving post-inspection modifications of the car's rear decklid and spoiler. Penalties are expected for both teams (and I know the 5 is going to get slammed big-time) and I'm sure David is worried about a points deduction and especially a potential suspension of crew chief Jerry Baxter. The latter would be the most detrimental. I'm just hoping right now that because the carburetor issue wasn't talked about much that it wasn't all that serious.In general, it seemed as if ESPN gave a lot more attention to David than they did last year – he was immensely underestimated and I think they were probably a little embarrassed they gave so little credit to the man who ended up finishing second in points for the majority of the season. Unfortunately, the interviews he got were conducted by the senseless Shannon Spake. His post-race one concluded with Spake stating cheerfully that David did not make the Daytona 500 last year, but did this year.
Nice going, airhead, way to know your facts.POINT STANDINGS
1. Tony Stewart
12. David -69
17. Scott -81
*UPDATE: Penalties were handed out Wednesday. The 99 got out lucky, with only a $5,000 fine and a 6-race probation for Jerry Baxter. David, in fact, got bumped up two positions in points as a result of the following: Dale Jr. was docked 50 points and crew chief Chad Walter was fined $25,000 and suspended for 6 races (ouch!). Johnny Sauter, who finished 13th in the race, lost 25 points for an oil tank modification.
