|| *Comments on the 2012 Gatorade Duel 150 #2:* View the most recent comment <#28> | Post a comment <#post> Tweet 1. Michael McDowell's #1 Fan posted: 02.23.2012 - 6:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) first! 2. 10andJoe posted: 02.23.2012 - 6:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Zzzzzzzzzz... 3. cjs3872 posted: 02.23.2012 - 6:14 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) The average speed of this race shattered the previous qualifying race record of 189.554 set by Terry Labonte in 1989, which was done in a 125-mile qualifying race. That was also the second qualifying race that year. That's fitting considering that Kenseth drivers a lot like Labonte did, which was conservative. Kenseth, much like Labonte was in his day, is a driver you don't really hear much from until it counts. Of course, Kenseth has something Labonte doesn't, and that's a Daytona 500 win. 4. cjs3872 posted: 02.23.2012 - 6:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It's also interesting that two drivers (David Reutimann and Tony Raines) did start-and-parks in this qualifying race, though for the teams that did so, that's not entirely a bad idea, considering the carnage so far this week, with close to 60 cars involved in accidents so far, and three races yet to go. 5. Scott B posted: 02.23.2012 - 6:20 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Dave Blaney and Joe Nemechek earn the last two transfer spots. Glad Dave didn't get screwed out of a D-500 start by his team selling the owner points in the offseason. His car looked decent in this race. Nemechek's wasn't great, but good enough. Lots of conservative driving in this one, a couple of entries that were locked in to the main event parked rather than risk damage. 6. FHgrad99 posted: 02.23.2012 - 6:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The Roush cars looked strong in this race, as they have all week. 7. Rusty posted: 02.23.2012 - 6:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The transfer "battling" was awful for this race. With 20 to go it was obvious Blaney and Nemechek were getting in unless something terrible happened. I personally hate the way NASCAR sets up the field for the Daytona 500, it is just stilly. If I were in charge, it would be set up like this.... -Top 30 (NOT 35, way too many) in owner points are locked in. -Fastest non top 30 team in qualyifing gets a provisional to make the race if they doesn't race in the Duels. If he races in, it doesn't go to the 2nd fastest, only one provisional available for this. If needed, this team would start the 500 in 43rd, 42nd if championship provisional is needed. -Championship provisional can stay, but driver had to have attempted at least 15 Cup races in the previous season. No more getting Terry Labonte for Daytona just to lock into the 500 bull. I hate the whole fastest 3 go or go homers get locked in thing, it is lame and makes the Duels less exciting as there is less positions to battle for. Plus we saw Tony Raines start and park after locking in. Make everyone battle in, even the guy with the one provisional like in my idea, because he would have to race for a good starting spot and not settle for 43rd. 8. 10andJoe posted: 02.23.2012 - 6:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Rusty: as I've mentioned elsewhere, the top 35 rule makes the Duels meaningless. And also has failed to serve its purpose, so it should be done away with entirely. Go back to setting the front row by qualifying, 3-30 by Duels, 31-38 on time and then provisional through 43rd. And then 38 on time and 5 provisionals everywhere else. 9. RaceFanX posted: 02.23.2012 - 7:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Matt Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson teamed up as they took the white flag to try and pass Biffle. Biffle threw the block but took away his drafting help in the process as Kenseth and Johnson, his car throwing water out like crazy, found a hole and made a slick pass. Biffle, who had dominated the race, had to settle for fifth as Kenseth held off all challengers on the last lap for the win. There was almost a crash amongst those trying to run down Kenseth headed into Turn 3 on the final lap. Everyone saved it but it broke the momentum and played a big hand in Kenseth's win. Kenseth's win is the first-ever for the Roush team in a Gatorade 125/Duel. 10. Urethra Franklin posted: 02.23.2012 - 7:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsor/Owner corrections. Sponsors are based on photos of the cars, available on Jayski.com. 78-Regan Smith, sponsor: Furniture Row/Denver Mattress 33-Elliott Sadler, sponsor: Kroger/Fred Meyer Jewelers 47-Bobby Labonte, sponsor: Kroger/USO 11. ii posted: 02.23.2012 - 9:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "-Top 30 (NOT 35, way too many) in owner points are locked in. -Fastest non top 30 team in qualyifing gets a provisional to make the race if they doesn't race in the Duels. If he races in, it doesn't go to the 2nd fastest, only one provisional available for this. If needed, this team would start the 500 in 43rd, 42nd if championship provisional is needed. -Championship provisional can stay, but driver had to have attempted at least 15 Cup races in the previous season. No more getting Terry Labonte for Daytona just to lock into the 500 bull." Sounds more complicated than the current format. 12. Jarrett88fan posted: 02.23.2012 - 9:45 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) The starting and parking by teams already locked into the field is ridiculous. The Duels have always had a race-within-a-race quality to them, but for the most part 2012 Duel #2 turned out to be a dud. There has always been conservative driving on Thursday by those racing on Sunday since the inception of the qualifying races. I do, however, enjoy seeing underdogs make it without backing their way into the 500. Now, if only Danica had to race her way in with her last lap uh-oh combined with Mikey Waltrip's mis-adventure, this would have been one of the best Thursday's before the Daytona 500 ever. 13. Rusty posted: 02.23.2012 - 10:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) How is it more complicated? Top 30 are locked in, the rest race for the remaining spots in the Duels with two potential provisionals if needed. One for the fastest go or go homer in qualyifing and one for a past champion. I think it is more simple and it makes the Duels more exciting because there are more openings to fight for. With this format, you have two transfer spots and in the case of the second Duel today we saw those spots get practically locked up without a fight. I also would like to go back to the old provisional days, but either way you can't go top 35 anymore. If you want this route of qualyifing, we need to cut the number down from 35. Too many teams that aren't competitive are being locked in. I mean, why should a team be rewarded for 33rd in points over 36th? 14. Urethra Franklin posted: 02.23.2012 - 11:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I prefer nobody locked in. Top 2 set by qualifying speed, 3-42 set by 150 finish, 43 goes to most recent past champion if needed or fastest qualifier not already in. If that means a big name, well-funded team goes home so be it. 15. cjs3872 posted: 02.23.2012 - 11:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Urethra Franklin, they used to do something like that. Before 1976, there were no provisionals. The front row was locked in on speed, the next 14 rows (19 prior to 1970) were decided solely on how you finished in your qualifying race, then the last 10 spots reverted back to qualifying speed in order of qualifying speed, no matter when that speed was set. Then in 1976, NASCAR came up with the provisional system with the top two eligible drivers/teams getting spots in the last row, through there wasn't always two cars eligible. That was done to help the drivers and teams that had run the full circuit, since not all the top teams ran the full circuit back then. In fact, in 1985, there wasn't anyone eligible for a provisional that hadn't already qualified for the race, resulting in a field comprised of the minimum number of 40 cars, and numerous times there was only one driver eligible for a provisional. But the 1976 Daytona 500 was the first race in NASCAR history in which provisional starters were used, and the two provisional started in that race certainly made the most of it. J.D. McDuffie started 41st and finished seventh, while the other provisional starter, D.K. Ulrich, also finished in the top 15. Since then, the proviosional system changed, especially beginning in the mid 1990s. When Richard Petty failed to qualify for a few races in 1989, an extra sopt for the most recent series champion not already qualified was created. Then the number of regular provisionals was increased from two to four in 1995, then to six in 1997 or '98. Then NASCAR put a set number of 43 cars for each race, regardless of the size of the track. Before that, the size of the field was determined by the size of the track, but starting in the midle of the 1997 season, I believe, NASCAR made it so that 43 cars would start every race, and every race in the Cup series, except the 2001 finale at Loudon, NH has had a 43-car field. They only started 42 in that race, due to the strange and tragic circumstances under which that race was run. But I still say they should increase the size of the field at the Daytona 500 50 cars, though that would have meant that every entered car would have qualified this year. The Daytona 500 has become just another NASCAR race, though it is undeniably the biggest race on the circuit. Something has to be done to differentiate the Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400 from the rest of the races, and I think bigger fields, with more diverse lineups featuring drivers from other forms of the sport, will do it. Just look at a Daytona 500 field from the 60s, 70s, and early-to-mid 80s, and you'll see what I mean. Back then, NASCAR's finest was joined by top drivers from IndyCar, sports car, and even occasionally sprint car racing. There were even foreign drivers that occasionally tried their hand at the Daytona 500, but NASCAR has made it into just another NASCAR Sprint Cup series race. 16. Rusty posted: 02.23.2012 - 11:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) I wouldn't have a huge issue with nobody locked in. But NASCAR would never allow it. The chance of having a huge sponsor not there on Sundays or having Dale Jr. not in the race? Brian France probably just wet his tighty whities a bit at the thought. 17. ch posted: 02.24.2012 - 12:26 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think that the team of the 49 should be changed to Robinson-Blakeney Racing as it is a combination of Jay Robinson and Troy Blakeney, similar to how you have Stewart Haas Racing. 18. martin-n-rusty posted: 02.24.2012 - 12:40 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) cjs3872, agreed. If I was a low budget team, locked into the biggest race of the year... and oh yeah, it's a restrictor plate race, I would start and park it too, as much as I am against the practice. Doesn't really matter where you start at restrictor plate races 19. 10andJoe posted: 02.24.2012 - 1:37 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Also to the back: Tony Raines (#26) driver's choice 20. cjs3872 posted: 02.24.2012 - 9:40 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Well, martin-n-rusty, this hardly the first case of drivers doing start-and-parks for qualifying races. In fact, Curtis Turner (1967) and Buddy Baker (1969) did start-and-parks in the qualifying races when they won the pole for the Daytona 500. Baker later said that doing a S&P in his qualifying race in 1969 when he won the pole was one of the biggest mistakes he ever made. They did so because they didn't want to risk their car, and most importantly, their front row position for the Daytona 500. So the practice of doing a start-and-park in the qualifying race is nothing new. And remember that Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who won the pole for last year's Daytona 500, had to go to the back in both the qualifying race AND the Daytona 500 due to a practice crash prior to the qualifying race. 21. Scott B posted: 02.24.2012 - 11:20 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I've always thought that the 1 & 2 qualifiers should be given a special exemption to go to a backup car for the Duels, then be allowed to switch back to their primary cars for the 500. That way they could race the event without worrying about tearing up their best stuff before the feature. After all, it's just an exhibition race for them at that point. For the "small time" teams parking in the Duels after locking in on speed, I don't have an easy solution. You could offer them the same exemption, but if you simply can't afford to bring a competitive back-up car, it doesn't really fix the problem. 22. Uptight Motorsports Nerd posted: 02.24.2012 - 11:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) First time in 10 years I saw a Sprint Cup race go caution free. Remarkable! 23. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 02.25.2012 - 5:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Nice to see Blaney qualify his way into the 500. 24. Scott B posted: 02.27.2012 - 10:58 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Trivia note: No Dodges in this race, as both of the Penske cars and Robby Gordon's entry were assigned to the first of the two Duels. 25. RaceFanX posted: 12.14.2012 - 5:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Matt Kenseth backed up this victory by winning the 2012 Daytona 500. Kenseth is the first driver to win the second qualifier then the 500 itself since Dale Earnhardt in 1998. 26. RaceFanX posted: 02.21.2014 - 10:56 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) This was the last Daytona qualifier sponsored by Gatorade, Budweiser replaced them in 2013 after abandoning the Bud Shootout. 27. Nascar Lead Lap Points posted: 05.23.2014 - 9:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsor of the #15 was 5-hour Energy / Walgreen's 28. RaceFanX posted: 08.01.2015 - 7:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kenny Wallace's last Cup race of any kind sees his American Ethanol entry entry finish well back, failing to qualify for the 500. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: