|| *Comments on the 2008 Daytona 500:* View the most recent comment <#72> | Post a comment <#post> 1. #26 Oreo Double Stuf Ford posted: 02.17.2008 - 9:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hello, Newman! WTG! Solid run for Greg! 2. tom posted: 02.17.2008 - 9:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Nice win by Newman. Great job by Kurt Busch going 43rd to 2nd. Other nice runs include Robby Gordon in 8th, Brian Vickers in 12th, and a current career best 15th for Sam Hornish. 3. Nuck Chorris posted: 02.17.2008 - 9:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Great job Ryan on your first win in nearly 3 years. And good runs for Robby Gordon, Sadler, and Reed Sorenson. Also, Good job Kurt Busch on going from last to 2nd 4. New Lebanon Speedway posted: 02.17.2008 - 10:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Congrats to Newman on a great win. Never would've thought dodge would take 6 out of first 10 positions. I must say that I'm thoroughly disappointed that we'll have to put up with another season of BS debris cautions. Those first 2 cautions were obviously to bunch up the strung out field. 5. denny hamlin fan posted: 02.17.2008 - 10:27 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Denny had an okay race in his 80 career nascar sprint cup race 6. penskefan21277 posted: 02.17.2008 - 10:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Awesome drive for newman, good run for sam hornish in his first 500 7. Steve.M. posted: 02.17.2008 - 10:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Newman's first win since Loudon on September 18th 2005. One of the last guys i would have thought to win this years 500. way to go Robby Gordon for finishing 8th!!!!!! and Brian Vickers to come back and finish 12th and gotta hand it to the dodges who really showed nothing all speedweeks and they come home in 1st, 2nd, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th. Also good run for Sam Hornish i thought, even though he finished 15th he ran alot in the top 10 and even in the top 5 for a bit, good for him. And gotta give one last shout out to my main guy Dale Jarrett finishing 16th in his 20th and final Daytona 500. May not be the best finish but at hey could have been alot worse. 8. 3_88 Fan4ever posted: 02.17.2008 - 11:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) Congrats to Ryan Newman and Penske racing. I was so glad to not see a Shrub win the race.....What a speedweeks for Jr. but I guess jibberish cost him the 500' Great run for Robby Gordon in his 3rd maunufacter in 3 years..I guess Toyota in 09'. And the COT put a pretty good race on. And Very sad to see Wood Brothers not in the 50th 500 ---Predictions for 08'-------- Reed Sorenson contending for Title Mikey will be Top 35 by Spring Talladega Junior gets 3 wins and makes chase Evernham guys ex. 10 will both contend for chase but miss by few points. Gordon Will cry about somthin Stweart V Busch will hit a boiling pt Im sure Ill add more 9. Anonymous posted: 02.18.2008 - 1:53 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Vickers was a lap down early and was running with the leaders. 12th was most likely like a win for that team. Newman had ran decently strong all week, under the radar of sorts under the Toyota's (weird saying that for NASCAR and not like, IMSA or something) and Junior. 10. lowesdupont posted: 02.18.2008 - 2:11 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle Busch places a top 5 in all the races this weekend (Trucks, Grand National, and Cup). Toyota makes a hell of a comeback when considering there best car last year finished 22nd (Dale Jarrett). This year they end up with 6/9 cars in the top 20. Hendrick Motorsports, although strong in the test, struggles during the race. 48 suffers from a spin and collects damage in the process. 24 bends the bracket to the right control arm. 5 hits the wall late in the race running top 5 at the time. 88 makes the mistakes of no tires in the final laps but still earns a respectable 9th place finish. 11. Darrell posted: 02.18.2008 - 7:28 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Awesome to see Newman take it. I think I'm starting to like that guy now that he's not considered the best driver in NASCAR history because he won every qualifying session in sight. And a big BOOO to Kyle Busch. It's one thing to be disappointed, but he sounded like a little girl in his interview after the race. I guess he'll never get it. Great runs for Sorenson, Labonte, and Hornish as well. Overall a great race interrupted by too man commercials. Note to webmister: Danny Bahar does not own the 83 and 84 cars anymore. He left them early last year. Dietrich Mateschitz does now. 12. DaleJrFan16 posted: 02.18.2008 - 12:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Seriously, I never in one moment thought Newman would win the 500. Congrats to him! But.... Now I have to wait another day for Jr to win :( the following things cost him the win. 1.Pitting late 2.All those wrecks at the end (Specifically Mears) 3.Nobody going with him on the restart. But enough of Junior. A ninth place finish this year > 31st place finish last year. Notables. 1. as much as the midpoint of the race sucked... 42 LEAD CHANGES! Thats the most since the 01 Daytona 500. If the whole field wasnt afraid to duke it out all the way this would easilly beat the record for sure. 2.Dale Jarret in his final 500. We will miss you :-( 3.Sam Hornish Jr all race long. He seriously is the only guy in contention for rookie of the year. 4.Tony Stewart is still the bridesmaid. :-( 5. The fact Toyota didnt win. 6.The fact Penske, who has NEVER WON A RESTRICTOR PLATE RACE finished 1-2 Congrats to Newman once again. No matter how crappy he does the rest of his carrer, he will be forever known as the man who won the 50th Daytona 500 Race rating 1st Quarter:(laps 1-50) B 2nd Quarter:(laps 51-100) F 3rd Quarter:(laps 101-150) A- 4th Quarter:(laps 151-200) A+ Predictions for 08 Robby Gordon will get some decent finishes Newman will get maybe one more win possibly make the chase Stewart,Busch,and Hamlin will all get a win and make the chase Sorenson will get a win Khane will be back and better than before Junior will get at least 3-4 wins and make the chase A minimum of 3 toyota drivers will get a win Sam Hornish Jr will get a win and obviously win ROTY TEI will die off 2008 Sprint Cup Champion: Either Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson (just cause he's Jr's teamate doesnt mean I like him, he's turning into what Gordon was. BTW Gordons okay with me now),or Jr. 13. RaceFanX posted: 02.18.2008 - 1:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Defending Indy 500 and IRL champion makes his Cup series debut with a 32nd place finish. Dario becomes the first reigning Indy 500 winner since Al Unser Jr in 1993 to run in the Daytona 500 14. most posted: 02.18.2008 - 1:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I am not sure why no one has mentioned this (maybe because he isn't as popular as Dale Sr. or Tony) but this is Kurt Busch's 3rd runner up in the 500. When starting the decade of frustration talk or Stewart, you certainly have to throw Kurt into that talk and, hey, at least Tony has 2 Indy wins! I feel for Kurt on that one but he does have a title so I am not too sad for him :) 15. MegaRacer posted: 02.18.2008 - 5:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) First win for car #12 since Bobby Allison drove car #12 to victory in 1988. The only two times the #12 has won the 500. Second year in a row a driver born on December 8 wins the 500 (Harvick born 1975, Newman born 1977) 16. Pork Rind posted: 02.18.2008 - 6:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'm a fan of Jeff Gordon, and if he only has one dnf this year, best to have it as early as possible. I didn't mind seeing Newman win, and we got to see his cute wife. Tony Stewart comes as close as ever, but he'll most likely have another good shot. I think it will be an interesting year. 17. SK posted: 02.19.2008 - 1:26 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Dario Franchitti makes his Sprint Cup debut, without much in the way of fireworks on the track...but as he stated himself, just finishing the race was accomplishment enough. 18. #57 Oreo Triple Stuf Ford posted: 02.19.2008 - 11:35 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) grate run for my man travis 19. Anonymous posted: 02.20.2008 - 12:02 am Rate this comment: (0) (2) I'm glad that Jap-Crap didn't win. TOYOTA'S DO NOT BELONG IN NASCAR....... THEY HAVE RUINED JUST ABOUT EVERY OTHER SERIES THEY HAVE BEEN IN....... EXAMPLES, IRL, AND NOW THE TRUCKS ARE LITTERED WITH IT.... I STILL WATCH CAUSE I GOT MY FAVORITES IN THAT SERIES 20. DaleSrFanForever posted: 02.20.2008 - 4:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) For the 4th time in a career just beginning its 8th season, Kevin Harvick watches a calendar year pass between Cup wins. And he missed a 5th by one day. When will people stop drinking his Kool-Aid? 21. DaleSrFanForever posted: 02.20.2008 - 4:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) *Reed Sorenson contending for Title Nope. *Mikey will be Top 35 by Spring Talladega Nope. *Junior gets 3 wins and makes chase Nope and nope. *Evernham guys ex. 10 will both contend for chase but miss by few points. Yeah *Gordon Will cry about somthin Oh yeah! *Stweart V Busch will hit a boiling pt Yeah. A hothead and a hothead don't make a cool head. 22. kirkyal posted: 02.20.2008 - 9:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I was screaming at the TV! so happy for ryan! he deserves it... shame bout franchitti's run, awesome to see kvapil back in a cup ride! 23. DaleSrFanForever posted: 02.20.2008 - 9:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) *Robby Gordon will get some decent finishes What a waste of talent *Newman will get maybe one more win possibly make the chase Yeah and yeah *Stewart,Busch,and Hamlin will all get a win and make the chase Yeah(unfortunately), yeah(gag), and yeah *Sorenson will get a win Nope. Shown flashes before, but always fizzles *Khane will be back and better than before Sort of. Better than '07, not as good as '06 *Junior will get at least 3-4 wins and make the chase Nope and nope *A minimum of 3 toyota drivers will get a win Yeah - all Gibbs, none others *Sam Hornish Jr will get a win and obviously win ROTY Nope and yeah *TEI will die off I really think they'll surprise some people 24. Kevin posted: 02.21.2008 - 12:13 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Congrats to Ryan, this was a very over due win. I am glad to see him back. I was pushing for Jeff Burton and I was very upset that he was shuffled back to 13th at the finish. I expect a lot of good things out of Burton this year. Who knows, maybe even a championship! I also want to see at least one more win from Martin, win one for the old school drivers! 25. Anonymous posted: 02.21.2008 - 3:00 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Robby Gordon will get some decent finishes" -He always has at least two to fall back on! "Khane will be back and better than before" -Not better than ever. "Junior will get at least 3-4 wins and make the chase" -duh "A minimum of 3 toyota drivers will get a win" -Of course. "Sam Hornish Jr will get a win and obviously win ROTY" -Because he finished 15th in one race? A win? What are you smoking? LOL "TEI will die off" -Oh please. 26. Rusty posted: 02.21.2008 - 8:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Penske 1-2 at Daytona! Too bad Kurt wasn't the winner though..... 27. The Real Thomas posted: 02.22.2008 - 6:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) I had a pain in my stomach and my ribs on the right side of my chest from screaming so loud at the last 3 laps of this race. HELLO NEWMAN IN 2008!!!!!!!!!! "I'm glad that Jap-Crap didn't win. TOYOTA'S DO NOT BELONG IN NASCAR....... THEY HAVE RUINED JUST ABOUT EVERY OTHER SERIES THEY HAVE BEEN IN....... EXAMPLES, IRL, AND NOW THE TRUCKS ARE LITTERED WITH IT.... I STILL WATCH CAUSE I GOT MY FAVORITES IN THAT SERIES" Damn right! 28. Brock posted: 02.23.2008 - 6:00 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) What a bummer week for Tony Stewart. He's leading inside the final two laps in the Budweiser Shootout, his Gatorade Duel race, and the Daytona 500 only to lose them all to Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Denny Hamlin, and Ryan Newman. 29. Rusty posted: 02.24.2008 - 12:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) First ever "Sprint Cup" race. 30. Anonymous posted: 02.24.2008 - 10:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Couldn't watch it. The local Fox station wouldn't show it. 31. The Real Thomas posted: 03.01.2008 - 5:08 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) What communist FOX station wouldn't show the freakin' Daytona 500?!?!?! 32. Clayton posted: 03.14.2008 - 10:06 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I'm glad that Jap-Crap didn't win. TOYOTA'S DO NOT BELONG IN NASCAR....... THEY HAVE RUINED JUST ABOUT EVERY OTHER SERIES THEY HAVE BEEN IN....... EXAMPLES, IRL, AND NOW THE TRUCKS ARE LITTERED WITH IT.... I STILL WATCH CAUSE I GOT MY FAVORITES IN THAT SERIES" Amen! I was there and not seeing Stewart and Busch win was awesome!! 33. Mr. Big posted: 05.17.2008 - 6:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The first 150 laps were maybe some of the worst that I've ever seen in any NASCAR race, but the final 50 laps were pretty exciting. Nice job, Ryan, I was rooting for you at the end. 34. theRRteacher posted: 10.01.2008 - 2:22 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) TO QUOTE DALEJRFAN Predictions for 08 Robby Gordon will get some decent finishes - NOPE Newman will get maybe one more win possibly make the chase - His only win was this lol and no. Stewart,Busch,and Hamlin will all get a win and make the chase - Of course, but now they make last three spots haha. Sorenson will get a win - Hell no. Khane will be back and better than before - This was true, but he missed the chase. Junior will get at least 3-4 wins and make the chase - Can still happen. A minimum of 3 toyota drivers will get a win - Yes. Sam Hornish Jr will get a win and obviously win ROTY - Wow. TEI will die off - Is happening. 2008 Sprint Cup Champion: Either Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson (just cause he's Jr's teamate doesnt mean I like him, he's turning into what Gordon was. BTW Gordons okay with me now),or Jr. - Not Stewart, Busch Gordon, Jr. Johnson has a chance. DaleJrFan16 | 02.18.08 - 12:14 pm Let's see your score. Out of 10, you will be summoned a........... 5 ! :LOLCAT: 35. Clayton posted: 10.20.2008 - 8:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wanna know how bad it was for Dale Jarrett when driving for Michael Waltrip?? His 16th place finish in the 2008 Daytona 500 was his best while at MWR. Poor DJ. MWR's equiptment really sucks! 36. 24 posted: 11.08.2008 - 3:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) NASCAR forced Toyota not to win the 500 cause it is the 50th great American race. But no one expected Newman to win. Too bad for Gordon, he had suspension problems. 37. Bronco posted: 12.08.2008 - 11:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Clayton, MWR's equipment doesn't suck, it's just that DJ sucked while he was there. Look at the numbers. In 2007 DJ qualified for 24/36 races which included six provisionals, so based on speed he only made 18. Reutimann the rookie qualified for 26 races all on speed, finished higher in the points and finished 13th at Richmond in September last year. In 2008 Reutimann came close to winning Richmond and had four top tens driving for the same team that DJ did. Even Waltrip had better results in 2007, two top tens and a pole. DJ abandoned Yates, and paid the price for it. 38. luigistarted06 posted: 01.27.2010 - 11:37 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Tony Stewart really costed himself the win in this race. He was ahead of Ryan Newman going through the backstrech, Kyle Busch was in the bottom lane but he wasn't making up any time. At this point Tony Stewart pulled down to be with Kyle, costing him a little bit of momentum which left Ryan Newman on the high side to just be able to shoot around Tony and leave him. It's almost as if Tony pulled over to let Newman by, although that obviouslly wasn't the case. Still, guess the education at Purdue really payed off, the physics are what won it for Newman in the end 39. Madison posted: 02.13.2010 - 10:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Last time neither a Ford or Chevy won at Daytona since Bobby Allison in 1988. 40. 3man posted: 05.04.2010 - 1:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Except for 2002 when Ward Burton's #22 Cat Dodge won. Other than that, it's either been a Chevy or a Yates Ford...not that Chevy's been cut any breaks in a race with a trophy named after a GM employee. 41. myself posted: 02.20.2011 - 10:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Who attempted to qualify the Wood Bros. #21...........& failed?! 42. 18fan posted: 01.09.2012 - 9:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) In their first race running Toyotas, the Gibbs cars led 134 of the 200 laps(67%). All the Toyotas in 2007 combined to lead 166 laps all season(about 1.57%). 43. Daniel posted: 05.22.2012 - 11:09 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) In using top 20/21 from Duels: #10 Patrick Carpentier, #21 Bill Elliott, #37 Eric McClure, #49 Ken Schrader, #60 Boris Said, #84 A.J. Allmendinger Out using top 20/21 from Duels: #2 Kurt Busch, #19 Elliott Sadler, #26 Jamie McMurray, #31 Jeff Burton, #40 Dario Franchitti, #45 Kyle Petty, #96 J.J. Yeley Starting 43rd based on qualifying speed: #27 Jacques Villeneuve 44. Ricky posted: 06.24.2012 - 1:22 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) My first cup race!!!!!!!!!!! First Nascar race was the day before! 45. Zed 3_88fan posted: 08.19.2012 - 4:42 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Somehow stumbled upon this race and read my comment about Reed Sorenson contending for the championship and all I have to say is what the f*** was I smoking???? 46. CBASS posted: 01.26.2013 - 5:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsor updates #08 Millstar #7 Jim Beam/ Valvoline #15 PEAK Antifreeze/ Menards #19 Best Buy/ Garmin #31 AT&T #41 Target/ Polaroid #40 Dodge.com/ All New Dodge Journey #60 No Fear Energy/ 7Eleven Slurpee #87 Furniture Row/ Denver Mattress #96 DLP HDTV/ Circuit City #28 K&N http://www.frontstretchphotos.com/p937065787 47. 83andJoe posted: 09.18.2013 - 7:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #40 owner: Chip Ganassi (same for all races this year) 48. Evan posted: 01.08.2015 - 11:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) * Debut of Dale Earnhardt Jr. racing in the newly christened 88 AMP.National Guard team, replacing Papa Joe's old 25 car and number that previously belonged to Casey Mears, Mears would go the 5. * Debut of Joe Gibbs Racing in Toyota Camrys. * The final Daytona 500, that Petty Enterprises would participate in as its own team, the Richard Petty Motorsports/Evernham merger wouldn't happen til later in the year. * Debut of the new-look #18 car with Kyle Busch driving, Kyle led the most laps and his driving style caught some of his new teammates by surprise, sometimes his crew chief would come over the radio and tell him to settle down. * First time Ryan Newman wins in a car colored blue, the previous wins were all in the black and white ALLTEL car. * First time Dale Earnhardt Inc. has Martin Truex as the lead driver and does not have Dale Jr. as their main driver. * There were 24 living Daytona 500 winners at the time of this race, including Darrell Waltrip(in the booth), Jeff Gordon, Dale Jarrett, Dale Earnhardt Jr, Kevin Harvick, Michael Waltrip, and Jimmie Johnson at the time. * This would be Ryan Newman's last win for Penske Racing, he'd leave to go to the new Stewart-Haas operation. * This would also the final 500 for Tony Stewart driving for Joe Gibbs, Tony already said he hated driving a Toyota but he could not rock the boat, so instead he opted out of his contract and acquired a stake in Gene Haas's team the next year. * This was the first time the COT was running the Daytona 500 and the debut of it full-time on the Cup circuit as opposed to the 2007 part-time mess that was the on/off research season. * There were more Indy 500 winners in this race than any others and more than in the 2008 Indy 500. Juan Montoya, Dario Franchitti, and Sam Hornish Jr were the drivers. * Jimmie Johnson gets his second pole for a Daytona 500, the first since the 2002 Daytona 500. * Dale Jarrett's final Daytona 500 appearance and first in a Toyota. Dale drove Chevrolets and Fords in NASCAR up to this point. 49. NASCARLover22 posted: 08.20.2015 - 10:54 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsor updates: #7 Jim Beam/Valvoline #43 Cheerios/Totino's Pizza Rolls #96 DLP HDTV/Circuit City #34 Makoto Ginger Dressing #40 Dodge.com/Dodge Journey #41 Target/Polaroid #78/87 Furniture Row/Denver Mattress 50. NASCARLover22 posted: 09.05.2015 - 4:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Withdrew #57 Norm Benning Sponsor was Shodeen Inc. Owner was Norm Benning Manufacturer was a Chevrolet Source: 2008 Daytona 500 initial entry list on Jayski 51. 88&4Fan posted: 09.26.2015 - 6:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The only race to this day that Furniture Row Racing fielded multiple cars. 52. Braindead Zombie posted: 06.12.2016 - 10:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I was still new to NASCAR and watching Reed Sorenson start the season off with finishes of 5th, 2nd, and 5th in the three Speedweeks races that year, I have to admit I thought he was going to have a huge breakout season. Boy I was wrong. 53. markjeff531 posted: 06.12.2016 - 11:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @Braindead Zombie I thought the same thing but with David Gilliland in 2007. 2007 was my first full season watching NASCAR and Gilliland started 2007 off with Top 5's in almost everything in Speedweeks 54. Braindead Zombie posted: 06.13.2016 - 12:24 am Rate this comment: (1) (1) 2007 was my first season too, but I didn't watch all the races. The Daytona 500 that year was the first race I watched on TV (and still my favorite) but it wasn't until towards the end of that season when I really started to get hooked. 55. BK#23#83 posted: 06.13.2016 - 5:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This was my first Cup race. My drivers finished 41st and 42nd... 56. RaceFanX posted: 07.24.2016 - 7:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Dale Jarrett's 16th-place finish would turn out to be his best in the UPS #44 Toyota during the tenure at the end of his career with Michael Waltrip Racing. DJ was just four races from retirement at this point and it would be his last top-20 run. 57. 18fan posted: 09.06.2016 - 1:49 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) This race was the first of 4 consecutive Daytona 500s won by a driver who would not make the Chase that season. Since that streak ended with Matt Kenseth's win in 2012, the Daytona 500 winner has won multiple races every season and in fact, other than Denny Hamlin's still in progress 2016 season (as of this post), they have all won at least 3 races. 58. JG24ChasElliottFan posted: 11.02.2016 - 10:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This race marked the first time that Ryan Newman won without Matt Borland as his crew chief. Since then, he's gone on to win four more races, including one with Borland (2013 Brickyard 400). 59. Jason24 posted: 11.21.2017 - 8:11 pm Rate this comment: (2) (1) Compare this field to the field for the 60th running. So many guys retired. Its unreal. 60. Jason24 posted: 11.21.2017 - 8:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Less than half of the guys that ran this race are still active drivers. Thats still counting guys like Hornish, Smith, Sorenson, Yeley, etc. who are still active but likely won't be in the 500. 61. Mile501 posted: 11.21.2017 - 8:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) That is crazy. Only 12-13 drivers in this race are expected to run full-time in 2018 (not sure about Sorenson), plus 1 more that failed to qualify (Allmendinger). Of those, just 3 drivers are still driving for the same team 10 years later: Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, and Denny Hamlin. 62. Corey posted: 11.21.2017 - 10:15 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) If you take any 10 year gap between 500, you're going to find the similar number of active drivers. The first one I watched was the 1996 race. Only 15 of those guys ran in 1986 and 14 ran the 2006 version. 63. Mannoroth posted: 11.22.2017 - 7:42 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) 59. It's not unreal. Just like Corey said, it's normal. Drivers are retiring and the new ones are coming... It will be similar in 2026. 64. Jason24 posted: 11.22.2017 - 4:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) ^ Well, my point was more so that the staple drivers I grew up watching are mostly gone. So for me it is quite something to witness. I'm well aware that there was a similar disparity between the 2008 and 1998 Daytona 500 fields. 65. Jolly Mean Giant posted: 06.03.2018 - 1:28 am Rate this comment: (1) (1) First Daytona 500 starts for Sam Hornish, Jr., Paul Menard, and Regan Smith. Only Daytona 500 start for Dario Franchitti. Last Daytona 500 starts for Dale Jarrett, Kyle Petty, and Kenny Wallace. 66. Wil posted: 09.16.2019 - 7:22 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Wow, just watched this one on YouTube and Tony Stewart completely blew it on the last lap. If he had just stayed high and blocked Newman's run the 500 was his. 67. Ryan posted: 09.17.2019 - 12:07 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yep, picked the wrong line. I believe he thought Kyle was getting a good run on him and chose to block him instead of Penske. Where this Daytona 500 was the 50th, the winner (Newman) got a gold version of the Harley J. Earl trophy instead of the usual one. 68. Mortarboard posted: 09.03.2020 - 1:37 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Ryan Newman became the first Daytona 500 champion to hold a college degree at the time of his victory. Austin Dillon would become the second, ten years later. 69. possum posted: 09.03.2020 - 9:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @68 - hmm, not sure that's so. I know Fireball Roberts attended the University of Florida and I assume graduated; if so he'd be the first to win Daytona (1962, in Smokey Yunick's Pontiac) with a degree. 70. thecautionlightnews posted: 09.23.2020 - 3:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Dario Franchitti becomes the first Scottish person since Jim Clark to race in A NASCAR Cup Series race 71. Rich posted: 11.27.2020 - 9:56 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Mike Joy, Larry McReynolds and Darrell Waltrip were the commentators. Dr. Dick Berggren, Steve Byrnes, Matt Yocum and Krista Voda were the pit road reporters. Chris Myers and Jeff Hammond were in the Hollywood hotel. 72. Rich posted: 01.12.2021 - 11:48 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) The host of the pre-race show was Chris Myers. Jeff Hammond and Darrell Waltrip were the pre-race show analysts. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. 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