NNS Daytona Int'l Speedway - Winn-Dixie 250
Danni
RESULTS
1. Denny Hamlin
3. Dale Jr.
7. Scott
14. David
37. Brian (DNF - transmission)
Daytona always gets hyped up no matter what month the race takes place in, but sometimes it turns out to be rather boring. Unfortunately, last night's race was just that case. Despite the wicker bill that extends from one side of the roof to the other that promotes good racing and easy passing, it looked like most drivers had a handful. I'm not sure if it's just the downward spiral of Nationwide competition or what. A lot of drivers were complaining about the rough surface of the track and I have to agree with them - cars were doing the "wave" pretty much everywhere. It's cool to watch and gives the track character, but it sure doesn't give much in the way of racing since it's so hard to drive side-by-side on anymore.
As always, the beginning of the race was wild and a little frightening to watch. I figured rookie pole-sitter Bryan Clauson was screwed since he had a lot of aggressive drivers behind him and I was right - he never led a lap. Following Dale Jr.'s progression to the front of the pack was cringe-worthy at best. He simply hit cars out of his way, often in the middle of the corners where NASCAR frowns upon bump-drafting. I hate that. I can get quite annoyed with Junior when he pretty much bullies his way through the field in the Nationwide series. It also seems that NASCAR was ignoring a lot of the corner hits from all the drivers, not just Junior.
For the second race in a row, David brought out the first caution flag by making contact with another car.
He was going backwards at the time, whether because of handling or to get away from the crazy mess that was the front of the pack. I watched Josh Wise pass him off of Turn 2 and go high too early... and then Josh was spinning along the backstretch! I was pretty upset because Josh is part of MWR, but he said that he pushed up into David. From the replays it's hard to tell if David hit him at all - barely a touch at most but it doesn't take a lot at Daytona.
Long green runs and a stretched out field dominated the race. I guess that could make drivers happy because it prevents the Big One, but watching the leaders drive away single file wasn't entertaining at all. After some oil was found on the track, David took two tires and restarted second. It didn't help him all that much since he was immediately shuffled, and although he fought his way back and rode in second for a while, he shot to the back again when Kyle Busch bumped into the back of him in the corner for no reason.
I like Kyle but that was ridiculous! NASCAR simply gave him a warning. I guess even if they had black-flagged him it wouldn't have helped David's team out. Once he went to the back (probably as a result of his old tires) and green flag pit stops cycled through, there was nothing the #99 team could do to get to the front.
To make my mood worse, on the green stops, Brian's car broke something as he tried to exit his stall. It looked a lot like a tranny failure but could have been a couple things - they weren't quite sure.
The first three cars - Denny Hamlin, Busch and Dale Jr. - were way ahead in single file as the laps wound down. It looked to be one of the most boring finishes I've ever seens at Daytona when all of the sudden the #16 of Colin Braun just lost it off of Turn 2 with 2 to go. Last chance for excitement!
But really, the green-white-checkers brought nothing new. Carl Edwards almost caused a wreck when he cut into Mike Bliss, but it mostly just killed everybody's momentum behind them and allowed the same three leaders to pull away again. David had a really hard time making any ground and that was compounded when Clauson drifted up into the side of him. Somehow Scott was able to sneak through and get a top-10 before the final turn wreck occurred.
It could not have been more awkward - Steven Wallace crashed Mike Wallace. In reality, it didn't surprise me much because I have watched all three Wallaces, including Kenny, race each other extremely hard. So it was bound to happen. I'm not saying Steven did it intentionally, but it was still a hard pill to swallow for Mike and he did not hide that he was mad. However, to his credit, he was very professional in his interview, never named names and pretty much said that everyone saw what happened so he didn't have to explain. And in the sensitive fashion that I've grown so fond of at ESPN, Jamie Little was stupid enough to try to provoke Mike by pressing him about Steven being a family member. Mike looked irritated at Jamie and rightfully so! He reiterated what he'd said and stated that it wasn't his business to air dirty laundry on TV (and to the likes of ESPN, I'm sure). Ugh! How many times to we have to hit the ESPN reporters with a "DUH" stick before they get a clue?
By the end of the race I was in a sour mindset. The #20 wins again. Big surprise. But instead of bitching about the Toyota engines having 15, 20, 50 more horsepower (yeah, it varies according to who you ask
) than the Chevrolet engines, Junior brought up a great point - he said that the Gibbs cars are focused less on getting the "bullet" shapes and more on how to get the cars to handle the best. Wow! Ya think? Finally, someone with an open, intelligent mind!
David's finish was crippling in the points. He dropped two spots and lost quite a chunk on the championship. I know that one bad race for Clint and it could all tighten back up again (he's only 24 points away from 2nd). Man, Clint's luck has to run out sooner or later! Maybe that new R07 engine he was whining about not getting yet will be exactly the opposite of what he wants - poof! All joking aside, there seems to be a Chevy driver campaign for it, but they might not like what they wish for since new engines have a tendency to fail.
Hopefully tonight's race will be more of a race and less of a single file parade. It'll be interesting now that the drivers know about the two-car charge tactic that was so amazing to watch at Talladega!
POINT STANDINGS
1. Clint Bowyer
4. David -226
1. Denny Hamlin
3. Dale Jr.
7. Scott
14. David
37. Brian (DNF - transmission)
Daytona always gets hyped up no matter what month the race takes place in, but sometimes it turns out to be rather boring. Unfortunately, last night's race was just that case. Despite the wicker bill that extends from one side of the roof to the other that promotes good racing and easy passing, it looked like most drivers had a handful. I'm not sure if it's just the downward spiral of Nationwide competition or what. A lot of drivers were complaining about the rough surface of the track and I have to agree with them - cars were doing the "wave" pretty much everywhere. It's cool to watch and gives the track character, but it sure doesn't give much in the way of racing since it's so hard to drive side-by-side on anymore.
As always, the beginning of the race was wild and a little frightening to watch. I figured rookie pole-sitter Bryan Clauson was screwed since he had a lot of aggressive drivers behind him and I was right - he never led a lap. Following Dale Jr.'s progression to the front of the pack was cringe-worthy at best. He simply hit cars out of his way, often in the middle of the corners where NASCAR frowns upon bump-drafting. I hate that. I can get quite annoyed with Junior when he pretty much bullies his way through the field in the Nationwide series. It also seems that NASCAR was ignoring a lot of the corner hits from all the drivers, not just Junior.
For the second race in a row, David brought out the first caution flag by making contact with another car.
He was going backwards at the time, whether because of handling or to get away from the crazy mess that was the front of the pack. I watched Josh Wise pass him off of Turn 2 and go high too early... and then Josh was spinning along the backstretch! I was pretty upset because Josh is part of MWR, but he said that he pushed up into David. From the replays it's hard to tell if David hit him at all - barely a touch at most but it doesn't take a lot at Daytona.Long green runs and a stretched out field dominated the race. I guess that could make drivers happy because it prevents the Big One, but watching the leaders drive away single file wasn't entertaining at all. After some oil was found on the track, David took two tires and restarted second. It didn't help him all that much since he was immediately shuffled, and although he fought his way back and rode in second for a while, he shot to the back again when Kyle Busch bumped into the back of him in the corner for no reason.
I like Kyle but that was ridiculous! NASCAR simply gave him a warning. I guess even if they had black-flagged him it wouldn't have helped David's team out. Once he went to the back (probably as a result of his old tires) and green flag pit stops cycled through, there was nothing the #99 team could do to get to the front.To make my mood worse, on the green stops, Brian's car broke something as he tried to exit his stall. It looked a lot like a tranny failure but could have been a couple things - they weren't quite sure.
The first three cars - Denny Hamlin, Busch and Dale Jr. - were way ahead in single file as the laps wound down. It looked to be one of the most boring finishes I've ever seens at Daytona when all of the sudden the #16 of Colin Braun just lost it off of Turn 2 with 2 to go. Last chance for excitement!
But really, the green-white-checkers brought nothing new. Carl Edwards almost caused a wreck when he cut into Mike Bliss, but it mostly just killed everybody's momentum behind them and allowed the same three leaders to pull away again. David had a really hard time making any ground and that was compounded when Clauson drifted up into the side of him. Somehow Scott was able to sneak through and get a top-10 before the final turn wreck occurred.
It could not have been more awkward - Steven Wallace crashed Mike Wallace. In reality, it didn't surprise me much because I have watched all three Wallaces, including Kenny, race each other extremely hard. So it was bound to happen. I'm not saying Steven did it intentionally, but it was still a hard pill to swallow for Mike and he did not hide that he was mad. However, to his credit, he was very professional in his interview, never named names and pretty much said that everyone saw what happened so he didn't have to explain. And in the sensitive fashion that I've grown so fond of at ESPN, Jamie Little was stupid enough to try to provoke Mike by pressing him about Steven being a family member. Mike looked irritated at Jamie and rightfully so! He reiterated what he'd said and stated that it wasn't his business to air dirty laundry on TV (and to the likes of ESPN, I'm sure). Ugh! How many times to we have to hit the ESPN reporters with a "DUH" stick before they get a clue?
By the end of the race I was in a sour mindset. The #20 wins again. Big surprise. But instead of bitching about the Toyota engines having 15, 20, 50 more horsepower (yeah, it varies according to who you ask
) than the Chevrolet engines, Junior brought up a great point - he said that the Gibbs cars are focused less on getting the "bullet" shapes and more on how to get the cars to handle the best. Wow! Ya think? Finally, someone with an open, intelligent mind!David's finish was crippling in the points. He dropped two spots and lost quite a chunk on the championship. I know that one bad race for Clint and it could all tighten back up again (he's only 24 points away from 2nd). Man, Clint's luck has to run out sooner or later!
Maybe that new R07 engine he was whining about not getting yet will be exactly the opposite of what he wants - poof! All joking aside, there seems to be a Chevy driver campaign for it, but they might not like what they wish for since new engines have a tendency to fail.Hopefully tonight's race will be more of a race and less of a single file parade. It'll be interesting now that the drivers know about the two-car charge tactic that was so amazing to watch at Talladega!
POINT STANDINGS
1. Clint Bowyer
4. David -226
