|| *Comments on the 2014 Daytona 500:* First Page | Previous Page | Next Page | Last Page | View All On One Page View the most recent comment | Post a comment <#post> 1. anonymous posted: 02.16.2014 - 4:24 pm Rate this comment: (6) (22) Austin Dillon is on the pole in the first Cup race for the 3 car since Dale Earnhardt died in 2001. 2. DaleSrFanForever posted: 02.16.2014 - 4:28 pm Rate this comment: (21) (11) What A Joke 3. 23andJoe posted: 02.16.2014 - 4:30 pm Rate this comment: (15) (18) Gentlemen, start your butthurt. 4. We need more Onion posted: 02.16.2014 - 4:31 pm Rate this comment: (3) (0) Props to the TBR stable. Nice runs to cement a place in the 500 for Mears and Scott as well. My pick for the winner would be either Truex or Menard. (This means I would like to see them win AND they have an nice good chance to do so.) 5. Anonymous posted: 02.16.2014 - 4:31 pm Rate this comment: (7) (3) FOX Sports: "And everyone here in the booth is masturbating and orgasming like NO TOMORROW! It's not like we didn't see this coming years ago when it was inevitable Austin was going to get the 3, right?!" 6. NicoRosbergFan posted: 02.16.2014 - 4:32 pm Rate this comment: (1) (4) DSFF, we are ALONE on this one. 7. NicoRosbergFan posted: 02.16.2014 - 4:34 pm Rate this comment: (2) (11) Seriously, people claim it's not fixed; likewise, people claim it's not fixed. I could seriously go into the calculus-based logistics of what would be necessary to fix a NASCAR race, but it would the servers explode with the volumes it would contain because the same logistics would apply to all sports. Let's say this: it's doable, like it or not, and I'm calling BS on this one. 8. 1995z71 posted: 02.16.2014 - 4:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) One year after Danica Patrick (entering her first full season) gets a 500 pole, rookie Austin Dillon makes it 2 in a row for the young guns. BK Racing looks like crap yet again. 9. Kenny posted: 02.16.2014 - 4:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) You guys can say what you want about Austin call him a spoiled brat/shit I don't care that boy can freaking drive a car I knew he was gonna get the pole off of just testing speeds hell turn him into the dimoned Tara and silver spoon of NASCAR but shit with as good as he is I say spoil the hell out of him I know you guys are gonna hate me for this but hey I don't care I'm as happy right now as the ppl on tv are :D 10. murb posted: 02.16.2014 - 4:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Austin Dill0n's first career pole. And yeah, the "0" does stand for his 0 wins in NNS competition last year. Fortunately though, I really think this is going to be the best 500 since 2011. I really like what I'm seeing with this new package. 11. murb posted: 02.16.2014 - 4:49 pm Rate this comment: (6) (1) I don't think it's fixed, as the Chevrolets (specifically the ECR powered ones) have by far been the best in single car runs all week. But, like Danica's pole last year, and like every pole win by ANYBODY at a plate race, I'm not impressed, and it doesn't give me second thoughts as to whether I think he's a good driver. I think he's decent, and that's about it. 12. NicoRosbergFan posted: 02.16.2014 - 4:57 pm Rate this comment: (1) (4) DSFF, how about you and I got on a 50-state Ultimate Warrior gorilla press slam spree? 13. JG24FanForever posted: 02.16.2014 - 5:01 pm Rate this comment: (7) (4) "What A Joke" I A gree 14. Andy posted: 02.16.2014 - 5:03 pm Rate this comment: (3) (0) Hopefully, Elephant Killer doesn't win anything else this year. 15. BON GORDON posted: 02.16.2014 - 5:03 pm Rate this comment: (5) (3) I'm not one to believe in conspiracy theories but the #3 car getting a pole for the first time back in the Sprint Cup series in the Daytona 500 seems pretty rigged to me. 16. cjs3872 posted: 02.16.2014 - 5:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Let's not forget that Austin Dillon's #3 car was the fastest in pre-season testing, so his pole run should be no surprise at all. And the fact that virtually all of the teams that are aligned with RCR, including Furniture Row and Germain Racing were very good, as well. The only team aligned with RCR that struggled was JTG-Daugherty Racing. So while there are some that are surprised that Austin Dillon won the pole, it shouldn't be. In fact, if any of RCR's cars took the pole, it would not have been surprising, leading to one question about RCR this year, and that has to do with the fact that Ryan Newman, an engineer himself, is one of his drivers, and what is influence might be on the engineering side of things. Let's also not forget that Austin is the sixth driver to win the pole for the Daytona 500 for RCR, the most of any team. He joins Ricky Rudd (1983), Dale Earnhardt, Sr. (1996), Mike Skinner (1997), Jeff Green (2003), and Jeff Burton (2006) as drivers to win the pole for the Daytona 500 driving for Childress. Sure, Childress out more into the #3 of Dillon for obvious reasons, but Childress knows how to qualify a car at Daytona. Dillon's also the second Rookie of the Year candidate to win the pole driving for Childress, joining Mike Skinner, though Dillon, unlike Skinner in '97, is not a Daytona 500 rookie, having driven in the race last year in the #33 car. And here's a little known fact. Childress himself qualified fifth-fastest on pole day in 1979, earning a second row starting spot in the first qualifying race that year, so he's known how to qualify fast for the Daytona 500 for more than 35 years, even when he was an owner-driver. 17. JG24FanForever posted: 02.16.2014 - 5:15 pm Rate this comment: (8) (5) "Gentlemen, start your butthurt." Did you watch the 2001 Daytona 500? Or is it really stupid of me to ask that question? I know if you care about a Southern racing God that MADE that number what it is in the minds of millions of racing fans, you're just a dumb stooge, living in the past, not willing to move on from the memory Big E. And so we should all grow up and except Austin Dillon's ascension to that ride? F--k off. 18. Kubica Fan Ireland posted: 02.16.2014 - 5:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Dillon was favourite for the pole for 3 weeks since he topped the pre season testing in January. It was blindingly obvious to anyone with half a brain cell and limited knowledge of Nascar that an RCR engined car would get the pole and almost certainly sweep the front row as teams have tended to do over the last 7 or 8 years so to go with the it is fixed rubbish as in this case you simply don't have a leg to stand on. Welcome back to all the familiar posters, and a warm welcome to any new members I look forward to your thoughts and observations on Nascar throughout the year. Predictions Sprint cup Johnson Nationwide Dillon Trucks Darrell Wallace Jr Daytona 500 Jimmie Johnson Brickyard 400 Jimmie Johnson Southern 500 Kyle Busch Coke 600 Carl Edwards Regular season champion Kevin Harvick most wins Jimmie Johnson 8 19. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 02.16.2014 - 5:22 pm Rate this comment: (5) (2) You have got to be shitting me. There were actually people on this site that PREDICTED Dillon would get the 500 pole for the same reasons that are suspected as to why Danica did last year, and sure enough it happened. Now we get to hear all week about how Austin is bringing the #3 "back to glory". 20. DaleSrFanForever posted: 02.16.2014 - 5:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'm with you Nico. 21. AutoRockinRacing94 posted: 02.16.2014 - 5:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Austin Dillon joins Dale Earnhardt (1996), Buddy Baker (1969), and Ricky Rudd (1983) as pole winners in the #3 car for the Daytona 500. 22. Anonymous posted: 02.16.2014 - 5:36 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) "Hopefully, Elephant Killer doesn't win anything else this year." Does he really hunt elephants? If so, that's despicable. 23. Rusty posted: 02.16.2014 - 5:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Dillon winning the pole will be a big story because the media wants something to hype up and talk about, just like Danica last year when she won the pole. I don't see Dillon having an overly successful rookie year in Cup though. Don't see a win, don't see a Chase spot, but don't see him being completely terrible either. My prediction is 3 top 5s and 11 top 10s. 24. cjs3872 posted: 02.16.2014 - 5:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Whether Austin Dillon will bring the #3 back to glory is something we won't know for a number of years, but as you mentioned RCRandPenskeGuy, it could have been predicted, though it could also have been said that if any of the RCR cars won the pole, it would have been no surprise at all, based on the test about a month ago. To me, the fact that Martin Truex, Jr. qualified second is a much bigger story, because they had no idea what they had, because they were not at the test, and did not practice very much leading up to qualifying. But I don't think the presence of Ryan Newman can be underestimated, because he knows stuff about cars that no RCR driver has ever had, and he can help the other RCR teams in ways no previous RCR driver ever could. And let's also not forget that Newman and Dillon were teammates last year for a few races with SHR when Tony was injured, and Austin almost won at Talladega last fall in the #14 car, the only race in which that car was even a presence after Stewart's injury. However, one thing that has to be somewhat disconcerting to many of the others, especially if he continues to run as he qualified today, is Jeff Gordon's presence up there, because he showed no speed at all leading up to qualifying, either in the tests, practice, or even the Sprint Unlimited, but suddenly he has the speed when it counts, and certainly it would be the irony of ironies if Gordon had a big Speedweeks and possibly wins a fourth Daytona 500 when the #3 returns, because of all the drivers out there today, no other driver competed with the old #3 of Earnhardt like Gordon did (not very many even competed with the #3 prior to Dale's death in 2001), and if Gordon did win a fourth Daytona 500 next week, it really would be like the old days. 25. Rusty posted: 02.16.2014 - 5:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "BK Racing looks like crap yet again." Shouldn't surprise anyone. They have crap equipment and they have two inexperienced drivers who have no business being in Cup cars yet. Part of me is happy to see so many young guys get a shot at Cup this year, but pretty much all of them have accomplished little to nothing in lower series and are being set up to fail in crap equipment. The only newcomer who has had some sort of winning success is Allgaier who is probably destined to be a 25th place driver at best with that team. It sucks his deal with Penske fell apart early on, he may have been able to get a shot in good Cup equipment but he had to take this chance to move up now because he wasn't going to accomplish anything more than he's already done in the Nationwide series in that 31 car. Annett, Bowman, Truex and Kligerman are pretty much going to fall flat on their faces though. 26. Lonny posted: 02.16.2014 - 5:43 pm Rate this comment: (3) (4) NRF and DSFF are leading the tinfoil hat assault. I'm so shocked 27. murb posted: 02.16.2014 - 5:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Annett, Bowman, Truex and Kligerman are pretty much going to fall flat on their faces though." I actually think Kligerman can have a few bright moments, judging from how he ran in that 30 car towards the end of last year. But yes, Annett and the BK drivers unfortunately will be bringing up the rear. 28. JG24FanForever posted: 02.16.2014 - 5:49 pm Rate this comment: (6) (2) "NRF and DSFF are leading the tinfoil hat assault. I'm so shocked" Are you leading the Moron assault? Or is it the "head in the sand" assault? Either way, feel free to lead both if you wish. 29. cjs3872 posted: 02.16.2014 - 5:49 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) And AutoRockinRacig94, the interesting thing about those other Daytona 500 poles for the #3 car is that two of them came under unusual circumstances. In 1969, when Buddy Baker put Ray Fox's white #3 Dodge on the pole, only seven cars qualified on pole day because of a situation regarding the new engine Ford was going to run that year, and all of the Ford and Mercury teams, except Junior Johnson's with driver LeeRoy Yarbrough (and including Petty Enterprises, which ran Fords that year), sat out first round qualifying waiting to learn if the new BOSS 429 (or "semi-hemi") was going to be allowed. It was not, and they had to qualify with the older engine later on, and David Pearson, in a Holman-Moody Ford, ended up being the fastest qualifier, setting a new qualifying record, while Donnie Allison, in a Banjo Matthews-prepared Ford led the most laps (87), and LeeRoy Yarbrough, in Junior Johnson's Ford, won the race. And in 1983, Ricky Rudd was actually the second-fastest qualifier, but Cale Yarborough, the fastest qualifier, crashed on his second qualifying lap, turning over and destroying his Chevrolet, and his team had to bring in a Pontiac LeMans show car, which was the very car that Bobby Allison had dominated SpeedWeeks with in 1981, and Cale ended up finishing fourth in his qualifying race and would win the Daytona 500 that year. In fact, he had to run A.J. Foyt's car in the Busch Clash that year. And because of the rules at the time, Yarborough lost the pole and credit for his 200.503 MPH lap, the first-ever 200+ MPH lap ever turned at Daytona, and Ricky Rudd inherited the pole in 1983, which was the first-ever pole position for Richard Childress Racing. 30. BON GORDON posted: 02.16.2014 - 5:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) CJS3872, post #24. Gordon was alright in the Sprint unlimited. He certainly wasn't the class of the field and hasn't been at Daytona for years. His qualifying run was a bit of a surprise to me as well. I figured he'd have the 20th-30th fastest lap. I think Gordon is going to have a great season this year. The way Rick talked about him the other day, Jeff's attitude. I dunno, it's just a hunch but I got this feeling the #24 in coming back to the front of the pack. 31. NicoRosbergFan posted: 02.16.2014 - 5:50 pm Rate this comment: (1) (6) "NRF and DSFF are leading the tinfoil hat assault. I'm so shocked " And you're name is Lonny, which is fake and never used on here before, which means you have no nuts. I'm so shocked. Try again when you have a pair and are no longer living in the darkness of your mother's basement. Gotta email your grandma, she's 102! 32. NicoRosbergFan posted: 02.16.2014 - 5:52 pm Rate this comment: (1) (2) I say Jeff retires after this year or 2015. I expect Jimmie to follow soon after. They both care about one and only thing in their lives: their family. Is there anybody else here who thinks that a lot of these guys show up and don't try in the Busch Clash or the All-Star? 33. JG24FanForever posted: 02.16.2014 - 5:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I think Gordon is going to have a great season this year. The way Rick talked about him the other day, Jeff's attitude. I dunno, it's just a hunch but I got this feeling the #24 in coming back to the front of the pack." He never left the front of the pack;) He just doesn't spend as much time in victory lane anymore. Gordon could win his fifth title this season and retire, If Hendrick wants that to happen, and Gordon and Gustafson can gel better, than Gordon could very well be a walk off champ. 34. cjs3872 posted: 02.16.2014 - 6:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Rusty, BK Racing may have two inexperienced drivers that may have no business being in the Cup Series, but truthfully, nobody can be competitive in those cars. The thing about it is that Alex Bowman did not have a car to drive in 2014 and Ryan Truex's driver development deal with Richard Petty Motorsports appeared to be falling apart, so he might not have had a car to drive in 2014, either. And since nobody coming up really has much of a chance to succeed in the Nationwide Series (only four races were won by championship-eligible drivers), what other choice did they have? Frankly, I'm not entirely sure about Parker Kilgerman and Cole Whitt either, because their stations are only marginally better. In fact, Kligerman's in the Cup Series for the very same reason that Bowman and Ryan Truex are in the Cup Series, a lack of funding in the Nationwide Series. And to be honest, I'm not even sure Kyle Larson is ready to tackle the Cup Series, and I thought that bringing him up this soon was a big mistake, but it might be a situation similar to why Joe Gibbs brought Joey Logano up when he did. There may have been nobody else available, so Ganassi might have been forced to bring Larson up sooner than he wanted to, as was the case with Gibbs being forced to bring Logano to the Cup Series sooner than he wanted to. To me, the only rookies I see that are ready for the Cup Series are Austin Dillon and Justin Allgaier, because I'm not sure any of the others are, but other than Larson and possibly Cole Whitt, none of the others even had cars to drive due to lack of sponsorship and the fact that there are virtually no opportunities for young drivers coming up in the Nationwide Series if they don't bring lots of sponsorship with them. Even Sam Hornish, Jr., who nearly won the championship and was one of just three championship-eligible drivers to win a NNS race last year, has been reduced to part-time status in the NNS in 2014. 35. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 02.16.2014 - 6:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Annett, Bowman, Truex and Kligerman are pretty much going to fall flat on their faces though." I actually think Bowman and Truex can surprise some people by not wrecking much and getting the best finishes they can in BK Racing's cars. That's what I hope for at least, since they will have to rely on attrition a lot for their finishes I would think. Those cars are pretty slow. 36. The Long Shot posted: 02.16.2014 - 6:16 pm Rate this comment: (9) (6) "Ah, the brand new racing season has started. I think I speak for everybody on the board when I say that I hope we can all have a fresh start and show some respect for one another." ^ My line of thinking circa end of January. Now... "Gentlemen, start your butthurt." "F--k off." "NRF and DSFF are leading the tinfoil hat assault. I'm so shocked" "Are you leading the Moron assault? Or is it the "head in the sand" assault? Either way, feel free to lead both if you wish." "And you're name is Lonny, which is fake and never used on here before, which means you have no nuts. I'm so shocked. Try again when you have a pair and are no longer living in the darkness of your mother's basement. Gotta email your grandma, she's 102!" ...fresh start, my ass. I honestly thought we were ready to move past all the shit that happened last year. I thought we could all make a collective effort to be mature and respectful while on this board, no matter how bad the current situation is. I thought that the near-loss of several regular posters (NicoRosbergFan and JG24FanForever both threatened to leave the site at various times, and one of our most intelligent commenters, Paul, has been extremely quiet on these boards over the past few months) would have made us re-think our actions more and attempt to refrain from insulting others. Apparently I was wrong. 37. BON GORDON posted: 02.16.2014 - 6:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) JG24FANFOREVER, I meant more Gordon being consistently in the front more, having more consistency, leading more laps, and winning a few more races. Some people see a rapid decline in Jeff over the next few years, well I don't. I don't think he races past 2016. I've always been one to keep quiet about when I think Jeff will retire. I heard 2005, 2008, 2010, 2011 were Gordon's last seasons. I honestly think for the first time that the end is near but Gordon will certainty go out with a bang. I'm going to his final race no matter what. 38. The Long Shot posted: 02.16.2014 - 6:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Let's say this: it's doable, like it or not, and I'm calling BS on this one." I agree in that it's doable; I neither agree nor disagree with your claim of this being B.S. As cjs has pointed out, Dillon's car was one of the fastest during January testing, so he definitely has a strong machine behind him. That being said, I am a bit suspicious of Martin Truex's car suddenly losing so much time at the very end of his run. "Annett, Bowman, Truex and Kligerman are pretty much going to fall flat on their faces though." Kligerman will be okay, I think. He ran well for the team in his two starts last year. I'd be more worried about Allgaier and Whitt performing poorly in their respective rides. Allgaier never really blew me away during his time in Nationwide, and Whitt, while extremely talented, is just not ready for a Cup ride yet. "I say Jeff retires after this year or 2015. I expect Jimmie to follow soon after." I'd say Jimmie has at least 6-7 more years in Cup left. He's more competitive than Jeff was at his age, and even if Chase Elliott becomes to Johnson what Johnson was to Jeff Gordon (new kid on the block gets best equipment in shop), I'm not sure JJ would call it a career quite that quickly. One more thing: are my eyes deceiving me, or did Eric McClure actually out-qualify somebody in a Cup car? 39. Rusty posted: 02.16.2014 - 6:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'm well aware of why these guys are taking bad rides, they don't have a choice. I'm just saying it is unfortunate to see a big group of young Cup newcomers, but the only ones you could expect to be competitive are Dillon and Larson, to a degree. I could see Allgaier surprising people with a few top 20 runs and maybe a top 10 finish once, but in general he'll be irrelevant. 40. JG24FanForever posted: 02.16.2014 - 6:39 pm Rate this comment: (4) (1) "I honestly thought we were ready to move past all the shit that happened last year. I thought we could all make a collective effort to be mature and respectful while on this board, no matter how bad the current situation is." Sometimes fighting is the right thing to do. Maturity doesn't necessarily mean you should avoid all confrontation or argument, just so you can spare people's feelings. Having said that, I really don't want to insult people on here without cause, and I don't mean any ill will towards 23andJoe. I can live with the board, but I won't keep quiet if I feel the need to speak out. At least most of the time:) 41. An Aussie Commentator posted: 02.16.2014 - 6:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I reckon that Dillon will have a Stenhouse year. 42. 1995 Subaru WRX STi posted: 02.16.2014 - 6:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I honestly thought we were ready to move past all the shit that happened last year. I thought we could all make a collective effort to be mature and respectful while on this board, no matter how bad the current situation is. I thought that the near-loss of several regular posters (NicoRosbergFan and JG24FanForever both threatened to leave the site at various times, and one of our most intelligent commenters, Paul, has been extremely quiet on these boards over the past few months) would have made us re-think our actions more and attempt to refrain from insulting others. Apparently I was wrong" I want too shake your hand. 43. Anonymous posted: 02.16.2014 - 6:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Does anyone think Dale Earnhardt Jr has ANY chance at all of winning a race this year? 44. Peter posted: 02.16.2014 - 6:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Who I think will win: Denny Hamlin Who I want to win: Martin Truex Jr. Sentimental Dark Horses: Casey Mears & David Ragen 45. NicoRosbergFan posted: 02.16.2014 - 6:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (6) TLS does have a point. Less than 24 hours in and this has already turned into a clusterf*ck. Same people (me and DSFF) making emotional (although not necessarily irrational as comment #2 shows) statements and having to defend them against haters who abuse the thumbs-down feature and use anonymous names to make vicious attacks. Can't we all just get along? Hell no! 46. NicoRosbergFan posted: 02.16.2014 - 6:58 pm Rate this comment: (3) (3) "Does anyone think Dale Earnhardt Jr has ANY chance at all of winning a race this year? " If you are asking about the most consistent driver in the sport of the last three years, yes. 47. VoteGillilandNotDanica2014 posted: 02.16.2014 - 7:03 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) I think this is going to be a good 500 this year. A little bummed about that little turd getting the pole, but whatever. 48. cjs3872 posted: 02.16.2014 - 7:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Absolutely, NicoRosbergFan. Remember that his was the only HMS car that actually got to the lead in the Unlimited before he got wrecked. Jimmie Johnson almost got there before he crashed unassisted at the end of the first segment (as hard as that is to believe, especially for a 6-time champion) and Gordon only got close to the lead due to pit strategy. Dale, Jr. has become what Terry Labonte and Ricky Rudd used to be at Henrdick Motorsports (and what Gordon has been there the last six years), and that is a model of consistency without winning very often. Anyone that says Dale, Jr. can't win any more hasn't been watching NASCAR's top series the last two years. If not for a blown engine at Chicago, he might have finished second in the points and pushed Johnson at he end for the championship. If you run as well as he's run over the last two years, wins are going to come, even if they have to fall in his lap. The law of averages simply insist that he has to win a couple of races, if he continues to run as he's been running, and he's the fastest of the HMS crowd at Daytona, and he may bag a second 500 win next week, and if he wins the Daytona 500 again, he'll set a record for longest span between Daytona 500 wins, a record currently owned by Cale Yarborough, who's first two wins were a record nine years apart (1968, '77). And right now, I'd make him among the favorites to win a second 500, ten years after his lone Daytona 500 win. But he better not lead lap 100 next Sunday, because if he does, he won't win. Nobody has led lap 100 and won since 1992, as leading lap 100, for whatever reason, seems to be a curse in the Daytona 500. 49. JP88 posted: 02.16.2014 - 8:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) As a huge Jr. fan I can tell you that last year for most of the year I was super-excited watching the races play out. Except for a little swoon in the summer, Jr. was a winning contender in about a 1/3 of the races. In the chase he was amazing, It felt like he was going to win about half of those races. That last break just never seemed to go his way in terms of finishing. I mean the guy has finished 2nd in 3 of the last 4 500's and in 2 of those cases he made amazing runs coming from a bunch of spots back on the final lap just to come up short. Not just because I am a fan am I saying this but I believe he wins 3 races this year. 50. Ryan posted: 02.16.2014 - 8:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) https://twitter.com/rickmast22/status/435220114145681409 51. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 02.16.2014 - 8:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I can see Jeff Gordon racing until the end of the 2015 season and then ending his Cup career. He'd break Ricky Rudd's ironman record if he stuck around until then (not that it's an all-important stat, it just proves you had longevity). Plus I'm sure he's at least looking to hit 90 career wins. As for Johnson, he'll stick around at least until the end of the '10's decade in my opinion, perhaps longer. I also agree with cjs and Rusty that it is unfortunate that so many rookies are running full-time in the Cup Series this year because they couldn't find a deal in the Nationwide Series. I'm hoping these guys can make the best out of what they will have to work with and use it as experience to better their career. 52. An Aussie Commentator posted: 02.16.2014 - 8:53 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Anyone know what happened to Dave Blaney in order for him to not set a time? 53. 52 posted: 02.16.2014 - 8:54 pm Rate this comment: (2) (3) OK, it is very simple. NASCAR issues the restrictor plates. Therefore, they are not created equally, i.e. if they were NASCAR would randomly hand them out. It is also impossible to visually inspect and see a 1/8 or 1/16 inch difference. So, whoever they want to win at a plate race can have a major advantage with less restrictions. See JR's dominance in the early 2000's. 2001 Pepsi 400 was the most fixed race in the history of the sport, BAR none. This year Dillon got the Danica Patrick treatment from last year. It's an entertainment business, that's all. I come on this site to yearn for the days of old when this was an actual sport. 54. richiesbx137 posted: 02.16.2014 - 9:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) He is the first full-time rookie (competing for ROTY) since Danica Patrick won it last year winning the pole. The fifth overall. Three still did it in their first try. Loy Allen in 1994, Mike Skinner in 1997, Jimmie Johnson in 2002, along with Patrick and Dillon. Drivers locked into the 500 because of qualifying 3-Austin Dillon and 78-Martin Truex Jr. In the front row. Locked in via speed 16-Greg Biffle (3rd fastest) 99-Carl Edwards (4th fastest) 31-Ryan Newman (5th fastest) 2-Brad Keselowski (6th fastest) Locked in through owner points 48-Jimmie Johnson (defending series champion) 20-Matt Kenseth 18-Kyle Busch 88-Dale Earnhardt Jr. 24-Jeff Gordon 15-Clint Bowyer Lock in Past Champion Provisional 14-Tony Stewart (2011 Series Champion) It will be an interesting Budweiser Duels on Thursday cannot wait. 55. cjs3872 posted: 02.16.2014 - 9:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @53, there have been rumors about that kind of thing going on in NASCAR for decades. For instance, many feel that the 1984 Firecracker 400 had that kind of situation, when Richard Petty won his 200th race in front of the President. Or the first Brickyard 400 in 1994, when people thought that NASCAR allowed the #24 team to fidget with he rules so that Jeff Gordon, who has racing roots in Indiana, could win. Then there was the great performance by Dodge in their first race back, the 2001 Daytona 500, as well as the decision to disallow the time of Jerry Nadeau, which meant that Dodge swept the front row for the Daytona 500 that year with Bill Elliott already having taken the pole, and Nadeau's qualifying DQ moved Stacy Compton, who was driving a Dodge for Elliott's old team, Melling Racing (with Chad Knaus as crew chief) up to the outside position on the front row. And the most dominant cars in that race were the Dodges of Stering Marlin and Ward Burton. But the dominant cars on the plate tracks from the 2000 fall race at Talladega through the 2004 Daytona 500 came from the R.A.D. aerodynamic alliance that Dale Earnhardt helped put together when he started his Cup team in 1998 ("R" stood for Richard Childress Racing "A" stood for Andy Petree Racing, and "D" stood for Dale Earnhardt, Inc.), and remember that, except for the 2002 Daytona 500 and 2003 Firecracker 400, every plate race from the 200 fall race at Talladega through the 200 Daytona 500 was won by a car from one of those three organizations, usually DEI, but RCR chipped in with Dale, Sr.'s 2000 fall race at Talladega and Andy Petree Racing chipped in with Bobby Hamilton, Sr.'s win in the 2001 spring race at Talladega. So what happened in the 2001 Firecracker 400 was hardly a one-race situation, and remember that Dale Jr. and Michael Waltrip merely flipped their Daytona 500 finish of earlier that season. And DEI won 10 of 13 plate races from the 2001 Daytona 500 through the 2004 Daytona 500, including five Talladega races in a row. Also remember that cheating regarding restrictor plates practically goes back to when they were first used. David Pearson won the second qualifying race for the 1971 Daytona 500, the first in which restrictor plates were used, and then the day before the Daytona 500, Pearson's team was caught with an oversized restrictor plate and crew chief Jake Elder was fined $500, which was not a small amount at that time, but they were allowed to keep the win and their fourth place starting position for the Daytona 500 because it could not be proven that they used that oversized plate in the qualifying race win. But stuff like that regarding restrictor plates has been going on since the early 1970s. 56. Anonymous posted: 02.16.2014 - 10:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) JP88, I'd love to agree with you but I don't see Junior winning another race. 57. murb posted: 02.16.2014 - 10:46 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) I don't understand what the arguing is about. You're arguing over whether or not it's fixed? How about this? People who believe that Dillon's pole was "rigged" or whatever: explain point by point why you think this and how exactly they would have done it. And, people who are trashing the "tin foil wearers": read what they have to say, and if it is one of the dumbest things you've ever heard, keep it to yourself so the rest of us don't have to wade through a bunch of idiotic arguing. I say it every time, but it's pretty amazing that people like Long Shot, who is like 15 YEARS OLD, is more mature than some of the 20 and 30 year olds on here. He's exactly right. It's absolutely pathetic that some people can't have respectful disagreements. Good god. Let's just wipe the slate clean and start out with a little bit of optimism this year, okay? And once again, I'll restate what I said in comment 11 for those that are wondering. No, I don't believe this was rigged. CJS and I both said it before. The ECR powered Chevrolets have by far been quickest in single car runs all throughout Speedweeks thus far. Newman was fastest in practice, Dillon has been fast, etc. Do I wish it would have been someone else on the pole? Absolutely. Do I wish we didn't have to listen to the talking heads yammer all week about how he is "reviving Dale's legacy"? ABSOLUTELY!!!! But no, I don't think it's fixed. Those ECR cars are fast this year. And for the record, I don't think Danica's was fixed either last year. I've given her a ton of grief, and I think at one point last year I even joked about them giving her a special motor, but ultimately, she just took advantage of HMS horsepower, just like Dillon took advantage of ECR horsepower in this year's qualifying. That said, I seriously can't wait for the Duels on Thursday. I was trashing the decision to make it a night race when that story first leaked, but I actually do think it will ramp the intensity up in that event. And like I've been saying, I see REAL promise with this new package. When it comes down to the actual racing, I think/hope the Unlimited was a good omen. 58. The Long Shot posted: 02.16.2014 - 11:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Maturity doesn't necessarily mean you should avoid all confrontation or argument, just so you can spare people's feelings." There's a difference between arguing and out-right insulting. Confrontation and disagreements are just fine, but there has to be a line drawn somewhere. I feel that we as a board have crossed that line too many times. (And know this: I'm not calling you, NRF, or anybody else out for acting rude or immature. It would be hypocritical of me to do so, considering I was one of the least mature people on here last year (satire postings, dumb jokes that had nothing to do with the topic at hand, The Great HTML Coding Incident of 2013, etc.), and I also don't want to single anybody out. The only reason I keep ranting like this is because it pains me to see such a great community as this get torn apart by people not keeping their emotions in check.) "I want too shake your hand." Your reason being...? "TLS does have a point. Less than 24 hours in and this has already turned into a clusterf*ck. Same people (me and DSFF) making emotional (although not necessarily irrational as comment #2 shows) statements and having to defend them against haters who abuse the thumbs-down feature and use anonymous names to make vicious attacks." Defend your points all you wish, but do you think you could, just once, do so without questioning the presence of that person's testicular region? "Let's just wipe the slate clean and start out with a little bit of optimism this year, okay?" Exactly. Better yet, let's all follow your example and pretend that Dillon is driving the #0, if only just for this week. It'll spare us a lot of needless arguments. 59. JP88 posted: 02.16.2014 - 11:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) ^Spot on murb It was just about a lock that an RCR-affiliated car was going to win the pole. Austin was fast the whole month, Danica was flying the whole Speedweeks last year. If NASCAR was fixed we all know who would be winning races/championships. Let go Juuuunnnnnyyyyoooorrrrr!!!! 60. JG24FanForever posted: 02.16.2014 - 11:04 pm Rate this comment: (4) (3) "I say it every time, but it's pretty amazing that people like Long Shot, who is like 15 YEARS OLD, is more mature than some of the 20 and 30 year olds on here. He's exactly right. It's absolutely pathetic that some people can't have respectful disagreements. Good god. Let's just wipe the slate clean and start out with a little bit of optimism this year, okay?" This board's definition of maturity is more along the lines of "political correctness", and I could care less about always saying the right thing and never expressing a genuine feeling. Sorry, life isn't all about compliance, and I will gladly disagree with anyone if I feel I should. I guess i'll try my best not to be myself as much from here on out. Even though I rarely ever come at people with any real malice. 61. Anonymous posted: 02.16.2014 - 11:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 2014 Chase for the Sprint Cup field: Jimmie Johnson Kyle Busch Matt Kenseth Brad Keselowski Kurt Busch Kevin Harvick Kasey Kahne Austin Dillon Carl Edwards Denny Hamlin Joey Logano Jeff Gordon Greg Biffle Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (surprise winner) Tony Stewart Brian Vickers 62. Anonymous posted: 02.16.2014 - 11:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Best of the rest: Clint Bowyer Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jamie McMurray Kyle Larson 63. David posted: 02.17.2014 - 12:08 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) *returns, vomits in the recently cleaned-out Donny Lia bucket* Yeah, I found out about this in a Pizza Hut (only the fourth time I've consumed pizza in the past four days), and I was none too thrilled about it. While it is a coincidence that the driver with the biggest news headlines wins the 500 pole for the second year in a row, I don't think it was fixed. "I was one of the least mature people on here last year" Don't you worry about it. I was right there with you. "satire postings" As funny as it is to go back and look those up on the All-Star Race page, we cannot let those happen again. Those got really bad really quickly. "The Great HTML Coding Incident of 2013" In your defense, I started that, and fully regret that it spun out of control like it did. Especially since it now means that all posts with code must be approved first by the webmaster, which can be a long process. But the whole thing did inspire me to learn HTML code, which I did. 64. The Long Shot posted: 02.17.2014 - 12:48 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) "This board's definition of maturity is more along the lines of "political correctness", and I could care less about always saying the right thing and never expressing a genuine feeling." You're misinterpreting what we're saying. We're not saying that you should not disagree with someone, nor are we saying that you shouldn't be passionate and emotional about your opinions. We're just asking that you be respectful when doing so and to try and refrain from insulting people. "As funny as it is to go back and look those up on the All-Star Race page, we cannot let those happen again. Those got really bad really quickly." I'm probably the one most responsible for that. I guess I had too much of a good time on the HISTORY 300 comments page. 65. Jarrett88fan posted: 02.17.2014 - 1:46 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) To the earlier poster named Lonny, to quote the classic 1978 film "Halloween," Hey Lonny, get you're a-- away from there." Loved that Donald Pleasance line. 66. NoLongerAnonymous posted: 02.17.2014 - 2:04 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) I personally think NASCAR wouldn't even consider rigging qualifying so Dillon could win the pole, because that's what a lot of fans would expect them to do, especially after the accusations that were thrown around after Danica won the pole last year. It was fairly obvious a Childress-engined car was going to win the pole given all the results from practice and testing. Now it's possible (maybe even probable) that Childress would give Silver Spoon-Cowboy Hat the best equipment that the team has to offer, but even that wouldn't be so out of the ordinary when you consider that he's driving the team's flagship car. 67. Jarrett88fan posted: 02.17.2014 - 2:09 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Frankly, the racing will speak for itself or there will be a boatload of disgruntled/satirical/ irreverent comments on RR. I love this community and don't want posters to leave over trivial issues. The NASCAR and WWE/WCW connections is just one example of bearable, good natured fun without insulting each other. Thanks webmaster and fellow posters! Thursday night should be intriguing. 68. Kellen posted: 02.17.2014 - 2:32 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) Just hours after Austin Dillon winning the pole at Daytona he rushes to Volusia Speedway and Wins the UMP Dirt Modified race. With the likes of Ken Schrader, Kenny Wallace, Justin Allgaier, David Stremme, and his Brother Ty Dillon. 69. b4il3y posted: 02.17.2014 - 3:14 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) Maybe, just maybe, and bear with me on this..Austin has some talent? OMG, no way, he got in because of his family... but maybe the family knew he had some talent. If I'm wrong I'm sorry... 70. We need more Onion posted: 02.17.2014 - 4:52 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I love how condescending bailey gets as soon as people disagree with his opinion/negative on a driver he likes; and responds with a totally obvious thing never questioned by anyone. And I'm not so sure that you understand what we are mainly arguing about. It's about Daytona 500's qualifying, not once was it questioned that Austin HAS talent. To make further discussion on the topic of his talent unnecessary, getting a pole at a plate track requires none of it anyway. 71. cjs3872 posted: 02.17.2014 - 6:47 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Exactly, b4il3y. Austin Dillon might have gotten in because of his family connections, but you don't win either Rookie or the Year or the championship in the Truck Series and then the Nationwide Series four years in a row without a great deal of talent. I said on this board as far back as 2011 that the Dillon brothers are important to rebuilding the fan base in the sport's core region, but only if they can prove they can be successful, and they've proven that. And by the way, don; be surprised if Austin is a serious threat in the Daytona 500. I looked at part of last year's race, and in the early stages, Austin ran with the leaders in the fourth Childress car, and as I noted, he almost won the fall race at Talladega last year in the #14 car, the only time that car was relevant after Tony Stewart's injury last year. I doubt very seriously that he'll win the Daytona 500 (though Mario Andretti and Pete Hamilton did win it in their second attempt, and as we know, Trevor Bayne won it in his first shot), but if he was a serious contender for the win, given the team he has behind him, it would not surprise me at all. The question is, how will Austin race in the qualifiers with literally everything to lose. If I was managing the team, I'd have him try to lead the first lap and then run at he back to stay out of the wrecks that are bound to happen, if Saturday night's race is any indication. Heck, Curtis Turner in 1967 and Buddy Baker in 1969 even ran one lap and parked it in the qualifying races after winning the pole for that very reason. I'll be very interested to see how that unfolds. 72. Peter posted: 02.17.2014 - 9:09 am Rate this comment: (3) (0) It's funny that Austin is getting all this hate for racing the #3; it's just a number people. Do you honestly think that Dale Sr. would want his legacy remembered by a number rather then his 76 wins & 7 championships? 73. Zackary Shawn posted: 02.17.2014 - 9:46 am Rate this comment: (1) (1) All these conspiracy theorists literally make me want to scream!!!! Good Lord, can't people just be content?!?!?! 74. Dale Earnhardt Sr Fans posted: 02.17.2014 - 9:50 am Rate this comment: (1) (2) GREAT!!! DILLON GOT THE POLE!!!!!! THE 3 SHOULDN'T EVEN BE RACING!!! EVERYBODY KNOWS THAT DALE EARNHARDT SR IS THE GREATEST NASCAR DRIVER IN HISTORY!!!!!! THIS POLE WAS RIGGED!!!! 75. numbah10hatah posted: 02.17.2014 - 9:51 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Spot on, Zachary Shawn. 76. Zackary Shawn posted: 02.17.2014 - 9:57 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Why on God's green Earth would NASCAR rig a pole for a driver that (apparently) a lot of people don't even like? There were 48 other drivers who qualified for this race, why would they allow that to happen? NASCAR can't control all 48 other drivers from exposing a rigging. Can you imagine the revolt from the fans? Why would NASCAR want to bring that upon themselves? IT LITERALLY MAKES NO SENSE!!!! ALL THE RCR CARS ARE FAST!!! ARGHHHHHHHHH!!!!! 77. startandparkfan posted: 02.17.2014 - 11:24 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Exactly, b4il3y. Austin Dillon might have gotten in because of his family connections, but you don't win either Rookie or the Year or the championship in the Truck Series and then the Nationwide Series four years in a row without a great deal of talent." This is what people don't understand, while the Dillon brothers did get such good rides because of their family connections, but they are talented. I think that this will be a great 500, based on the racing I've seen in the shootout. The new spoiler has really helped the closing distance and the ability to pass anywhere on the track. I think that Martin Truex Jr. will win, he qualified well and is probably determined to win after the controversy last season. Shoutout to Brian Scott, he got an amazing qualifying run for his 2nd start, I think that he will be a consistent driver throughout the race Also, Mears and Annett had good qualifying runs as well, especially considering that Annett is in his first start! First start for Eric McClure since 2006 Sadly, I don't think that Cole Whitt will make the race, but who knows what will happen in the duels. 78. Zackary Shawn posted: 02.17.2014 - 12:08 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "This is what people don't understand, while the Dillon brothers did get such good rides because of their family connections, but they are talented." They understand...they just don't want to accept it, methinks. 79. dcope52 posted: 02.17.2014 - 12:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) You guys seem to think Casey Mears is some sort of charity-case, "nice try" driver, but in reality that Germain Racing team is actually a fairly good mid-level race team that has proved to field an occasional great car. They're also consistently good at the super speedways and had a very strong car at Bristol last year. Bowman has my sympathy. That car is awful, wish he could've got a development deal in NNS. Though props to Kvapil for actually grabbing some top 20s in that car last years. I think Greg Biffle has a great car and is my tenative pick to win the '500. Furniture Row car also running well. 80. Zackary Shawn posted: 02.17.2014 - 12:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) First time since the 2001 Daytona 500 (obviously) that numbers 1-5 will be on the side of cars. That year numbers 1-12 were on cars. 81. 1995 Subaru WRX STi posted: 02.17.2014 - 1:40 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Your reason being...?" For being the most mature person on here. Even in my early days on here, i would lose my maturity once in a while. But lately on here it has become a bit of a habit for people. Ever since the "Gordon vs Bowyer @ PIR 2012" incident i've tried too stay away from here. But since i (for intense and purposes) this offseason i figured this place another chance, sadly i was proven right with Mr. Dillion winning the pole for the 500. The board is fine but the people need work. If more people like you were on here, i'd stay. But when the Duels start, this website will be on my "internet block list." "All these conspiracy theorists literally make me want to scream!!!! Good Lord, can't people just be content?!?!?!" "content" is a word i wouldn't use. 82. 23andJoe posted: 02.17.2014 - 3:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Daytona NNS entry list is out. 46 cars. Highlights: -#00 Jason White -#4 is listed as TBA, espected to be Jeffrey Earnhardt -#10 is TBA -#13 Carl Long -#15 Carlos Contreras -#40 Josh Wise -Kyle Larson's TSM car is #42 -#67 Clay Greenfield (Tommy Joe Martins didn't get approved for Daytona?) -#70 Derrike Cope, using the old ML Motorsports owner points -#80 Johnny Sauter, owner Shigeaki Hattori -#85 Bobby Gerhart 83. Kubica Fan Ireland posted: 02.17.2014 - 3:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) What is the weather like for the week, any chance of rain during the rest of speedweeks. 84. murb posted: 02.17.2014 - 3:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Austin Dillon definitely has talent. I just don't think he's talented enough to warrant all these "OMG, He's Gonna Be The New Earnhardt" proclamations by the media. No one is talented enough to deserve those. I think he's a decent driver, and I think he'll have a Greg Biffle/Ryan Newman type career. Like those guys, he'll be a good driver, but there will be a ton of better ones in his age group. I think Ryan Blaney, Darrell Wallace, Parker Kligerman (if he ends up with a better team), and even Chase Elliott (as much as I don't like him) can be better drivers than him in Cup. I even see Joey Logano racking up more wins than Dillon over the next five or so years. So yeah, he's talented. Definitely overrated, but I don't deny that there is talent there. And who knows? I might be completely wrong and he may end up winning multiple Cup championships. After all, I predicted in 2012 that Nelson Piquet Jr could be a future Cup champion, so it's not like I have a perfect track record here with predictions. "But when the Duels start, this website will be on my "internet block list."" That's totally cool, but I kind of don't understand why you would hang around for three more days and then leave. If you're fed up with all of the nonsense (and I don't blame you), why not just leave now? Not that I want you to leave or anything, I'm just curious. 85. murb posted: 02.17.2014 - 4:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "What is the weather like for the week, any chance of rain during the rest of speedweeks." I think it's supposed to be good all week. I heard that it's supposed to be clear and in the 70s for the 500. 86. NicoRosbergFan posted: 02.17.2014 - 4:39 pm Rate this comment: (1) (5) "But when the Duels start, this website will be on my "internet block list." No need. We will all go to bed instead of watching anyway. 87. cjs3872 posted: 02.17.2014 - 4:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Possibly close to 80 all weekend, murb, though the potential for severe t-storms may also be in the forecast for Friday. And that will drastically affect the handling of the cars, and since the Daytona 500, unlike the other races in SpeedWeeks for the Cup cars this year, is going to be run during the day, the Daytona 500 might end up being a handling race, rather than on decided by pure speed. After all, if the forecast is right, this will be the hottest Daytona 500 in many years (perhaps going all the way back to 1990 or 1994), so what we might end up seeing is someone who may not have the raw speed, but rather a better handling package ending up winning the race. And usually, that means Tony Stewart may be very tough, because the hotter it is, the more he likes it, as his four wins in the Firecracker 400 prove. Jeff Gordon could be very tough in the 500, because if it is a hotter day, that could fall into his hands, because he's always been more formidable in the Firecracker 400 than in the Daytona 500, for some reason, even though he's won each race three times. 88. Spen posted: 02.17.2014 - 5:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Subaru: Hate to see you go. You're about the only one left from the days when I first found the site, and I've always enjoyed reading your comments. 89. Anonymous posted: 02.17.2014 - 5:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 52. An Aussie Commentator posted: 02.16.2014 - 8:53 pm Anyone know what happened to Dave Blaney in order for him to not set a time? 90. Eric posted: 02.17.2014 - 5:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Here is my 2014 cup predictions: Daytona 500: Dale Jr. Southern 500: Kevin Harvick Spring Talladega: Jammie Mcmurray Coco-Cola 600: Kasey Kahne Sonoma: Kurt Busch Summer Daytona: Jimmie Johnson Brickyard 400: Matt Kenseth Watkin's Glen: Kyle Busch Bristol Night Race: Kyle Busch fall Talladega: Clint Bowyer Cup Champion: Kyle Busch with Dale Jr. being the runner up. Here are my other 2014 predictions: Carl Edwards will be leaving Roush for JGR, Bayne takes over ride. Carl and Biffle's contract is up this year. Danica will finish poorly again this year and will be going to F1 with Gene Haas being her F1 owner. I think everyone here knows that Gene wants to own an F1 team. Regan Smith takes Danica's cup ride. Austin Dillon wins rookie of the year. Ron Malec becomes Dale Jr.'s crew chief for 2015 since Ray already said doesn't want to crew chief a driver. Ambrose is going to gone after this year. I think Petty is going to pick a driver that he has a driver development contract with. 91. An Aussie Commentator posted: 02.17.2014 - 5:54 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Ambrose is going to gone after this year. I think Petty is going to pick a driver that he has a driver development contract with" Ambrose heads back to Australia where he should be and has an epic 5-year duel with Whincup. I WANT TO SEE AMBROSE VS WHINCUP IN V8'S THAT WOULD BE SO EPIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Is it just me, or don't we know who the #70's team owner actually is? Because according to Jayski ML Motorsports (the same ML that shut down after Johanna Long left) is running the car. 92. Jim Davis posted: 02.17.2014 - 6:10 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Regan Smith takes Danica's cup ride." Patrick's cup ride goes away when Patrick does. Go Daddy is only interested in Patrick, not NASCAR. "Is it just me, or don't we know who the #70's team owner actually is?" It's Derricke Cope using the owner's points from ML Motorsports from last year so technically the owner of record is Mary Louise Miller. 93. murb posted: 02.17.2014 - 6:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Carl Edwards will be leaving Roush for JGR, Bayne takes over ride. Carl and Biffle's contract is up this year." I don't think Carl will leave, but I do see Biffle leaving after this year. You mentioned Ambrose leaving Nascar, and I agree with that, so I could see Biffle replacing him in the 9 car. It would be kind of a win win for both sides. Biffle can be the number one driver on a team for the first time in his career, and RPM gets a veteran that can bring a lot to the team. So I see that happening more than I see RPM going with one of their young drivers. To my knowledge, Corey Lajoie and Dakoda Armstrong are their two development guys, and neither of them are ready for a full time Cup ride yet. As for who would replace Biffle in the 16, it would be either Trevor Bayne or Chris Buescher. I really like the Ryan Reed kid too, but I would hope that Roush wouldn't rush him up to Cup that quickly. Bayne is obviously ready for a full time Cup ride, and Buescher has a good amount of experience having been an Arca champion and whatnot, so I would expect it to be one of those two in the 16 if/when Biffle leaves. And I highly doubt that the Gene Haas F1 thing is gonna happen. 94. NicoRosbergFan posted: 02.17.2014 - 6:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Oh, what fun! Meeting the legends of motorsports... Jack Anderson, Gene Hobby, Leo Cleary, Brownie King, Rex White, etc. A hell of a day, and I will meet more tomorrow. Yes, folks, THESE are the people I may soon be calling my friends. LLOAR here I come! 95. Eric posted: 02.17.2014 - 6:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I did forgot to mention one thing in my predictions: Jeff Gordon will announce 2015 will be his final cup season if he doesn't win the 2014 cup championship. 96. Eric posted: 02.17.2014 - 6:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I was very tempted to say Biffle leaving, but Roush and Biffle are negotiating currently according to what I read and Biffle claims a contract announcement will happen in the first quarter. While if Biffle goes to Petty, he'll be going to weaker Ford team even as number 1 driver. 97. 23andJoe posted: 02.17.2014 - 7:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Truck Series entry list is out. 38 trucks. Only surprising 'non-announced' thing that jumped out at me is Travis Kvapil in the MAKE #50. 98. 1995 Subaru WRX STi posted: 02.17.2014 - 8:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "That's totally cool, but I kind of don't understand why you would hang around for three more days and then leave. If you're fed up with all of the nonsense (and I don't blame you), why not just leave now? Not that I want you to leave or anything, I'm just curious." Because people on here report stuff that on another forum i'm apart of seem too miss. This site keeps me up too date. On the same token tho, it is the other way around as well. Even tho on the other forum i'm apart, people on there have been losing their minds too, may need too take a vacation from there too. "Subaru: Hate to see you go. You're about the only one left from the days when I first found the site, and I've always enjoyed reading your comments." Enjoy your blogs Spen, i'll try and read them when i can. 99. numbah10hatah posted: 02.17.2014 - 8:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) To add on some stuff onto 23andJoe's Nationwide Entry List (some you may have heard but I'll put them on anyway): Landon Cassill will drive #01 for JD Motorsports Harrison Rhodes will drive #24 for SR2 Motorsports Mike Wallace will drive #28 for Carl Long Scott Lagasse Jr. will drive #29 for RAB Racing Ryan Sieg will drive #39 for RSS Racing(his truck team) Dakoda Armstrong will drive #43 for Richard Petty Motorsports Blake Koch will drive #44 for TriStar Motorsports Jamie Dick will drive #55 for Viva Auto Racing Chris Buescher will drive #60 for Roush-Fenway Brendan Gaughan will drive #62 for Childress Willie Allen will drive #76 for Martins Motorsports Chad Boat will drive #84 for Billy Boat Motorsports Matt Carter will drive #93 for Carl Long David Ragan will drive #98 for Biagi-DenBeste James Buescher will drive #99 for RAB 100. cjs3872 posted: 02.17.2014 - 8:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) While I do think that Trevor Bayne is ready for the Cup Series, especially when you look at some of the drivers that will be in the Cup Series this year, I'm not sure any car owner is going to take a chance on him full-time, simply because of him having MS. I know that's a harsh thing to say, but it's true. I know if I was a car owner, I would have great reservations about hiring a driver who could be forced out of the car at literally any moment, no matter how good he is. Think back to Tim Richmond in 1987. He was winning races and within two months of him winning consecutive races, he could no longer compete. Granted that was a different situation (AIDS vs. MS), but it's about the only thing I can compare Bayne's situation to. I know that both Jack Roush, Bayne's car owner in the NNS, as well as Chip Ganassi (in the IndyCar series) have drivers that have diabetes, but MS is potentially much worse than diabetes, especially for a race car driver because of how MS attacks the central nervous system. That may be one reason why Jack Roush went after Ryan Newman last year, and why he may go after Clint Bowyer to drive the #6 car next year (if he revives it) because I do think that Roush is going to resign both Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards to extensions, unless he replaces one of them with someone like Bowyer. He'd be dumb not to. I know Biffle's getting up there in years, but Chris Buescher is simply not ready for a Cup ride, and Trevor Bayne is now too big of a risk because of him having MS, which is a shame, because I had high hopes for him. And also, if Chase Elliot does become the successor to Jeff Gordon in Gordon's cup car, it will not be the #24. What will likely happen is that Hendrick will get the #9 that is so synonymous with the Elliott family from Richard Petty Motorsports, and what's now the #9 will almost certainly become the #44. 101. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 02.17.2014 - 8:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "And also, if Chase Elliot does become the successor to Jeff Gordon in Gordon's cup car, it will not be the #24. What will likely happen is that Hendrick will get the #9 that is so synonymous with the Elliott family from Richard Petty Motorsports, and what's now the #9 will almost certainly become the #44." I think Hendrick might bring back the #25 before going after the 9. To my recollection, aside from an all-star race no one has used the 25 since Jr. changed it to the 88. 102. cjs3872 posted: 02.17.2014 - 9:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @101, let's not forget that Richard Petty Motorsports used the #9 the last couple of years, but now that Chase Elliott moved to the Nationwide Series this year, Petty has given the #9 to Dale, Jr.'s NNS team for Chase to use, since that is considered the Elliott number. And if there's any one driver in the history of the sport that's synonymous with a number, it's Richard Petty with the #43, even more than Dale Earnhardt, Sr. was with the #3, so I believe if and when Chase moves to the Cup Series, I believe Petty will give the #9 to whatever team Chase drives for, and Petty will use the #44 for his second car, as it was when Kyle Petty rejoined Petty Enterprises in 1997. Petty even used the #44 for his Cup car in 1993 when he shelved the #43 for a year, believing that it was too much weight for his immediate successor (Rick Wilson) to bear. 103. murb posted: 02.17.2014 - 9:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Chase will definitely be either #9 or #94 once he gets to the Cup Series. 104. Anonymous posted: 02.17.2014 - 10:11 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) No offense but for those of you saying Jr will never win again think about this. People said the Pittsburgh Pirates would never have a winning season and look what they did last year. They had a winning season and were one win away from the NL championship series. 105. Destroyahirismix666 posted: 02.17.2014 - 10:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'll say this on the 'rigged/not rigged' poles. I was starting to suspect something when Jr took an early pole. That said, RCR's machines and engines were quite fast in Daytona's Pre-season Thunder, Newman has a strong Mechanical-oriented brain, and naturally, Dillon would be given the best equipment here because Richard will want Dillon to impress fast. That aside, I'm really looking forward to the duels. And the 500. For the reasons that cjs stated earlier, this will probably be one of the most interesting 500's because Stewart and Gordon, both drivers that will go down in racing history, will likely be up front and competing in this event. Not to mention that the cars that dominate the 125's...150's...DUELS, will have a set up that benefits them more in a cooler-night race. While the difference between night and day on Daytona isn't nearly as big as it would be at Charlotte or Kansas, it's there, and possibly within the first 25 laps we'll see some interesting battles up front as drivers that dominated the Duels will be fighting to hold onto the lead while drivers with better-handling cars will be right there behind them. 106. Destroyahirismix666 posted: 02.17.2014 - 10:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And, for the life of me, I can't fathom Dale Jr not winning a race at least one more time. But yet, he seems to be cursed in the most ungodly way. 2011 Coke 600, Chicago last year, Homestead Last year, Talladega Fall last year. If anyone needs a break for wins, it's Dale. 107. TS1420 posted: 02.17.2014 - 11:25 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) "And, for the life of me, I can't fathom Dale Jr not winning a race at least one more time. But yet, he seems to be cursed in the most ungodly way. 2011 Coke 600, Chicago last year, Homestead Last year, Talladega Fall last year. If anyone needs a break for wins, it's Dale." Jimmie gets such extremely stupid good luck that I think karma tries to balance it out by giving the rest of the Hendrick cars extremely horrid bad luck. 108. Spen posted: 02.18.2014 - 5:17 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Chad's Hair Plugs: Brad used the #25 in his limited starts in '09. 109. startandparkfan posted: 02.18.2014 - 8:37 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Truck Entry List notable entries- 7- Brian Ickler 07- Michael Disdier 8- Joe Nemechek 13- Jeb Burton 19- Tyler Reddick 20- John King 21- Joey Coulter 28- Ryan Ellis 30- Ron Hornaday, Jr. 31- Ben Kennedy 32- Ryan Truex 35- Mason Mingus 40- Todd Peck 50- Travis Kvapil 58- Parker Kligerman 63- Justin Jennings 82- Sean Corr 84- Chris Fontaine 92- Ross Chastain 93- Jason White 110. DaleSrFanForever posted: 02.18.2014 - 8:38 am Rate this comment: (8) (8) I love how those of us who prefer not to see the number Dale had the bulk of his success with being driven by somebody who BRAGGED about not winning a race last year, are being lambasted by the media and a few people here as "conspiracy theorists with tinfoil hats who see black helicopters everywhere" and "lacking maturity". The fact that this pole was rigged is evidenced by the fact we were calling this almost a year ago when it was "unofficially officially" announced Austin would be driving the "returning famed #3 that his grandfather made famous". After Danica's incredible driving performance won her the pole over Jeff Gordon in last year's 500 (ugh), we knew this was coming 9 months in advance. Hell, we could call thispole NASCAR's bastard child. It is sad to see what the NASCAR media is doing. They attack those of us that have perfectly valid reasons for not wanting to see the #3 back in NASCAR, who have perfectly valid reasons for seeing this pole as rigged on a personal level. I see Ed Hinton, once a premier journalist, now nothing more than an internet troll. I see this board. Because NASCAR has fallen so hard and become such a joke we have nothing to really discuss. For me personally, I have no plans to watch NASCAR this year. Time for me to make a clean break. Between the pitiful new points system, the exploitation of Dale Earnhardt's memory by the team HE made, the lack of anything to hold on to with any driver, NASCAR's continued mission to destroy Darlington, and the joke of "Jimmie Johnson: Greatest Ever", "Danica Patrick: Trail Blazer" etc, I will save my sanity and avoid NASCAR. Iwill keep going to Martinsville because it is always a fun afternoon with Dad. And I'll show up here occasionally just to talk about other stuff. I like you guys. But otherwise, NASCAR lost a lifetime fan. I will try to keep up with IndyCar this year. See how I like following it full time. And I will watch any race Johanna Long is in and comment on it, if she gets a decent ride for any races. 111. NicoRosbergFan posted: 02.18.2014 - 8:44 am Rate this comment: (3) (1) At 5:16 PM on this day 13 years ago, we lost the legendary Dale Earnhardt. Indisputably one of the five greatest NASCAR drivers ever, arguably THE best, he won 76 races, 22 poles, and 7 titles over a 22 year career that spanned from 1979-2000, with additional starts in 1975-1978 and 2001. Rest in peace, Dale Earnhardt, the Man in Black, the Intimidator, and Darth Vader; God bless. 112. cjs3872 posted: 02.18.2014 - 10:43 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) NicoRosbergFan, one of the things that I've never been able to figure out about that whole situation regarding Dale, Sr. was why FOX left the air when they did, considering just how big a story that had the potential to be. They said on the air that they had run out of their allotted time, mostly due to the big crash on the back straightaway on lap 174 that cause about a half hour stoppage. What they should have done was to send one of their reporters to Halifax and stayed on the air, because they knew what a serious situation this was. In fact, David Hill, the president of FOX Sports, even went as far as to say (on the special presentation SPEED did regarding the 2001 Daytona 500, which originally aired in 2011 on it's tenth anniversary) that since they used the ambulance, instead of using the helicopter, that it meant that Dale either had a broken back or that he had already died. In fact, I first learned that Dale had died during the halftime report of the NBA game NBC was doing that day, when in fact, FOX should have stayed on the air to cover the story, knowing just how big it was. But the likelihood was that Dale had already died, and if that was true, the fact that FOX didn't send one of their guys to Halifax and stayed on the air until any word on Dale's condition could be relayed is, to me, journalistic maleficence. 113. Tinfoil Hat Wearer posted: 02.18.2014 - 1:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (3) Maybe Dale is really alive and is just secluded on a farm somewhere in North Carolina with as much fishing as he could enjoy! 114. BON GORDON posted: 02.18.2014 - 2:33 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) RIP Dale Earnhardt 1951-2001. It was the very first NASCAR race that I watched from start to finish. Not that anyone cares but going to the Pocono race in June and also just got my tickets in the mail for Martinsville at the end of March. Excited about that. Gordon has a great record when I attend a race. Hopefully he keeps that streak alive. 115. DaleSrFanForever posted: 02.18.2014 - 2:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I don think FOX or really anyone in NASCAR on this day 13 years ago truly understood how connected the fans of this then great sport were emotionally to its drivers. It looked to me that the whole industry was really blindsided by the national outpouring of emotion and attention and what a major story it would become. People talk about the domino effect of Dale's passing. One underrated effect was it really made NASCAR overestimate how big they really were and emboldened their disastrous expansion of the early 00's. I know they already had Chicago and Kansas City on the schedule, but this made them jump the gun. 116. DaleSrFanForever posted: 02.18.2014 - 3:07 pm Rate this comment: (5) (0) Me and Dad were watching the women's bobsled just now and had this conversation: Dad: Is Bodine still working with the US bobsled teams? Me: They are leading after 2 rounds so apparently not. Dad: *laughs* I'll never get tired of picking on him. And to nail such a zinger on him on 2/18 is really cool. 117. joey2448 posted: 02.18.2014 - 3:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I gotta ask, for those that think this year and last year's 500 pole was rigged -- HOW do you think they did it? My dad also questions the validity of both poles, but he comes up with some explanation and says he believes NASCAR just told all the drivers to not go as hard and intentionally slow down to give Danica the pole in 2013, and Austin in 2014. My response is that it would never work. If drivers were intentionally letting off to give someone else the pole, the times on the speed chart would be wildly inconsistent. There would be seconds between competitors, and furthermore, how much would you know to lift off? It's just not reasonable. That brings to the only reasonable explanation (if the pole was rigged) -- tinkering of the engine or restrictor plate that allowed Danica and Austin to easily cruise to the pole position. Someone here mentioned that NASCAR issues the plates to the teams. I'm not sure if that's true, but would they really give the 3 team a bigger plate? As much as we all hate the ruling body of the sport, I don't think NASCAR would do that, after all the penalties we've seen throughout the years given to teams that mess with the engine (look at Kenseth last year). 118. 18fan posted: 02.18.2014 - 3:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Speaking of Bodines, Todd Bodine will be part of the coverage of the Truck race at Daytona. 119. cjs3872 posted: 02.18.2014 - 4:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) That's not the point, DSFF. Any time you have such a potentially momentus story that you're live on and the you cut away from it due to running out of the allotted time on the air, and then don't even dispatch one of the members of your broadcasting team to the hospital, that's journalistic maleficence at it's highest. They never even tossed it over to FOX News for continuous coverage, which they easily could have done when they left the air that day. Compare FOX's mishandling of what happened on that fateful day to how ABC handled the terrorism at the 1972 Munich Olympics, or how ABC handled the earthquake during the 1989 World Series, or how ESPN/ESPN2 handled what happened at the end of last year's Nationwide Series race the day before the Daytona 500, when Kyle Larson crashed at the end of the race, injuring 28-33 spectators. ESPN/ESPN2 stayed on the air for over two more hours after the race because they knew how big and serious a story they had, and that any other programming they were scheduled to air was insignificant compared to what had happened. FOX should have done the same thing on that fateful day in 2001, even if they had to toss it over to FOX News for continuous coverage, and when it became apparent that it was serious, they needed to dispatch someone to Halifax to at least give an update, even if it meant staying on the air longer. As I said, for about half an hour, there was no coverage at all, and I found out about Dale's death at halftime of the NBA game NBC was airing. And even then, other sports or news outlets, such as ESPN, CNN, MSNBC, and FOX News did not have any coverage of it until a few minutes after that. Given the serious nature of it, combined with the individual figure involved, there should have been continuous coverage of it, at least by FOX. Dale's death is one of just two or three moments of it's type that I remember what I was doing when it occurred, one of the others being that earthquake in the 1989 World Series. And since I was asleep when it happened (about 4:45 AM in San Diego), the 9/11 attacks are not on that list. To me, given the figure he was, Dale's death would almost be like the president being assassinated, which thankfully, has not happened in my lifetime. That's how big a story it was, and for about 30 minutes, there was coverage at all of it, and that's a shame. 120. cjs3872 posted: 02.18.2014 - 4:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Well DSFF, let's not forget just how close Geoff Bodine came to being killed on 2/18 in 2000, since that was the date of the Truck Series race in which he had that awful crash, so the date February 18 is also one he'd like to forget, as well, and not just because of what happened to Dale. And yes, I believe Bodine's still a part of the bobsled program, hence the USA bobsled team's ascendance to the top. And speaking of the Bodines, I think Brett did one heck of a job dealing with the fire in the pace car, and how he knew what to do to make sure he and his passenger got out safely so that fire crews could put out the fire. That's why the pace car needs to be driven during cautions by experienced drivers. And for those that think the last two Daytona 500 qualifying sessions have not been on the level, you have to remember that there were 49 cars that tried to qualify for the race this year. That means that NASCAR had to issue 49 restrictor plates for qualifying. And despite the fact that they try to make everything equal in that regard, any time you issue that many of any one thing, there have to be differences. And even the slightest difference, one that can not be detected, can make a big difference. So even if there was a difference in any of the plates, it likely would never have been able to be detected by virtually any device, much less the human eye. 121. 23andJoe posted: 02.18.2014 - 4:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) -Joey Gase has been added to the Nationwide Series entry list in the #52. 122. DaleSrFanForever posted: 02.18.2014 - 4:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) What I'm saying cjs is that the entire FOX network didn't realize just how momentous the possibility of Dale's passing was going to be. Especially on a national level. I think they viewed it as a Southern niche sport that they would grow. They didn't realize the stereotypes had ended nearly 30 years earlier as we had long since had a vast array of elite drivers and champions from outside the Southeast like Rusty, Mark, Ernie, Tim, Geoff (undeniably a hell of a wheelman), Schrader, and Gordon. 123. 23andJoe posted: 02.18.2014 - 5:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) -Charles Lewandoski has been added to the Truck Series entry list in Stacy Compton's #60. 124. An Aussie Commentator posted: 02.18.2014 - 6:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And there aren't just diabetics in NASCAR, Jack Perkins in the Australian V8 Supercars is racing in the main game this year despite having type 1 diabetes. 125. cjs3872 posted: 02.18.2014 - 6:42 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Which, DSFF, is why they should have stayed on it at least until there was a report on his condition, which is also why they should have sent someone on their broadcast team, probably one of their pit reporters, to Halifax. When you have a story that's potentially that big and you just leave it without a resolution of any kind, that's why I consider that to be journalistic maleficence. You have arguably the biggest star in the sport and almost certainly know he been severely injured, and yet don't continue the coverage until you hear something, regardless of what it is. To me, that's unacceptable. And in the biggest race of the year, to boot. Now just imagine something like that happening to Jimmie Johnson today. I wonder how they would cover a similar situation regarding Jimmie, who's undeniably the biggest star in the sport today. I hope it never happens, of course, but if something like that were to happen again, let's at least hope that whoever's televising he race will stay on the story until some kind of report is given. That's what ESPN did last year in the aftermath of the Nationwide race, and that's what FOX failed to do in 2001. They could have even continued coverage of the situation on FOX News, but they left millions of racing fans wondering what the situation was. We all knew it was dire, but nobody knew how dire until the reports first came in (I first got the news on NBC during halftime of an NBA game), and the first news agency that began to cover it was CNN, even before ESPN began covering it. Then of course, everyone knew what had happened when Mike Helton said those 29 words that forever changed the sport, but for everyone to be left in suspense for over half an hour with a news item so big was totally uncalled for. We all knew something terrible had happened when we looked at Ken Schrader's reaction when h saw Earnhardt in his car after his crash, but if we could all see it, then why couldn't the guys at FOX notice the same thing, especially in light of what David Hill, the head of FOX Sports said on "The Day: Remembering Dale Earnhardt", when he said that wheeling him to Halifax in an ambulance instead of flying him there via helicopter meant either a broken back or death, which tells you that he already suspected the worst. All I'm saying is that FOX should never have left the coverage and stayed on it until some kind of report on is condition, whatever his condition ended up being during the first report, was made. After that, then I could see them leaving the air, but not until then. 126. Kevin posted: 02.18.2014 - 7:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) BMW makes the 2-person bobsleds for the USA team now. Bodine still makes the 4-person sleds. 127. DaleSrFanForever posted: 02.18.2014 - 8:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Dude, I agree FOX should have done more. I never disagreed with that. I'm just saying FOX didn't know what a big story it was. I'm not arguing your point. You keep bringing up a point I totally agree with. I'm just saying the parent company thought their Sunday evening programming was way more important than the potential death of what they perceived of a guy that only a small portion of people in the South cared about. I am stating FOX's perception at the time. I am not disagreeing with you in any way. 128. Destroyahirismix666 posted: 02.18.2014 - 8:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I do feel a bit bad that overtime DSFF will make NASCAR 'part time' and not be with us as much on these forms. Despite how much I disagree with his opinions, his statsitcal and memory-based knowledge is very valuable to the discussions here. However, I don't blame him, as I'll be doing something similiar. After the Coke 600, I'll be similarly dropping off the radar. I do do that sort of thing normally, and then pick up again around Atlanta. I won't be doing that now. In fact, I'll just probably ditch NASCAR all together after the Watkins Glen (or Atlanta depending on my mood) race. I'll pick it back up again next speedweeks, but as the season goes on I'll become less and less involved. Simple because I can't stand SO much stuff that I feel has been rammed into our faces and throats in the last three years. I won't start listing, but regardless. Considering that watching N'wide and Truck races are utterly out of the question for me, I won't be there either. Even if Johnson strings together a dominant run for 7, well, I still won't be here when it culminates. 129. cjs3872 posted: 02.18.2014 - 8:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sunday evening programming, DSFF? That was still two hours away on the east coast (and three more hours on the west coast) when FOX went away from that broadcast. That broadcast ended at 5 PM Eastern time, so that argument doesn't fly. Certainly if they didn't know his condition at the time, or what it would quickly become, they could have gotten some information within half an hour to an hour, by which time we would have known, and they still would likely have gotten the Sunday night programming on the air at it's regular time, if the network so chose. And I would agree with you if it was a standard-level driver, but it wasn't. Dale Earnhardt, Sr. was one of those drivers that transcended his sport and blended into general culture, not only nationally, but globally, as well, o this was not just a Southern, or national new event, but it really was an international news event, given the popularity of racing worldwide. As I noted, his death became one of those events that rivaled events like the World Series earthquake in 1989 and to a degree, even the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963, not just because of the towering person Earnhardt was, but also because it occurred on the big stage on live television in front of tens of millions of people. Let's also remember that this is FOX we're talking about, and they've never seemed to me to be the bastion of journalistic integrity, especially where sports is concerned, and in particular, NASCAR, because the number of times they've butchered things on their NASCAR telecasts is countless, not to mention the fact that most of FOX's NASCAR commentators seem to be more interested in promoting themselves than promoting the sport that made them. I firmly believe that if something like this were to happen again, I'm not sure FOX would handle it any differently, which would be a crying shame. 130. DaleSrFanForever posted: 02.18.2014 - 10:22 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Dude, I AM NOT ARGUING WITH YOU! I AGREE WITH YOU! I am simply stating what FOX was thinking at the time WHICH I WHOLEHEARTEDLY AGREE WITH YOU WAS DEAD WRONG! You are preaching to the choir. If it were up to me they would have had second by second updates. 131. cjs3872 posted: 02.18.2014 - 11:45 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) DSFF, I agree with you all the way here. 132. WinstonCup4Ever posted: 02.19.2014 - 2:38 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) According to rumor, I heard the over the air broadcast network (FOX) didn't deliver the announcement until that night's prime time line up began with Futurama in which the network ran a ticker at the bottom of the screen with the announcement. Some affiliates even pre-empted the prime time lineup to bring the announcement via local news. Interesting Note: The episode that premiered that night for Futurama was "The Day the Earth Stood Stupid" and we here on RR are bringing up "The Day the 'Network' Stood Stupid." 133. 23andJoe posted: 02.19.2014 - 2:40 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) -Tanner Berryhill and Matt DiBenedetto (the Vision Racing cars) have been added to the Nationwide Series entry list. Now 49 cars. 134. murb posted: 02.19.2014 - 2:45 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) Juan Pablo Montoya may run the Brickyard 400 (sorry, I mean the So-and-So 400 at the Brickyard Presented By Big Machine Records and Powered By Crown Royal) this year in a third Penske car. 135. joey2448 posted: 02.19.2014 - 3:11 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) That exchange between DSFF and cjs is hilarious...nearly makes me piss my pants laughing. 136. cjs3872 posted: 02.19.2014 - 2:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Murb, what you're saying about Juan Montoya running a third car for Penske in the Brickyard 400 is exactly why either CART or the IRL (now IndyCar) has almost always left the date where the Brickyard 400 is on the NASCAR calendar an open date, so that any of their drivers could run the Brickyard 400 without having a conflict on the IndyCar schedule. It also begs the question of why he didn't run Montoya in a third car for the Daytona 500, because one thing that has always separated events like the Daytona 500, Brickyard 400, Indianapolis 500, and the other big events was because drivers from other disciplines of the sport would compete in those mega-events. There was a recent article in which the writer of that article proclaimed the 1964 Daytona to have had the greatest lineup in the race's history, in terms of drivers. And the 1981 Daytona 500 had what might have had the most diverse group of drivers in the race's history, because every class of motorsports except motorcycle racing seemed to be represented in that race, and that includes powerboat racing. I've said so in the past, but I think the fields for these big events like the Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400 should be expanded to 50 cars to allow drivers from other disciplines of motorsports to compete, if they so desire. And with Roger Penske and Chip Ganassi both under the four-car limit for a car owner (each are running only two full-time Cup teams), why don't they enter extra cars to allow their IndyCar or sports car drivers a shot at the big NASCAR races, like the old days. I, for one, would love to see Helio Castroneves, Scott Dixon, Ryan Biscoe, Charlie Kimball, and/or Will Power give NASCAR shot in one of the big races. And wouldn't it be something to see other IndyCar drivers at least give Daytona or the Brickyard a shot. After all, one of the charms of the Daytona 500 used to be seeing guys like Johnny Rutherford (who won a qualifying race as a rookie in 1963), Tom Sneva, the Unsers (all three of them raced in the Daytona 500, with Al, Sr. taking fourth in 1968), Gordon Johncock, George Follmer, Elliott Forbes-Robinson, Dan Gurney, Parnelli Jones, and others from other disciplines of racing try to do what Mario Andretti and A.J. Foyt were actually able to accomplish, and that's to win the Daytona 500. And taking nothing away from guys like Morgan Shepherd and the others trying to qualify in marginal cars, but wouldn't it be better to see some of the better drivers from other disciplines of the sport try to race in the Daytona 500. I know I would, and it would add luster to the Daytona 500, which has become just another NASCAR race because you have the same drivers, although it is the biggest in the sport. It would be better to see marquee names from other disciplines of racing give it a shot, but as long as there are only 43 spots available, I doubt it would happen. 137. joey2448 posted: 02.19.2014 - 4:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Cjs, I would also love to see drivers from other racing series compete in big races like the Daytona 500, but I don't think there are enough pit stalls (and simply not enough space to add more) to accommodate that many entries. And as I'm typing this, there's a wreck in Daytona 500 practice. Rookie Cole Whitt scraped the wall going into turn 3 and Brian Vickers moved down into Casey Mears and Vickers turned hard into the wall. And you know how unlucky Jeff Gordon is? He missed the wreck, but somehow got a roof flap lodged into the grill of his car! I mean, really??? 138. TS1420 posted: 02.19.2014 - 4:21 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "And you know how unlucky Jeff Gordon is? He missed the wreck, but somehow got a roof flap lodged into the grill of his car! I mean, really???" The Jeff Gordon Bad Break of The Week Award presented by Pepsi Max: Now also being awarded during the middle of the week. 139. murb posted: 02.19.2014 - 4:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I agree with you about wanting to see outsiders compete in the Daytona 500 CJS, but I think expanding the field to 50 might be a bit too much. If I was gonna expand the field, I would make it about 45 at the most. But yeah, it would be fun to see some open wheel or sports car guys try and run the 500. I wasn't around for when AJ Foyt and those guys would do it, but I can only imagine that it must have brought a lot of excitement to the 500 fields back then. I actually think if the sponsorship and all that stuff came together that there would be a couple of guys interested in doing it. Tony Kanaan comes to mind as someone who would want to try it (he's friends with Tony Stewart and a bunch of the other Nascar guys, and he's talked about trying Nascar before). And I could also see Scott Dixon doing a one off for Ganassi too. He's run a lot of the sports car races, and I think he's even done some V8 Supercar races, so I'm sure he would love to try a Nascar race if he got the chance. Speaking of crossover drivers, I read a few days ago that there are other potential suitors for Kurt Busch's Indy 500 attempt this year. In addition to Andretti, Ganassi and KV Racing may also be interested in having him drive for them. If I was him, I would probably go with Andretti though just because he's already done testing and whatnot for that team. Trying to make the Indy 500 will probably be a bit of an overwhelming experience, so I think his best bet would be to do it with a team he's familiar with. 140. murb posted: 02.19.2014 - 4:28 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) HUGE wreck in practice. Parker Kligerman flips. Hope everyone is okay. 141. New14 & 88Fan posted: 02.19.2014 - 4:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This doesn't bod well for the duels and the 500. Hope everyone's okay, that was crazy. 142. murb posted: 02.19.2014 - 4:33 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Man, for the second time this week, Matt Kenseth puts on a block and starts a big wreck. I've never seen a wreck like that in a practice session. That was wild. 143. cjs3872 posted: 02.19.2014 - 4:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Murb, Kurt would not be able to run with Andretti Autosport at Indy because Andretti's team is no longer running Chevrolets. If Kurt is going to run the Indianapolis 500, which I very much doubt he, or anyone else could do because of the schedule, it would have to be with a team running Chevrolet engines. But since Andretti Autosport is running with another engine manufacturer this coming season, that's no longer a feasible possibility. And they should expand the field for these bigger events to at least 46 cars, and I disagree about the amount of pit spaces. Remember that they used to run 50 cars for the Daytona 500 through the 1960s. They cut the size of the field from 50 to 40 in 1970 because of the speed of the cars, and the part of the field they eliminated was the 16th-20th place transfers from the qualifying races, thereby eliminating the slower cars, while leaving room for the fastest at the back of the starting grid. But the big difference between stars from other series running the Daytona 500 and any NASCAR drivers potentially running in the Indianapolis 500 has to do with the schedule. There's no room on the NASCAR schedule for a NASCAR driver to pre-plan to run Indy, and there never really has been, while there's nothing else going on in major league racing during SpeedWeeks, which is why it's more than feasible to see IndyCar and sports car drivers attempt to qualify for the Daytona 500. And although it's not happened since the event's early years, a main reason why there's always been an open date on the IndyCar calendar the week of the Brickyard 400 is because if one of the IndyCar drivers want to run that race, the open date gives them that possibility. And since there's now a sports car race at the same facility on that same weekend, it's certainly not out of the realm of possibility for a sports car driver to give the NASCAR race at Indy a try. 144. murb posted: 02.19.2014 - 4:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Actually, it wasn't completely Kenseth's fault. Just too many cars in one spot. 145. murb posted: 02.19.2014 - 4:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Murb, Kurt would not be able to run with Andretti Autosport at Indy because Andretti's team is no longer running Chevrolets." That's right. I had forgotten that they switched to Honda this year. My bad. 146. cjs3872 posted: 02.19.2014 - 4:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Does anyone get the idea that this Daytona 500 will be one in which experience will be more important than ever, and that will be hard to finish. I got that impression watching the Shootout, but I'm getting that feeling even more based on the reports of these crashes I'm getting. While the 2001 Daytona 500 is best known for he two bad crashes that day, what many forget is that almost every driver battling for the win was a very experienced driver. Except for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Stacy Compton, virtually everyone else (Michael Waltrip, Dale, Sr., Rusty Wallace, Mike Wallace, Bobby Hamilton, Ricky Rudd, Bill Elliott, and Jeremy Mayfield) had lots of experience. The more this SpeedWeeks goes on, the more you get the feeling that this Daytona 500 will be a hard one to finish, and that experience may mean more this year than ever before. This coming Sunday, conservative driving may end up being what pays off. But it's disturbing to watch that the catch fence is having to be repaired AGAIN, just under a year after Kyle Larson's crash at the same spot. And I didn't see the Kligerman and Co. crash until after I starting writing this post, but Kligerman got on top of the wall and damaged the catch fencing. 147. The Long Shot posted: 02.19.2014 - 4:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) That looked so much like the Kyle Larson wreck in last year's Nationwide race. Kligerman literally came within feet of ripping into that catch fencing. It looked like he tore apart some of the safer barrier instead. A lot of underdogs involved in that wreck, including Kligerman, Trevor Bayne, Ryan Truex, and Dave Blaney (what an awful Speedweeks this has been for him). 148. The Long Shot posted: 02.19.2014 - 5:01 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) So apparently he did get into the fencing, then. Dear lord. I'm glad everyone seems to be okay. I don't know about anyone else, but I'm honestly nervous about this upcoming Sunday. The racing looks like it will be good, but our reward for that may end up being someone, whether it be driver or spectator, leaving the track in an ambulance. I don't believe in superstitions, nor do I believe in omens, but a 3 car winning the pole *13 years* after Earnhardt's death just seems to be full of bad omens no matter which way you look at it. 149. jabber1990 posted: 02.19.2014 - 5:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "The Jeff Gordon Bad Break of The Week Award presented by Pepsi Max: Now also being awarded during the middle of the week." I hope I'm wrong, but I get the feeling that he'll be getting a few more of these this week 150. cjs3872 posted: 02.19.2014 - 5:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) After watching a replay of that wreck, I noticed something disturbing. These cars have a little flare-out from the fender area, probably for aerodynamic purposes. However, it looked like Kligerman's car actually rode over the top of the front of Paul Menard's car, almost causing Kligerman's car to blow over like a hydroplane racing boat. I wonder if those fender flaps are acting like open wheel racing tires, in that the tires are climbing over the fender flaps, which in turn are turning into launching pads for these cars. I sincerely hope not, but that's sure what it looks like to me. And if that's so, we could see cars launching over other cars in similar fashion until that's changed. 151. Dave #38 Fan-Go Gilliland! posted: 02.19.2014 - 5:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I don't believe in superstitions, nor do I believe in omens, but a 3 car winning the pole *13 years* after Earnhardt's death just seems to be full of bad omens no matter which way you look at it." If if makes you feel any better, it's a (small) possibility that the #3 car didn't *really* win the pole. 152. New14 & 88Fan posted: 02.19.2014 - 5:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Dave Blaney's team doesn't have a backup, so unless another team loans 'em a car their speedweeks is over. What a bummer for that team. 153. Dave #38 Fan-Go Gilliland! posted: 02.19.2014 - 5:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Too bad for Dave Blaney, however, I'm not sure that the #77 team's primary car would have had the speed to get into the race anyway. 154. jabber1990 posted: 02.19.2014 - 5:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) " I don't believe in superstitions, nor do I believe in omens, but a 3 car winning the pole *13 years* after Earnhardt's death just seems to be full of bad omens no matter which way you look at it." also keep in mind that the 3 was FORCED on us, not necessarily by Childress (we've been watching Dillon for years) but by the Media and Childress believes the media does that also factor into what you were saying? 155. joey2448 posted: 02.19.2014 - 5:12 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) It's too bad seeing teams like Swan Racing and Dave Blaney's team getting into wrecks in practice. Swan Racing was going to give Cole Whitt their lone backup car, but now that Kligerman wrecked his car, the backup will go to PK, and Whitt's team will try to repair the damage on the 26. And Dave Blaney's team doesn't even have a backup car, so their Daytona 500 hopes may be done, unless they can make a deal with another team. As far as the 500, Long Shot, I think everything will be fine. The thing is, these drivers are getting good practice (duh! lol) for the big race. With the higher spoilers, the closing rates for these cars are higher, and that's a big part of what's causing the wrecks, IMO. Now that these guys know how the cars will react in a big pack, I think Sunday's big race will be exciting, but safe. Unfortunately, it took a few crashes and some teams sacrificed their cars to learn that, but such is life... 156. murb posted: 02.19.2014 - 5:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I wouldn't say that I'm nervous for the race. Obviously I do hope it is a safe race and I hope it's not a wreckfest. But I'd like to think that it will be fine. One thing I would like to see though (since there are a lot of young guys out there) is one of the veterans give a "Rusty Wallace 1994" type speech at the drivers meeting or whatever. Everyone just has to use their heads, and everyone has to realize that before they climb in those cars. So whether it's Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson, or whoever, I hope that one of the veterans tries to get that across to everyone this weekend. 157. Schroeder51 posted: 02.19.2014 - 5:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'm feeling a little nervous about this year's 500 as well. The racing definitely looks like it'll be an improvement over last year's, for sure, but seeing all these crashes in practice (particularly Kilgerman getting into the fence) has me feeling worried. I HOPE the 500 will be safe and we don't see anything disastrous like the ending of last year's Nationwide race, or WORSE... As for Austin Dillon...it's not so much the fact that the #3 is back out there on the track that bothers me, it's the fact that Richard Childress was basically allowed to hold and keep that number hostage for all these years... 158. Schroeder51 posted: 02.19.2014 - 5:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Too bad for Blaney. Hopefully some team will loan him a car for him to drive in the Duels. I don't think he would have made the 500 anyways, but it would REALLY suck if he didn't even get a chance to TRY to race his way in. 159. cjs3872 posted: 02.19.2014 - 5:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Think so, joey2448, because I don't. I think this SpeedWeeks is going to continue to be a disaster. The reason being because you have more drivers that it can be argued have no place running in the Cup Series than at any time that I can recall. Now that's not such a big problem on the non-RP tracks because the field spreads out, but at Daytona and Talladega, that's a very big problem. And although it has been veterans that have caused the crashes so far (namely Matt Kenseth), having so many unproven drivers at Daytona make the proposition for a demolition derby unnervingly high, cause of the close proximity of the racing throughout the entire race distance, and I fear something along the lines of the 1973 Indianapolis 500, or the 2001 Daytona 500 even more this year than I did two years ago, and that was a horrendous SpeedWeeks from start to finish, as 2-3 race fields worth of equipment was torn up, the Daytona 500 postponed for the first time in it's history, and of course, there was the incident when Juan Montoya's car hit the jet dryer. I think what happened in the Sprint Unlimited this past Saturday night sent a message, especially when the pace car caught fire. I think that one incident may have told us where this SpeedWeeks is going, unfortunately, and I think that direction is worse than even 2012 was. I just hope I'm wrong about that. 160. 1995 Subaru WRX STi posted: 02.19.2014 - 6:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Had a look at the reply, Matt stuck his hand out the window too Paul Menard telling him like "hey, i'm going low in front you." But instead he turns right, nudges Joey and then the mess starts. What is up with Matt? I mean 2 wrecks for him in the span a week isn't normal for him, he USUALLY does not cause wrecks at all. Boy either Matt needs glasses or his spotter does or both of them do. This is so outta character for Matt. 161. Daniel posted: 02.19.2014 - 6:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Go Gordon! 162. Dave #38 Fan-Go Gilliland! posted: 02.19.2014 - 6:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Was it really Kenseth's fault? Kligerman and Menard both blamed Logano. 163. Joe Fan #87 posted: 02.19.2014 - 7:08 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Everyone likes to blame Logano just because. Matt was more at fault than Joey for this one IMO. I've never liked Matt, and disliking him more and more lately. 164. New14 & 88Fan posted: 02.19.2014 - 7:08 pm Rate this comment: (3) (0) "Was it really Kenseth's fault? Kligerman and Menard both blamed Logano." Both of them were behind Logano so all they saw was him in the middle and then chaos erupted. Kenseth was trying to get behind Kyle Busch, realized there wasn't enough room for that, and backed off causing Logano to get in him. It was mostly a racing deal. 165. Anonymous posted: 02.19.2014 - 7:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "161. Daniel posted: Go Gordon!" Just when we thought happiness might return... DAMN! 166. numbah10hatah posted: 02.19.2014 - 7:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Regarding the practice crash, what I saw was Kenseth trying to push Kyle Busch, but then he saw Paul Menard already down there, so he checked up and accidentally got into Logano. I'm blaming Kenseth, but I could see it as a racing deal. And yes, Long Shot, it did look eerily similar to Larson's crash last year. 167. Cornys posted: 02.19.2014 - 8:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I don't comment on here often other than in anger, but I do post on a simracing site that is mostly for an international crowd, and I love the technical side of the sport on a management basis. I don't know if anybody here would appreciate this little suggestion, but please feel free to comment. I think a lot about this kind of thing, and take a lot of pride in being accurate in predictions on this kind of thought. Here's my feelings right now on how plate racing should be improved: As I (think) I said before, the larger rear spoiler was a needed change. However, I don't see a way to make the racing better at the plate tracks without creating more and bigger wrecks unless some major changes are made. Greater closing rates mean more crashes, but more passing and actual racing action. Lesser closing rates mean less crashes with less racing. I cannot think of an alternative which would improve racing without creating more crashes unless they change the way the events look completely the way that tandems did. My honest suggestion is to raise the grandstands (cutting back the first ~20 rows since attendance is poor anyways, especially at Talladega) and raise the walls. Give them more give (the walls), and attempt to ease back on the plates and downforce to reduce cornering ability. What were the speeds like at Michigan a few years ago unrestricted? 220 top speed? This shouldn't be much different with a small restriction. Indy Car goes faster than NASCAR does on similar speedways (size) outside of packs. I'd be curious to see what addition of speed and reduction of downforce would be needed to reduce cornering ability and bring more of a normal look to NASCAR's biggest event(s). I think with a few external track modifications (walls and grandstands) the event could be just as exciting or more so than it is now without the big pack of cars ending up in a junkyard towards the end of the race. Average lap times shouldn't be lower than 40 seconds by any means (225mph), but I think 41 seconds (~220) would be okay if the pack would disappear leaving the best handling cars to draft in the straights and battle in the corners for the win. Would this fit into NASCAR's current marketing strategy? Of course not, but is their current marketing strategy really working? This is something that we will find out by the end of this season. 168. Eric posted: 02.19.2014 - 8:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think a restrictor plate on the cars for Daytona and Talladega should stay based on a test Rusty Wallace did at Talladega in 2004 without a restrictor plate. Rusty went 228 MPH at Talladega during a test in 2004 and people thought at the time, in a draft a car can go 240 MPH. Rusty believed at the time that with a little tuning his car had more in it and that 235 mph at the end of the straightaway is attainable. Remember it is likely that the speeds would increased with the car at Talladega without a restrictor plate since 2004 due to gen 6 cars with different stuff than the gen 4 cars had when Rusty did his test. 169. Eric posted: 02.19.2014 - 8:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Cornys, While Indycar has no plates there is something I think you forgot about. Indycar is trying to stay away from 230 MPH for a whole lap at Indy because of Scott Brayton's death. Scott actually was the pole Setter for the 1996 Indy 500, but his speed didn't count since he died before the race started in a practice crash. 170. cjs3872 posted: 02.19.2014 - 9:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Except for one thing, Cornys. The last few years they ran unrestricted, the draft was mostly a non-factor at Daytona, and even lessened to a degree in the final unrestricted race at Talladega. This was because of a number of factors, the biggest being speed, but also because of the sloped back rear window. As a result, the front running cars could usually run alone for a while, and if there were green flag pit stops, there was virtually no competition because they were spread all over the place. And what you're suggesting would be speeds 10-15 MPH faster than they were then. Even if they could run those speeds safely, there would be little to no competition because the cars would not be able to stay close together, mostly because of the speeds. What would happen at Daytona an Talladega would be the same as all the other high speed tracks, and that would be that whoever the leader is would jump out to a lead of several seconds. In the last unrestricted Daytona 500 in 1987, there was one green flag pass for the lead in the first 350 miles, and that was on a restart, and the cars quickly spread all over the track, and within a few laps, the leading two-car draft would get out to a lead of 2-3 seconds, and near the end of the race, first Davey Allison, who was more than 10 laps behind, and then Bill Elliott, passed the leader of the pack and quickly broke away by himself. And at the spring race at Talladega, Davey Allison would get out to leads of almost 10 seconds, and won the race by more than three-quarters of a second in what, at the time, was the second-least competitive race in Talladega history with just 18 lead changes. What you're saying would get us back to the days of very limited competition because the field would be broken apart. Also, when you talk about reduction in downforce, when you're running at that kind of speed, you need all the downforce you can get, or you could literally be driving with your rear wheels off the ground, and you could cause the car in front of you to crash without even hitting it. So reducing the downforce is not the answer, because if a car got even remotely sideways at those speeds, it would have a tendency to want to fly. However, I do think that the wall needs to be higher, especially the SAFER barrier. What's happened in each of the last two SpeedWeeks, with Kyle Larson's crash last year and Parker Kligerman's crash in practice, has exposed the one weakness in the SAFER barrier, and that is the tendency of it to bounce a car higher and into the catch fencing if it gets on top of it cause of how far it jets out in relation to the fencing. At the plate tracks, I think the SAFER barrier should be twice as high as it is so cars can't get on top of it so easily, and if cars can't get on top of it as easily, then they won't bounce of the top of it and higher into the air. But that won't stop cars from going into the catch fencing. Remember Brad Keselowski's crash at Atlanta several years ago? His car could easily have bounced off the top of the SAFER barrier and into the catch fencing, which is not as fortified there as it is at Daytona and Talladega because cars don't get airborne there, but his did. And Todd Bodine got into the catch fencing in turn two at Michigan more than a decade ago, and that wasn't as fortified for the same reason. And I also wonder if the SAFER barrier had something to do with the severity of the crash that killed Dan Wheldon, because four cars got up into the catch fencing in that incident. Certainly cars could have bounced into the catch fencing from hitting the top of the SAFER barrier. I refuse to watch that incident, so I don't know if any were bounced into the catch fencing as a result of landing on top of the SAFER barrier, that could easily have happened. The SAFER barrier may be the greatest safety innovation in racing since roll cages were introduced, but the one weakness of the SAFER barrier is that if a car lands on top of it, which happens more often at Daytona and Talladega than most of us would want to admit because of ho short it is, it tends to get bounced higher in the air, and often will hit the catch fencing. Remember that huge crash late in the 2001 Daytona 500 in which Tony Stewart's car got airborne and rolled over numerous times? What might have happened had there been a SAFER barrier there at that time? I believe his car could have bounced off the top of the SAFER barrier, had there been one then, and knocked down a significant portion of the catch fence there separating the track from the back stretch grandstands that were there then. I believe NASCAR has to start to take a serious look at raising the height of the SAFER barrier, and possibly even doubling the height of it at the plate tracks to dramatically diminish the possibility of cars bouncing off the top of it and into the catch fencing. 171. cjs3872 posted: 02.19.2014 - 9:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Eric, Brayton's 1996 pole winning speed did count, even after his death, because the car remained qualified, but was relegated to the last position in the field because another driver, Danny Ongais, drove it in the race. Everyone else was just moved up one position on the starting grid, but Brayton remains the official pole sitter of record for the 1996 Indianapolis 500. 172. David posted: 02.19.2014 - 9:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Just in case any of you need a guide (or cheat sheet) when watching the races tomorrow night... Daytona 500 clinch scenarios: - Any driver will qualify outright for the Daytona 500 by finishing among the top fifteen cars (excluding the pole sitter) in their respective Budweiser Duel. The following scenarios apply only if the driver in question does not finish in the top fifteen in their respective Budweiser Duel. Budweiser Duel #1: By virtue of winning the pole, Austin Dillon has already qualified for the Daytona 500. If Greg Biffle or Ryan Newman finishes outside of the top fifteen, they will qualify by having the fastest and third-fastest qualifying times among non-front row starters. If Matt Kenseth, Kyle Busch, or Dale Earnhardt, Jr. finishes outside of the top fifteen, they will qualify by virtue of their teams finishing second, fourth, and fifth among non-front row teams in the 2013 owner standings, respectively. Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. - He will qualify by speed if at least three non-front row starters with faster times finish in the top fifteen in either Duel. - He will qualify by owner points if he does not qualify by speed AND at least twelve non-front row starters with higher rank finish in the top fifteen in either Duel. Marcos Ambrose - He will qualify by speed if at least five non-front row starters with faster times finish in the top fifteen in either Duel. - He will qualify by owner points if he does not qualify by speed AND at least fifteen non-front row starters with higher rank finish in the top fifteen in either Duel. Aric Almirola - He will qualify by speed if at least seven non-front row starters with faster times finish in the top fifteen in either Duel. - He will qualify by owner points if he does not qualify by speed AND at least eleven non-front row starters with higher rank finish in the top fifteen in either Duel. Joey Logano - He will qualify by speed if at least nine non-front row starters with faster times finish in the top fifteen in either Duel. - He will qualify by owner points if he does not qualify by speed AND at least one non-front row starter with higher rank finishes in the top fifteen in either Duel. Kasey Kahne - He will qualify by speed if at least thirteen non-front row starters with faster times finish in the top fifteen in either Duel. - He will qualify by owner points if he does not qualify by speed AND at least four non-front row starters with higher rank finish in the top fifteen in either Duel. Kevin Harvick - He will qualify by speed if at least seventeen non-front row starters with faster times finish in the top fifteen in either Duel. - He will qualify by owner points if he does not qualify by speed AND at least three non-front row starters with higher rank finish in the top fifteen in either Duel. Danica Patrick - She will qualify by speed if at least nineteen non-front row starters with faster times finish in the top fifteen in either Duel. - She will qualify by owner points if she does not qualify by speed AND at least twenty non-front row starters finish in the top fifteen in either Duel. AJ Allmendinger - He will qualify by speed if at least twenty-one non-front row starters with faster times finish in the top fifteen in either Duel. - He will qualify by owner points if he does not qualify by speed AND at least twenty-three non-front row starters with higher rank finish in the top fifteen in either Duel. Reed Sorenson - He will qualify by speed if at least twenty-three non-front row starters with faster times finish in the top fifteen in either Duel. - He will qualify by owner points if he does not qualify by speed AND at least twenty-seven non-front row starters with higher rank finish in the top fifteen in either Duel. David Gilliland - He will qualify by speed if at least twenty-five non-front starters with faster times finish in the top fifteen in either Duel. - He will qualify by owner points if he does not qualify by speed AND at least nineteen non-front row starters with higher rank finish in the top fifteen in either Duel. Parker Kligerman - He will qualify by speed if at least twenty-seven non-front starters with faster times finish in the top fifteen in either Duel. - He will qualify by owner points if he does not qualify by speed AND at least twenty-five non-front row starters with higher rank finish in the top fifteen in either Duel. Tony Stewart - He will qualify by speed if at least twenty-nine non-front starters with faster times finish in the top fifteen in either Duel. - He will qualify by owner points if he does not qualify by speed AND at least ten non-front row starters with higher rank finish in the top fifteen in either Duel. Brian Vickers - He will qualify by owner points if at least eight non-front row starters with higher rank finish outside the top fifteen in both Duels. Cole Whitt, Michael McDowell, Josh Wise, Joe Nemechek, and Dave Blaney all must finish in the top fifteen to qualify for the Daytona 500. 173. David posted: 02.19.2014 - 9:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Budweiser Duel #2 By virtue of qualifying on the outside pole, Martin Truex, Jr. has already qualified for the Daytona 500. If Carl Edwards or Brad Keselowski finishes outside of the top fifteen, they will qualify by having the second-fastest and fourth-fastest qualifying times among non-front row starters. If Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon or Clint Bowyer finishes outside of the top fifteen, they will qualify by virtue of their teams finishing first, sixth, and seventh among non-front row teams in the 2013 owner standings, respectively. Paul Menard - He will qualify by speed if at least four non-front row starters with faster times finish in the top fifteen in either Duel. - He will qualify by owner points if he does not qualify by speed AND at least nine non-front row starters with higher rank finish in the top fifteen in either Duel. Brian Scott - He will qualify by speed if at least six non-front row starters with faster times finish in the top fifteen in either Duel. - He will qualify by owner points if he does not qualify by speed AND thirty non-front row starters with higher rank finish in the top fifteen in either Duel. Casey Mears - He will qualify by speed if at least ten non-front row starters with faster times finish in the top fifteen in either Duel. - He will qualify by owner points if he does not qualify by speed AND at least eighteen non-front row starters with higher rank finish in the top fifteen in either Duel. Michael Annett - He will qualify by speed if at least twelve non-front row starters with faster times finish in the top fifteen in either Duel. - He will qualify by owner points if he does not qualify by speed AND at least twenty-four non-front row starters with higher rank finish in the top fifteen in either Duel. Denny Hamlin - He will qualify by speed if at least sixteen non-front row starters with faster times finish in the top fifteen in either Duel. - He will qualify by owner points if he does not qualify by speed AND at least seventeen non-front row starters with higher rank finish in the top fifteen in either Duel. Kyle Larson - He will qualify by speed if at least eighteen non-front row starters with faster times finish in the top fifteen in either Duel. - He will qualify by owner points if he does not qualify by speed AND at least fourteen non-front row starters with higher rank finish in the top fifteen in either Duel. Trevor Bayne - He will qualify by speed if at least twenty non-front row starters with faster times finish in the top fifteen in either Duel. Kurt Busch - He will qualify by speed if at least twenty-two non-front row starters with faster times finish in the top fifteen in either Duel. Justin Allgaier - He will qualify by speed if at least twenty-four non-front row starters with faster times finish in the top fifteen in either Duel. - He will qualify by owner points if he does not qualify by speed AND at least twenty-two non-front row starters with higher rank finish in the top fifteen in either Duel. Landon Cassill - He will qualify by speed if at least twenty-six non-front row starters with faster times finish in the top fifteen in either Duel. Michael Waltrip - He will qualify by speed if at least twenty-eight non-front row starters with faster times finish in the top fifteen in either Duel. - He will qualify by owner points if he does not qualify by speed AND at least sixteen non-front row starters with higher rank finish in the top fifteen in either Duel. Eric McClure - He will qualify by speed if thirty non-front row starters with faster times finish in the top fifteen in either Duel. Jamie McMurray - He will qualify by owner points if at least seven non-front row starters with higher rank finish in the top fifteen in either Duel. David Ragan - He will qualify by owner points if at least twenty-one non-front row starters with higher rank finish in the top fifteen in either Duel Terry Labonte - He will qualify by owner points if at least twenty-nine non-front row starters with higher rank finish in the top fifteen in either Duel. Ryan Truex - He will qualify by owner points if at least twenty-eight non-front row starters with higher rank finish in the top fifteen in either Duel. Bobby Labonte and Morgan Shepherd both must finish in the top fifteen to qualify for the Daytona 500. 174. Ryan posted: 02.19.2014 - 9:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) Dick move by Penske or Gibbs not to help out Blaney's team with a back up car. 175. Cornys posted: 02.19.2014 - 9:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think the factor that I failed to mention in my initial post was terminal velocity. Terminal velocity is the most important factor in the draft, not speeds per-say. If a car is able to run say 300MPH, but is maxing out at 280MPH (theoretical situation of course) the draft will be a non-factor. Likewise, if the cars are going 150MPH with a max speed of 151MPH the draft will be huge if the same hole in the air as at 280MPH is achieved. The lack of power will hold back the car once it pulls out at that lower speed and prevent passing. This is why speed's being reduced produces worse racing. That is coupled with the inevitably smaller hole in the air caused by the lack of velocity. I'm suggesting a downforce reduction, and a drag increase (wicker or very steep spoiler) as well as a power increase. This would hopefully raise power into at least the upper 500HP range and keep speeds in the 215 - 220MPH average lap. Anti-blow-over devices would of course need to be advanced, but I think it would be possible. Blow-overs are almost rid of with the more advanced systems on the Gen-6 car in the 200MPH range. We've seen this. All airborne instances in the new cup car have been contact initiated to this point. The greater drag / less downforce would likely be created by an 80 degree spoiler. The current angle is 55 degrees as far as my research tells me (jayski) According to this research an 80 degree spoiler creates no downforce and a lot of drag : http://www.aka.fi/Tiedostot/Tiedostot/Viksu/Gvidas%20Kiseliovas%20ty%C3%B6.pdf 176. Cornys posted: 02.19.2014 - 9:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Also, one other thing that I failed to reiterate is that I still think that the plates are required and always will be. I just think that they are too restrictive. I'm not asking for close to 900hp at Daytona or Talladega. I'm suggesting in the upper 500's :) 177. The Long Shot posted: 02.19.2014 - 9:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I don't believe in superstitions, nor do I believe in omens, but a 3 car winning the pole *13 years* after Earnhardt's death just seems to be full of bad omens no matter which way you look at it." Another coincidence that I forgot about: Sunday is also the 1-year anniversary of the Kyle Larson accident, if that means anything. Shame to see Dave Blaney withdraw. Unfortunately, I sense a 2009-like campaign is in the works for him (if he even runs that many races). 178. MStall41 posted: 02.19.2014 - 10:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Cornys, Those are some very interesting suggestions. Solid analysis. I could get behind such changes if they were tested out properly. 179. cjs3872 posted: 02.19.2014 - 10:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) But Cornys, even if you restricted the horsepower to the point where they would run in the 2-teens, which would be about the same amount of horsepower with which Buddy Baker set the existing Daytona 500 record in 1980, about 600-620, the racing would not improve because the cars would still be going too fast to stay together and the draft would still not be effective because the cars don't punch that big a hole in the air that kind of speed because of the slanted rear window and the smaller rear spoiler. You would have to increase the size of the rear spoiler to about 6 inches tall and the full width of the back of the car to improve the quality f the racing at those speeds. Just look at the races at Daytona in the early 80s and compare them to the ones from 1985-'87. They actually weren't going that much faster in the race (about 2-5 MPH faster), but the effect of the draft from '85-'87 was decreased dramatically because of the sloped rear window, which dramatically reduced the hole in the air for the others to draft off of. And at Daytona and Talladega, drafting has always been the race. Take that away, and the racing at those tracks simply becomes a 200 MPH version of Pocono and Indianapolis, dull and monotonous, but at much higher speed. That was even evident in the restrictor plate runnings of the Daytona 500 in 1990 and '91, which were incredibly dull in middle to latter stages of the race before late-race cautions changed everything. And Ryan (#174), I am somewhat surprised that Penske didn't at least offer Dave another car, due to the fact that Dave Blaney's son Ryan is a Penske development driver. However, Penske also lost a car in that crash, and might not be able to afford giving one to another team with the qualifying races still to come, in case they lose one or two more in the qualifying races. I think it would be a different story had Dave qualified and lost his car in his qualifying race, but teams can't afford to give away cars when they could still lose theirs in the qualifying races. 180. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 02.19.2014 - 10:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'm not a huge fan of Kenseth's, but he just seems to be having one of those weeks where his focus seems off. Definitely uncharacteristic for him. 181. cjs3872 posted: 02.19.2014 - 11:10 pm Rate this comment: (1) (2) It makes you wonder whether this is a sign of things to come for Matt Kenseth, RCRandPenskeGuy, and whether the "runner-up jinx" may already be affecting him in some way. After all, Kenseth may be the most solid driver on the circuit, but these errors are completely out of character for him. But also, both of his king-sized mistakes have resulted in contact with the driver he replaced in the #20 car, Joey Logano. I don't think there's anything to that, but it does seem odd that Kenseth has crossed the driver he replaced twice already this SpeedWeeks, and both times it's had disastrous consequences, not just for Kenseth, but for others, as well. And with them both in the same qualifying race (Race #1), you wonder if there's going to be a third conflict between the two. After all, they say that good things and bad things come in threes, so you wonder if they're going to come together a third time this SpeedWeeks, and if so, when. 182. Cornys posted: 02.19.2014 - 11:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I guess my point is that the cars should be separated, and it should be possible to get a lead if you are that much better. However, I believe that a zero downforce spoiler (80 degrees) of a height proper to see speeds in the 215mph range with just under 600hp would likely produce higher speeds, more separated, more skill involved racing. As long as the BEST cars are able to maintain a speed very close to terminal velocity in the corners it would be great. I'll also point out that higher speeds coupled with more power would produce a bigger hole in the air by the leading car, and more power to utilize that hole to make a sling-shot move. The opposite of my example was shown in this years ARCA race. Compared to the Cup Series ARCA has less power, lower speeds and less drag. What resulted was a pack draft at lower speeds with little to no passing. 183. Zackary Shawn posted: 02.20.2014 - 12:25 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well as of right now The Weather Channel has rain predicted for Friday-Tuesday in Daytona Beach, so it's a near certainty that at least 1 of the 3 big races this weekend won't be run on its scheduled time and/or day. 184. 83andJoe posted: 02.20.2014 - 1:21 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) >Dick move by Penske or Gibbs not to help out Blaney's team with a back up car. Gibbs couldn't; they run Toyotas, not Fords. 185. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 02.20.2014 - 3:24 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) It is indeed an odd coincidence that Matt just so happened to cross paths twice with the previous driver of his ride (Logano). Hopefully this is as far as those coincidences go. I do expect him to have one of those hangover slumps this year since every team that isn't the #48 seems to have them, whether they win the championship or are runner-up. Matt will probably still win a race or two, though. 186. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 02.20.2014 - 7:38 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Well as of right now The Weather Channel has rain predicted for Friday-Tuesday in Daytona Beach, so it's a near certainty that at least 1 of the 3 big races this weekend won't be run on its scheduled time and/or day." The National Weather Service has a chance of showers/T-storms at 30-40% from Friday-Monday. Seems to be like the usual spot storms that travel across Florida all the time, not an extended path of rain like what occurred 2 years ago. 187. Dave #38 Fan-Go Gilliland! posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:20 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) "Dick move by Penske or Gibbs not to help out Blaney's team with a back up car." Um, why? What makes you think that those teams have a backup car available to hand out to any team? Even if they do, what if they promise one to Blaney and then Keselowski or Kyle Busch wrecks in the duels? Also, what makes Penske or Gibbs for guilty then Roush or Hendrick for not helping out? Also, what makes Blaney's team more deserving of being helped out by the bigger teams than Swan Racing or BK? 188. The Long Shot posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:21 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Sounds like Travis Kvapil has a "nearly full-time" deal in place for Cup, starting next week at Phoenix. No details about the team have been released other than that it is of a similar level to Kvapil's previous two teams, Front Row Motorsports and BK Racing. Kvapil will also run at least the first few races for MAKE Motorsports in Trucks, with the plan afterwards seeming to be taking it week-by-week. Also in the news: Tony Stewart made a comment on a PRN talk-show in which he basically implied that Danica Patrick would beat Richard Petty in a head-to-head race: "I told her she should challenge Richard to a heads up race. I think that would pretty much settle it once and for all, maybe get him to shut up a little bit too. He drove in an era when he had cars that were superior to what everybody else was running a lot. I think he forgets that, that NASCAR has changed a lot since he was a driver and how hard it really is now. I will supply the cars, I don't care. If he wants to race her I'll make sure they have exactly the same set-up in the car and give him a chance. He can drive one of my 14 cars I don't care." I've heard many preposterous things said about the Baroness, but I think this one takes the cake. 189. Destroyahirismix666 posted: 02.20.2014 - 10:41 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'll comment breifly on Stewart's comment. I actually agree with Stewart about Danica beating Richard in a head-to-head race in equal equipment, and it's for the very reasons why Richard would turn down such a race. King Richard 'Dick' Petty is 76 years old. He has NO familiarity with the modern cars, and he would feel very restricted in closed-faced helmets, HANS device, and the like. The cars also drive NOTHING like what he would remember, even compared to 1988-1992. Oh, and nearly all the tracks are completely different between 2014 and 1992. (I use 1992 as that was the last date that Richard was driving, not 1980/1981 as the last years he was truly competitive). He's been out of a competitive situation forever. Sure, he has talent, but his inability to use the talent due to the situation given would make it just about impossible for him to beat BoB. BoB is competitive, and in equal equipment, she would spank Richard simply by being more familiar with the modern tracks, cars, and scenarios. Not to mention the fact that Richard could not call on his expierence, skills, and reaction time. That's why Stewart called Richard's 'Bluff'. Even thought it's not really a bluff, he's stating his opinion based on his observations. Stewart is trying to go to town with Richard, because he knows that Danica is a huge marketing thing and can pull in money for Stewart-Haas via merchandise and advertising, a little like Dale Jr does for Hendrick. If it was a Richard Petty from 30-40 years ago fighting today's Baroness in any car gen, I'd say that Petty would win. - - - - - As to Kligerman's flip in practice, I have this to say. I was slightly afraid of what would happen with lesser-experienced drivers in less-the-perfect equipment in larger fields with the same stuff during the Shootout. I was also concerned about the 'rapid' closing rate and how dangerous it could be early in the 500 and in the qualifiers. That said though, this looked like driver error. But it seemed so weird the way that Kligerman got up ontop of Menard. The way Menard and Kligerman it would have normally just turned both cars into the outside wall with heavy front-end damage to Kligerman's car. But i agree with whoever it was that said it higher in the comments, Kligerman's machine seemed to launch into the air like a Indy-car. I kinda of understand what's up with that, but its' just so un-expected. Almost like Menard knocked Kligerman into the barrier hard enough that the barrier didn't just knock him backwards, but into the air just a little bit to get atop of Menard...it's so weird, because a Stock Car is SO heavy in the front. This also kind of explains why Gordon's and Stewart's cars may have so easily gotten jacked up into the air. Has NASCAR done any significant changes with the design of these Gen-6 cars, or increased the resiliency of the SAFER barrier? Because I've never seen such a strange incident, to my memory, since Steve Park 2002 Pocono, where the car gets sandwiched like so. 190. Aaron posted: 02.20.2014 - 11:34 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) While it's not always easy to defend Dale Jr. when he's lumped in with Danica, he did finish 5th in points last season. She finished 27th. He had 22 top-10s. She had 1. Just lumping them together because to this point Dale Jr. can't seem to win anymore, and he's a marketing dream, is kinda dense in my opinion. Also: Petty is 76. If he were 56 and put in this situation, I would probably pick Petty. Stewart is just an a-hole about this, and many other things. 191. Ryan posted: 02.20.2014 - 12:12 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Why does Travis Kvapil keep getting rides? Especially after the legal trouble last year 192. ch posted: 02.20.2014 - 12:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'm going to guess that Kvapil will run the #33 for Circle Sport in the races RCR doesn't run since it seems like Cassill is going to run the #40 full time for them. 193. Destroyahirismix666 posted: 02.20.2014 - 12:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I wasn't intending to bash Dale Jr in my comment, I was merely referring to the fact that both of those drivers are very marketable and able to pull in sponsors and merchandise sales despite neither being high-caliber champions. I wouldn't say Jr is as low as Patrick, Jr definitely is good and talented, just not consistently enough to be championship material (That is, pre 2014 points set up). Danica struggles to be race winning material. I do think she will eventually win a race or two for XYZ reasons, kind of like Montoya was going to win 2010 Atlanta Spring if not for that incident. 194. numbah10hatah posted: 02.20.2014 - 12:39 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Richard Petty would beat BoB no matter what he drove, cause BoB would just crash out. 195. loomer posted: 02.20.2014 - 1:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sprint Unlimited ratings were down 43% from last year. Not a good sign. 196. Sean posted: 02.20.2014 - 1:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "(I use 1992 as that was the last date that Richard was driving, not 1980/1981 as the last years he was truly competitive)." ESPECIALLY in the context of comparing him to Danica Patrick, I think you'd have to say 1987 was the last year he was seriously competitive. "He had 22 top-10s. She had 1. Just lumping them together because to this point Dale Jr. can't seem to win anymore, and he's a marketing dream, is kinda dense in my opinion." Well, I felt Junior's 2009-2010 were Danica-level, especially given his level of experience, but 2011-present, I agree that's unfair. Junior has been much more like Hendrick era Ken Schrader. In the top 10 constantly but very seldom leading or winning. "Sprint Unlimited ratings were down 43% from last year. Not a good sign." That will probably happen with ANY race when it switches from a broadcast network to a channel that is at best upper-level standard cable, and at worst, borderline premium cable. We'll see more of that when FS1 and NBC Sports pick up Cup points races starting in 2015. It's a delayed response to NASCAR's decline in popularity, just like IndyCar's NBC Sports deal was, and I'll be interested to see the ratings comparison between NASCAR's NBC Sports races and IndyCar's... I'm sure the NASCAR races will be more popular (even if they're lower quality), but by how much? 197. Archie posted: 02.20.2014 - 1:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Loomer, the Unlimited was on Fox in 2013 and demoted to the minor-league "Fox Sports 1" in 2014. Of course ratings went through the floor, far fewer households get that channel. 198. Sean posted: 02.20.2014 - 1:21 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) However, Junior is still underachieving if from 2000-2004 he was driving more like a Geoff Bodine-level talent and ever since then, he has been driving more like a Ken Schrader-level talent... But except in 2009-2010, nothing he has done has been close to being in Danica's league. And admittedly, LOTS of drivers had terrible results with Lance McGrew as crew chief, but that still doesn't justify Junior's 2009 Daytona 500. 199. numbah10hatah posted: 02.20.2014 - 1:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) To the webmaster: I know you have been doing a lot with this website lately, but would it be a problem to possibly add the owner's standings? Or the ROTY standings? 200. webmaster posted: 02.20.2014 - 1:41 pm Rate this comment: (4) (0) @199: I'll try to get those onto the site at some point; the next item on the list (to be ready next week, hopefully) is V8 Supercar results. 201. numbah10hatah posted: 02.20.2014 - 1:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) V8 Supercars? SWEET!!! Webmaster, you da man. 202. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 02.20.2014 - 2:13 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) I respect the hell out of Tony Stewart and what he has accomplished in the sport, but I think he is just protecting the GoDaddy sponsorship every time he jumps to Danica's defense when someone criticizes her. This is someone who has only won ONCE in any high-profile racing series, and even that was due to fuel mileage and a lot of her competition not being in the race. 203. We need more Onion posted: 02.20.2014 - 2:30 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) V8SC!!! Holy cow, that is going to be awesome. 204. Sean posted: 02.20.2014 - 2:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) "a lot of her competition not being in the race" Somewhat unfair. Considering how rushed the Champ Car/IRL merger was, the Champ Car teams and drivers were completely uncompetitive on the ovals that season due to the inability of preparing good setups in time. At the season opener at Homestead, you saw Oriol Servia 5 laps down and Justin Wilson 7 laps down solely due to horrible setups, so they would not have been competitive for the Motegi win, even with fuel mileage. That's not even mentioning that there were only four major drivers at Long Beach (Power, Vasser, Tracy, and Wilson) and Vasser was coming out of retirement and Tracy was never able to find a ride after the merger, and it seems like Power is only JUST NOW figuring out oval racing. The reason to not be impressed is that it's a fuel mileage race and she didn't pass anyone to take the lead, but the ex-Champ Car regulars would not have been competitive. 205. David posted: 02.20.2014 - 2:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) V8 Supercars? You guys do know that now we have to have a fantasy league for that series, right? ;) 206. RaceFanX posted: 02.20.2014 - 2:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Heartbreaker for Dave Blaney as the #77 Plinker Arms Ford has been withdrawn. His car got demolished in that multi-car crash where Parker Klingerman rolled and without a backup his team had to pull out before the Budweiser Duels. 207. murb posted: 02.20.2014 - 2:51 pm Rate this comment: (3) (1) "Also in the news: Tony Stewart made a comment on a PRN talk-show in which he basically implied that Danica Patrick would beat Richard Petty in a head-to-head race:" He must have been on his pain pills for his leg when he said that. 208. David posted: 02.20.2014 - 2:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Winking aside, it's great to see R-R add yet another series to its massive database. 209. Nascar Lead Lap Points posted: 02.20.2014 - 4:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sad to see Dave Blaney had to Withdrew 210. numbah10hatah posted: 02.20.2014 - 4:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'm really concerned about Swan Racing. Both their cars wrecked during practice, and they had to use Cole Whitt's back-up car for Parker Kligerman, who didn't have a back-up. What would happen if their cars wrecked during the Duels? Or the 500? 211. 1995z71 posted: 02.20.2014 - 4:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It wasn't Cole Whitt's back up. It was Swan Racing's only back up. Cole wrecked first so they went to the back up but when Parker Kligerman totaled his car they moved the team's back up to him & had to redo Whitt's right side of the car. 212. Destroyahirismix666 posted: 02.20.2014 - 4:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) V8 Supercars! Holy Mackrel! 213. TS1420 posted: 02.20.2014 - 4:57 pm Rate this comment: (2) (1) I love Smoke, but his attitude when it comes to the cash-cow is really infuriating and sickening at times. If Danica was racing for some other team, he would be calling her out for being the waste of a ride sideshow act that she is. But since GoSugarDaddy is giving him a check, well golly, she can win races and be [Engage Michael Waltrip Shill Mode] "a future Cup champion" [End Michael Waltrip Shill Mode] if enough time and could even beat a geriatric legend that hasn't raced in over 20+ years and lost his competitive edge many years before that in a head-to-head challenge. And bashing Petty for having the best equipment in his era? Last I knew Danica was racing in Hendrick cars & engines fielded by a team that has boatloads of cash and unlimited access to a rolling road wind tunnel, not one of the BK Racing heaps of crap. Petty won 7 cup & 200 races in his equipment, Danica can barely finish less than 1 lap down in hers. And Smoke, last I knew, you show up to Sprint Car events with the superior equipment than the rest of the field, kinda like Petty back in the day. 214. numbah10hatah posted: 02.20.2014 - 5:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 1995z71: That's kinda what I was saying. Swan Racing only had 1 back-up. Anyway, some good news for Parker Kligerman: Lendingtree has come on board his #30 as a sponsor for the Daytona 500. Bobby Labonte got Florida Lottery to sponsor his #52. 215. David posted: 02.20.2014 - 5:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I'm really concerned about Swan Racing. Both their cars wrecked during practice, and they had to use Cole Whitt's back-up car for Parker Kligerman, who didn't have a back-up. What would happen if their cars wrecked during the Duels? Or the 500?" According to my calculations in posts #172 and #173, Cole Whitt must finish in the top fifteen in Duel #1 tonight to qualify for Sunday's race, so even if he wrecks his lone car, it won't matter anyway. Parker Kligerman has a chance even if he does not finish among the top fifteen. Slim chance, yes, but a chance indeed. My guess is that they'll help each other out since they're both in the same Duel. 216. An Aussie Commentator posted: 02.20.2014 - 5:54 pm Rate this comment: (2) (1) "I'll try to get those onto the site at some point; the next item on the list (to be ready next week, hopefully) is V8 Supercar results. " YES YES YES YES YES YES YES Now I can get accurate numbers for V8 Lastcar. 217. Scott B posted: 02.20.2014 - 6:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) If circumstances worked out that Swan racing clinched a spot in the 500, but lost another car in a wreck, there is a decent chance they'd be able to make a last minute deal to get a backup car from another team to make the 500 start. No other team will do that right now, though, as they might still need their back-up cars for their own drivers. Also, until Swan is certain they have a spot on the grid locked in, it would be risky for them to put out any cash for a back-up car, since they are on a very tight budget. Once they know they have at least 43rd place money guaranteed, they could offer some cash as part of the deal. Though Swan uses Fords, I don't believe they have a formal alliance with any other Ford teams at this time. Any of our trivia experts know the last time a team qualified for the Daytona 500 (or any Cup race) but did not make the start due to a wrecked car or blown engine with no back-up? I'm thinking it would go back quite a few years, but "did not start" used to be fairly common. 218. numbah10hatah posted: 02.20.2014 - 6:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Just for kicks, I went to random.org and randomized the 48 drivers left. The top 10 were: Brad Keselowski Kevin Harvick Denny Hamlin Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Joe Nemechek Morgan Shepherd David Ragan Matt Kenseth Alex Bowman Parker Kligerman The last five(which I'll just call the DNQs): David Gilliland Clint Bowyer Paul Menard Josh Wise Tony Stewart 219. numbah10hatah posted: 02.20.2014 - 6:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Scott B: Swan Racing uses Toyotas, not Fords. 220. numbah10hatah posted: 02.20.2014 - 6:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Scott B: Swan Racing uses Toyotas, not Fords. 221. numbah10hatah posted: 02.20.2014 - 6:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) D'OH!!! Double Post!!! 222. jabber1990 posted: 02.20.2014 - 6:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I thought Swan used Toyotas, and had a relationship with MWR 223. anonymous posted: 02.20.2014 - 6:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) First time since 2007 that neither of the cars on the front row use a Hendrick engine. 224. Andy posted: 02.20.2014 - 6:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) When will Elephant Killer get rid of that stupid cowboy hat? 225. New14 & 88Fan posted: 02.20.2014 - 7:06 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "When will Elephant Killer get rid of that stupid cowboy hat?" When hell freezes over. 226. Zackary Shawn posted: 02.20.2014 - 7:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) "When will Elephant Killer get rid of that stupid cowboy hat?" Why should he get rid of it? Of all the things to complain about... 227. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 02.20.2014 - 7:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I like that the Fox pit reporters still get to wear normal clothes instead of wearing firesuits like they're gonna go over the wall with a tire. 228. joey2448 posted: 02.20.2014 - 7:22 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) What, no Boogity boogity boogity? That gallbladder surgery Darrell had must've really taken the wind out of his sails... 229. Zackary Shawn posted: 02.20.2014 - 7:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Josh Wise doing pretty good so far. 230. Mr X posted: 02.20.2014 - 7:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I see the scoring is still stuck in the late 1990's, though the audio and camera work however is very sadly stuck in the 2010's. 231. Andy posted: 02.20.2014 - 7:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Some great single file action so far. 232. Schroeder51 posted: 02.20.2014 - 7:29 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Took them less than 10 laps to go completely single-file. Hoping they don't stay that way the whole race... 233. New14 & 88Fan posted: 02.20.2014 - 7:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Nearly everyone is single file, things will probably pick up towards to middle stage of the race. Good runs by the Dinger, Gilliland, Cole Whitt and Josh Wise. 234. Schroeder51 posted: 02.20.2014 - 7:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Now they're starting to get some momentum going on the bottom lane. 235. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 02.20.2014 - 7:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Here we go, now there's a bottom row moving to the front. 236. Jarrett88fan posted: 02.20.2014 - 7:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Why, oh why Brian have the Duels in the primetime on Fox Sports 1? 237. Schroeder51 posted: 02.20.2014 - 7:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Reed Sorensen pitted under green; apparently he has mechanical problems. His hopes for making the 500 might be over... 238. Zackary Shawn posted: 02.20.2014 - 7:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Why, oh why Brian have the Duels in the primetime on Fox Sports 1?" Well I, for one, am thankful for this decision. 239. Zackary Shawn posted: 02.20.2014 - 7:37 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) It's nice to know that a second line can gain positions this year and do it fairly quickly at that. 240. Schroeder51 posted: 02.20.2014 - 7:38 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Switch to Sprint's Framily Plan!" It's times like these I feel regretful that Sprint is actually my cell phone provider... 241. The Long Shot posted: 02.20.2014 - 7:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 22 drivers in the lead pack: Sorenson went to pit road and currently runs a lap down, and McDowell appears to have lost the draft. 242. The Long Shot posted: 02.20.2014 - 7:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Now Sorenson goes to the garage. 243. Schroeder51 posted: 02.20.2014 - 7:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sorensen is behind the wall. 244. Schroeder51 posted: 02.20.2014 - 7:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) *Sorenson. Don't know why I keep spelling his name wrong! 245. The Long Shot posted: 02.20.2014 - 7:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Nemechek has now lost the draft; 21 remain in the lead pack. 246. New14 & 88Fan posted: 02.20.2014 - 7:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kenseth to the point. 247. Schroeder51 posted: 02.20.2014 - 7:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Cowboy Hat the Elder to the back of the pack. 248. Schroeder51 posted: 02.20.2014 - 7:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Most of the field comes in to pit. 249. New14 & 88Fan posted: 02.20.2014 - 7:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Pit road is open for business! 250. The Long Shot posted: 02.20.2014 - 7:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Cool to see Wise, Kligerman, Bowman, and Whitt in the top 15. 251. Aaron posted: 02.20.2014 - 7:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Damn it, Dale Jr. pulled another Dale Jr. 252. Zackary Shawn posted: 02.20.2014 - 7:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I tell you what, it wouldn't surprise me if one of those go or go homers managed to wrestle a win away from the big guys somehow. I don't think it will happen, but it wouldn't surprise me either. 253. Schroeder51 posted: 02.20.2014 - 8:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Allmendinger is making some really bold moves right now. 254. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 02.20.2014 - 8:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Way to go Whitt and Bowman. 255. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 02.20.2014 - 8:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And Wise in 6th. Holy mackerel! 256. Schroeder51 posted: 02.20.2014 - 8:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Cole Whitt and Alex Bowman just made the Daytona 500. Way to go, guys! Good three-wide finish as well! 257. The Long Shot posted: 02.20.2014 - 8:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kenseth wins by 2/100 of a second. Wise transfers, as do Whitt and Bowman after an incredible last-lap comeback finish, Kligerman misses the race. 258. New14 & 88Fan posted: 02.20.2014 - 8:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Three wide at the finish! Harvick almost pulled it off but got lose allowing Kenseth to win. Great job also by Josh Wise, Cole Whitt and Alex Bowman racing their way into the 500. 259. luigistarted06 posted: 02.20.2014 - 8:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I almost feel like there were team orders for Kligerman to hold up that inside lane so that Shift could get in. That #30 team likely has enough owner points for a provisional after all 260. The Long Shot posted: 02.20.2014 - 8:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) *an incredible last-lap comeback* 261. SpeedWorld97 posted: 02.20.2014 - 8:12 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) After all the bad things that have happened this SpeedWeeks, I'm just glad that they made it the whole race without a caution. 262. BluesTravelerFan posted: 02.20.2014 - 8:12 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) I really like this new package. congrats to Bowman and Whitt making it in, feel sorry for Kligerman though. 263. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 02.20.2014 - 8:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think Kligerman still has a chance to make it. The #30 car is 30th in owner points and Blaney, Nemechek, Sorenson, and McDowell are already out. 264. luigistarted06 posted: 02.20.2014 - 8:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Anyways, really awesome finish, and dramatic race for 15th. Great racing all around 265. Jarrett88fan posted: 02.20.2014 - 8:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kligerman had mechanical issues the last half lap which elevated Alex "the real deal" Bowman tailgating BoB into the Daytona 500. 266. Destroyahirismix666 posted: 02.20.2014 - 8:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Tuned in with 10 laps to go. Great finish. 267. joey2448 posted: 02.20.2014 - 8:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Man what a great race, and such a great finish! So glad Kenseth gave Harvick room off turn four there, otherwise there would've been 20 cars wadded up. The only guy I'm concerned about now is Parker Kligerman. Is there any chance he'll be in the 500? 268. Aaron posted: 02.20.2014 - 8:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Do we blame National Guard for Jr's winlessness? He's only won once with National Guard sponsorship and it was more than six years ago. His only wins with Hendrick have been with PepsiCo sponsorship. 269. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 02.20.2014 - 8:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kligerman's car is actually 33rd in pts. Jayski had the #51 and #30 both in 30th by mistake. 270. luigistarted06 posted: 02.20.2014 - 8:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Id be really shocked if 33rd in owner points wasn't good enough. Chances are the #87, #95 are already out. The #36 is very borderline. Eric McClure and Morgan Shepherd would probably both have to race in for Kligerman to get in, along with Ryan Truex and I don't see that happening. 271. Aaron posted: 02.20.2014 - 8:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Alex Bowman qualifying for the race was a big shocker, but a pleasant one. 272. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 02.20.2014 - 8:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Id be really shocked if 33rd in owner points wasn't good enough. Chances are the #87, #95 are already out. The #36 is very borderline. Eric McClure and Morgan Shepherd would probably both have to race in for Kligerman to get in, along with Ryan Truex and I don't see that happening." Plus if Kurt Busch finishes out of the top 15 and uses the champs provisional, the brothers Labonte will be in big trouble. 273. Schroeder51 posted: 02.20.2014 - 8:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Michael McDowell is going home for sure according to FOX. 274. Jarrett88fan posted: 02.20.2014 - 8:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bobby and Terry need to hook up after the pitstop and hopefully pull themselves into the race...and Parker makes it. 275. JG24FanForever posted: 02.20.2014 - 8:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This is the best Daytona package since 2011. The racing is great and the best drivers(not Dillon)have a big advantage over the novices. 276. The Long Shot posted: 02.20.2014 - 8:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Michael McDowell is going home for sure according to FOX." As is Joe Nemechek. Kligerman and Sorenson both still have chances to make the race, but they'll need a fair amount of help to do so. 277. Destroyahirismix666 posted: 02.20.2014 - 8:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Agree. This is the best Daytona package since 2011. 278. luigistarted06 posted: 02.20.2014 - 8:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I could definitely see Terry missing the race. Also, you have to consider Landon Cassill. Kligerman would get in over him unless if came down to qualifying times. In all honesty it's going to be hard to sort out until the 2nd race is over, but Id say there is a really decent chance Parker gets one of the last couple of spots. The only thing that would be bad for him is if there were a big wreck amongst teams that were above him in owner points 279. Schroeder51 posted: 02.20.2014 - 8:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) FOX also said Vickers was in danger of possibly missing the race. 280. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 02.20.2014 - 8:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Vickers is 16th in owner points; using the 56 car pts from last year. He's 99% in. 281. Jracingfast posted: 02.20.2014 - 8:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Due to winter storm Seneca here in SE Minnesota i lost satellite feed .....are they racing yet? 282. BluesTravelerFan posted: 02.20.2014 - 8:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Not yet Jracingfast, they typically have a fairly long intermission between the first and second duel races. 283. Schroeder51 posted: 02.20.2014 - 8:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yeah, the only way I can see Vickers DNQing is if a bunch of drivers higher up in owner points finish outside the top 15 in duel #2. I don't see that happening unless there is a really big crash. 284. Mr X posted: 02.20.2014 - 8:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Totally irrelevant and although I didn't see it live a few hours ago(heard about it) didn't see it until now, big congrats to the Canadian women's hockey team for their come from behind win for their fourth consecutive gold medal. 285. cjs3872 posted: 02.20.2014 - 8:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @272, the thing is, your saying the Labonte brothers are in big trouble if Kurt has to use the champion's provisional is if there's no big crash in the second qualifying race. If there is a big crash in the second qualifying race and many of the leaders are knocked out, but those at the back get through, that would change everything when it comes to those potentially having to fall back on their speed or use a provisional that we may not think need to at this time. If it winds up like the first qualifying race, then yes, the Labonte brothers and even Trevor Bayne might be in trouble, depending on how he runs in the second qualifying race (and he's never finished one), but a big crash that takes out a number of the leaders changes everything, because it would force drivers that would not have to normally fall back on their speed or championship standings. Remember that Kyle Busch, Brian Vickers, Joey Logano, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr, are already in that predicament, and al were in the top 20 in the owner's standings last year. And if guys like Eric McClure, Ryan Truex, Morgan Shepherd, and/or the Labonte brothers race their way in, then we may see someone we don't think could miss the race actually miss it, because they might take the spots that a mid-to-high-20s car in either points or speed would ordinarily take. I remember quite a number of years ago when Rick Mast missed the race, despite being around the 20th-fastest qualifier and driving a car around 20th in the previous year's owner points standings, and with four top-20 cars from last year already having to fall back on either speed or points to get into the field, if something happens to force more top teams into that predicament, there might be someone missing the race that we wouldn't think could possibly miss the race. 286. ch posted: 02.20.2014 - 8:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) After watching that finish, I was sure that Brandon Davis told Kligerman to slow down the inside lane to get the #26 in the top 15 since Whitt had no owners points. I guess he had mechanical issues though. Either way, VERY HAPPY for the #26 to get in. I'm extremely worried about the #36 though... 287. 18fan posted: 02.20.2014 - 8:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think Kyle will need a points provisional because he wasn't all that fast in qualifying. 288. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 02.20.2014 - 8:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Of course a big crash in this race changes everything. "There might be someone missing the race that we wouldn't think could possibly miss the race." Like Mikey Waltrip. Oh wouldn't that be justice, haha. 289. Zackary Shawn posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Keselowski and Martin Truex Jr. have both said they're pretty much throwing caution to the wind since they're already locked in and have backup cars. Should be fun! 290. JG24FanForever posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This is Jeff Gordon's 22nd consecutive start in the Daytona 500 qualifying race. With wins in 1993,2002,2006,1007 and 2009. The guy that used to drive the #3 won this event 10 years straight from 1990-1999. 291. Schroeder51 posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Harvick just failed postrace inspection. 292. JG24FanForever posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) *2007 I don't think they had Nascar in 1007. 293. Dave #38 Fan-Go Gilliland! posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kevin Harvick failed post race inspection, likely will start D500 from rear. 294. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Fox is saying that Kevin Harvick failed post-race inspection. 295. numbah10hatah posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think they just said Harvick failed inspection. Not sure though. 296. Sky Warrior posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:05 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Go Morgan Shepherd! 297. cjs3872 posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Or Trevor Bayne, who's never finished a qualifying race, or possibly even Michael Annett, despite being the 18th-fastest qualifier, because of that car's position in the owner's points from last year. And breaking news. Kevin Harvick's #4 car just failed post-race inspection, which actually affects the starting grid. If it's DQ'd, then Brian Vickers, who finished 16th, would be in the Daytona 500 and possibly open up a spot for one of those lower in the points standings from last year. 298. Schroeder51 posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Annett is dropping to the back. 299. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Several lanes of 3 wide early on, a lot different from how the 1st race started. 300. New14 & 88Fan posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Now nearly everyone's single file. Pit stops should jumble things up though. 301. luigistarted06 posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Landon Cassill looks strong. And I think as of right now Kligerman would be the last or next to last car in 302. Destroyahirismix666 posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Back to single-file racing. 303. Sky Warrior posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ryan Truex and Waltrip losing the draft 304. New14 & 88Fan posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Landon Cassill, Casey Mears, David Regan and Kyle Larson are doing good so far. Great run also by Brian Scott in 4th. 305. New14 & 88Fan posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And now Larson's losing touch with the front pack after switching spots with McMurray. 306. 18fan posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Harvick should be in the race because he has 11th place owner points from last year. 307. Jracingfast posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This sucks! Still no satellite feed! Hows the racing? 308. Schroeder51 posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Annett, Shepherd, Allgaier, and Ryan Truex have all lost the draft. 309. Jracingfast posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This sucks! Still no satellite feed! Hows the racing? 310. joey2448 posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wow Kyle Larson just had a big moment coming off turn four. He got all sorts of loose and looked like he was about to wreck. That's what dropped him back. 311. Sky Warrior posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Single file, 2 packs and a few cars that have lost the draft 312. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It looks like Larson is bringing the rest of the field back into the race. 313. Schroeder51 posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Looks like the front pack is content to stay single-file. Again, I hope they're not planning on doing that the whole race... 314. Destroyahirismix666 posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I doubt they'll stay single file after the green-flag pit stops. 315. Schroeder51 posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ryan Truex goes a lap down. Good chance he'll miss the 500. 316. Schroeder51 posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bobby Labonte and Eric McClure have lost the draft as well now. 317. TS1420 posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) FOX Wind Tracks? WTF is that garbage? 318. Schroeder51 posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Everyone save for Mears and Hamlin pits. 319. Sky Warrior posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Speeding penalty on the 2 320. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:32 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) FOX Wind Tracks? WTF is that garbage? If its anything accurate, it should be showing a hurricane gust coming out of the broadcast booth. 321. Schroeder51 posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Keselowski gets a speeding penalty. 322. New14 & 88Fan posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Damnnit Brad! 323. DB1995 posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Good job Brad led all but one lap then speed on pit road. 324. TS1420 posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bad Brad dun goofed. 325. Schroeder51 posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Eric McClure's car has fender damage. 326. Mr X posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:33 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Outside of certain people in Washington and Colorado I can't think of many people who would rather see Fox's wind graphics over a live scoring ticker from this decade. 327. Sky Warrior posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:35 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) From Brad to worse, flat tire 328. Schroeder51 posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Keselowski has a flat tire. 329. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Get all your bad luck out of the way tonight, Brad. 330. DB1995 posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Brad has a flat catastrophic meltdown on Brad Keselowski 331. New14 & 88Fan posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Better tonight than on Sunday, still sucks for the #2 team. 332. joey2448 posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Tell you what, with all the practice Keselowski is getting with side-drafting, I might pick him to win the Daytona 500 right here and now. He seems to be the best driver out there at pulling off a slingshot pass using the side draft, although he's gotta be careful with it sometimes. His over-aggressiveness could cost him. Of course, he's not looking too impressive right now. Had to serve a pass-through penalty, and to add insult to injury, he blew a tire after locking up the brakes coming to pit road. 333. Destroyahirismix666 posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And for Kes, all things go south. 334. JG24FanForever posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle Larson is having an excellent run. And Gordon is playing shark. 335. 18fan posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Edwards is all over the place right now. 336. Schroeder51 posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Mears is out of gas. 337. Sky Warrior posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wow 338. Schroeder51 posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) HUGE crash and a BIG flip for Clint Bowyer. 339. New14 & 88Fan posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Didn't see that coming, huge wreck for a lot of guys. Second flip for Bowyer at Daytona, Truex's car is trashed. 340. Schroeder51 posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Truex is going to a backup car for the 500. 341. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Dos Jotas got loose off of turn 4 and McMurray just clipped his left rear. 342. Anonymous posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:53 pm Rate this comment: (1) (2) .......that's are 6time champion ladies and gentlemen 343. Schroeder51 posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:54 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Damn, what a camera angle from Bowyer's car. 344. JG24FanForever posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Gordon nipped Busch for second!! But I haven't even seen it yet:( 345. 18fan posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Johnson ran out of gas and that's what started that. 346. Jracingfast posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) WoW....... 347. DB1995 posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) way to go Jimmie. Greatest driver ever? BS 348. Destroyahirismix666 posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well, that was one hell of a finish. Second time Bowyer has ended up off of his wheels out of the last corner on the last lap of a Daytona race in Speedweeks. This time though, he completely blows it over. And dang it, I had just finished by Blowover compilation. Congrats to Hamlin, i didn't think he had the fuel in him. Gonna be interesting to see how the final line-up stacks up. I think Larson made it. 349. luigistarted06 posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'm gonna guess Truex, Shepherd, McClure, McDowell, and Nemechcek are the 5 going home. Crazy finish 350. jabber1990 posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Clint Boywers MRN Interview: "DAMNIT!" he actually said that! 351. Jarrett88fan posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) A cluster---- at the end courtesy of the defending Sprint Cup Champion. Way to go Labonte brothers. 352. anonymous posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) FS1 might go straight to Fox Sports Live while NASCAR sorts out the results. For once, I'm actually gonna watch Fox Sports Live so I can see who made the 500. 353. Destroyahirismix666 posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Also, this is the first time a car has rolled in a qualifier since 1996 with Bobby Labonte. 354. joey2448 posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wow. Hate to see it end with wrecked cars after nearly making it all the way clean and green, but what a finish! Apparently Jimmie ran out of gas there. 3-for-3 for Joe Gibbs drivers in Speedweeks so far... 355. Schroeder51 posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:58 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Both the Labontes are in the 500. 356. joey2448 posted: 02.20.2014 - 9:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Also, this is the first time a car has rolled in a qualifier since 1996 with Bobby Labonte." Ricky Rudd flipped in his qualifying race in 2000. 357. TS1420 posted: 02.20.2014 - 10:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Total carnage to end duel two! Too bad they decided to run in a train until the final lap, though. Kyle Larson was the only one that wanted to race all 60 laps. Hamlin 2 for 2 so far in speedweeks & JGR 3 for 3. And Nap-Time is 2 for 2 also ;) 358. Schroeder51 posted: 02.20.2014 - 10:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Actually Ricky Rudd's 2000 flip was in the Bud Shootout. 359. Destroyahirismix666 posted: 02.20.2014 - 10:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Also, crashes like this makes me really glad that the section of the track off of Turn 4 is paved and the wall is pushed way back. If this was 1984, we might not be hearing anything from Bowyer. 360. TS1420 posted: 02.20.2014 - 10:01 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) OH MY GOD!!!! JIMMIE TOOK RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE WRECK AND APOLOGIZED! 361. jabber1990 posted: 02.20.2014 - 10:01 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) "For once, I'm actually gonna watch Fox Sports Live so I can see who made the 500." careful, remember what happened the last time NASCAR was mentioned on FSL! *cough* McNabb *cough* 362. Zackary Shawn posted: 02.20.2014 - 10:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I feel like running out of gas in front of the pack at an RP track and starting a huge crash is one of those things everyone always talks about and fears, but rarely--if ever--happens. Maybe someone with more historical knowledge can inform of other instances of this happening. 363. Jarrett88fan posted: 02.20.2014 - 10:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The big question now is who else made it into the field? Kligerman? Ryan Truex? 364. anonymous posted: 02.20.2014 - 10:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "careful, remember what happened last time NASCAR was mentioned on FSL!" Me watching Fox Sports Live will not affect the starting grid for the Daytona 500, and the show isn't poisonous, so I don't see how it could hurt. 365. Schroeder51 posted: 02.20.2014 - 10:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) How many cars are going to drop to the back for the 500? At least 10? 366. 23andJoe posted: 02.20.2014 - 10:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I actually kinda like the "Fox Box" scoring more than the ticker, now that I've had time to get used to it. 367. Schroeder51 posted: 02.20.2014 - 10:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well, we know the DNQs now. McClure, Ryan Truex, Shepherd, Nemechek, and McDowell. 368. cjs3872 posted: 02.20.2014 - 10:17 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Well, it turns out that the big crash took place because Jimmie Johnson ran out of fuel on the last lap, as Casey Mears did the lap before. I'm not sure why they're cutting it so close in a race that only determines starting position. And since Martin Truex, Jr. was in that crash, Denny Hamlin effectively inherits the outside position of the front row for the Daytona 500. And for Denny Hamlin fans, his qualifying race win means that he likely won't be winning the Daytona 500, because no driver has ever won the Shootout, his qualifying race, and the Daytona 500 in the same year. But I'll say this. I know that Kurt Busch, who I picked in the off-season to win the Daytona 500, is looking great, and the JGR cars are undefeated in the races so far during this SpeedWeeks, but guys who run great but are somewhat off the radar are guys that often win the Daytona 500, but Jeff Gordon and Kasey Kahne are running great, and don't seem to be on anyone's radar as a favorite, and underestimating Jeff Gordon in a big race like the Daytona 500 is the biggest mistake anyone could possibly make, since Gordon is the Jack Nicklaus of NASCAR when it comes to the sport's biggest events with 20 crown jewel wins. Last year, I predicted that Gordon would make a final stand and win at least one of NASCAR's biggest events before he was through, and given the fact that the #3 car is returning to the Cup Series in this year's Daytona 500, but wouldn't it be the biggest of ironies if Gordon could capture a fourth Daytona 500 crown Sunday in the return of the #3 that he raced hard against for so many years. And a fourth Daytona 500 crown and 21st crown jewel win would remind many who may have forgotten who the best driver in the history of the sport is when it comes to capturing the sport's biggest events. 369. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 02.20.2014 - 10:20 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I actually kinda like the "Fox Box" scoring more than the ticker, now that I've had time to get used to it. It's all right for Daytona since most of the lead lap cars will be in the same wide shot, but for Phoenix, Vegas, and elsewhere it will be annoying not knowing the time or laps behind a car is. Maybe the box will widen a little after Daytona to allow some extra data within the box. 370. JG24FanForever posted: 02.20.2014 - 10:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle Larson finished Top 8. Epic finish for Wonder Boy! Can't wait for the 500, man. 371. Schroeder51 posted: 02.20.2014 - 10:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Thermal cam? When was the last time we saw FOX use that? 372. David posted: 02.20.2014 - 10:24 pm Rate this comment: (2) (1) Underdog pick for the 500... Brian Scott. 373. cjs3872 posted: 02.20.2014 - 10:25 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Zack (#362), that happened just a couple of years ago in the ARCA race at Daytona due to it having a GWC finish. Several cars up front, including that of Larry McReynolds' son Brandon, ran out of fuel at the finish, starting a chain-reaction pile-up, and Bobby Gerhart basically inherited the win. And Schroeder51 (#365), you have that many cars going to the back, and there's still one practice session to go, so thee could be more cars having to go to the back if they crash or have engine problems in that practice session. And by the way, where Martin Truex, Jr. got into that last lap crash is almost exactly where Ken Schrader lost the pole for the 1990 Daytona 500 when he got into a crash coming off the last turn of his qualifying race, because he had to go to a back-up car after getting involved in that last lap crash, and after two sensational charges through the field, lost an engine about 70 laps into that race. 374. DB1995 posted: 02.20.2014 - 10:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) why is top 8 an "epic finish" i agree he did a great job but the "talentless" Brian Scott ran better than him all night, I know Kyle Larson is talented but these people acting like he is Jesus Christ for finishing 8th is a little overboard. 375. 1995z71 posted: 02.20.2014 - 10:26 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Thermal Cam? No its the Predator Cam! 376. Jim Davis posted: 02.20.2014 - 10:26 pm Rate this comment: (4) (0) " And for Denny Hamlin fans, his qualifying race win means that he likely won't be winning the Daytona 500, because no driver has ever won the Shootout, his qualifying race, and the Daytona 500 in the same year. " That makes about as much sense as claiming that Hamlin can't win the 500 because no one named Hamlin has ever won the Daytona 500. Just because something has never happened does not mean it can never happen. 377. Jim Davis posted: 02.20.2014 - 10:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Can anyone recommend an iPod ap that tracks intervals during the race? I find it baffling that Fox does not think this kind of information would be of interest to viewers. 378. cjs3872 posted: 02.20.2014 - 10:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) But as has been proven Jim, the odds are so much against that happening. In fact, Dale, Sr., undeniably one of the greatest ever, had four cracks at doing that (1986, '91, '93, and '95), and never could complete the trifecta. I don't know why that's never happened, but possibly like winning the Masters' Par 3 contest (which has been held since 1960) and trying to win the Masters he same year, it might be somewhat of a jinx to the competitor that wins the first two legs (the Shootout and the qualifying race) when it comes to winning the Daytona 500. Frankly, I hope that someone does sweep all three in one year sand shut people like me (and the media) who brings this up every time someone wins the first two legs of the modern SpeedWeeks Triple Crown. 379. ch posted: 02.20.2014 - 10:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Fox stated that they would be modifying the scoring box for the 500 to include the intervals. They did not say how they would modify it though. 380. Sky Warrior posted: 02.20.2014 - 10:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I just wish Fox would stop trying to be different, especially with how much they promised us nothing would change with Speed. I've seen the 500 lineup once and they immediately cut away to NBA trades and Olympics recaps 381. Ken posted: 02.20.2014 - 10:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) That last lap is why you don't give up, both Labonte brothers were shuffled out after pit stops but managed to stay on the lead lap and pass the wrecked cars to lock into the race. Hearing word that Terry has announced this as his last 500. 382. NoLongerAnonymous posted: 02.20.2014 - 10:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Can anyone recommend an iPod ap that tracks intervals during the race? I find it baffling that Fox does not think this kind of information would be of interest to viewers." Apparently the NASCAR Mobile app offers it, but I haven't downloaded it. Anyway, from everything I have heard, it sucks (as with everything else NASCAR.com touches). I'm pretty sure ESPN's ScoreCenter has intervals on the NASCAR leaderboards, but I can't remember. It's a pretty good app nonetheless. "Well, we know the DNQs now. McClure, Ryan Truex, Shepherd, Nemechek, and McDowell." If those are the DNQs, I am satisfied. It seems like the 43 best cars and drivers made the race, as McDowell's the only name on that list who really stands out to me. McClure's a career Nationwide driver, Truex is young and driving for the worst full-time team in the sport, Shepherd was driving a loaned car from that same team, and Nemechek probably would not have been competitive. McDowell and LFR have both had success in recent restrictor plate races and they seem like a good combination, but I can't think of anyone I'd have rather seen miss so they could participate. 383. Sky Warrior posted: 02.20.2014 - 10:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Any idea who would've made the race if the Labonte brothers didn't? Bobby would've had the PC provisional I believe, and Terry kicked out Truex. Sound right? 384. luigistarted06 posted: 02.20.2014 - 10:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) With about 3 to go before Meats ran out Bobby would have had thenpasr champ provisional, and I believe the #83 team had more owner points than the #32 team, so essentially Tried would have been in over Terry 385. luigistarted06 posted: 02.20.2014 - 10:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Mears* 386. luigistarted06 posted: 02.20.2014 - 10:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Truex* the past*. I hate auto correct lol 387. cjs3872 posted: 02.20.2014 - 11:20 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) That may be true about Ryan Truex driving for the worst full-time team in the sport NLA, but still he performed horridly, especially compared to his teammate Alex Bowman, who actually stayed in the draft throughout the first qualifying race, which seemed to have more top-flight drivers and teams running up front, and moved up three positions when Parker Kligerman had whatever problem he had on the final lap. But Ryan Truex lost the draft in his qualifying race almost from the very beginning, was never a factor, and ended up getting lapped. I know Ryan Truex doesn't have a good team, but he didn't exactly step up himself, either. A poor performance by Ryan in the second qualifying race, to be sure. And Ken (#381), if this is, in fact, Terry's final Daytona 500, then it marks the end of an era, because Terry is the last driver to have driven in the Daytona 500 back in the days of Petty, Pearson, Yarborough, the Allisons, Baker, Parsons, etc., as well as having been the last active driver to have driven the old 115 inch wheelbase cars prior to the downsizing that took place in 1981. Terry also won in one of those cars, doing so in the 1980 Southern 500 at Darlington. Terry also competed in the famous 1979 Daytona 500, and might end up going down as the greatest Daytona 500 driver never to have won the race, finishing second three times, and was competitive in the Daytona 500 as recently as two years ago. Much like many feel Gordon is the last true link to the era of Earnhardt, Wallace, D. Waltrip, Elliott, Labonte, and the other top drivers of the 80s and early 90s, Labonte is the last link to the era of Petty, Pearson, Yarborough, the Allisons, the rest of those that dominated the 70s and the early 80s, and the old 115 inch wheelbase cars. 388. Jim Davis posted: 02.20.2014 - 11:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "But as has been proven Jim, the odds are so much against that happening." Sure, but once you actually win the Unlimited and the Duel (as Hamlin has done) the odds improve to the odds of just winning the 500. 389. 23andJoe posted: 02.20.2014 - 11:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) CJS: remember that Truex was in a backup car. Drivers making their first Sprint Cup Series start: -Michael Annett -Alex Bowman Other drivers making their first Daytona 500 start: -Justin Allgaier -Parker Kligerman -Kyle Larson -Brian Scott -Cole Whitt 390. Nascar Lead Lap Points posted: 02.21.2014 - 12:38 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Add Dave Blaney to the list of DNQ 391. Scott B posted: 02.21.2014 - 1:42 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Blaney won't be counted as an official DNQ because his entry was withdrawn, but yeah, he should be in the notes with an asterisk somewhere. 392. Scott B posted: 02.21.2014 - 1:48 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) #389... That's a lot of inexperience, but I'm happy for the fresh faces making the cut. Worth noting, too, rookie mistakes haven't had a big role in the incidents that have happened so far in the Cup preliminaries. 393. BON GORDON posted: 02.21.2014 - 2:16 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hamlin and Kenseth are the favorites but I believe the winner will be from team Hendrick. The cars look strong but the one to keep your eye on is the #24 car. Jeff has been under the radar, he had a good qualifying run (8th), and Duel finish(2nd). He looks good. If he can stay out of trouble Sunday he may be the driver in victory lane. He may not be the dominating, wonderboy that won title after title anymore but he's always dangerous near the end of BIG races. Stewart, the Busch brothers, Harvick, and Brad Keselowski will also be strong Sunday in the 500. 394. murb posted: 02.21.2014 - 2:21 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I wasn't able to watch the Duels live, but I taped them and just now finished watching. Overall, I'm really looking forward to the 500. I've said it all week, but I like this package A LOT more than last year. And after watching the Duels, I'm also pretty hopeful now that it won't be as big of a wreckfest as we thought earlier this week. Those guys raced pretty smart out there tonight, so I can only imagine that that mindset will increase with 500 miles instead of 150. For my 500 pick, I'm going with one of the JGR cars. If I had to absolutely choose one, I'd probably choose Denny because of his momentum, but all three of them just look great in the draft. More so than any other team. My darkhorses: Joey Logano, Paul Menard, Jamie McMurray (though I'm not sure if he counts as a darkhorse since he's a former winner), Martin Truex Jr, Brian Scott. And also, shoutout to the crew guys at Swan Racing. I'm really happy both Cole and Parker made it in after the crazy week that team's been through. Can't wait!! 395. 18fan posted: 02.21.2014 - 2:28 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) My pick is Keselowski. Something about him this week gives the impression that he is going to win and he has a very fast car underneath him. Obviously the JGR cars will be strong, but I don't know what the hell happened to Kyle today. But there are going to be some big names starting in the 30s, so that will be fun to see those guys come from the back. 396. startandparkfan posted: 02.21.2014 - 8:13 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Some different qualifying formats and who would DNQ if they were used. Fastest 43 without duels: DNQ: Bobby Labonte, Joe Nemechek, Ryan Truex, Alex Bowman, Morgan Shepherd Finish in duels with no provisionals: DNQ: Morgan Shepherd, Kevin Harvick, Eric McClure, Reed Sorenson, Brad Keselowski 397. startandparkfan posted: 02.21.2014 - 8:20 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Too bad for McDowell, he has had some success on the restrictor plate tracks, and I was hoping he could get a decent run for LFR. 398. Dave #38 Fan-Go Gilliland! posted: 02.21.2014 - 8:56 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "That may be true about Ryan Truex driving for the worst full-time team in the sport NLA, but still he performed horridly, especially compared to his teammate Alex Bowman, who actually stayed in the draft throughout the first qualifying race, which seemed to have more top-flight drivers and teams running up front, and moved up three positions when Parker Kligerman had whatever problem he had on the final lap. But Ryan Truex lost the draft in his qualifying race almost from the very beginning, was never a factor, and ended up getting lapped. I know Ryan Truex doesn't have a good team, but he didn't exactly step up himself, either. A poor performance by Ryan in the second qualifying race, to be sure." But remember that, as someone else mentioned, he was in a backup car that they had literally less than 24 hours to prepare. A rookie with just over 40 Nascar starts in general, driving for what may be the worst multi-car team in the sport, in a backup car that had to be thrown together in less than a day, is a recipe for disaster. Now while I'm not expecting much for Truex (or Bowman) all season, I won't take today's several underperformace as an indication of his overall potential. 399. DH101 posted: 02.21.2014 - 9:34 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) almost 400 comments and it's not even sunday LOL 400. startandparkfan posted: 02.21.2014 - 10:03 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Rain in the forecast for this weekend, but it looks like we will be fine. 40% chance or so of scattered showers and thunderstorms. 401. cjs3872 posted: 02.21.2014 - 11:24 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) It might be a surprising fact but Jeff Gordon has never really been a dominant driver in any Daytona 500 he's run, despite the fact that he's won it three times. The most laps he's ever led in a single Daytona 500 is 61, and that was in his third start, and he's never once led the most laps in a single Daytona 500. His style in this race has always been to lay back and let the race play out, and not make his move until late in the race. But yet, after not showing much sped n the practice sessions, when qualifying came around, he had the speed when it counted, and in the qualifying race, he had it again when it counted. That tells me that he, and teammates Kasey Kahne and Dale Earnhardt, Jr., for that matter, may be laying in the weeds. After all, while Joe Gibbs Racing likes to show everyone what they have throughout SpeedWeeks, Hendrick Motorsports generally doesn't like to show it's hand until the big money is on the line. Remember that Jimmie Johnson never led during his qualifying race last year, yet he had a handling advantage on everyone else in the 500 last year, since he was about the only one that could pass low on the track. It could be that Hendrick is letting Gibbs get the headlines for the minor races (the Shootout and the qualifying races), while Hendrick's poised to strike in the one race that really counts. No Hendrick car ever led in either of the qualifying races, yet one of his cars finished second in each of them (Kasey Kahne in Race #2 and Jeff Gordon in Race #2). I will say this. The first 100 miles of the Daytona 500 may be very interesting, considering who you have starting in the back of the field. You have Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch (who seems to have been left out of the JGR parade), Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex, Jr. (due to his qualifying race crash), and all the others that will be forced to backup cars due to the crash at the end of the second qualifying race not to mention Tony Stewart due to his pre-qualifying engine change (and I still don't know why he, Danica, and Bobby Labonte have all had to suffer double penalties for that). By my count, about one-quarter of the field that will not be starting in their assigned position, and that does not include Keselowski and Busch, who will be back there due to bad finishes in their qualifying races. And there's another practice session still to go, where more mayhem nay break out, which could send more front running drivers to the back for the start. And for those mentioning about Ryan Truex struggling so mightily in a back-up car. Morgan Shepherd borrowed a car from that same team and, at age 72, ran better than Ryan Truex did until late in that qualifying race when he got lapped. I'd put more stock in the untested back-up car theory if it were anywhere except Daytona and Talladega, but not to be able to stay in the draft, especially with the way the cars are pulling up this year is, to me, inexcusable, unless there's a desire issue regarding Ryan Truex, which there might be, considering he's been dropped from driver development programs at least twice in the last two or three years. 402. NicoRosbergFan posted: 02.21.2014 - 11:51 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ryan Truex's issue is that he is introverted and doesn't like talking unless he needs to. 403. The Long Shot posted: 02.21.2014 - 12:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I don't mean to stray from the topic at hand, but I need some assistance here. We just got hit with a major snowstorm, so our satellite's out. There's no telling when it'll come back on, so I'd like to know of some good live-streaming options for the races this weekend. I've heard of a guy on Justin.tv that does it, but are there any others? 404. Schroeder51 posted: 02.21.2014 - 12:46 pm Rate this comment: (5) (0) I had a REALLY crazy Daytona 500 dream last night...and here's what I remember happened it. -The day before the police, Michael Annett ran from the police (for whatever reason), got arrested, and had to sit out the Daytona 500. The team put Dave Blaney in the car for the race. I made a post on here saying I thought Annett should be fired for his off-track actions and Blaney should keep the ride full time. Not only did nobody agree with me, my comment had nearly a hundred thumbs-down! For whatever reason everyone was siding with Annett... -For some reason, Kyle Larson was called NIGEL Larson. Apparently he changed his name to honor Nigel Mansell... -For some reason, Ken Alexander (that guy who crashed about 10 times in the spring Bristol Busch/Nationwide race back in 2002) was in the 500. He actually finished 3rd! -There was a big flip in the race where Kevin Harvick's car flipped in the grass on the backstretch and somehow got high enough to clear the dirt embankment and end up upside down in the middle of Lake Lloyd. Harvick was trapped in his car, could not extricate himself...and drowned. The race continued, though, and ultimately it was overshadowed, because... -...everyone ran out of fuel coming off of turn 4. Everybody except for a few stragglers who were running well behind the lead pack (like Ken Alexander), and of course...Danica Patrick. With nobody behind, Danica easily cruised to the checkered flag to absolutely thunderous roars and cheers from the crowd. The FOX crew were absolutely ecstatic and I remember DW calling it the "greatest moment in sports history, bar NONE!" Virtually everyone on here was calling the race rigged...and then, just about an hour or so after the race, NASCAR themselves actually purchased the website and proceeded to edit every single comment calling the race rigged, changing them all to say something to the effect of "YES! Danica won! It's the most awesome thing I've ever seen! What a great moment for the sport! THIS is why I'm proud to be a NASCAR fan!" What a CRAZY dream! I can only wonder where the hell that came from... 405. anonymous posted: 02.21.2014 - 1:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) There's rain in the forecast for Daytona for the next week. Unless something changes, then we may have Trucks, Nationwide, or the Daytona 500 next week and Phoenix might have to reschedule and/or cancel their race weekend. 406. David posted: 02.21.2014 - 1:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Even your dreams are pessimistic, Schroeder. ;) But seriously, that was really bizarre. 407. New14 & 88Fan posted: 02.21.2014 - 1:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'm liking this group qualifying so far, shame Ryan Reed got wrecked and I fear there will be more but so far it's working out. 408. David posted: 02.21.2014 - 2:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I agree. Though I haven't seen it in action yet, I think this new format may just work out for NASCAR. True, it is a gimmick to get more fans to watch, and it deviates sharply from tradition, but it is also in a more manageable time frame than ever before, as the chances of any given session being rained out is far less, and the TV networks don't have to devote two hours of their time to one car going around the track at a time. It's a win-win for almost everybody. 409. startandparkfan posted: 02.21.2014 - 2:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hope the rain clears up before the truck race! The rain is here now, and will probably be over by 4:30-5:00, which means that they will have 2-3 hours to dry the track, if there are no pop-up showers. There is rain in the forecast for the weekend, but they are just small scattered pop-up showers as well. And to the person who said that the races would be postponed to next week and Phoenix would be rescheduled or cancelled, that wouldn't happen. 410. Aaron posted: 02.21.2014 - 3:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "it is a gimmick to get more fans to watch, and it deviates sharply from tradition" Then it's exactly what NASCAR wants. 411. Aaron posted: 02.21.2014 - 3:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "No Hendrick car ever led in either of the qualifying races" Dale Jr. led 14 laps in Race 1. He's a Hendrick driver. 412. joey2448 posted: 02.21.2014 - 3:17 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) With all the threats of rain we've seen on Daytona 500 weekend the past two years (now the third year) it makes you wonder if NASCAR's decision to schedule the 500 a week later than usual was a bad decision. If the Daytona 500 was last Sunday, it would've been run under sunny skies, and the same goes for the last two years. 413. joey2448 posted: 02.21.2014 - 3:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hahahaha Schroeder51! I think from now on, I'll be referring to Kyle Larson as Nigel Larson. How about Jeff Gordon, maybe we can start calling him Jeff Senna? And Jimmie Prost? Or how about Emerson Kenseth? lol 414. Spen posted: 02.21.2014 - 3:35 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Schroder: That almost tops my "Buckshot Jones as a classical composer" dream. 415. New14 & 88Fan posted: 02.21.2014 - 3:50 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) The first qualifying session for the NNS just resumed, and ended. Of course the bungholes at ESPN missed it. 416. startandparkfan posted: 02.21.2014 - 4:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Dylan Kwasniewski on pole. 417. murb posted: 02.21.2014 - 5:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Of course the bungholes at ESPN missed it." Because offseason NFL Insiders episodes take priority over everything, including live sports. 418. cjs3872 posted: 02.21.2014 - 5:08 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) You're right, Aaron. That's the second time I've made that very mistake in a few days. The first was in a phone call with my uncle when he asked me about the pace car fire and who was leading then. And although Kasey Kahne was also officially credited with leading one lap in that same qualifying race, he never really took the lead in that race, but rather got credited as a result of being a nose in front at the line at the completion of one lap. But the overall point was that I think the HMS cars have more than they've showed so far, with the exception of Dale, Jr., who is the only HMS to spend any time out front. But while JGR is undefeated so far this week, HMS has not really been in the news (except for Jimmie Johnson's misfortunes), but with cars finishing second in each of the qualifying races and Dale, Jr. running as well as he has been running, HMS has performed very well, but has done so without a great deal of fanfare, which could be bad news for the competition. And as far as the rain goes, what we may be seeing at Daytona is what they went through at Indy in the mid-70s, which is almost the same time in that race's history as we are currently in the history of the Daytona 500. Remember that in the mid 70s, three out of four Indianapolis 500s were rain-shortened, as the 1973, '75, and '76 races were cut short by rain, with the '76 race being the shortest ever. Those were the 57th, 59th, and 60th runnings of the Indianapolis 500. Well, with rain again apparently threatening this year's Daytona 500, it brings to mind that the race two years ago was the first ever to be postponed by rain. That race was the 54th running of the Daytona 500, with this being the 56th edition of the NASCAR classic. And if you throw in the 2009 race, which was also rain-shortened, that means that this could be the third Daytona 500 in six years adversely affected by rain, so the Daytona 500 appears to be stuck in the same rut that the Indianapolis 500 was in the mid-70s, which is almost the same time in it's history as the Daytona 500 is in now. Now if we're going to continue on that idea, remember that in the midst of that, there was a popular winner and a great story in 1974 with Johnny Rutherford. During this siege of one dreadful Daytona 500 after another (the rain in 2009, the track tearing up in 2010, fire and rain in 2012, and a basically dull race that had a great finish in 2013), there was that 2011 race that had a popular winner in Trevor Bayne and a great story in the Wood Brothers returning to the top for one glorious day. Well, that run of one gloomy Indy race after another ended with a historical race in 1977, which makes me think that a truly historical race may put an end to this run of dreary Daytona 500s, but the question then becomes, what kind of history would be made, and by whom? 419. numbah10hatah posted: 02.21.2014 - 5:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Don't you guys know that NFL comes first at BSPN? 420. David posted: 02.21.2014 - 5:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well, I don't know if anyone else here follows David Smith as closely as I do, but he just posted his "pre-race estimated probabilities" (acronym PREP) for the Daytona 500 win. They are objective numbers based off of the many metrics on his site. I'll list some of them below: 1. Denny Hamlin - 5.31% 2. Matt Kenseth - 4.82% 3. Kevin Harvick - 4.52% 4. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. - 4.23% T-5. Clint Bowyer - 4.13% T-5. Greg Biffle - 4.13% 7. Jimmie Johnson - 4.03% 8. Brad Keselowski - 3.95% 9. Tony Stewart - 3.78% 10. Kyle Busch - 3.69% Other notables: 11. Austin Dillon - 3.44% 13. Michael Waltrip - 2.95% 17. Kurt Busch - 2.60% 23. Jeff Gordon - 2.11% 26. Trevor Bayne - 1.84% 27. Danica Patrick - 1.83% 421. Canadianfan posted: 02.21.2014 - 5:38 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Has any body noticed the font of the #1 car has changed the forward slant and the shadow are gone. I think this is because of the demise of DEI which used that type of style. 422. startandparkfan posted: 02.21.2014 - 5:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Saw on Fox Sports 1 that the race will start at 7:00 instead of 8:15 423. startandparkfan posted: 02.21.2014 - 5:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) ^Trucks that is. Ben Kennedy will start on the pole, followed by Hornaday, Blaney, Crafton, and Coulter. 424. Eric posted: 02.21.2014 - 5:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The 2015 NASCAR Hall of Fame Nominees have been announced. The Nominees are Buddy Baker, Red Byron, Richard Childress, Bill Elliott,Jerry Cook, Raymond Fox, Rick Hendrick,Bobby Isaac, Terry Labonte,Fred Lorenzen, Raymond Parks, Benny Parsons, Wendell Scott, Larry Phillips,Bruton Smith, Mike Stefanik,Curtis Turner, Joe Weatherly,Rex White, and Robert Yates. 425. murb posted: 02.21.2014 - 6:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I really hope BP makes it in to the Hall Of Fame this year. I felt like he should have been in last year. As for my other four choices, I would probably go with Curtis Turner, Fred Lorenzen, Joe Weatherly, and Raymond Parks. 426. cjs3872 posted: 02.21.2014 - 6:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Dollars to donuts that Bill Elliott, Terry Labonte and Benny Parsons all get in this time, Eric. Elliott and Labonte automatically became eligible due to the passing of the "over 55 rule", which automatically makes any driver over the age of 55 that competed at least 10 years automatically eligible, and I believe Parsons came the closest among those that didn't get in last time to getting in. And since the Hall of Fame regards the overall body of work, I'm a bit surprised that Benny Parsons hasn't already been elected and enshrined, considering his 20 year NASCAR driving career, followed by another 18 years in the commentary booth, where he might still be if not for the lung cancer that claimed him in 2007. And If I'm right, the question then would become, who would the other two be that get in next time? I think the top candidates for those other two spots, assuming that Labonte, Elliott, and Parsons get in would be 1965 Daytona 500 and 2-time Coca-Cola 600 winner Fred Lorenzen, 1970 NASCAR champion Bobby Isaac, 2-time NASCAR champion Joe Weatherly, and Robert Yates, who did it all as both an engine builder and a car owner. 427. SpeedWorld97 posted: 02.21.2014 - 6:22 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Well, that run of one gloomy Indy race after another ended with a historical race in 1977, which makes me think that a truly historical race may put an end to this run of dreary Daytona 500s, but the question then becomes, what kind of history would be made, and by whom?" Like A.J. Foyt won his fourth Indy 500 in 1977, Jeff Gordon could win his fourth Daytona 500. 428. Destroyahirismix666 posted: 02.21.2014 - 6:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I thought I had crazy dreams, but Schroeder's really takes the cake. 429. Eric posted: 02.21.2014 - 6:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Based on the nominees, Bill Elliott, Benny Parsons and Terry Labonte as automatics. Terry Labonte and Bill Elliott are mention based on Hall of fame eligibility changes during the off season and the voters are very familiar with the two drivers based on them being from the television era of NASCAR. I have Robert Yates, and Bobby Isaac besides the 3 mentioned. My own five for the Hall of Fame is Robert Yates, Benny Parsons, Fred Lorenzen, Joe Weatherly, and Raymond Parks. If I had my way, I would have Bill Elliott, and Terry Labonte wait based on people from a different era than are from needs to get in first. Robert Yates got his start in the 1960's. 430. Leo posted: 02.21.2014 - 6:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Nigel Larson. Brillant! 431. joey2448 posted: 02.21.2014 - 6:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I say that Red Byron, Ray Fox, Terry Labonte, Benny Parsons and Joe Weatherly will be the ones to make it in the HOF this year. 432. JG24FanForever posted: 02.21.2014 - 7:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "The 2015 NASCAR Hall of Fame Nominees have been announced." My nominees: Raymond Parks (Should have been second or third class.) Curtis Turner (24-0 against Weatherly, in 1-2 finishes, in convertibles.) Joe Weatherly (If you know anything about Turner and Weatherly, you'd realize how fitting it would be for both of them to go in together. Bill Elliott (He will be the token Modern driver, like Wallace and Jarrett in the last two classes.) Benny Parsons (Doubles as a Cup legend and probably my all-time favorite commentator.) 433. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 02.21.2014 - 7:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kvapil will be driving the #32 car for the lion's share of the season with Terry Labonte in a few races and Boris Said at the road courses. 434. NicoRosbergFan posted: 02.21.2014 - 7:40 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) If Fred Lorenzen doesn't get in while he can still appreciate it, I will go batshit crazy on everyone in Daytona AND Charlotte. 435. Spen posted: 02.21.2014 - 8:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) My nominees would be: Bill Elliott Bobby Isaac Fred Lorenzen Rex White Robert Yates I'd put Benny and Terry in next year. 436. Spen posted: 02.21.2014 - 8:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) What's Timmy Hill going to do? 437. Cornys posted: 02.21.2014 - 10:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'm giving this Daytona 500 a 75% chance of being rain shortened. Of the other 25%, 10% of that says it will be ran later in the week. That leaves me giving the 2014 Daytona 500 a 15% chance of running to completion on Sunday, February 23rd. I'd like to see the 15% become reality. 438. Cornys posted: 02.21.2014 - 10:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Never mind, throw out those numbers. I've consulted some other forecasts. Taking them all into consideration it looks much better :) On time - 60% Not finished on Sunday / Very Early Monday - 5% Shortened on Sunday - 35% Looks like rain rolls in around or 4 PM EST and sets in for the evening in a scattered form. If the majority of the forecasts are correct and the race is typical it's 95% on time. The accuracy of the forecasts as far as time the precipitation comes in are mostly what is raising the % for the other possibilities. 439. NicoRosbergFan posted: 02.22.2014 - 5:01 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Who I think should go in this year: Red Byron Jerry Cook Ray Fox Fred Lorenzen Bobby Isaac Who I think will end up getting in: Benny Parsons Terry Labonte Bill Elliott Jerry Cook Wendell Scott I would personally have my five-guy list for this year, and then have Benny, Bill, Wendell, Rex, and Raymond Parks in 2016. I have met and know many of the old guard, and let me say a) Fred doesn't have much time left before the CTE completely wipes out his memory for good, and b) 440. Ivan Balakhonov posted: 02.22.2014 - 7:12 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) 404. Schroeder51 posted: 02.21.2014 - 12:46 pm Wow, that was so hilarious that I almost died laughing! Nigel Larson made my day. Thank you, Schroeder51, your dream cheered me up after I watched how Parker Kligerman's chances had been devastated in Truck Series race. 441. 23andJoe posted: 02.22.2014 - 7:38 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Add to DNQs: Dave Blaney (#77) 442. Jracingfast posted: 02.22.2014 - 10:38 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Bold yet not bold prediction.......There will be a "competition" caution on lap 25 tommrow 443. startandparkfan posted: 02.22.2014 - 11:30 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) In an interview with Fox News Channel, Richard Petty said that he is ready to come out of retirement to race Damica Patrick to prove his point. Tony Stewart says that he will prepare identical race cars for both drivers if they agree to be in the race. I would like to see that, but mostly to see if Petty can adjust to the new cars after 25 years of retirement. 444. startandparkfan posted: 02.22.2014 - 11:30 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) *Danica Patrick 445. Destroyahirismix666 posted: 02.22.2014 - 12:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) So what? If Danica beats Richard, all it really proves is that she is able to beat a 75+ year old man who has not been in a racing situation in 22 years, and was struggling 5 years before that! If Danica loses to Richard, he use as a marketing tool completely crashes, and Stewart, Danica, GoDaddy, and the like will ALL be the laughing stock of the Racing Community. Worst Case scenario: Richard gets into the car, and pushes himself so hard that he becoems severely injured or dies from XYZ number of reasons (Trauma from an impact, Heart Attack, the list goes on and on) But if this 'race' does get set up, which I have the feeling it will be, I want it to take place at Martinsville. Why? Because it is a Non-SuperSpeedway track at which both Petty and Danica know how to get around, because the track has hardly changed singe 1948/1976/1992 to 2014. Not just that, it is NASCAR's oldest track, and still one of the most relevant. Martinsville is also a slow enough track that I'm not concerned about either driver (Namely King Petty) becoming involved in a crash so damaging it could injure them. No crazy ass flipping or anything like that. Furthermore, it is a driving track where if one competitor touches the other in the ass to 'move them along', it can't be considered 'unfair, dirty driving'. Martinsville is a bump-n-run type of track. I don't want it at any other track because it will have changed so much since 1992 that Petty will be put at a further disadvantage and Danica will be given an unfair advantage of familiarity. He's going to have a hard enough time adapting to the new cars. It MUST be equal cars though. I'm not sure I'd trust Stewart to set them up, he is a businessman first and foremost, and for him to set it up for his driver to win it is something I would expect. That's another reason why I want it at Martinsville, small adjustments to the car won't give you a huge advantage/dis-advantage like it would at a larger track. 446. NicoRosbergFan posted: 02.22.2014 - 12:26 pm Rate this comment: (1) (2) ^And THIS is why people like DSFF and I think NASCAR is rigged. Hate on us all you want, but doesn't this just seem a little... too... scripted? 447. Destroyahirismix666 posted: 02.22.2014 - 1:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sorry Nico, I didn't understand that. What in my comment made you think NASCAR is rigged? Were you even referring to my comment? I'm not trying to be offensive here, I think I just missed some information. 448. NicoRosbergFan posted: 02.22.2014 - 2:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) "Sorry Nico, I didn't understand that. What in my comment made you think NASCAR is rigged? Were you even referring to my comment? I'm not trying to be offensive here, I think I just missed some information. " It's pretty obvious that NASCAR is the one behind the scenes staging this and setting it up. Probably a co-op with FOX. I was referring to the topic, not your specific comment. Sorry for the confusion. I dedicate this comment to the haters. 449. Spen posted: 02.22.2014 - 3:54 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I'd like to see it at Bowman-Gray. 450. cjs3872 posted: 02.22.2014 - 4:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Guys, Richard Petty couldn't even adjust to the aero cars of the late 80s (something contemporary Bobby Allison was easily able to do), as he was flat-out awful in those cars after being competitive in the aero coupes of 1986 and '87, having some top fives in those cars at most of the big tracks (2nd at Atlanta in '86, 3rd at the Daytona 500 and Southern 500 in '87 and 4th at the Coca-Cola 600, also in '87). So he cold still be competitive in those older cars, but was usually awful in the downsized cars that debuted in 1988. And if he couldn't be competitive when he was still a driver as a result in a change in a type of car, what makes anyone think he could adjust after over 20 years outside of a car? Anyone who thinks he could adjust simply doesn't know what they're saying, not to mention that he'll turn 77 this July. 451. startandparkfan posted: 02.22.2014 - 4:10 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) My favorites to win the 500: Truex, Kenseth, Hamlin, Harvick Who I want to win: Anyone except Kenseth, Harvick, Johnson, or Keselowki Who will probably win: Kenseth, Harvick, Johnson, or Keselowski 452. murb posted: 02.22.2014 - 4:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Like Destroya was saying, if it's at Martinsville and they really do have equal cars, I believe he could at least be on par with her. But seriously, what an idiot Tony is for starting all of this. I obviously have massive respect for him, but he's the absolute king of causing distractions that are detrimental to his team. He does this all the time. How about instead of worrying about what people say about Danica, you work with her on getting better so people stop saying those things? This whole thing with The King seems like a total distraction and a waste of time for everyone involved. The King has nothing to prove to anyone. His stats speak for themselves. 453. Spen posted: 02.22.2014 - 5:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) He was more competitive in the late 80's-early 90's cars than Danica is now. Not that it's anything to brag about. 454. Anonymous posted: 02.22.2014 - 7:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) So Fireball Robert's 4-race sweep of Daytona in 1962, winning the American Challenge Cup, his 100-mile, the 500, and the Firecracker is worth nothing since I see articles that speak of Hamlin looking to get the "first-ever three-race sweep" 455. 18fan posted: 02.22.2014 - 7:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Nobody has swept these three races, which should be noted, but the media of course would not. 456. cjs3872 posted: 02.22.2014 - 8:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Spen, Petty was so bad that his car failed to finish more often than it actually finished in 1988, and he even missed some races in 1989, which resulted in the adoption of the champion's provisional. The carbon monoxide situation that was referred to in the 1989 Daytona 500 may have had something to do with that, but Petty's performance once Pontiac went to a much more aerodynamic car in 1988 plummeted. Sure, Danica's performances rival what Petty did then, but we all knew Danica would never make it. Just look at all her teammates and those who replaced her (such as Regan Smith). And her performance in the NNS race at Daytona was dismal, because she's usually much better than that there. But I would, for the most part, regard their performances to be equal to each other when the overall level of competition is added, which was somewhat lesser in the late 80s than it is now, in terms of top-notch equipment, though the drivers were better then. 457. epzik8 posted: 02.22.2014 - 9:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Tomorrow is the big day. 458. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 02.22.2014 - 10:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Not just that, it is NASCAR's oldest track, and still one of the most relevant. Martinsville is also a slow enough track that I'm not concerned about either driver (Namely King Petty) becoming involved in a crash so damaging it could injure them." I wouldn't take that for granted. A couple years ago, Truex's throttle was hung and he hit Kahne and the wall pretty hard. 459. The Long Shot posted: 02.22.2014 - 10:32 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Following Kyle Busch's win last night in the Truck race, NASCAR is apparently considering limiting the amount of minor league races that Cup drivers can run. 460. David posted: 02.22.2014 - 10:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Following Kyle Busch's win last night in the Truck race, NASCAR is apparently considering limiting the amount of minor league races that Cup drivers can run." Timely response. Let's hope they fix this before it gets out of hand. 461. murb posted: 02.22.2014 - 10:54 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I hope it happens. A few races in the lower series are fine, but we don't need these guys running 25+ races. 462. jabber1990 posted: 02.22.2014 - 11:07 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) and now for the first time this year we start this discussion (starting it early) limiting starts won't solve anything Gibbs has 3 and a half, or 4 Nationwide cars (11, 20, 54, and I don't know where the 18 is) Monster Energy has a relationship with Kyle Busch, Dollar General has a relationship with Kenseth, those dollars dry up quick if Kenseth and Kyle aren't attached to that car for a long period of time lets say NASCAR allows 5 starts. Kyle, Denny, and Kenseth share a ride for 15 starts, Kyle wins 5 races, Denny wins 4, and Kenseth wins 2, now you still had 11 Nationwide races won by cup drivers (33%) JRM has a relationship with Harvick and Kahne, Kahne wins 1 race and Harvick wins 2, combine that with the 11 wins by JGR you're looking at 13 races won by Cup guys Brad wins all 5 of his starts, Joey wins 4, 22 wins by cup guys, now 2/3rds of the Nationwide schedule is being won by Cup drivers, the funding for the Nationwide program is cut significantly because there is no "Star Power" this only allows the teams who already have bottomless pocket to have a bigger advantage because who knows if TSM, TriStar, RAB, others, will be able to have funding. they already struggled to make money when Kyle and Brad were in the show take them away and you have less money look at your favorite TV show, when they turned a major character into a minor character you stopped liking the show. I can't come with, any good analogies there, which sucks, I thought I had a good argument my point is that when NASCAR tries to ban something it always goes wrong, so this idea wont last long (which means that it will become law) 463. cjs3872 posted: 02.22.2014 - 11:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Of course, races like the NNS race at Daytona, where Regan Smith and Trevor Bayne finished 1-3, helps the cause of the championship-eligible drivers in the NNS, even though both claimed crown jewel wins in the Cup Series in 2001. In fact, unless I miss my guess, Smith became the first full-time NNS driver that's not a Cup driver to win the 300-mile NNS race since Randy LaJoie took his third 300-mile Daytona win in 2001, a feat matched only by Bill Dennis among non-Cup drivers. It helps the NNS series to have Cup drivers in the field, not just because of the exposure thy give it, but because it gives the NNS drivers not in the Cup Series a chance to race and measure themselves against the sport's very best. That's always been why those NNS full-timers have always liked to have Cup drivers in the fields n the NNS series, and the same is true regarding the Truck Series. If one of those drivers can win against the Cup drivers, it proves that they can compete with the very best the sport has to offer. But there does need to be a limit to how many races the Cup drivers can run, and I like my idea of a 10-12 race limit for full-time Cup drivers with either 3 years or 100 races of Cup experience that are running full-time in the Cup Series. But races where the Nationwide regulars beat the Cup drivers, especially if it's somewhere like Daytona, can only boost the morale of the drivers running the Nationwide Series. And while I don't think there will be very many more trips to victory lane for NNS championship-eligible drivers this year, there may very likely be more than the four the NNS drivers racked up last year, two of which were claimed by Smith. In fact, three of the last four wins claimed by NNS championship-eligible driers have been claimed by Smith, with Trevor Bayne taking the other one. And what transpired today could be the beginning of a head-to-head battle for the title between the two, though I still think Ty Dillon and RCR will be tough, as I have reservations about Bayne and Smith. Bayne's cars need more speed on the open tracks and Smith's team needs to get over what happened last year, and today's win is a great start to that end. 464. Zackary Shawn posted: 02.23.2014 - 12:08 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "In fact, unless I miss my guess, Smith became the first full-time NNS driver that's not a Cup driver to win the 300-mile NNS race since Randy LaJoie took his third 300-mile Daytona win in 2001, a feat matched only by Bill Dennis among non-Cup drivers." Nope. James Buescher won it in 2012. He wasn't a full time NNS driver, but he wasn't a Cup driver either. 465. cjs3872 posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:46 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Zack, I said that Regan Smith was the first full-time NNS driver that wasn't a Cup driver to have won the 300-mile race at Daytona since Randy LaJoie won his third 300 in 2001. Obviously, that doesn't include James Buescher in 2012, since he was not a full-time NNS driver, but rather was a regular in the Truck Series (in fact, it was that win that may have given him the confidence to go out and win the Truck Series title that year). But there is a reason I worded that like I did. And that feat that LaJoie matched when he won that 300 in 2001 that had been equaled among non-Cup drivers by only Bill Dennis was winning the 300 three times (1972-'74). Newly enshrined Hall of Famer Jack Ingram, another non-Cup driver, won it twice, doing so in 1975 and '80. 466. TPA posted: 02.23.2014 - 2:35 am Rate this comment: (1) (5) NASCAR is rigged. Who won the very next race after Earnhardt Sr. died. Harvick driving for RCR. Earnhardt Jr. dominated the Super Speedways after that for years. Pulling out of line passing 15 cars drafting eachother, on his own, as if he didn't have a restrictor plate in his car and everyone else did. Danica winning last years pole. Dillon winning this years. This on top of all the rule changes over the past 10-12 years has made the sport a joke. Having to watch DW and idiot Larry MACreynolds where suits and ties every week makes people who know the history of the sport want to get sick. Kyle Busch is probably the only driver who could survive driving in the 60's or 70's. That said I don't even like him. 467. TPA posted: 02.23.2014 - 2:54 am Rate this comment: (0) (3) What's in store for NASCAR? If Danica Patrick quit racing today she'd be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame next year. Entering on an exception to the 5 year rule since she is so great. I mean because she is the biggest marketing ploy in the history of sports. Or did I mean to say because the sport has gone so far down hill that millions of people really think she belongs. One of the most pathetic broadcasts I ever saw was when the experts picked pre-race who they thought was going to win the race, I think it was last year at Talladega, and good old DW picked Danica Patrick. She ended up 30 something with no clue. What next? A midget driver. Or rookie driver Carl Lewis. Why not? He ran fast he should drive fast. 468. cjs3872 posted: 02.23.2014 - 2:59 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Actually TPA, Steve Park, driving for DEI, won the very next race after Dale's death. The following race, which was at Las Vegas, was won by Dale's biggest rival, Jeff Gordon, and then Harvick got his first win, which came in his third start over Gordon in almost identical fashion to which Dale had won that very race a year earlier. And soon after that, there was another blast from the past, as the #21 beat the #43 at Bristol, and Elliott Sadler became that season's third first-time winner in the first six or seven races. And later that season, Dale's two biggest rivals, Gordon and Rusty Wallace battled at what's now Auto Club Speedway on what would have been Dale's 50th birthday, a race in which Rusty was the winner, his final speedway victory. But I have, at times, been suspicious of Dale, Jr.'s win in that year's Firecracker 400 (especially shortly after that race, though my suspicions have dulled with the passage of time), although DEI began a stretch in which they won 10 of 13 plate races from the 2001 Daytona 500 through the 2004 Daytona 500, including five consecutive wins at Talladega from 2001-'03. And let's not forget that Dale, Jr. also won the first race after 9/11, which was at Dover, so he had two very significant victories that year, which surrounded arguably the two biggest stories in America that year (the death of Dale, Sr. and the 9/11 attacks). 469. Zackary Shawn posted: 02.23.2014 - 3:11 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "NASCAR is rigged. Who won the very next race after Earnhardt Sr. died. Harvick driving for RCR. I'm 1000% certain Steve Park won that race. The race Harvick won was 3 races after we lost Dale at Atlanta and he only beat Gordon by 0.006 seconds. How could NASCAR rig that? "Pulling out of line passing 15 cars drafting eachother, on his own, as if he didn't have a restrictor plate in his car and everyone else did." DEI as a whole dominated RP races from 2001-2004 with Dale Jr. and Michael Waltrip (2001 Daytona 500, 2001 July Daytona, 2001 fall Talladega, 2002 spring Talladega, 2002 July Daytona, 2002 fall Talladega, 2003 Daytona 500, 2003 spring Talladega, 2003 fall Talladega, 2004 Daytona 500, 2004 fall Talladega) but the only race I remember where Dale Jr. even came close to passing 15 cars at one time (an obvious exaggeration) was the 2001 Pepsi 400. By 2004 though, Hendrick had caught up to DEI and DEI never won another plate race after that (as far as I remember). In fact, Jeff Gordon's in 2005 spring Talladega race could pass cars on its on own as well and he set a record for most Talladega laps led that day (though it has since been eclipsed by Kenseth in the 2013 spring Talladega race). "Having to watch DW and idiot Larry MACreynolds where suits and ties every week makes people who know the history of the sport want to get sick." Annoying perhaps, but what does that have to do with NASCAR being rigged? "If Danica Patrick quit racing today she'd be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame next year." Bullshit. "One of the most pathetic broadcasts I ever saw was when the experts picked pre-race who they thought was going to win the race, I think it was last year at Talladega, and good old DW picked Danica Patrick. She ended up 30 something with no clue." I'm not a Danica defender by any means, but she still had a chance to win that race (it was Talladega after all, where anyone can win) up until she got caught up in The Big One with Kurt Busch with a few laps to go. 470. joey2448 posted: 02.23.2014 - 5:04 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) EIGHT HOURS AWAY!!! 471. Rocky Mountain High posted: 02.23.2014 - 6:48 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) I just hope we have a quality 500. I have no preference on who wins I just want to see a great race. I think this could be a great race but considering the state of things, forgive me for being a little skeptical. I really want a hard, clean race. Also I know this is not the ideal time to say this but the new points system scares me. If NASCAR thought Richmond's fallout was bad last season, imagine the controversy that would ensue if the same thing happened at Homestead. The Executives of NASCAR have no grasp on reality. I just wish the Chase would go away. Also with the new rules, it isn't even worth much to make it in anymore. I am much more optimistic about the on-track product then I am the off track atmosphere and that is saying something. 472. NicoRosbergFan posted: 02.23.2014 - 6:49 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) "In fact, Jeff Gordon's in 2005 spring Talladega race could pass cars on its on own as well and he set a record for most Talladega laps led that day (though it has since been eclipsed by Kenseth in the 2013 spring Talladega race)." Pete Hamilton led 153 laps in 1970. Takes the cake. "NASCAR is rigged. Who won the very next race after Earnhardt Sr. died. Harvick driving for RCR. Earnhardt Jr. dominated the Super Speedways after that for years. Pulling out of line passing 15 cars drafting eachother, on his own, as if he didn't have a restrictor plate in his car and everyone else did. Danica winning last years pole. Dillon winning this years. This on top of all the rule changes over the past 10-12 years has made the sport a joke. Having to watch DW and idiot Larry MACreynolds where suits and ties every week makes people who know the history of the sport want to get sick. Kyle Busch is probably the only driver who could survive driving in the 60's or 70's. That said I don't even like him. What's in store for NASCAR? If Danica Patrick quit racing today she'd be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame next year. Entering on an exception to the 5 year rule since she is so great. I mean because she is the biggest marketing ploy in the history of sports. Or did I mean to say because the sport has gone so far down hill that millions of people really think she belongs. One of the most pathetic broadcasts I ever saw was when the experts picked pre-race who they thought was going to win the race, I think it was last year at Talladega, and good old DW picked Danica Patrick. She ended up 30 something with no clue. What next? A midget driver. Or rookie driver Carl Lewis. Why not? He ran fast he should drive fast. " Look, I believe that there is some pretty fishy crap going on, like Jr. at the 2001 Firecracker, but this is just bullsh*t! "I'm 1000% certain Steve Park won that race. The race Harvick won was 3 races after we lost Dale at Atlanta and he only beat Gordon by 0.006 seconds. How could NASCAR rig that?" I'm 10000% certain of that. 473. JG24FanForever posted: 02.23.2014 - 6:57 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I've been up all night, antsy and restless, watching sports analyst try to convince people that Lebron James is greater than Michael Jordan. I'm excited about the race being held in the glorious daylight, instead of night. This has been a great speed weeks, and I don't see why the 500 can't be the cherry on top of the cupcake. 474. John Royal posted: 02.23.2014 - 7:23 am Rate this comment: (0) (2) Anybody else not liking that the race pages or up BEFORE the actual race? The comment section is flooded with everything else but comments of the race. Already almost 500 comments and it is several hours into the race start. 475. startandparkfan posted: 02.23.2014 - 8:15 am Rate this comment: (1) (1) YES! "NASCAR looking into limiting drivers' double duty: NASCAR said Saturday it is looking at potentially limiting the number of second- and third-tier event Sprint Cup regulars can run during the season. Officials have already talked about a potential rules adjustments. Maybe even a change. "We're definitely aware of the fan messaging we get," said Steve O'Donnell, NASCAR's senior vice president of racing operations. "There's a balance, especially talking to the tracks, of having a Cup driver or two in the Trucks or Nationwide. ... We have had discussions with the race teams about ownership and should Cup drivers get points and we've looked at should they be limited in the number of races. It's something we are really studying."(Associated Press)(2-23-2014)" 476. JRacingFast posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:15 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Guess what day it is???....Guess what daaaaaay it is???........That right....ITS RACEDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY! Lets hope for a good,fun,and safe 500 brutal miles as one driver hopes they can fallow there dreams of capturing the great american race..... As the great Ken Square once said "Ordenary men doing unordenary things" god that quote gives me the chills and also and Mike Joy once said "The most anticipated moment in racing" I cant wait! In just about 3 hours the green flag will drop and 42 men and 1 women will be off on a 500 mile journey! 477. NicoRosbergFan posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:25 am Rate this comment: (1) (1) "Anybody else not liking that the race pages or up BEFORE the actual race? The comment section is flooded with everything else but comments of the race. Already almost 500 comments and it is several hours into the race start. " So what? 478. cjs3872 posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:36 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Weather permitting, JRacingFast. However, the current forecast does not look good at all. It appears that they'll get the race started, but they're calling for t-storms from 2-4 PM with a 70-100% chance of rain, so it looks like there will be a very sizeable delay at that point, and the rain chances never drop below 40% until about midnight, so there's a chance that this could wind up being a 2-day event. They'll try to get it in today of course, but they might be up against it, like they were two years ago. As I noted in an earlier post, the Daytona 500 is having weather trouble similar to what the Indianapolis 500 had in the mid 70s, at a similar time in that race's history (runnings 57-60 saw three rain-shortened races, one of which took three days to run due to rain). So it might be quite a while for them to get the race in, if they can get it in at all today. And the forecast for tomorrow looks only marginally better at this time, so this could be like some Indy races of the past (1973, '86, '97), where it took a number of days (and two postponements) to get the race completed. 479. Destroyahirismix666 posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:10 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Good lord, I really hope that we dont end up having a long-strung out 500, caused by rain. 480. cjs3872 posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:30 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think everyone hopes for that, D-666. It's just that the forecast I saw from The Weather Channel's site looks pretty grim, especially from 2-5 PM. And it takes about 90 minutes-2 hours to get the track in raceable shape, especially if the storms are as predicted, which would put a resumption time around 6 or 7 PM, by which time it might start raining again. And with the chance of rain never dropping below 40% after 2 PM until about midnight, it could be one of those situations were the rain stop and starts, possibly on an hourly basis. I want to see the race get in as scheduled, but I'm also a realist, and based on the current forecast, it doesn't look good to get the requisite 100 laps needed to make it an official race today. If the rain was forecast to hit at about 3, they might be able to get enough of it in to make it official before the rains come, but not if it's scheduled to hit at about 2, which is the current forecast. In other words, this might be like 1995, when it took virtually until sundown to finish the race (and there were no lights then), or like two years ago, when it was postponed and run on Monday night. 481. NicoRosbergFan posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:42 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I see rain delays happening with the race still finishing today, albeit later than planned. 482. The Long Shot posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:47 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) "NASCAR is rigged. Who won the very next race after Earnhardt Sr. died. Harvick driving for RCR. Earnhardt Jr. dominated the Super Speedways after that for years. Pulling out of line passing 15 cars drafting each other, on his own, as if he didn't have a restrictor plate in his car and everyone else did. Danica winning last years pole. Dillon winning this years. This on top of all the rule changes over the past 10-12 years has made the sport a joke." All I have to say is this: if NASCAR were rigged, Dale Earnhardt Jr. would be a 7-time champion by now. "And let's not forget that Dale, Jr. also won the first race after 9/11, which was at Dover, so he had two very significant victories that year, which surrounded arguably the two biggest stories in America that year (the death of Dale, Sr. and the 9/11 attacks)." Sorry cjs, but I would be beyond shocked if Earnhardt's death was as big a story as you are making it out to be. It was a somewhat big story, don't get me wrong, and it made national news, but it is nowhere near in the same league as 9/11, and I guarantee you that 2001 had bigger stories that more people took attention to than the death of a driver in a sport that people were even then scoffing at. If you are talking about just the racing community, then I would agree with you (though again, I don't think Earnhardt's death should even be compared with Kennedy's assassination or 9/11; those were horrifically tragic incidents that had resounding impacts worldwide as well as nationally, whereas I doubt that non-racing fans in other countries cared at all about the death of an American racing driver). 483. The Long Shot posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:52 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I see rain delays happening with the race still finishing today, albeit later than planned." According to Weather.com's weather map (I know that website's a piece of crap, but it's the only one I know of that has a weather radar that "shows the future weather"), rain will move in around 2 pm and will linger for an hour or two. After that, it looks like we might have enough time to get the track dried and finish the remainder of the race (similar to Talladega last spring), seeing as most of the rain is staying just to the north of the track. 484. John Royal posted: 02.23.2014 - 12:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Looks gloomy. Race you always wait for several months ends up being messed by rain. Should have built this venue to New Mexico. 485. Ryan posted: 02.23.2014 - 12:15 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Earnhardt Jr only won that race at Dover because Rusty wrecked Ricky Rudd. No Fix smh 486. Anonymous posted: 02.23.2014 - 12:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) "All I have to say is this: if NASCAR were rigged, Dale Earnhardt Jr. would be a 7-time champion by now." June Bug's proven he can't do it, and NASCAR knew that years ago. 487. Ryan posted: 02.23.2014 - 12:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) If you think Nascar is rigged you should be locked in a rubber room. The truth is out there 488. NicoRosbergFan posted: 02.23.2014 - 12:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (8) "If you think Nascar is rigged you should be locked in a rubber room. The truth is out there " That's pretty insulting considering the Richard Petty-Tony Stewart stuff is pretty-damned staged. The truth is NOT out there. NASCAR has INDISPUTABLY rigged races in the past (see 1984 Firecracker). Even the 1985 Daytona 500 was rigged in that they threw BS yellows to keep Bill Elliott lapping the field. Every time you see a BS debris yellow, the race is technically rigged from that point onward. And why the hell am I talking to a troll?!? 489. Ryan posted: 02.23.2014 - 12:30 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Its funny that a conspiracy nut is calling someone else a troll 490. Ryan posted: 02.23.2014 - 12:36 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) So is there also a vast media conspiracy that prevents "Nascar is fake" from becoming a huge national story? Someone would snitch if this was really the case. But hey its always fun to sound smarter than everyone else when you spin things to fit your rage filled agenda 491. Wallmendinger posted: 02.23.2014 - 12:41 pm Rate this comment: (4) (0) NRF is a tool, pay him no attention 492. jabber1990 posted: 02.23.2014 - 12:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) what is the name of this song? 493. The Long Shot posted: 02.23.2014 - 12:52 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "June Bug's proven he can't do it, and NASCAR knew that years ago." What does that have to do with anything? Just because he can't win the championship legitimately doesn't mean that NASCAR couldn't rig it so that he could. He's the most popular driver in the sport. There is no reason why Junior would not have at least a couple of championships if NASCAR was legitimately fixed. "That's pretty insulting considering the Richard Petty-Tony Stewart stuff is pretty-damned staged." I think you're right in this case, but don't you think it could be possible that this is nothing more than a marketing ploy by Danica's camp and Petty's camp to garner more attention towards their respective drivers? I guess I just don't see why NASCAR would set up something like this, as it wouldn't really attract new fans to the sport. "So is there also a vast media conspiracy that prevents "Nascar is fake" from becoming a huge national story? Someone would snitch if this was really the case." Another reason why I don't believe that NASCAR is rigged. Have they had some shady dealings in the past? Yes. But I don't believe that the whole sport is nothing but a scam, because you'd have a hell of a time keeping people quiet about it. 494. Destroyahirismix666 posted: 02.23.2014 - 12:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Michael in his little skit: "Your fast enough, people like you". Waltrip, your outta here. 495. RaceFanX posted: 02.23.2014 - 12:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Alright, I laughed at the Michael Waltrip "getting ready" skit. 496. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 02.23.2014 - 12:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Oh great, now we're comparing Dos Jotas to Michael Jordan. Can't we get into hurry-up mode with the impending weather? 497. joey2448 posted: 02.23.2014 - 12:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ya hear that, DSFF?? FOX essentially just implied that Jimmie Johnson is better than Joe Montana. I bet that sets you off, eh? Lol 498. NicoRosbergFan posted: 02.23.2014 - 12:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) @491: using fake names again to insult me? Real courageous there. "Its funny that a conspiracy nut is calling someone else a troll " Its funny that a troll using a fake name is calling someone else a conspiracy nut. 499. NicoRosbergFan posted: 02.23.2014 - 12:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Ya hear that, DSFF?? FOX essentially just implied that Jimmie Johnson is better than Joe Montana. I bet that sets you off, eh? Lol" I think you just proved why DSFF doesn't comment here much anymore. 500. cjs3872 posted: 02.23.2014 - 12:59 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) NicoRosbergFan, NASCAR did not throw any BS cautions in the 1985 Daytona 500 to keep Bill Elliott from lapping the entire field. Now they did keep him in the its on lap 145 far longer than necessary to tape up the right front headlight cover, which had been damaged by debris that was likely kicked up by a car that he was lapping, but there were no phantom cautions in that race. The caution you might be thinking of came just past the 400-mile mark, but it was legitimate, since Dave Marcis had some kind of mechanical problem and had to be pushed into he pits, as his car never would have made it there on it's own. And as for races being fixed, I can't say the '84 Firecracker 400 was fixed, because Petty doesn't win that race if not for the late caution that caused that race to end under caution. And let's also not forget that, despite starting 34th, Petty may have had the best car in the '84 Daytona 500, but like Bobby Allison, who also had a Robert Yates engine in that race, Petty broke a camshaft. And there have been other suspicious races, such as the '94 Brickyard 400, in which some say that officials allowed Jeff Gordon's team to run lower than anyone else, giving him an edge. Ironically, if that race had been 405 miles, he wouldn't have won it, and his car have been losing oil near the finish. And although it looked suspicious at the time, I'm not sure the 2001 Firecracker 400 was fixed, either, because that was the early part of a stretch where DEI won 10 of 13 plate races, and Dale, Jr. and Michael Waltrip simply reversed their finishing positions from the Daytona 500 that year. They simply had a superior plate package for three or four years. And The Long Shot, while Earnhardt's death, on it's own, was certainly not a story of the weight of the Kennedy assassination or 9/11, the reason I can compare it to those events because it was one of those rare events in which everyone knows exactly what they were doing when it took place. That's where the comparison between Earnhardt's death and the Kennedy assassination can be made, as well as the fact that both incidents took place on live TV. But I do think a real argument can be made that Earnhardt's death, especially in the manner in which it happened, and 9/11 were the two biggest news events in this country in 2001. 501. Destroyahirismix666 posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Saw a Giant Cardboard cutout on MW pitlane. I feel a bit sick. Michael is on PCP again. We sure that it's okay to have him driving today? 502. jabber1990 posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:01 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I am going to take a wild guess here and assume Michael Waltrip is in love with himself 503. RaceFanX posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle Busch (hands Michael Waltrip M&M's): "Melts in your mouth, not in your car." Nice, that's why M&M's kept him. Over 500 posts and we haven't even dropped the flag yet. 504. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) 50 Cent has dropped Erin Andrews for the two blonde Miss Sprint Cups. 505. Destroyahirismix666 posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) cjs, Kennedy's assassination did NOT occur on live TV. The guy who shot him (Never remember his name) was the one who was filmed being shot on live TV. 506. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The guy who shot him (Never remember his name) was the one who was filmed being shot on live TV. Jack Ruby was the one who shot and killed Oswald. 507. Destroyahirismix666 posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Silly Fox. Danica finished multiple laps down when she started in 2012. Are you trying to forget that glaring fact? Granted, it was because she got caught up in a second-lap Big One, but irregardless... 508. Anonymous posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think that is more just a typo. They included that in her stat. 509. NicoRosbergFan posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) jabber1990: That made my day. I know DW is like a yellow-journalist, but Boogity boogity boogity let's get some racing in today, folks! 510. NicoRosbergFan posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Scary thought: Mikey is IN the race, not just calling it. *shudders* 511. Kenny posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:08 pm Rate this comment: (1) (2) Can someone tell me how the weather is looking please? And I hate that NASCAR moved the 500 a week later because ever seance then 2 of the last 3 500's have had a weather issue it's f**king bullshit 512. dennyfan11 posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) schroders dream was weird,but NOTHING like some of mine. I was watching a youtube video of the 1993 Daytona 500,and then in one part,there was some weird rip in spacetime. It looked like a ball of energy on fire. Divers were sucked into it. Somehow,Ken Squier was perfectly calm and monotone throughout. The race was merely put under the yellow flag!!. Another dream i had was that Michael Waltrip ended his winless streak of 10+ years at talladega. I was so happy i cried. Darrell and everyone talked about it the whole post race. I had another one in which Bobby Labonte won. Other dreams included Dale Earnhardt Jr.,Kurt Busch,and Sam Hornish Jr. all being victms of internet death hoaxes and a race at a milwalkee dirt track where they raced modified cars and kyle larson won. 513. The Long Shot posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:15 pm Rate this comment: (3) (1) Joey Logano has a girlfriend? I thought he wasn't allowed to have one until he grew his first pubic hair. 514. Jared McNutt posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Season predictions: Sprint Cup Champ- Matt Kenseth Nationwide Champ- Regan Smith Truck Champ- Johnny Sauter Daytona 500 Champ- Kevin Harvick Darlington 500 winner- Denny Hamlin Coke 600 winner- Kyle Busch Brickyard winner- Tony Stewart Talladega winners- Austin Dillon, Kurt Busch Final Four going into Homestead- Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin Most wins: Jimmie Johnson Amount of Junior wins: 2(Phoenix and Michigan) 515. Anonymous posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Joey Logano has a girlfriend? I thought he wasn't allowed to have one until he grew his first pubic hair. " Him and how many others are under this same limitation? 516. David posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Our antenna just gave me a scare, as it went off about ten minutes ago, but fortunately for all kittens and puppies within a ten-mile radius, it came back on. ;) 517. JRacingFast posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Does anyone know if Josh Wise and PPR found a sponser i know yesturday they mentioned it in final practice that they were still searching for one 518. David posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And they are off! 519. Schroeder51 posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle Larson just bumped the wall. 520. jabber1990 posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 3 laps in, single file is that a record? 521. TS1420 posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Ya hear that, DSFF?? FOX essentially just implied that Jimmie Johnson is better than Joe Montana. I bet that sets you off, eh? Lol" I joked about this last year. I see it's no longer a joke :( 522. DB1995 posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Larson hit the wall by himself 523. dennyfan11 posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) one word. BORING. so who do do you think will be rookie of the year? 524. anonymous posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Apparently Side-by-side is gonna be used for most of the race. I like it. 525. We need more Onion posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "so who do do you think will be rookie of the year?" Dillon. Has a better car than anyone else in for ROTY and not as prone to mistakes as Larson is. I want to see Kligerman be a serious challenger though. 526. dennyfan11 posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Dillon. Has a better car than anyone else in for ROTY and not as prone to mistakes as Larson is." I agree. 527. NicoRosbergFan posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Brian Scott looks good so far. 528. OldSchoolNascarDude1 posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Although Kyle Larson may have the highest ceiling of this incoming rookie crop, he's also known to make more mistakes, too. I would be careful before proclaiming him NASCAR's next star. 529. TS1420 posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think the plate races should have their own point system. 10 points for winning. 1/4 points for each lap led. Nothing else. "Apparently Side-by-side is gonna be used for most of the race. I like it." You spoke too soon. 530. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) so who do do you think will be rookie of the year? Probably Dillon because he's more consistent. Here's a prop bet. Over/under 2.5 - The # of rookies that finish in front of Danica in the 2014 standings. 531. anonymous posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I find it funny that we have the largest rookie class since the 90s, but it's obvious that Austin Dillon will be ROTY. 532. joey2448 posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Holy hell, those KFC commercials are really wearing on me. Especially the one where the guy keeps saying "pot pie!"...soooo annoying. Still single file at lap 20. I'm still waiting for the second lane to start forming. It worked well in the Bud Shootout and Qualifying races... 533. NicoRosbergFan posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:46 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Over: Austin Dillon, Kyle Larson, Parker Kligerman 534. NicoRosbergFan posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Mute the commercials 535. anonymous posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "You spoke too soon" I said Side-by-side was gonna be used for MOST of the race, not all of it. 536. Andy posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) What great racing! 537. The Long Shot posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Larson wrecks, caution. 538. David posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:48 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Caution is out for Nigel Larson. 539. Schroeder51 posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle Larson brings out the first caution as he spins out. 540. NicoRosbergFan posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Wow! I've been here for over five minutes and there has been... ONE position change. 541. JRacingFast posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 532. joey2448 posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Holy hell, those KFC commercials are really wearing on me. Especially the one where the guy keeps saying "pot pie!"...soooo annoying .....Ill take those over the MASHED POTATO AND GRAVY KFC commericals anyday..... 542. NicoRosbergFan posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Wasn't enough that Kyle was putting all by himself at one of the easiest tracks to just mailtruck in all of motorsports? 543. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Over: Austin Dillon, Kyle Larson, Parker Kligerman I think it'll be over but Allgaier being the 3rd driver cuz of having Hendrick equipment. I don't see the Swan teams doing that well stretching their resources to 2 teams and both drivers being rookies. 544. Andy posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Why were people so excited about this aero package? The cars still don't suck up like they need to. 545. Schroeder51 posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:51 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) #532 Can't be as annoying as "OH NO I ATE THE BONES!" 546. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Matt Kenseth and the 20 team are practicing their Watkins Glen pit stop. 547. Jared McNutt posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @dennyfan 11. Dillon, who I think will win one of the Talladega races and will get into the Chase. Larson is a raw talent while Dillon's more established and is in a better ride. Kligerman and Whitt will show some flashes throughout the season. Swan's a young team taking a unique approach to building their organization. Allgaier is the most seasoned rookie of anyone; it seemed like he was in the Nationwide series forever and because of that, he won't have any problem adjusting to Cup. Having Hendrick engines and Steve Addington will be a plus. I think Annett can run well at Talladega- the TBR cars have run well there the last few years. As for Bowman and Truex...they need to be in the Nationwide series. They are not ready at all for Cup. And that's not including the fact that BK Racing is crap 548. The Long Shot posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I don't understand why people are complaining. The same thing happened in the Unlimited and the Duels, and the racing picked up after a while. 549. TS1420 posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kenseth with a reverse pitstop. 550. NicoRosbergFan posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kenseth's pit road woes continue. 551. TS1420 posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:54 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Holy hell, those KFC commercials are really wearing on me. Especially the one where the guy keeps saying "pot pie!"...soooo annoying" ".....Ill take those over the MASHED POTATO AND GRAVY KFC commericals anyday....." "Can't be as annoying as "OH NO I ATE THE BONES!"" Can't we just agree that ALL KFC commercials are annoying? 552. John Royal posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Parade 500 presented by Convoy 553. NicoRosbergFan posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) "I don't understand why people are complaining. The same thing happened in the Unlimited and the Duels, and the racing picked up after a while. " Yes, but I am here now. This race is cursed as a result of my presence. Yummy! Cracker Barrel lunch! 554. Zackary Shawn posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Once again NASCAR is killing it with the commercials. At least they know how to do one thing good on a consistent basis. 555. We need more Onion posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This "everything has changed-nothing has changed" NASCAR commercial is really good, but I prefer the "for every turn, there is a twist" one. Back to green. 556. NicoRosbergFan posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And here comes Kurt... dropping like a stone. 557. TS1420 posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Baby Warbucks to the lead. 558. NicoRosbergFan posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wow! Dos Jotas lost the lead draft. I call possum! 559. TS1420 posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle making it work on the bottom by himself. I like it. 560. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Oh no. Truex looks like he's done. 561. The Long Shot posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Truex blows up. 562. Schroeder51 posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Something is wrong with Truex's car. 563. Schroeder51 posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yup, he blew up. Caution flag is out. 564. We need more Onion posted: 02.23.2014 - 1:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Aw, man. He had a great car and a good chance until now. 565. TS1420 posted: 02.23.2014 - 2:02 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Kenseth makes it in his pitbox right this time! 566. anonymous posted: 02.23.2014 - 2:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Did I just see a raindrop on one of the cameras? I hope not. 567. Zackary Shawn posted: 02.23.2014 - 2:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I saw sprinkles on Jr.'s camera... 568. SpeedWorld97 posted: 02.23.2014 - 2:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I just saw rain drops on the roof cam of Dale Jr.'s car. 569. John Royal posted: 02.23.2014 - 2:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) And we have a rain. 570. Destroyahirismix666 posted: 02.23.2014 - 2:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Any updates on the weather? 571. Jared McNutt posted: 02.23.2014 - 2:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I know it's NASCAR cliche, but the remaining RCR drivers might become a little worried. You don't want a repeat of Toyota's woes in last year's 500 572. Destroyahirismix666 posted: 02.23.2014 - 2:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle's outro skit is so hillarious. Even more so because that's the same type of thing I would do. 573. murb posted: 02.23.2014 - 2:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Tough break for Truex. I was hoping he would contend. The first run of the race was pretty lackluster, but they seemed to have picked it up over the last little bit. 574. joey2448 posted: 02.23.2014 - 2:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'm no meteorologist (ahem, NicoRosbergFan), but it looks like this'll be a quick sprinkle, meaning the track won't be lost. I think we'll be back to green soon. No red flag. 575. TS1420 posted: 02.23.2014 - 2:12 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I think we've had more commercial breaks than laps ran already. 576. TS1420 posted: 02.23.2014 - 2:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "The first run of the race was pretty lackluster, but they seemed to have picked it up over the last little bit. " Hopefully the drivers are getting worried this will be a shortened race and will start racing instead of riding. 577. murb posted: 02.23.2014 - 2:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) On the radar there's a pretty huge cell of rain just North of Daytona, but it looks like it's moving East. So hopefully it keeps going that way. 578. Zackary Shawn posted: 02.23.2014 - 2:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) OK, Twitter is saying a heavy rain with cars covered on pit road for a red flag. TV is saying a light rain came and is gone. Which is it? 579. murb posted: 02.23.2014 - 2:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Hopefully the drivers are getting worried this will be a shortened race and will start racing instead of riding." Yeah. I hope it goes the full distance, but there's no harm in the drivers thinking it will be rain shortened. It only intensifies things. 580. John Royal posted: 02.23.2014 - 2:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jet dryers at the track 581. TS1420 posted: 02.23.2014 - 2:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Didn't the quick race break from The Commercial 500 show the cars still out on the track? 582. murb posted: 02.23.2014 - 2:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Looks pretty heavy now. Damn it. 583. NicoRosbergFan posted: 02.23.2014 - 2:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Looks like a pretty decent shower, but the race will finish today. 584. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 02.23.2014 - 2:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) That's a real rain. Twitter wins. 585. The Long Shot posted: 02.23.2014 - 2:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yep, we're under a rain delay. 586. Schroeder51 posted: 02.23.2014 - 2:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Now the race has been red-flagged. Lovely. 587. TS1420 posted: 02.23.2014 - 2:19 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "That's a real rain. Twitter wins." Why did I question Twitter over the FOX Twits? 588. anonymous posted: 02.23.2014 - 2:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Red Flag is out. I'll be back tomorrow. NASCAR needs to return the Daytona 500 back to the day before President's Day. 589. joey2448 posted: 02.23.2014 - 2:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Welp, I was wrong. Like I said, I'm no meteorologist. It literally looks like the only spot of rain in the nearby region is right on Daytona. Damn you mother nature! 590. murb posted: 02.23.2014 - 2:21 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "NASCAR needs to return the Daytona 500 back to the day before President's Day." Yes. Every year since they've moved it back, there have been rain problems. 591. We need more Onion posted: 02.23.2014 - 2:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) *sigh* Looks like I will have to watch the end of the race tomorrow. 592. NicoRosbergFan posted: 02.23.2014 - 2:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) ^Yes, it will probably be tomorrow over there by the time this finishes, although still today here. 593. TS1420 posted: 02.23.2014 - 2:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "NASCAR needs to return the Daytona 500 back to the day before President's Day." I don't really know about that. I'd love for the season to start a week early (and fill in the early season off week with another race). But there has been weather issues on the President's Day weekend the past recent years too (2003 & 2009 were rained out. The Foggy-Mist that settled over the track in 2006) 594. We need more Onion posted: 02.23.2014 - 2:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "^Yes, it will probably be tomorrow over there by the time this finishes, although still today here." Yes, this is the way I meant it :) 595. murb posted: 02.23.2014 - 2:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Please stop talking about the #3, Fox? 596. Sean posted: 02.23.2014 - 2:26 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) When this rain was expected in advance, you'd think NASCAR could have cut out the garbage one hour intro like they usually do for most races, right? That Roman gladiator music backing the driver introductions made me want to turn the race off, and the pre-race concert was a tacky, stupid idea too. Start the race at 12:15 or 12:30 instead of 1:15 or 1:30 and it might be almost half over already... If NASCAR wants to be taken seriously, it needs to stop acting like the Daytona 500 is the Super Bowl and executing Roman gladiator cliches which make it look like NASCAR is all about decadence and the decline of American society than anything else... And they could have gotten more racing in too. Not that anybody except Kyle Busch seems to actually be racing. And I enjoyed Kyle Larson's endless spinning. Let's see: in Larson's professional career, he is winless in Nationwide, has 1 win in Trucks, sped in the pits immediately after taking the car for the first time in the 24 Hours of Daytona, and spun out early in the Daytona 500. Robin Miller has been hyping him ridiculously for years now as one of the world's leading racing talents and acts like he should be one of IndyCar's current poster boys. I see NOTHING he has done at the professional level that has impressed me all that much to date. J.J. Yeley, Jason Leffler (RIP), Kenny Irwin (RIP), Dave Blaney, and Steve Kinser were great in sprint cars and failed in Cup too... At best, I see Larson as the next Joey Logano... But it is probably too premature to draw any conclusions, but I'm sick of his hype every bit as much as I'm sick of Austin Dillon's hype (Dillon despite his two titles hasn't done ALL that much either.) 597. NicoRosbergFan posted: 02.23.2014 - 2:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Daytona 500 is under a TORNADO WARNING!!!!!! 598. JRacingFast posted: 02.23.2014 - 2:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 593. TS1420 posted: "NASCAR needs to return the Daytona 500 back to the day before President's Day." I don't really know about that. I'd love for the season to start a week early (and fill in the early season off week with another race). But there has been weather issues on the President's Day weekend the past recent years too (2003 & 2009 were rained out. The Foggy-Mist that settled over the track in 2006) Yeah but the past 3 years where we have had cloudy/rainy 500s....The week before it when qualifying had been held its been sunny.....My vote is we move it back to its orginal weekend! 599. Destroyahirismix666 posted: 02.23.2014 - 2:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) So...will this be a repeat of last year's Aaron's 499, where we waited for 4 hours before we went green again? 600. NicoRosbergFan posted: 02.23.2014 - 2:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Storm with tornado may move close to the track... might get southern edge of said thunderstorm. 601. Jared McNutt posted: 02.23.2014 - 2:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Was the 2011 500 on President's Day weekend? I can't remember 602. murb posted: 02.23.2014 - 2:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Was the 2011 500 on President's Day weekend? I can't remember" I believe that was the last one on President's Day weekend before they moved it a week forward. 603. JRacingFast posted: 02.23.2014 - 2:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 602. murb posted "Was the 2011 500 on President's Day weekend? I can't remember" I believe that was the last one on President's Day weekend before they moved it a week forward. The date was 2/20 if that answers your question 604. murb posted: 02.23.2014 - 2:35 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "If NASCAR wants to be taken seriously, it needs to stop acting like the Daytona 500 is the Super Bowl and executing Roman gladiator cliches which make it look like NASCAR is all about decadence and the decline of American society than anything else..." Today's pre-race was total garbage, but I'm really not looking forward to seeing what they do at the beginning of the new Homestead "Winner Take All" Super Bowl race. That one is probably gonna be horrid. 605. Destroyahirismix666 posted: 02.23.2014 - 2:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) NicoRosbergFan posted: 02.23.2014 - 2:27 pm Daytona 500 is under a TORNADO WARNING!!!!!! Seriously!? NO! Please No! 606. We need more Onion posted: 02.23.2014 - 2:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well, to comment 596, the only thing I can say is a non-sarcastic Amen. 607. Jared McNutt posted: 02.23.2014 - 2:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) That's what I thought. I remember when the 2012 500 got moved to Monday night because of rain. It was very cool since because of how rare that was 608. Schroeder51 posted: 02.23.2014 - 2:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Michael Waltrip is in the Hollywood Hotel? Time to hit the mute button... 609. Destroyahirismix666 posted: 02.23.2014 - 2:39 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Remember in the early 90's when you would have a quick 12 minute pre-race rundown, followed by a rundown of where everyone would start as they circled the track, and then went right to the green flag. It all added up to almost 30 minutes of pre-green flag coverage. None of this 2 hour pre-race show stuff. That is one thing of the early 90's I really miss...that and the car design. Kinda sad, because that was before I was born. MW is back in the booth. joy. 610. joey2448 posted: 02.23.2014 - 2:39 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) How unfocused is Michael Waltrip?? Every single chance he gets, he pops in as a broadcaster! He should be focused on driving the damn race, not acting as a FOX broadcaster! C'mon man! 611. We need more Onion posted: 02.23.2014 - 2:41 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I have an idea. Place Mikey back in his car, glue the window net up and tell him that the sponsor wants him to change some "Peak Motor Oil" in his "Camry". That would be what I'd call entertainment. 612. Jared McNutt posted: 02.23.2014 - 2:42 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Michael Waltrip makes Darrell tolerable. Good god he's terrible 613. murb posted: 02.23.2014 - 2:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I have an idea. Place Mikey back in his car, glue the window net up and tell him that the sponsor wants him to change some "Peak Motor Oil" in his "Camry". That would be what I'd call entertainment." He's The Huckster, so he would surely do it. 614. murb posted: 02.23.2014 - 2:48 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Great, and now it's "Jimmie Johnson = Michael Jordan" stuff? What happened to the old rain delays where we got interviews with every driver? 615. TS1420 posted: 02.23.2014 - 2:48 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Oh god. Another "Nap-Time Is The Greatest Sports Being Ever" fluff piece 616. TS1420 posted: 02.23.2014 - 2:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Oh ffs! More JJ fellating. *fills Donny Lia bucket* 617. SpeedWorld97 posted: 02.23.2014 - 2:52 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) "When this rain was expected in advance, you'd think NASCAR could have cut out the garbage one hour intro like they usually do for most races, right? That Roman gladiator music backing the driver introductions made me want to turn the race off, and the pre-race concert was a tacky, stupid idea too. Start the race at 12:15 or 12:30 instead of 1:15 or 1:30 and it might be almost half over already... If NASCAR wants to be taken seriously, it needs to stop acting like the Daytona 500 is the Super Bowl and executing Roman gladiator cliches which make it look like NASCAR is all about decadence and the decline of American society than anything else... And they could have gotten more racing in too. Not that anybody except Kyle Busch seems to actually be racing." I thought the same exact thing too. I guess NASCAR cares more about satisfying its celebrity guests and partners than getting one of the biggest auto races of the year in before the rain. Pictures of the track from this morning showed sunny skies, and NASCAR clearly knew for days that there would be a good chance of rain today. Yet they didn't change a thing to prevent this... 618. TS1420 posted: 02.23.2014 - 2:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Oh jeez. "I'm going for 7 because that was Ricky's favorite number" More sympathy baiting from Johnson. 619. murb posted: 02.23.2014 - 2:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Rain has picked up for now, but it definitely looks like it will move through and we will get this thing in in a few hours. 620. murb posted: 02.23.2014 - 2:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Why are they just replaying the pre-race show? They had one interview with Keselowski and that's it. Ridiculous. 621. NicoRosbergFan posted: 02.23.2014 - 2:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I wasn't kidding with the tornado warning. 622. Destroyahirismix666 posted: 02.23.2014 - 2:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) MW, do you feel ashamed for your pre-race actions yet? 623. JRacingFast posted: 02.23.2014 - 2:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Alright guys....To help cure my boredum ive decided im going to watch an old Daytona 500 on youtube Do i wanna watch 2002,2005,2001,1991,1987,are an older one? 624. Schroeder51 posted: 02.23.2014 - 2:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Are they SERIOUSLY replaying Michael Waltrip's pre-race "interviews"? All I've seen so far during this rain delay is more "Austin Dillon is the new Intimidator" hype, more "JIMMIE IS THE GREATEST EVER!" hype, and Michael Waltrip. Why the hell are we not interviewing the drivers?! I thought FOX's coverage was bad enough last year, but I think it might have actually gotten worse this year. I didn't think that was possible, but I am already willing to admit I thought wrong. 625. NicoRosbergFan posted: 02.23.2014 - 3:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Why is ESPN the one that is leaving?! 626. We need more Onion posted: 02.23.2014 - 3:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Alright guys....To help cure my boredum ive decided im going to watch an old Daytona 500 on youtube Do i wanna watch 2002,2005,2001,1991,1987,are an older one?" You want to watch the 2005 Aaron's 312. If you have not seen it yet, that is a wreck-filled, very competitive Busch race. 627. TS1420 posted: 02.23.2014 - 3:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) So far we've had Austin Dillon & Jimmie Johnson fluff pieces. Danica must be up next. 628. NicoRosbergFan posted: 02.23.2014 - 3:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) If I will getting asked to just orgasm over the likes of Jimmie Johnson, maybe I wouldn't want to be NASCAR Historian... 629. Anonymous posted: 02.23.2014 - 3:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Because unless it's Sunday Night Baseball, football, or related to the Miami Heat, New York Knicks, or LA Lakers ESPN doesn't care. Take a look at the NHL. 630. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 02.23.2014 - 3:02 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "All I've seen so far during this rain delay is more "Austin Dillon is the new Intimidator" hype, more "JIMMIE IS THE GREATEST EVER!" hype, and Michael Waltrip. Why the hell are we not interviewing the drivers?!" To play devils advocate(Ugh, I'm defending FOX), the drivers, teams, and pit reporters are probably all under shelter because of the lightning/tornado advisory. 631. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 02.23.2014 - 3:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Because unless it's Sunday Night Baseball, football, or related to the Miami Heat, New York Knicks, or LA Lakers ESPN doesn't care. Take a look at the NHL. SEC Football and the Dukies take offense with that. ;) 632. RaceFanX posted: 02.23.2014 - 3:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @628 I'll plug Jimmie all they want if they'd give me a historian spot...Also I want access to the archives to find the missing results of those Christmas races at Calder Park in 1988 and 1990 (and 1989 too when it was mainly the Aussies + oddly Rodney Combs). 633. DB1995 posted: 02.23.2014 - 3:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) You guys do realize You don't have to watch the pre-race show right? just making sure 634. Destroyahirismix666 posted: 02.23.2014 - 3:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) JRacingFast: I recommend 1991, 1993, or 2002. 635. We need more Onion posted: 02.23.2014 - 3:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) That last look at the track was very positive, hopefully there will be a race in an hour. 636. NicoRosbergFan posted: 02.23.2014 - 3:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "@628 I'll plug Jimmie all they want if they'd give me a historian spot...Also I want access to the archives to find the missing results of those Christmas races at Calder Park in 1988 and 1990 (and 1989 too when it was mainly the Aussies + oddly Rodney Combs). " First, one must have connections; second, that's not what they do :P It's more about tracking drivers, cars, and records down via super-sleuth methods. 637. Anonymous posted: 02.23.2014 - 3:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I know this has nothing to do with car racing and I mean no offense to him or anyone like him but why is every sports channel making such a big deal about Jason Collins? His orientation has nothing to do with the game of basketball and people should talk about something else besides his private life. I'm NOT trying to start a debate and I am NOT a bigot and hater, I'm just wondering why everyone is making such a big deal about him. 638. TS1420 posted: 02.23.2014 - 3:11 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "You guys do realize You don't have to watch the pre-race show right? just making sure" I think everybody is mad about the fact NASCAR/FOX wastes about 2 hours on pre-race horsecrap when we could have had 2 hours of racing. 639. RaceFanX posted: 02.23.2014 - 3:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @636 I suspected as much. Back on topic to the race... This is Alex Bowman's Sprint Cup debut. He qualified and ran his Duel race in a red #23 Dr. Pepper Toyota but when his teammate Ryan Truex failed to qualify his car was redone as a black Borla Exhaust entry for the race by picking up his one-off sponsorship. 640. Schroeder51 posted: 02.23.2014 - 3:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) As predicted...here's FOX's pro-Danica piece. 641. Cornys posted: 02.23.2014 - 3:16 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) My post #438 from Friday at 11PM EST "On time - 60% Not finished on Sunday / Very Early Monday - 5% Shortened on Sunday - 35% Looks like rain rolls in around or 4 PM EST and sets in for the evening in a scattered form. If the majority of the forecasts are correct and the race is typical it's 95% on time. The accuracy of the forecasts as far as time the precipitation comes in are mostly what is raising the % for the other possibilities." I was wrong. NASCAR never should have moved this race to this weekend. It should have been last weekend as was typical. This is the third straight year that rain has threatened the 500 after an entirely clear previous Sunday. This is the third year that the 500 has been a week later. 642. Unser1 posted: 02.23.2014 - 3:16 pm Rate this comment: (3) (0) Dear GM, An ad about cow sex does not make me want to buy a Chevy truck. 643. We need more Onion posted: 02.23.2014 - 3:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "picking up his one-off sponsorship." I believe that is not a one-off. Borla signed for 5 races. 644. TS1420 posted: 02.23.2014 - 3:19 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) What fluff piece are we gonna get next? Could it be: -Dale Jr? -Michael? -The 1989 Denver Broncos? -Chef? 645. RaceFanX posted: 02.23.2014 - 3:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) You're right Onion, I thought I had read on Jayski Ryan's Borla paint job was just for the 500. I'm wrong. I still like that paint job though. The flaming headers decaled on the side are a nice touch. "Drivers and Danica, Start your Engines"- oh yes, that. 646. NicoRosbergFan posted: 02.23.2014 - 3:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Peyton Manning 647. Jarrett88fan posted: 02.23.2014 - 3:20 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Exactly TS1420, a 30 minute pre-race show makes sense but the weather three out of the last five years has not endeared the Daytona 500 to the general public. The Daytona 500 has acquired the Wrestlemania syndrome, the spectacle overshadows the quality of the product likely due to having to attract more than the niche audience. 648. JRacingFast posted: 02.23.2014 - 3:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) What fluff piece are we gonna get next? Could it be: -Dale Jr? -Michael? -The 1989 Denver Broncos? -Chef? HAHA Brilliant!.....And would you look at that...There replaying the 2013 daytona 500.....Goodthing i chose to re-watch the 2002 Daytona 500 649. WinstonCup4Ever posted: 02.23.2014 - 3:21 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) While we're on the topic of race broadcasts. I've decided to record (with VHS) a boatload of Cup/Nationwide races this year from ESPN/ABC/TNT so I may compare how different (from a typical poster's standpoint: AND BETTER) coverage will be in 2015. I can hardly wait now to make those comparisons. 650. Cornys posted: 02.23.2014 - 3:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) http://forecast.weather.gov/showsigwx.php?warnzone=FLZ141&warncounty=FLC127&firewxzone=FLZ141&local_place1=&product1=Tornado+Warning#.UwpXsDqPLmQ Tornado warning for Daytona Beach has been extended to 4PM. See you tomorrow. 651. murb posted: 02.23.2014 - 3:22 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Yeah, let's relive last year's horrible Daytona 500. Good thinking Fox. 652. Ryan posted: 02.23.2014 - 3:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think Fox/Nascar would rather finish race tonight if they can. All repeats in primetime 653. startandparkfan posted: 02.23.2014 - 3:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hope to go back racing before 5:00. Radar looks promising, but there is a lot of rain on the track right now. I'd say about 1.5 hrs of drying time, and we will probably finish under the lights at 7:30-8:00. 654. TS1420 posted: 02.23.2014 - 3:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Good god! Now we get treated to a replay of one of the worst Daytona 500's in recent history. 655. Pinkie 3.14159 posted: 02.23.2014 - 3:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Call me crazy but I think Jimmie Johnson is going to win this one with Mark Martin third. 656. Jarrett88fan posted: 02.23.2014 - 3:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Danica was practically invisible in the Nationwide Series race and ESPN virtually forgot about her after the first 10 laps. FOX - not so much 657. Ryan posted: 02.23.2014 - 3:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think we go back racing around 5:30 658. RaceFanX posted: 02.23.2014 - 3:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @652 I wonder if that's in response to all the "they deliberately shortened the race" accusations about the rain storm in 2003 when the "300th Episode of The Simpsons" (actually the 302nd) was airing later that night. 659. We need more Onion posted: 02.23.2014 - 3:25 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Good thing that the 2000 Daytona 500 was on CBS, so they can't replay that. 660. TS1420 posted: 02.23.2014 - 3:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "@652 I wonder if that's in response to all the "they deliberately shortened the race" accusations about the rain storm in 2003 when the "300th Episode of The Simpsons" (actually the 302nd) was airing later that night." IIRC, the 2009 race was also against The Simpson's 400th episode. That one was even more blatant. Drivers were just barely out of their cars when they called that one. 661. Jared McNutt posted: 02.23.2014 - 3:31 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) FOX should do replays of the last 20 laps of each 500 that they've done (except for 01). 662. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 02.23.2014 - 3:31 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) "HAHA Brilliant!.....And would you look at that...There replaying the 2013 daytona 500.....Goodthing i chose to re-watch the 2002 Daytona 500" Did NBC show Shawna Robinson running in 30th the entire race? 663. NicoRosbergFan posted: 02.23.2014 - 3:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "That one was even more blatant. Drivers were just barely out of their cars when they called that one. " Right after Mark Martin had said he was going to tandem draft with Jeff and beat the sh!t out of everybody. Didn't know the Simpson's 400th that night. Explains a lot. C*ck and bull! 664. NicoRosbergFan posted: 02.23.2014 - 3:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Which Simpsons' episode is tonight's? 665. WinstonCup4Ever posted: 02.23.2014 - 3:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @659. If FS1 ever revives NASCAR Classics, I could see them then showing the race, or maybe even CBS SN showing the race (They for a while now have been airing old NBA games that aired on the broadcast network). 666. JRacingFast posted: 02.23.2014 - 3:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Did NBC show Shawna Robinson running in 30th the entire race? " No! One interview with her on pit road before the race and so far 10 laps in no mention of her.....Boy do i miss those days 667. TS1420 posted: 02.23.2014 - 3:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "FOX should do replays of the last 20 laps of each 500 that they've done (except for 01)." That would be awesome in comparison to "let's show all 200 laps of a horrid Daytona 500". 668. Destroyahirismix666 posted: 02.23.2014 - 3:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) You know what? If we don't get any noteworthy updates in 10 minutes, I'm kicking my sister off the GC, and I'm going to run a 16 percent Daytona 500 simulator on NASCAR 2005...Because I don't want to re-watch the snooze fest from last year. Either that, or I'll just go fetch some extra sleep. 669. Cornys posted: 02.23.2014 - 3:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) I really don't think optimism is realism right now. The 500 will not be completed today. The radar is ugly, and there's a tornado warning in Daytona until 4PM at least. (Never mind, the tornado warning is now canceled). We're stuck with last year's lackluster race until at least tomorrow. Tomorrow's weather forecast? Same as today, but with rain starting at noon and ending at 9PM. 670. WinstonCup4Ever posted: 02.23.2014 - 3:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @668. Thanks for giving me the idea. My brother and I are going to re-enact the 2004 race finish with Earnhardt Jr and Stewart. 671. cjs3872 posted: 02.23.2014 - 3:42 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Well, one reason FOX replayed the features from earlier today and are now replaying last year's Daytona 500 is because they really don't have much choice. Usually they would interview other drivers, but they can't because it's unsafe for them to because of heavy rain and lightning (not to mention the aforementioned tornado threat). So what they're doing now is really the only thing they can do because of dangerous weather, which was forecasted for today. Remember what happened at Pocono in August of 2012? One spectator was killed and nine others were injured from lightning strikes, so FOX did the only reasonable thing they could have done. And ESPN conducted no trackside interviews during the storm on that day. And as for moving the race back to it's old pre-President's Day weekend. First, the Daytona 500 is now back on it's original weekend, as it was run in late February every year except when that date would have been February 21 from it's inception in 1959 through 1970 (or '71). But when the schedule was cut down, the Daytona 500 and the qualifying race were moved up a week. Also, NASCAR moved the race date back to this weekend because of the potential for the NFL move the Super Bowl back if it expended to a 17 or 18-game season, because if they had not and the NFL did expand the schedule, the Super Bowl and Daytona 500 could very well have been held on the same weekend, if not the same day, so moving the Daytona 500 back was a proactive move by NASCAR. In fact, the last couple of times the Daytona 500 had been held on February 14, it was just a week after the Super Bowl, with some of the SpeedWeeks events overlapping with the Super Bowl, so moving the Daytona 500 back was a good move avoid any potential conflicts with the Super Bowl in the future. 672. jabber1990 posted: 02.23.2014 - 3:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Which Simpsons' episode is tonight's?" 575 673. jabber1990 posted: 02.23.2014 - 3:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) they should show a replay of the 2011 Daytona 500 674. TS1420 posted: 02.23.2014 - 3:45 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Screw delaying it till tomorrow and having the same issues. Let's start this thing back up at 5:00am if needed! A Daytona 500 ending at the crack of dawn would be an amazing sight. 675. Cornys posted: 02.23.2014 - 3:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @674 I'd sign onto that notion. 676. Mr X posted: 02.23.2014 - 3:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Even while the racing was going on I was somewhat struggling to watch the 500 over the replay of Canada vs Sweden Gold medal game(WE WON 3-0!!!) and Jonathan Toews the local Winnipegger scored the first goal, now with the rain it's pretty much no contest, and I definitely prefer racing to hockey. Here's one thing I'm curious about, I'm no expert on Florida weather but in the first 53 Daytona 500's up to 2011 this race was on the 3rd weekend of February, and all 53 of those races happened on race day, and while there were four rain shortened races in 1965, 1966, 2003, and 2009, in addition to some 500's run under a threat of rain or effected by rain in the days prior, 1979, 2006, etc. in the three 500's since the race was moved to the 4th weekend in February, 2012 was the first ever postponed race, 2013 as I'm sure you remember and if you don't look at your TV screen was run under cloudy skies, and now this years race in red flagged due to what looks like enough rain to turn the place into a swamp. Maybe NASCAR should look at moving this race back to the 3rd weekend in February, and the reason why it was changed is a mystery to me, perhaps someone here knows? 677. anonymous posted: 02.23.2014 - 3:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Tomorrow's weather forecast? Same as today, but with rain starting at noon and ending at 9PM." I wouldn't be surprised if we're still here next week and Phoenix may have to reschedule and/or cancel (some of) their race weekend. 678. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 02.23.2014 - 3:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well, I'd rather see her give us updates than Chris Meyers. 679. Cornys posted: 02.23.2014 - 3:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Daytona International Speedway under red flag, with a visible tornado in the background. This from Twitter. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BhL7uqDIgAAweI9.jpg 680. TS1420 posted: 02.23.2014 - 3:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Another tornado warning in effect. 681. TS1420 posted: 02.23.2014 - 3:56 pm Rate this comment: (3) (0) "I wouldn't be surprised if we're still here next week and Phoenix may have to reschedule and/or cancel (some of) their race weekend." NASCAR will probably postpone it until after Homestead so we can have the "Super Daytona November Madness Final Four 500 Bowl World Series Finals Extravaganza" ending the season. 682. jabber1990 posted: 02.23.2014 - 3:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Which Simpsons' episode is tonight's?" sorry, 537 683. anonymous posted: 02.23.2014 - 3:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) "https://pbs.twimg.com" Since when does PBS care about NASCAR? I thought all they cared about was British programming and Elmo the little red monster. 684. JRacingFast posted: 02.23.2014 - 4:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) For those who care.....32 laps into the 2002 Daytona 500....They have mentioned Shawna Robinson ONCE.....And that was for a pit road incident someone else made....Thats unheard of with Danica these days 685. Pinkie 3.14159 posted: 02.23.2014 - 4:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @678 I'd rather have Chris Myers, she doesn't look like a NASCAR expert...or any sort of expert. 686. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 02.23.2014 - 4:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @685, I'm going solely by looks. 687. RaceFanX posted: 02.23.2014 - 4:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @679 Holy Sh*t! I hope everyone in the Daytona area, track and otherwise, is going to be okay. 688. The Long Shot posted: 02.23.2014 - 4:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sounds like the race might not be restarted until 7-8 pm at the earliest. 689. 23andJoe posted: 02.23.2014 - 4:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 683: That has nothing to do with Public Broadcasting System. "PBS" is just part of the Twitter image URL code. 690. TS1420 posted: 02.23.2014 - 4:06 pm Rate this comment: (6) (0) "Since when does PBS care about NASCAR? I thought all they cared about was British programming and Elmo the little red monster. " I'm calling it: PBS is entering the bidding war for the contract after 2022. Play-by-play will be provided by Charlie Rose & color commentary will be provided by Elmo & Barney. The Count will count the laps down "1! Ah-ah-ah!" Sky-Cam will be provided by Super Grover. There will be no commercials, but big chunks of races will be interrupted by pledge drives. 691. Schroeder51 posted: 02.23.2014 - 4:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #690 Sadly enough, I think that would still be better than watching FOX's coverage. 692. WinstonCup4Ever posted: 02.23.2014 - 4:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Just did the Daytona 500. I won as Stewart. My brother finished second as Jr. We are now doing the 2004 Busch race season opening race. Next will be Trucks then the 02 Daytona 500 (I have NASCAR Thunder 2003) 693. jabber1990 posted: 02.23.2014 - 4:10 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) @690 I'd watch that! 694. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 02.23.2014 - 4:11 pm Rate this comment: (6) (0) All hell will break loose when the Cookie Monster finds out that the cookie cutter tracks aren't actually made of cookies. 695. WinstonCup4Ever posted: 02.23.2014 - 4:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This just issued another Tornado Warning according to NWS Melbourne. 696. We need more Onion posted: 02.23.2014 - 4:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) So no racing before midnight for me, meaning that I'd rather go to bed early. Wishing you guys a great race. 697. anonymous posted: 02.23.2014 - 4:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @690 With the rain delay right now, the Sesame Street theme song "Sunny days, sweeping the clouds away" would be really nice to hear, if it can help get the race restarted. 698. RaceFanX posted: 02.23.2014 - 4:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @690 PBS has Motorweek, can't be all bad. And Red Green reruns, Steve Smith is such a car guy even not in character he would make it interesting. 699. Bronco posted: 02.23.2014 - 4:15 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) 2011 was the last great Daytona 500. 700. Pinkie 3.14159 posted: 02.23.2014 - 4:17 pm Rate this comment: (6) (0) "We now go live to Martha Speaks on pit road with our racing vocabulary feature" "Thanks Elmo, Kurt Busch just called a rival driver a "f**ker" over the radio. For you kids at home a "f**ker" is..." 701. NicoRosbergFan posted: 02.23.2014 - 4:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) This race is officially screwed in my book. They'd have to have sand in their sinuses to not cancel this race. With that, I predict the green flag to be thrown at 2:26 AM. 702. murb posted: 02.23.2014 - 4:17 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) This is what Nascar gets for not even attempting to speed up the start time of this race. Just like Sean said. They've known for a couple days that we would probably have rain, yet they still went ahead with having an asinine pre-race spectacle. They could have made an announcement last night like, "Hey, we're gonna start the race at 10 or 11 AM Eastern time, that way we can get it all the way in before the rain comes". We would have been done by now if they had just done that. But I guess that just makes too much sense for them. 703. NicoRosbergFan posted: 02.23.2014 - 4:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) @700: I guffawed loudly at that one. 704. TS1420 posted: 02.23.2014 - 4:18 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Sadly enough, I think that would still be better than watching FOX's coverage." Elmo & Barney would be more serious of commentators than The Waltrip Bros Circus. 705. NicoRosbergFan posted: 02.23.2014 - 4:21 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Barney: "Now, now, Kurt, that's not being very loving." Meanwhile, Whyatt and his friends can't figure out why a driver's car won't start and enter one of Scott Pruett's children's books to find the word "ignition." 706. TS1420 posted: 02.23.2014 - 4:21 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "But I guess that just makes too much sense for them." The BZF Era of NASCAR and making sense is like oil and water. 707. Schroeder51 posted: 02.23.2014 - 4:24 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I'd actually watch a PBS broadcast of NASCAR...as long as Big Bird and Oscar are commentators. Also, gotta have Kermit the Frog as one of the pit reporters. 708. anonymous posted: 02.23.2014 - 4:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Curious George would probably be a mascot of some kind, and any pre-race spots of a driver's hometown would probably use the Mister Rogers' Neighborhood theme song in the background. 709. TS1420 posted: 02.23.2014 - 4:25 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Barney: I love you Kurt. Kurt Busch: **** off and die you stupid ****ing purple piece of **** PBS: *We are experiencing technical difficulties* 710. Schroeder51 posted: 02.23.2014 - 4:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Thomas the Tank Engine can also be there to tell us how each of the drivers is "Really Useful" in their own certain ways. Like I said, it'd be more entertaining than hearing the Waltrips... 711. BluesTravelerFan posted: 02.23.2014 - 4:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I know you guys are a bit down with the rain delay. I have a good cure. Study up on some computer models, that's what I do. Currently I'm studying the Decker model, which is pretty good. But you can't go too wrong with the Biel model as well. Any way you go though, you can find a good use for your technology. 712. NicoRosbergFan posted: 02.23.2014 - 4:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Robby Gordon: "I don't know about him. Mikey's a nice guy and all that; we've never had any trouble; and well... HE'S A PIECE OF SH*T!!!!" Mr. Rogers: "Now, Robby, that's not loving your neighbor." 713. Destroyahirismix666 posted: 02.23.2014 - 4:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) God, what has this forum mutated/devolved into? 714. I Have No Clue posted: 02.23.2014 - 4:31 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) "God, what has this forum mutated/devolved into? " The Lawrence Welk Show 715. Cornys posted: 02.23.2014 - 4:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I love racing reference. The PBS commentary is great :). 716. NicoRosbergFan posted: 02.23.2014 - 4:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) As a postlude to my @714, I once had a dream that Nintendo made a new Legend of Zelda game. The final boss was... Lawrence Welk 717. TS1420 posted: 02.23.2014 - 4:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "God, what has this forum mutated/devolved into?" Rain delay entertainment. Better than what FOX has been giving us (Fluff pieces telling us how great and awesome Austin Dillon, Jimmie Johnson & Danica Patrick are. A focus on Clowny Fraudtrip. A replay of one of the worst Daytona 500's ever) 718. startandparkfan posted: 02.23.2014 - 4:35 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) How long until the race starts do you think? I may head out and I want to know if may miss any action. Are they drying the track yet? And if so, how long does it take? Anyway, this is what I think NASCAR on PBS would look like. 3 Wide! Coming to 5 laps to go, this will be an amazing finish! Contact is made! *coverage cuts out* Isn't that a great race? To see more of it, donate money to PBS and receive this free umbrella and tote bag! 719. Schroeder51 posted: 02.23.2014 - 4:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I actually saw a comment on NASCAR.com that honest to goodness made me laugh, which is rare: "Who needs an umbrella when we could all stand under Austin Dillon's cowboy hat." 720. JRacingFast posted: 02.23.2014 - 4:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Rain Delays really do bring out the fun/crazy in all of us with what i just read jesus christ haha btw 74 laps into the 2002 daytona 500 the Shawana Robinson count is......2 721. Destroyahirismix666 posted: 02.23.2014 - 4:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) ...I think I'm going to take a nap...the Larwence Welk show has... I can't even make a full sentence anymore, my brain is being broken by FOX's Dillon/Johnson/Danica worship, and the insanity this forum has become! 722. RaceFanX posted: 02.23.2014 - 4:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) All the PBS stuff reminds me of that NASCAR/My Little Pony crossover fic I stumbled into once. Alongside a lot of Brian France jokes it included Kurt Busch getting his mind screwed up by one of the equines, Jimmie Johnson getting trolled hard repeatedly by another, and then really went into the weird zone when Delma Cowart and Phil Barkdoll showed up. 723. NicoRosbergFan posted: 02.23.2014 - 4:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Oh, sure! Knock it all you want! But I bet you're laughing, right? 724. RaceFanX posted: 02.23.2014 - 4:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @721 It'll go up after her backstretch spin. 725. jabber1990 posted: 02.23.2014 - 4:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) does anybody happen to know how commericals work? if (one of) my (fictional) Company XYZ incorporated paid for a commercial during the race are they still going to air it? what if they air all their commercials now, will they run out of them later? 726. TS1420 posted: 02.23.2014 - 4:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) You know, FOX kinda has been like the Land of Make-Believe from Mr. Rogers. -Austin Dillon is the next Intimidator. -Jimmie Johnson is The Greatest Athlete of All-Time (Donovan McNabb objects!) -Danica Patrick is a good driver. -The 2013 Daytona 500 is a good race that people want to see again. 727. murb posted: 02.23.2014 - 4:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) They are hoping for a 6 PM restart, apparently. 728. RaceFanX posted: 02.23.2014 - 4:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @726 Would you rather have reruns of "The Day" focusing on Earnhardt's death or "The 10: Best Racing Comebacks" with Kyle Busch coming through the field at Vegas at #7 and Ernie Irvan fighting back from damn near dying as "honorable mention." 729. The Long Shot posted: 02.23.2014 - 4:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Folks, I may know nothing about racing itself, but you don't spend 13 years in the broadcasting business without picking up a few racing cliches, and the one I'm choosing to use today is that in order to finish first, you must first finish. To analyze what this cliche means to the racing at Daytona, we'll bring in our analysts, Elmo and Barney. Guys?" "THANK YOU, MR. CHRIS MYERS! ELMO THINKS THAT THE KEY TO RACING AT DAYTONA IS TO AVOID BIG WRECKS CAUSED WHENEVER PEOPLE BECOME ANGRY. CAN YOU SAY IT WITH ELMO? ANGRY! VERY GOOD! WHAT DO YOU THINK, MR. BARNEY THE DINOSAUR? "Ho ho ho, now Elmo, didn't we talk about your constantly speaking in the third person?" "SORRY, MR. BARNEY! ELMO WILL TRY HARDER NEXT TIME! CAN ELMO SING A SONG THAT EXPRESSES HIS FEELINGS ON THE RACE LATER?" "Ho ho ho, of course you can. Well, we don't have to go to commercial now, but it's time for our hourly pledge break, a-ho ho ho. We'll be back with more of our, ho ho, patronizing commentary, a-ho ho, after this." ------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Welcome back to Daytona. Let's go down to our pit reporters. We'll start with Kermit the Frog. Kermit?" "Folks, I've said it many a time: it's not easy being green, and Danica Patrick is no exception. I was talking to her earlier, and after being assured that she would land a spot in the new "Muppet Movie" to be released this summer, she told me that her car was loose entering the corners and tight exiting. Mr. Rogers?" "While it may not be a beautiful day in the neighborhood right now, I know someone who I would like to be my neighbor, and that's Clint Bowyer. Clint's a funny guy. He makes me happy, and being happy makes me smile. Can you smile at your neighbor? Good! Fozzie Bear?" "Ahhhh, wocka wocka! Wocka wocka wocka! Bert and Ernie!" "Thank you, Fozzie. Before we begin, we'd like to make an announcement: we are homosexual and have been for some time. It's not easy to come out, and in fact, we believe we are the first Muppets ever to come out like this. However...*PBS officials hurriedly shut down broadcast*" 730. NicoRosbergFan posted: 02.23.2014 - 4:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Thank you, Fozzie. Before we begin, we'd like to make an announcement: we are homosexual and have been for some time. It's not easy to come out, and in fact, we believe we are the first Muppets ever to come out like this. However...*PBS officials hurriedly shut down broadcast*" PBS would dance with glee at this thought. 731. WinstonCup4Ever posted: 02.23.2014 - 5:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'm about ready to switch tapes soon. Now I'll have two copies of the 2013 race. Though that means I'll have to use my last tape for the Phoenix NNS race instead of the Las Vegas NNS race. Oh well, I'll just buy more since I now have a job. 732. WinstonCup4Ever posted: 02.23.2014 - 5:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) No, I think NASCAR on Cartoon Network/Adult Swim would be better. Benson: Mordecai, Rigby!!! Anchor this coverage right or your FIRED!!! Muscle Man: You know who else likes Danica Patrick!!! MY MOM!!! 733. anonymous posted: 02.23.2014 - 5:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Cartoon Network/Adult Swim is owned by Turner (who owns TNT) and they chose not to bid on the new NASCAR contract, so that won't happen. 734. WinstonCup4Ever posted: 02.23.2014 - 5:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I know, I'm just having fun with the fantasy what if's people have been saying about PBS. Besides NASCAR will still get some coverage with Turner due to Cartoon Network's Hall of Game coverage. I can see Jimmie Johnson being acknowledged on the program for tying a feat set by Petty and Earnhardt with seven Cup championships. 735. Kenny posted: 02.23.2014 - 5:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hey there was one of you guys on hear who said he was from Melbourne and witch one of you guys was that? Well who ever you are um FYI I'm moving back down there sometime soon(like to cocoa) 736. RaceFanX posted: 02.23.2014 - 5:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I miss Turner, "The Following is a presentation of TBS Sports." Ironically the only channel to actually mix NASCAR and cartoons was FOX. Before they had the television rights they had a Saturday morning cartoon called "NASCAR Racers"...the less said about it the better (although the second and final season was much better). 737. murb posted: 02.23.2014 - 5:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I was like 5 years old when that Nascar Racers show came out. I watched it once thinking it would be a real show about real Nascar, but in reality it was one of the stupidest things I'd ever seen. 738. huckhound314 posted: 02.23.2014 - 5:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I've stopped watching the race by now. Honestly, I don't think they're gonna finish it. 739. RaceFanX posted: 02.23.2014 - 5:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The ultra-diverse heroes weren't too bad, the bad CGI race cars that looked nothing like NASCARs and were weaponized were. The second season had better writing but ruined the cars further by making them super-powered pickups. 740. JRacingFast posted: 02.23.2014 - 5:44 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) There are people on twitter who have been tweeting while watching the rerun of last years race....Thinking its this years race! One was a news station in Texas 741. RaceFanX posted: 02.23.2014 - 5:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Since no one likes the 2013 race, and Shawna's been a running discussion today, check this out from Pocono back in the 1980s... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIEwqTJpWjU It's The Great American Truck Race! 742. TS1420 posted: 02.23.2014 - 5:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) They should have replayed the 2004 Daytona 500 Jr Nation: JOONYER WINS DA 500!!!! Debbie Downer: This was a replay of 2004. Jr Nation: ...... *Jr Nation goes on nationwide gorilla press slamming spree* 743. Comic Book Guy posted: 02.23.2014 - 5:55 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Worst. 500. Ever. 744. Schroeder51 posted: 02.23.2014 - 5:58 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Just heard Mike Joy say that he's has apparently been getting questions asking him why he is referring to Kyle Larson as "Juan Pablo Montoya". This was while they were showing LAST YEAR's race. *facepalm* 745. Destroyahirismix666 posted: 02.23.2014 - 6:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) Either the track is lost for today, or it's going to resume at the wee hours of the night. NASCAR, just postpone the d@nm thing to tomorrow afternoon! 746. Jarrett88fan posted: 02.23.2014 - 6:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The facepalmers thinking last year's 500 was live should receive the Goody's Headache Powder Award of the race. 747. murb posted: 02.23.2014 - 6:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The radar looks pretty clear right now, and it looks like there's a pretty good window. So I'm pretty sure we can get this thing started in a couple of hours or so and at least make it to halfway. 748. SoonersFan posted: 02.23.2014 - 6:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @599 At the rate this is going it sure is looking that way. 749. cjs3872 posted: 02.23.2014 - 6:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Of course Schroeder51, the only caution in this race so far from an incident came as a result of the #42 car spinning out after hitting the wall twice, so the average fan might not have been able to tell the difference. By the way, the tri-oval is looking pretty good, so if there's no more rain, and it doesn't appear as if there's going to be any at this point, they should get the race restarted in 90 minutes. However, pit road could be a bit dangerous if they have to make ay green flag pit stops, and any car that spins in the grass is pretty much going to be stuck there for a while. (Sort of like 1979, isn't it?) And I also expect there to be a competition caution from about laps 65-70, which would be 25 laps after the restart, whenever it happens. 750. JRacingFast posted: 02.23.2014 - 6:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Landon Cassill getting interviewed! 751. Peter posted: 02.23.2014 - 6:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) How many times are they gonna promote that damn movie? 752. Schroeder51 posted: 02.23.2014 - 6:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Now they're showing the "Top 10 Feuds"... Interestingly enough, the '93 Budweiser 500, the race where Jeff Gordon wrecked DW, has yet to turn up on Youtube. I've been wanting to see that particular race for a long time; it's the last time Dale Sr. won at Dover. Maybe someday it'll turn up. 753. murb posted: 02.23.2014 - 6:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) lol, Harvick vs Rudd. 754. luigistarted06 posted: 02.23.2014 - 6:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Any news on when the race may go green? Then local news took over here 755. Schroeder51 posted: 02.23.2014 - 6:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "He's got that little yap-yap mouth. I couldn't tell what he was saying." One of the greatest and truest NASCAR quotes ever, courtesy of the Rooster himself, Ricky Rudd. 756. Rusty posted: 02.23.2014 - 6:44 pm Rate this comment: (3) (0) Michael Waltrip tried to get a kiss from 50 Cent. This guy is the biggest clown I've ever seen, seriously get him off my TV. 757. Taylor posted: 02.23.2014 - 6:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ugh rain delays are so boring! 758. SpeedWorld97 posted: 02.23.2014 - 6:56 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Michael Waltrip tried to get a kiss from 50 Cent. This guy is the biggest clown I've ever seen, seriously get him off my TV." Michael Waltrip thinks everyone is in love with him, kind of like how he is in love with himself. 759. Rusty posted: 02.23.2014 - 7:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) Bobs Burgers time 760. anonymous posted: 02.23.2014 - 7:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) FOX is going to their "Animation Domination" block right now. I'll turn the TV back on when/if the race restarts. 761. jabber1990 posted: 02.23.2014 - 7:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Chris Myers: "in the mean time enjoy Bobs Burgers" me: "don't mind if I do!" 762. JRacingFast posted: 02.23.2014 - 7:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The race is gonna resume at 8:30 eastern 7:30 Central!....Sunday Night Nascar! 763. joey2448 posted: 02.23.2014 - 7:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It's amazing some of the people out there that believe the broadcast of last year's race was THIS year! Lol, there were people tweeting stuff like, "look at Danica go! She's in third place! #GirlPower!" And, apparently, some news outlets were duped! I saw a screenshot of Fox News pronouncing Jimmie Johnson as a three-time winner of the 500! Although, that may have been a photoshopped pic... 764. Willy Doo Doo posted: 02.23.2014 - 7:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'm really excited about this race restarting. I love it when races restart. 765. Ryan posted: 02.23.2014 - 7:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 8:30 restart 766. Schroeder51 posted: 02.23.2014 - 7:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) To quote Charlie Brown, "Good grief!" To actually think that the replay of last year's race was THIS year's race boggles my mind. That requires you to not even bother noticing that ticker at the bottom of the screen telling you that the race is in a rain delay. Are people honest to goodness this blind? 767. Destroyahirismix666 posted: 02.23.2014 - 7:40 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Webmaster, thanks so much for putting up with all this. From all the crazy changes, to the near-instant updates of race stats and set-up of new pages. Driver Pages, Track Pages, Year Pages, setting up information on cancelled races, unlisted races, races that didn't earn points. Oh, don't get me started on points. From 2003 to 2014 we've gone through 6 or 7 noteworthy changes to the points. How many times have you had to calculate those things up. Then getting the images, updating the 'most recent race' sections, hyper-linking everything, approving the comments. oh god, the comments, and all the INSANITY that goes on here! I feel for you man, I really do. If there was anything I could do, I would. 768. startandparkfan posted: 02.23.2014 - 7:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 8:30!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank god, I would have gone insane. 769. Destroyahirismix666 posted: 02.23.2014 - 7:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yes, people nowadays are honest-to-goodness that blind. 770. anonymous posted: 02.23.2014 - 7:43 pm Rate this comment: (2) (1) I have a theory: Brian France said he wants more nighttime races, so he probably moved the Daytona 500 back a week because he knows it always rains in Daytona the last Sunday in February. He wants the Daytona 500 to be an annual night race, but to avoid any more "WHY DID YOU CHANGE TRADITION" comments, he still has it planned to start at 1PM, but he knows it's going to rain during the day, thus forcing the Daytona 500 to be a night race. Long story short, I think Brian France had this 6 hour delay planned from the start. 771. TS1420 posted: 02.23.2014 - 7:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sometimes I think the movie Idiocracy was a true glimpse at our future. 772. cjs3872 posted: 02.23.2014 - 7:48 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) I hope nobody on here takes this the wrong way, but the mere fact that fans (and affiliates) could be so confused by watching a replay of last year's race says something about them. I knew that we were watching a replay of last year's race starting at about 3:45, because FOX could do little else for time fill, since it was far too dangerous to go out and interview the drivers when there were tornado warnings on at least two different occasions during the replay of the race. And I think most intelligent fans that were watching also knew this. But the fact that so many could be duped like that says something about those that watch this race, and probably don't watch any other race on the NASCAR circuit. Being confused about who's driving the #42 car is one thing, especially when it finds the same old misfortune, but being confused about what year's race you're watching is something else. The fact that most of the paint jobs aren't the same should be some giveaway right there, and there are virtually too any to mention, but the mot obvious are those of Danica Patrick (a pink stripe though the center of the car in the 2014 Daytona 500) and Brad Kselowski (a white car instead of the blue one he ran last year. And those are just two examples of many. 773. Schroeder51 posted: 02.23.2014 - 7:50 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) This is like the 100th anniversary of the Titanic sinking a couple of years ago where tons of people took to Twitter revealing that they were astonished to learn the Titanic really existed as they thought it was just a made-up movie. It never ceases to amaze me how dense and naive some people out there can truly be. 774. RaceFanX posted: 02.23.2014 - 8:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @771 In that case when's Monday Night Rehabilitation coming on? 775. startandparkfan posted: 02.23.2014 - 8:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wait, does the webmaster really read all the comments and approve them? If so, sorry for all the crap you have to put up with! 776. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 02.23.2014 - 8:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) What a coincidence, the last few 500's haven't been that great. 2012 was "eh", and 2013 was the worst 500 since 2000 (in my opinion), and this one hasn't even gone on long enough (except for the rain delay, that's definitely gone on for long enough) for us to judge it. 777. murb posted: 02.23.2014 - 8:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Apparently Rick Hendrick was getting congratulatory text messages for Jimmie's "win". 778. Leo posted: 02.23.2014 - 8:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Race is due to resume in about 5 minutes then, is that right? It's 11:25am here. Good thing I happened to wake up a bit early this morning and decided to chance a look at the coverage. Saw that it was raining and have extended the recorder to go all the way through til 6pm tonight! 779. Jim Davis posted: 02.23.2014 - 8:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) " It's 11:25am here." Where's "here"? 780. anonymous posted: 02.23.2014 - 8:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Drivers, Restart Your Engines! 781. Schroeder51 posted: 02.23.2014 - 8:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The engines have been refired. 782. BluesTravelerFan posted: 02.23.2014 - 8:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Let's hope we can get the whole thing ran in its entirety, I HATE shortened races. 783. BradKeselowski2Fan posted: 02.23.2014 - 8:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) How were the first 38 laps of the race? Hopefully better than the Truck and Busch races, right? Please tell me I'm right! 784. Zackary Shawn posted: 02.23.2014 - 8:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "How were the first 38 laps of the race? Hopefully better than the Truck and Busch races, right? Please tell me I'm right!" Single file up until first caution, but the racing was decent before the yellow that turned into a red. 785. Ryan posted: 02.23.2014 - 8:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This is going to be wild getting to halfway 786. BradKeselowski2Fan posted: 02.23.2014 - 8:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Single file up until first caution, but the racing was decent before the yellow that turned into a red." Disappointing to read considering how good the Shootout and, from what I heard, the Duels were. 787. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 02.23.2014 - 8:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Awesome, we're back racing! 788. JG24FanForever posted: 02.23.2014 - 8:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) If you don't enjoy this racing, you're a corpse. 789. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 02.23.2014 - 8:59 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Nice to see Terry Labonte in the Top 10. 790. Ryan posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This aero package sucks right? 791. murb posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Really, really, really awesome racing here. For the 300th time this week, I really like this new package. 792. Drivefor5isalive posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Pulling for Jeff Gordon to get his 4th Daytona 500 win tonight! 793. SpeedWorld97 posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:03 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Great racing so far! 794. Leo posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) In answer to where "here" is Jim, Brisbane, Australia. At work right now, but very keen to watch the race! 795. TS1420 posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This weather has got the drivers up on the wheel racing hard. I love it! Still a line of driver just hanging back waiting for the big one (Stewart, Newman, Bowyer, Bozo) 796. Jarrett88fan posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Damn "The Walking Dead" is on and I haven't missed a premiere episode since Season One. The close three wide racing is indicative of what hopefully will happen the last ten laps. 797. TS1420 posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'd laugh if Baby Warbucks picked up the Daytona 500 as his 2nd career win to go along with his Brickyard 400 win. 798. DB1995 posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I just realized how fast that white deuce looks!!! 799. BradKeselowski2Fan posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I like what I'm seeing. <3 800. Schroeder51 posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Paul "Rich Boy" Menard is out front. 801. Jarrett88fan posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I like many other fans would love to see Texas Terry score one final top-10 finish in his last 500. 802. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 24 apparently in for a planned stop, but I didn't see anyone else come in with him. 803. anonymous posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Green flag pit stops have begun. 804. murb posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kasey Kahne spins exiting pit road, no caution so far. 805. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kahne spins coming out of pit road, looks like we'll stay green though. 806. Schroeder51 posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kahne spins coming out of the pits. 807. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kahne spins out leaving pit road, almost going into the infield course. 808. murb posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle Busch leaves with the air gun, so he'll have a penalty. 809. David posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kahne spins, and Busch drags the air gun out with him. 810. Schroeder51 posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle Busch leaves his pit stall with his air gun. He'll be coming back down pit road. 811. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Oh shit, Kyle dragged the air gun out when he left his pit stall. That will be very costly for the #18. 812. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 21 and 43 are 1-2. 813. TS1420 posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Amateur hour in Kyle's pit again. 814. Jarrett88fan posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) On lap 78, the 21 car led the 43 car in the Daytona 500. 815. joey2448 posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) At one point in that pack, Jeff Gordon and Trevor Bayne were running nose-to-nose, like it was 2011 again! But apparently Jeff wasn't pleased with how Trevor was drafting with him... Man this is like a whole new race! Side by side, three-wide, a huge pack of cars, and guys spinning off pit road and dragging equipment out! I wonder if they're racing like that cuz it's nearing halfway? 816. epzik8 posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This whole day/night has been interesting. 817. TS1420 posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Did Stewart pit on that last round? 818. Ryan posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Trevor Bayne has been driving like a rookie, pissed of Gordon and now almost plowed someone on pit road entry 819. murb posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kurt Busch looks like he has right rear damage. 820. murb posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Damn, Aric gets a stop and go penalty for leaving with equipment. 821. Schroeder51 posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Almirola is getting a penalty for dragging equipment out of his pit box. Meanwhile, FOX is excited as DANICA is leading! 822. anonymous posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:23 pm Rate this comment: (2) (1) Danica Patrick is leading, we might as well start talking about PBS again. 823. NoLongerAnonymous posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:25 pm Rate this comment: (3) (0) Danica Patrick has made HISTORY: she's led two consecutive Daytona 500s while being female. Not even Petty can say that. 824. Schroeder51 posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Now Justin Allgaier is leading in his first 500. 825. TS1420 posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:26 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) "Danica Patrick is leading, we might as well start talking about PBS again." Cookie Monster: ME_WANT_COOKIES! NOT_DANICA_PATRICK! 826. Schroeder51 posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) David Ragan is going behind the wall. 827. anonymous posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Cookie Monster: ME_WANT_COOKIES! NOT_DANICA_PATRICK!" As long as the cookie doesn't have green icing with a number 10 on it. 828. TS1420 posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Now how the hell does Johnson's lucky ass pit 2nd to last and still end up in the top 10? 829. NoLongerAnonymous posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Now how the hell does Johnson's lucky ass pit 2nd to last and still end up in the top 10?" Probably the same way everyone else in the same group is in or around the top 10. 830. BluesTravelerFan posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) How many commercials in this short span is that? 831. MarkMartinFan posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Anybody know why David Ragan is behind the wall? 832. Schroeder51 posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Tony Stewart makes an unscheduled pit stop. 833. Schroeder51 posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Cole Whitt is well up inside the top 10. Great first 500 for him so far. 834. Schroeder51 posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Everyone's favorite driver to the front. 835. cjs3872 posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) In fact Ryan, Bayne did a good job of not plowing into anyone harder than he did (he did hit Kurt Busch slightly). It appeared to me that those in front of him hit the brakes to get under the speed limit, and he went wide about two or three times to avoid heavier contact, and although that resulted in a slow pit stop, at least he has a car to continue with, because it was dicey here for a while, especially with the damp pit entrance. And could Gordon also be upset with the fact that he had to pit before anyone else, and had no drafting partner because he stopped alone. That certainly didn't help his disposition, either. 836. TS1420 posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Issues for Stewart and Johnson leading. That sucks. 837. jabber1990 posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) according to Twitter Ragan has transmission issues 838. MarkMartinFan posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Thanks jabber1990. 839. TS1420 posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Figures we go single file once that ****er gets in the lead. 840. Schroeder51 posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) We're going to have to hear this "Framily Plan" stuff all year long, aren't we? 841. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Annett just showed us a new way to enter pit road, haha Nice save. 842. Mr X posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Boy if this continues we might be within reach of beating Buddy Baker's 1980 Daytona 500 speed record off 177.602mph. We can't be far from that. 843. DB1995 posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Good job by Michael Annett! 844. Schroeder51 posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Michael Annett spins coming into the pits. 845. joey2448 posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Mike Joy just said what cjs has been mentioning all this week, and that's that the Hendrick cars haven't been showing their stuff, and wouldn't show what they've got until the big race....jeez. 846. DB1995 posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And Brad convincingly took the lead 847. TS1420 posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wow. You can tell NASCAR must be wanting to get this race done with. Usually that incident causes a caution. 848. casualfan posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:48 pm Rate this comment: (2) (2) Wait, so the driver who wins this race is automatically in the Chase? Jesus christ NASCAR, how stupid can you possibly get? You win one race and you make the playoffs? So I guess they've finally given up on trying to be a legitimate sport. I just can't even wrap my mind around how absolutely stupid that is. 849. Zackary Shawn posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:50 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) "Wait, so the driver who wins this race is automatically in the Chase? Jesus christ NASCAR, how stupid can you possibly get? You win one race and you make the playoffs? So I guess they've finally given up on trying to be a legitimate sport. I just can't even wrap my mind around how absolutely stupid that is." This was last month's news, bruh. 850. murb posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Kahne's penalty is kind of lame. He sped because he was getting out of Annett's way. 851. NoLongerAnonymous posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:51 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Kasey Kahne expressing anger? That's a new one. Pretty hard to blame him though. 852. Schroeder51 posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Seriously, was Kahne supposed to just slow down and possibly get plowed into by Annett? 853. jabber1990 posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) is anyone else expecting Jimmie to win this race? 854. BradKeselowski2Fan posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) Kahne is being penalized because it ruined NASCAR's chance of throwing a caution so that they could possibly fix the race. 855. MarkMartinFan posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) We need a caution. 856. Schroeder51 posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:55 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) ...the main problem with our planet is IMPOSTER CHICKEN WINGS?! You gotta be kidding me. 857. Zackary Shawn posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:55 pm Rate this comment: (5) (0) The son coming up tomorrow isn't likely? Well damn... 858. anonymous posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) There's more rain coming. 859. TS1420 posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "is anyone else expecting Jimmie to win this race?" In the worst possible way too: Rain-out just as he takes the lead. 860. Schroeder51 posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Clint Bowyer's team is going under the hood. Looks like he may have blown up. 861. BradKeselowski2Fan posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Screw off, rain. We're done with you. 862. murb posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bowyer's done. What's the deal with the rain? Joy fumbled that report. 863. NoLongerAnonymous posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:57 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Nah, Bowyer didn't blow up... his arm just started to itch. 864. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:57 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Joy was trying to say that its not a matter of if that storm is coming, but when. 865. Schroeder51 posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Michael Waltrip is out front. All of a sudden, DW sounds eager for this race to be rain-shortened... 866. BradKeselowski2Fan posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) DW, I don't think 11 years ago is considered a few years ago... 867. murb posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well, hopefully there's no cautions to slow this thing down. If they keep going at this rate, we could probably get most or all of this race done. 868. TS1420 posted: 02.23.2014 - 9:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kenseth gets no love. 869. jabber1990 posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) TuRD engine issues: 1 870. Schroeder51 posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) JOOOOONNNYEEEERRR to the lead. 871. cjs3872 posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) No Mr X, too many laps have already been run under caution to set a new record. There have already been about 20 laps under caution, and 15 during that Truex/rain caution, which had as many caution laps as did the entire 1980 race, and there have been races with fewer caution laps that were run at a slower pace (the 1998 race, which had just nine caution laps, comes to mind). 872. Zackary Shawn posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Apparently the way Junior holds his steering wheel in the turns is called "The Arkansas Handle" and was so dubbed by Ken Squire. #NASCARHistory. (Courtesy to The Orange Cone for this) 873. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Big one. Danica took a wallop. 874. murb posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) There's the big one. Hard shot for Danica. 875. Jarrett88fan posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Crunch goes Bob! 876. TS1420 posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) OH NOES DANICA & BOZO IN THE BIG ONE! *FOX goes off the air* 877. anonymous posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Crashity Crashity Crashity, Let's wreck under caution everybody. 878. murb posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Harvick just ran into Brian Scott to start that. 879. Schroeder51 posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:11 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Of course when Mike Joy says "we've been caution free since we went back to green", we have the big wreck during the commerical break. Hard hit for Danica and several others. 880. Zackary Shawn posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:11 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Feel bad for Menard. Had a good car. 881. NoLongerAnonymous posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Definitely Harvick's fault. 882. Peter posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) So far she's destroyed three cars on the year 883. Jarrett88fan posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It is probable this accident won't be the last. 884. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Looks like she hit about 6 inches before the SAFER barrier begins by the start/finish line. 885. murb posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I hope this doesn't become a wreckfest now. I want to get all 500 miles in. 886. Jim Davis posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:14 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) "So far she's destroyed three cars on the year" You can't blame Patrick for this. 887. murb posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) By the looks of that radar, the edge of that storm MIGHT just miss the track. 888. luigistarted06 posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) David Gilliland and Paul Menard never hit anything, the mud just tore their cars up 889. jabber1990 posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:16 pm Rate this comment: (2) (2) I think Danica wrecked herself, she drove right into the wall now that Michael is out of the race he's going to talk now 890. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:16 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) By the looks of that radar, the edge of that storm MIGHT just miss the track. When Joy was stumbling around the 1st time they showed the approaching storm, he said its more an issue of the lightning being too close to the track than any rain coming from the front of that storm cell. 891. Anonymous posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) "You can't blame Patrick for this." No, but she could have spun the car and not hit the wall 892. Ryan posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Think Danica lost traction in a wetter part of the track causing her to lost control of the car, like Annett and Kahne earlier 893. RaceFanX posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Spin the car into traffic? Eh, it's a racing deal. Shame for Menard, he had such a great run going. Mikey and Allgaier led today too. Looks like Scott might recover though. 894. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:19 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Her right front locked up from the initial hit by Almirola and the car wouldn't turn an inch to the left. 895. Mr X posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:19 pm Rate this comment: (3) (0) I'm glad everyone's alright but please lock the door to the broadcasting booth. 896. murb posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:19 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) The reason Danica lost control is because she got hit by Almirola. 897. MarkMartinFan posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) As long as the race doesn't ever go red, we'll have the DW Vortex theory helping us. 898. Schroeder51 posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Allgaier is still on the lead lap, I think, so he still has a shot. 899. NoLongerAnonymous posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) If I'd never read these comment sections before, I'd find it pretty hard to believe people were trying to fault Danica Patrick for her car being wrecked. She had nowhere to go as Almirola's car was in the middle of the track and the right front locked up as she hit him. I seriously doubt any driver could have been in that situation and had a different result. 900. Jarrett88fan posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Chain lock the doors to the Hollywood Hotel and place a "we're alive inside" sign. 901. NoLongerAnonymous posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Annett and Sorenson both in the top 12. Could TBR be this year's Front Row? 902. Peter posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Go ahead Reed 903. Schroeder51 posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle Larson's bad day finally comes to an end as he spins out and wipes out Michael Annett and several other cars. 904. murb posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Another crash with Larson (who shouldn't have been in the middle of that pack), Annett, and Ambrose. 905. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Cowboy down. 906. Andy posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Reed Sorenson? 907. luigistarted06 posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:33 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Rookie Reed Sorenson" . Really, confusing Juan Pablo Montoya in the #42 is one thing, but Reed Sorenson....its been 8 year man 908. Ryan posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Austin Dillon wtf 909. murb posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:33 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) My mistake, it was Austin Dillon who totally started that. I thought I saw Larson make an evasive cut down to the bottom, but I was wrong. 910. NoLongerAnonymous posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Good going, Cowboy Hat! 911. Peter posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Golden boy's fault 912. JG24FanForever posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Austin Dillon ran out of talent and crashed Larson. 913. Schroeder51 posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kasey Kahne and Brian Vickers in that crash too. 914. jabber1990 posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) what the heck is it with the doors ripping off in recent years? 915. David posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) So much for Annett's chances, his door was ripped apart. 916. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) To be fair, there's been about 5-6 rookies in the Target car through the years including Sorenson. 917. MarkMartinFan posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Anybody blaming Larson for that is a dang moron. 918. TS1420 posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) New Intimidator(tm) causes the 2nd big wreck. ...And FOX goes to the 1,000,000th commercial break of the race. 919. NoLongerAnonymous posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Another crash with Larson (who shouldn't have been in the middle of that pack), Annett, and Ambrose." Larson was actually in Lucky Dog position at the time. 920. luigistarted06 posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Also, 20 seconds after the wreck they cut to commercial. That's just disgraceful! 921. David posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:36 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Cowboy down." I have no idea why I laughed so hard at this. 922. Schroeder51 posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yup. That wreck was definitely The New Intimidator's fault. 923. murb posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jesus, they're worse than TNT with these commercials. 924. Jarrett88fan posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Cowboy hat wasn't clear outside. Kasey Kahne's 2013 miserable plate track luck continues. 925. Jaws_fan posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It's safe to say this is not the day Larson imagined 926. MarkMartinFan posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:38 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) New drinking game, take a shot every time Fox goes to commercial. 927. TS1420 posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) FOX making excuses for Austin Dillon. Pop-pop must have when up to the booth and threatened to take his watch off. 928. jabber1990 posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:39 pm Rate this comment: (3) (0) @nascarmemes said that Dillon was trying to rattle Larsons cage 929. TS1420 posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "New drinking game, take a shot every time Fox goes to commercial." We would all be dead before the end of the race. 930. Paul posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:41 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Brian Vickers is being held on pit road for two laps because he didn't stop on the race track and drop to the rear of the field, per NASCAR's orders, because the pace car beat him off pit road the lap before. 931. Jarrett88fan posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:42 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Fox will find a way to sneak in a caution with 14-12 laps to go. 932. TS1420 posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Fox will find a way to sneak in a caution with 14-12 laps to go." And when they come back from commercial the race will be ended because of rain. 933. David posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Paul! Nice to see you again! 934. anonymous posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) To the people complaining about the commercials. These aren't just the commercials for the race, but the commercials that were supposed to be used for FOX's Sunday Night lineup (The Simpson's, Family Guy, The Cleveland Show, etc...) That's why there are double the amount of commercials as usual. 935. NoLongerAnonymous posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:47 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) DW says it's going to be a Hendrick/Roush/Gibbs battle? OK, in that case I'm picking Keselowski. 936. DB1995 posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:55 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) All that yellow from sprint around the edge makes me think caution 937. TS1420 posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I swear I just saw 4 wide going into the turn! 938. Schroeder51 posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Reed Sorenson up to 4th! 939. luigistarted06 posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Come on Reed! That would be the ultimate upset 940. Schroeder51 posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) HUGE hit for Trevor Bayne. 941. murb posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Trevor Bayne crashes. 942. David posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bayne crashes. That's tough. 943. TS1420 posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) T-Bayne walls it. 944. The Long Shot posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Despite the eternal rain delay, this race has been one of the best plate races I've seen in a while. Good solid racing coupled with underdogs running well. Hard hit for Bayne there. 945. LIkid85 posted: 02.23.2014 - 10:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) How sweet would it be if Sorenson won? #redemption 946. Peter posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) If he doesn't run out of fuel this race is Jr's to lose 947. Jarrett88fan posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Not the final caution as we'll likely see three wide moves up front. 948. Schroeder51 posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yeah, this has been a pretty good race so far. Lots of 3-wide racing and plenty of passing, in stark contrast to last year's 500. A MUCH better race. 949. TS1420 posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) Jimmie needs to run out of fuel again, though this time on the high side by himself. 950. murb posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kurt Busch spins, no caution yet. 951. Schroeder51 posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kurt Busch spins, but for now, we stay green. 952. NoLongerAnonymous posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Isn't it a little early to declare a move of the race? 953. David posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) JAWS. 954. murb posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:07 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) This is fantastic. 955. Drivefor5isalive posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) C'mon Gordon! 956. murb posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:08 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Another big one. HATE that for Terry Labonte. 957. Schroeder51 posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) ANOTHER crash...collecting most of the rookies and underdogs. What a shame. 958. TS1420 posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Gree-White-Checker under way. 959. murb posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:09 pm Rate this comment: (2) (1) Woody wrecks his teammate Newman. 960. JG24FanForever posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:10 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Austin Dillon totally sucks. 961. NoLongerAnonymous posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:10 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Of course a crash would collect most of the smaller teams that are still in the race... 962. BluesTravelerFan posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) DON'T tell me this is going to end up being decided by fuel! 963. Ryan posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:10 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Austin Dillion is a freaking menace, park him 964. Peter posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) That sucks, if Terry had won it would have made the wait worth it 965. Andy posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Elephant Killer causes another big wreck. 966. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Total heartbreaker for Terry Labonte, who was headed for a decent finish. 967. anonymous posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It was the polesitter's fault. Again. This is gonna be a GWC finish, tough for the guys low on fuel. 968. The Long Shot posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Cowboy Hat done wrecked Newman and took out almost all the underdogs. That felt like a punch to the gut. 969. DB1995 posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Dammit ! 970. luigistarted06 posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:11 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Good job Dillon. Idiot 971. MarkMartinFan posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:11 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) That dang rich kid. Kevin Harvick needs to take care of him. 972. Jarrett88fan posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Cowboy Hat has an invitation on High Noon at the O.K. Corral. 973. TS1420 posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:11 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) The New Intimidator folks... 974. NoLongerAnonymous posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:11 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) LOL @ Mike Joy saying "Fiddy Cent" 975. Schroeder51 posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The New Intimidator causes yet ANOTHER wreck. 976. Leo posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Someone mentioned Ambrose being in a wreck earlier. Any news on the 9 car? Out? Off the pace? Running strong? 977. Schroeder51 posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:12 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Mikey is in the booth! (Darth Vader voice) Noooooooooooooooooooooo....... 978. TS1420 posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) More in-car of Jimmie saving fuel. Hopefully his engine won't refire the next time he shuts it off. 979. murb posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ambrose is 24th with damage, Leo. 980. murb posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Dale Jr gets debris on his grille. 981. TS1420 posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) More freak-ass Earnhardt luck at Daytona... 982. Yvan Dubois posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:14 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Austin Dillon has wrecked all the other rookies it looks like. 983. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jr has qualifying tape on the grill for the end of the race. 984. Jarrett88fan posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The Earnhardt Jinx...grasp for straws. 985. NoLongerAnonymous posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Hasn't Brett Bodine drove the pace car for about 10 years now? DW apparently still thinks Buster Auton drives it. 986. murb posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Great race. Congrats to Dale Jr. Best 500 since 2011. 987. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jr wins the 500 while Harvick slides McMurray into the wall and another big crash goes down. 988. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:19 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Well worth the wait. Even with the rain delay, this year's 500 beats last year's easily. 989. NoLongerAnonymous posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:19 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Harvick started ANOTHER wreck as Junior wins. I'm very happy for Junior after he lost races seemingly in every way possible last year. 990. Schroeder51 posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) JOOONNNNYEERRRR!!! But seriously, congratulations to Dale Jr. Had one of the best cars and seeing as he finished 2nd 3 out of the last 4 years. He DID earn this win. Great finish for Jeff Gordon. Hope everyone is okay after that big crash coming to the checkered. 991. David posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) JOOOOOOOOOONNNNYYYYEEEEEEERRRRRRR wins. Prepare for the end of civilization as we know it. 992. Andy posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Best 500 in years. 993. JG24FanForever posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:20 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Best 500 since 2005!! 994. Peter posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Way to go Junebug! 995. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:21 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Now he has 6 1/2 months of testing ahead of him. 996. DB1995 posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:21 pm Rate this comment: (1) (17) f**king son of a bitch!, GODDAMMIT!! This is the last damn thing i wanted to see!, i would rather have f**king Johnson win the goddamn race! 997. murb posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:22 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) That was seriously a great race. Great momentum going into the rest of the year. 998. NoLongerAnonymous posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:23 pm Rate this comment: (7) (0) "f**king son of a bitch!, GODDAMMIT!! This is the last damn thing i wanted to see!, i would rather have f**king Johnson win the goddamn race!" You've got issues. 999. BluesTravelerFan posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) YES!!! 1000. Mr X posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:23 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) So much for Dale Jr never winning another race, congrats to him. That was the best 500 in several years. The start of this season sort of snuck up on me but that's gone, even with the points system I'm really excited to get this season underway. 1001. Schroeder51 posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And yeah, this was DEFINITELY a good 500 overall. Best of all time, no, but it had a lot of excitement throughout the race and was a HUGE improvement over last year's race. Feels damn good being right for once! 1002. Jim Davis posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Did Dillon get a top ten? 1003. murb posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:24 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) JG24FF mentioned the 2005 500, and that's what the finish of this one reminded me of. All the big names up at the front just going for it. Awesome race. 1004. TS1420 posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) JOOOONYEEEEERR!!!!! Great weekend for Ol' Junebug. Hell of a Daytona 500! Can't wait to see this package at Talladega. 1005. Schroeder51 posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) NASCAR.com says The Next Intimidator finished 8th. 1006. LIkid85 posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "f**king son of a bitch!, GODDAMMIT!! This is the last damn thing i wanted to see!, i would rather have f**king Johnson win the goddamn race!" Dude they're risking their lives to entertain us, show some respect you asshole! 1007. Kenny posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:25 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH 1008. anonymous posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Over 1000 comments. Talking about Practice, Qualifying, PBS during the delay, and it ends in a great way. Congrats to Dale Jr! 1009. loomer posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well deserved win for Dale Jr. Definitely had one of the best cars if not the best car tonight. Like others have mentioned, best 500 since 2011. 1010. JP88 posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:26 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Im so happy right now...im in tears 1011. Jarrett88fan posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:26 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Pure emotion, the race could have ended at 4 AM and We would see the same response. Unofficially, Terry Labonte earns a top-20 finish with a damaged car. 1012. David posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:27 pm Rate this comment: (7) (0) The Daytona staff really couldn't have scheduled their renovations at a better time. Now they can let the fans tear down the grandstands instead of doing it themselves. 1013. Jaws_fan posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Can't wait to hear this interview 1014. Anonymous posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:28 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Buster Auton's riding in the car with Bodine tonight. 1015. Schroeder51 posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) According to NASCAR.com, the only other rookie to finish the race other than Dillon was Alex Bowman. 1016. Jarrett88fan posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) No artificial BS or controversy after over 1000 comments. 1017. SpeedWorld97 posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "And, for the life of me, I can't fathom Dale Jr not winning a race at least one more time. But yet, he seems to be cursed in the most ungodly way. 2011 Coke 600, Chicago last year, Homestead Last year, Talladega Fall last year. If anyone needs a break for wins, it's Dale." And he just got one. I am so excited right now!!!! Congrats to Jr. and fellow Dale Jr. fans who have taken so much crap from critics the last few years. Absolutely unbelievable! Awesome race!! 1018. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hamlin didn't have a spotter after the race resumed. I thought that wasn't allowed. ??? 1019. Jarrett88fan posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:34 pm Rate this comment: (2) (1) Crocodile tears Diva Denny...well he is back to his entitled self. 1020. Jim Davis posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Nice finish for Landon Cassill. 1021. Schroeder51 posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:37 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Casey Mears got a top 10 finish. Great run for him and Germain Racing. And yeah, Landon Cassill was just a couple of positions shy of his first top 10 finish. He still holds the record for most starts without a top 10 finish, but I don't think he'll hold onto for that much longer. He'll probably get a top 10 at a plate track somewhere. 1022. Mark N. posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) First person to say he's definitely going to win the championship gets punched. 1023. NadeauFan91 posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Oh my god, I was on my feet those last thirty laps, and to see my boy win it again is beyond satisfying! One of the best 500's I've seen in a long time! 1024. DB1995 posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) Hey!, im not the asshole, my buddy John is im watching at his house and i left my ipod on ready to type up my response to the finish and he is obviously not a junior fan in the least. Im happy for junior (anyone who shows that much pure happiness i cannot help but be happy for them) at least it wasn't Johnson. I was pulling so hard for Brad, but better Jr. Than Jeff or Jimmie 1025. BON GORDON posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:39 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Great finish! Congratulations to Dale Jr. and team #88. Gordon did a great job and finished 3rd. Why is fox saying Gordon finished fourth? It looked to me that Gordon got third. 1026. Jarrett88fan posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:40 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) The Labontes finished 15th and 20th unofficially respectively. 1027. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Nice to see Sorenson, Bobby Labonte and Cassill get good finishes. Also, this is only Casey Mears' second Top 10 since 2009. 1028. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Why is fox saying Gordon finished fourth? It looked to me that Gordon got third. The race officially ended under caution, not at the checkered flag. BK may have been a nose in front when the caution was called. 1029. BON GORDON posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Damn! That sucks! It's only one spot but ugh! 1030. Schroeder51 posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) NASCAR.com says Gordon finished 3rd as well. 1031. MStall41 posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:46 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Incredible race and a great win for Dale Junior. I haven't enjoyed a race that much in years. What a great way to start the 2014 season! 1032. David posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Why is fox saying Gordon finished fourth? It looked to me that Gordon got third." The caution came out before he got by Keselowski. Either way, great way to start his final season. ;) 1033. cjs3872 posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:47 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) By the way, Dale, Jr. set a new Daytona 500 record with his win. This win came ten years after his first in the Daytona 500, which is a new record, breaking the long-standing mark held by Cale Yarborough, who won his second Daytona 500 in 1977, nine years after his first, in 1968. That record had stood for 37 years. Dale, Jr. is also the fifth driver to win the Daytona 500 for Hendrick Motorsports, which puts them into a tie with the Wood Brothers in terms of putting the most drivers into victory lane. Aside from Dale, Jr., Geoff Bodine (in 1986), Darrell Waltrip (in 1989), Jimmie Johnson (twice), and Jeff Gordon (three times) have all won the Daytona 500 for Hendrick Motorsports, who also pulls to within one of Petty Enterprises' long-standing record for most Daytona 500 wins for an organization with their eighth Daytona 500 win. It also marks the fourth time car #88 has won the Daytona 500, as it had won previously with Bobby Allison in 1982 and twice with Dale Jarrett (1996 and 2000). It's also a bit ironic that Jeff Gordon helped push Dale, Jr. to victory, as it put his old crew chief Steve Letarte into victory lane in the Daytona 500 for the first, and probably only time in his career. Also, I've mentioned that the Daytona 500 is getting to a similar time in it's history as the Indianapolis 500 was in the mid 1970s (runnings 57-60), and I mentioned that because of the weather problems they had at Indy back then. But also, it was at about that same time that Indy was starting to get a number of repeat champions. Indy historian Donald Davidson even called it the era of the multiple winners. With Dale, Jr. becoming the third consecutive driver to win a second Daytona 500 (after Matt Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson), you being to wonder if the Daytona 500 isn't getting into it's era of the multiple winners, because almost every winner since 2004 was a first-timer (Jeff Gordon being the exception here), but now we're getting a number of repeat winners, as the number of multiple winners of the Daytona 500 has gone from 8 to 11 in the last three years as a result of three consecutive second-time champions. 1034. jabber1990 posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (5) this post is written to be a joke anyone find it odd that 10 years after Jr. Wins the Daytona 500 he wins again, he also wins the race the same race that the 3 returns? first off the rain delay, there is no better way to make a rain delay better than to give it the winner you want, 11 time popular driver its obvious that Dillon is going to be a wrecking ball, so they gave Jr. the larger restrictor plate and let him win Jr's last win was the first race after announcing the whole "chase" and "Nextel" crap. NASCAR announces a new stupid idea and Jr wins now we've forgotten about the crappy system maybe this was semi-staged by NASCAR. Jr blocked Kesloswki and Hamlin (the 2 likely to stop the NASCAR World Order from ordering) and there we go it has something to do with the NWO, NASCAR World Order I'm sorry the joke was disappointing, it sounded so good in my head 1035. Schroeder51 posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Or at least, it said that on the Live Leaderboard... Well, regardless, I'm glad Gordon finished well. I didn't even pick him to finish in the top 10 in the fantasy game...probably because I was aware of the mediocre finishes he's had at the 500 since he last won in '05 and figured that trend would probably continue. 1036. DB1995 posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Still a great race post rain delay 1037. Jarrett88fan posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Awesome to see a #88 car winning the Daytona 500 again. 1038. RaceFanX posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The biggest name wins the biggest race, this one is good for the sport. Hopefully it will help the ratings and bring in some more sponsor interest. 1039. AutoRockinRacing94 posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It was a great race to be quite honest, in comparison to last year's this one owns the 2013 Daytona 500 by a long shot! Glad to see Junior win the 500. Also, anyone thought of the fact the #3 car turned a Ganassi car (Larson) was eerie? 1040. Nascarman posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wow what a race. 1041. Jarrett88fan posted: 02.23.2014 - 11:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) NASCAR World Order Jabber? NWO 4 Life, too sweeeeettt. In reality, there is no conspiracy if you have the equipment and are determined in situations like this. 1042. RaceFanX posted: 02.24.2014 - 12:00 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Austin Dillon's debut in the #3 somehow still sees him place in the top-10 despite all the chaos. 1043. Destroyahirismix666 posted: 02.24.2014 - 12:01 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I really thought NASCAR should have postponed this thing to tomorrow. I really thought that we wouldn't even get to halfway. I really thought that Biffle was going to win at one point (Which really would have ticked me off after the 2012 fiasco!) And I was REALLY cheering for Jr hard! This was a GREAT race. This is the pack-racing that everyone else likes. Yes, I STILL prefer the tandems, but just how many times did the lead change hands? Good lord, we went nearly 100 laps green, didn't we? And then we had FOUR big ones...reminiscent of 1998 Talladega Busch Race. But man! Junior overcame just about EVERYTHING to win this race. Fitting, because the Daytona 500 I cared the least about when the green flag dropped to start it off ended up with the same winner that my very first Daytona 500 (and first NASCAR race I was actually trying to watch). Hendrick gets back-to-back 500 wins. And cjs gets to say 'I told ya so' to anyone who might have doubted that the Hendrick cars were 'holding back'. Great race. This was a very good way to start off the season. Two and Three wide lap in and lap out. 1044. Aaron posted: 02.24.2014 - 12:03 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) YESSS!! DALE JR WINS THE DAYTONA 500!! It's gonna be a week-long party. 1045. Zackary Shawn posted: 02.24.2014 - 12:03 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Dale Jr. has now done something Dale Sr. could never accomplish. 1046. VoteGillilandNotDanica2014 posted: 02.24.2014 - 12:07 am Rate this comment: (1) (2) Just got home, random thoughts. *Bummed Brad didn't win (but that's any time he doesn't win.) *Bummed Dale Jr. won. I'm a hater. *Pre-race show was AWFUL. Fox isn't even trying anymore. *Why the hell are there still sections of the track that don't have SAFER barriers? They're lucky Danica didn't get hurt, that was a hard crash. Glad she's okay. *Showing the '13 500 was a mistake. No wonder people were confused. If you're going to show a full race while you're in delay, make it a good old one! Darlington '03! *Muted the country music concert. I'd rather listen to nails on a chalkboard. *Did Michael Waltrip come out of the closet on pit road? Not a hater, I'm gay myself, but that was really weird. *Glad this was a good race. I hate when they run single file at the top like they did early on. Hopeful for the July race. *Twice they said Danica finished 8th in her only 500 start. Twice. Liars. *Great top 10 for Mears. Feel bad for Sorenson & TBR, Texas Terry, etc. *These rookies suck. Dillon's a talentless hack, and Larson isn't ready. Kligerman gives me hope. 1047. The Long Shot posted: 02.24.2014 - 12:09 am Rate this comment: (3) (0) That did it. After watching his post-race celebration (doing an Alan Kulwicki-esque victory lap while waving to the fans, then embracing each one of his crew members in victory lane), I'm officially a Dale Earnhardt Jr. fan. You can say what you want about his being overrated. I agree with all of it. However, I dare you to name me one person in the sport today who gets as emotional and excited as Junior does after winning a race. We've talked about how Junior seemed to be losing energy and losing focus on racing over the last few years, but he seems to have regained it all and then some. Add to the fact that he's a genuinely nice guy, is humble, and doesn't intentionally draw media attention to himself, and you can see why he's the most popular driver in the sport. Congratulations to Dale Jr. on the victory. He deserved this one 100%. 1048. Jarrett88fan posted: 02.24.2014 - 12:16 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Exactly Long Shot, Dale and NASCAR are in need of a 2003-2004 season performance from Jr. As CJS has pointed out through the year's the traditional fan base consisting of a large contingent of North Carolinians have not had a native Tar Heel to back for a number of years. Hopefully, 2014 is a career renaissance year in those respects. 1049. SpeedWorld97 posted: 02.24.2014 - 12:17 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "That did it. After watching his post-race celebration (doing an Alan Kulwicki-esque victory lap while waving to the fans, then embracing each one of his crew members in victory lane), I'm officially a Dale Earnhardt Jr. fan" Welcome to the club :) 1050. Watto posted: 02.24.2014 - 12:24 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "You can say what you want about his being overrated." I think people confuse "overrated" with "insanely popular". People make that argument a lot, but popularity isn't based on how good someone is. When it comes to extreme statements (Dale Jr is the best vs Dale Jr doesn't deserve to be in Cup he's so bad), I see way more of the latter. Someone could argue that he's underrated because all I ever read about him are people who literally compare his driving talent to Danica Patrick's. A guy P5 in points being equated with someone who will have a hard time ever finishing 20th in points. In the grand scheme of things, far more people underrate him than overrate him. "Hasn't Brett Bodine drove the pace car for about 10 years now? DW apparently still thinks Buster Auton drives it." Naw, earlier in the race DW and the others in the booth were talking about Buster sitting alongside Brett Bodine when they showed an in-car camera in the pace car. It just sounded awkward if you didn't see that already. 1051. Daniel posted: 02.24.2014 - 12:30 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsor corrections: #30 Parker Kligerman-Lending Tree #52 Bobby Labonte-Florida Lottery #98 Josh Wise-Jet Star Aviation 1052. David posted: 02.24.2014 - 12:32 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I've always liked Dale Jr., and I've never understood the hate on him for his last name. He's not his father on the track, but anyone who actually expected that out of him is beyond stupid. Earnhardt Sr. was one of the greatest ever, if not THE greatest, and we're not going to see another one like him again. Even then, Dale Jr. is a pretty darn good driver in his own right. He's one of the most consistent drivers out there. He may not win often, but he can contend for the title. He genuinely enjoys each trip to victory lane, and I have yet to see an instance of him displaying arrogance off the track. In short, I agree with everything that The Long Shot said. 1053. luigistarted06 posted: 02.24.2014 - 12:38 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Landon Cassill had a great run 1054. Destroyahirismix666 posted: 02.24.2014 - 12:43 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) One last thing, then I hit the sack. (Classes in the morning) Kyle Busch finishing the race running backwards on pit lane: Moronic, Crazy, Stupid, Awesome, Epic, Hilarious, all at once. 1055. Paul posted: 02.24.2014 - 12:45 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) I'm really happy for Dale Jr. He ends a 55-race winless streak by winning the biggest race of them all, and records his second victory in the Daytona 500. He also set the record for the longest gap between two Daytona 500 victories, with this win coming 10 seasons after his last Daytona 500 victory. (Jimmie Johnson set the record last season, with his 2013 victory coming seven seasons after his 2006 victory.) A driver with the caliber of talent that Junior possesses shouldn't go winless in five out of the last seven seasons, so it's good to see him start the year out right by winning a race, which is something that he should be doing more often while driving for arguably the best team in the sport. And with the new playoff system that NASCAR has in place, which benefits teams that win during the 26-race "regular season," I wouldn't be surprised if that #88 team takes more risks to win races now that they likely have a Chase spot wrapped up. Also, it's good to see Steve Letarte complete what will likely be his final Daytona 500 as a crew chief by going out with a win. Aside from the 2011 race when Junior got collected in a late crash, the #88 team with Junior and Letarte have finished no worse than 2nd in the Daytona 500 since Hendrick Motorsports made some crew chief swaps prior to the 2011 season. Although this is only their second victory together as they kick-off their fourth and final season as a driver/crew chief tandem, it wouldn't surprise me one bit if there are more victories in store for the #88 team as this season wears on. I don't know if anybody else picked this up, but the circumstances surrounding the top two finishers in this race were similar to those that the top two finishers in the 1993 Daytona 500 were up against. Junior didn't win a race the previous season (2013), Dale Jarrett didn't win a race the previous season (1992). Junior's last win came two seasons earlier at Michigan, Jarrett's last win came two seasons earlier at Michigan. The runner-up this year was going for the Speedweeks sweep at Daytona (Denny Hamlin), the runner-up in '93 was going for the Speedweeks sweep at Daytona (Dale Earnhardt). And both times the said runners-up were coming off disappointing seasons in which they won just one race and finished outside the top ten in points. By the way, Earnhardt went on to win the 1993 Winston Cup championship. There's a little trivia for you all. Speaking of Denny Hamlin, his 2nd place finish in this race was his worst finish in the last four NASCAR races in which he has competed. (He won at Homestead last year, and the Shootout and Duel races in the past eight days.) Not bad for a talented driver coming off the worst season of his NASCAR career. Shout-outs to some of the underdog drivers who finished very well in this race: Casey Mears (10th), Landon Cassill (12th), Bobby Labonte (15th), Reed Sorenson (16th), and Terry Labonte (20th), each of whom finished on the lead lap. For Mears, it was just his second top-10 finish since 2009 when he was driving for Richard Childress Racing. (Mears also finished 9th at Daytona last July.) Cassill ties a career best finish at the Cup level, which he previously accomplished at Michigan in 2011 while driving for Phoenix Racing. And considering how Cassill's best finish for Circle Sport in 2013 was 22nd place at Talladega, this ten position increase has to have done wonders for the confidence of both the driver and team as they begin their 2014 season in great fashion. Bobby Labonte ties his best finish from last season, which also came in this very race. Sorenson looked great out there, running in the top five on the second-to-last restart and running inside the top-15 for much of this race in his first start for Tommy Baldwin Racing. I hate that the car got torn up coming to the checkered flag, especially since his teammate Michael Annett also crashed, but Sorenson looked really good out there tonight. And in what he has said will be his 32nd and final Daytona 500, Terry Labonte put on a really strong showing, running in the top five at one point for the small FAS Lane/Go Green Racing team, and although he did get some damage in a late crash, Labonte managed to bring home a top-20 and lead lap finish for his single-car team. As a lifelong fan of his, I hope Labonte can give this team its first top-10 finish in Sprint Cup competition at some point this season, and end his Hall of Fame career on a high note. 1056. murb posted: 02.24.2014 - 12:48 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wow, I didn't realize that Paul Menard led THAT many laps. Second in laps led behind Dale Jr. 1057. BON GORDON posted: 02.24.2014 - 12:55 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) A star studded Top six for sure. Twelve championships, 238 wins, and nine Daytona 500's between them. There were also great runs for Stenhouse (7th), Dillon (9th), Mears (10th), Cassill (12th), Bobby Labonte (15th), Sorenson (16th) and "Texas" Terry Labonte (20th)! 1058. Paul posted: 02.24.2014 - 12:57 am Rate this comment: (5) (0) "After watching his post-race celebration (doing an Alan Kulwicki-esque victory lap while waving to the fans, then embracing each one of his crew members in victory lane), I'm officially a Dale Earnhardt Jr. fan." I feel very much the same way. The Polish Victory Lap that Alan Kulwicki made famous will always be my favorite celebration in auto racing, and Junior gained a lot of points from me by celebrating in such a way. I wouldn't have blamed him one bit if he did a major burnout instead, considering how this is the biggest race of the year, but for him to wave to and acknowledge the fans who stuck around all day, almost as if to say "This victory means a lot more with all you people here to share this special moment with me," I gained a lot of respect for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. And with this coming just one day after he owned up to his mistake at the end of the Nationwide race yesterday, in which he offered to provide a new body for Joe Nemechek's fledgling team, it's hard to find anything to hate about Dale Jr. these days. 1059. David posted: 02.24.2014 - 12:59 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "He also set the record for the longest gap between two Daytona 500 victories, with this win coming 10 seasons after his last Daytona 500 victory. (Jimmie Johnson set the record last season, with his 2013 victory coming seven seasons after his 2006 victory.)" Actually, as cjs pointed out, Cale Yarborough previously held the record, as 1968 was his first victory and 1977 was his second. 1060. Zackary Shawn posted: 02.24.2014 - 1:06 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I think that opens are window tremendously (of going for more wins)," Steve says of virtually being locked into the Chase." Doesn't look there will be any coasting or a 25 week test session on the part of the 88 team. 1061. Paul posted: 02.24.2014 - 1:06 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I didn't realize that Paul Menard led THAT many laps." This was the third most laps that Menard has ever led in a Sprint Cup race, (he led more laps at Bristol in 2011 and 2013) and was only the eighth time that he has ever led double-digit laps at the Cup level. So if you're a Paul Menard fan, (which I'll admit that I am, mostly because I used to work at a Menards store a few years ago.) then this was a rare treat for you. It's too bad that he got collected in "The Big One," because he had a pretty good shot at winning this race. 1062. Bronco posted: 02.24.2014 - 1:13 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) No more frustrating runner up finishes where he ran out of time. The 500 finally went to the driver with the best active record at Daytona, and the best restrictor plate driver overall. It sucked that the rain delay lasted that long, but the finish was well worth it. Dale Jr earned the hell of out of this win, fending off Edwards, Biffle, Hamlin and others to capture his first Daytona 500 win in 10 years, and his first restrictor plate win since 2004. Dale Jr joins Cale Yarborough, Bobby Allison and Dale Jarrett as drivers who have won the 500 with more than one team. Winning the 500 twice is significant as Dale Sr only won it once. 1063. SpeedWorld97 posted: 02.24.2014 - 1:19 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I don't know if anybody else picked this up, but the circumstances surrounding the top two finishers in this race were similar to those that the top two finishers in the 1993 Daytona 500 were up against. Junior didn't win a race the previous season (2013), Dale Jarrett didn't win a race the previous season (1992). Junior's last win came two seasons earlier at Michigan, Jarrett's last win came two seasons earlier at Michigan. The runner-up this year was going for the Speedweeks sweep at Daytona (Denny Hamlin), the runner-up in '93 was going for the Speedweeks sweep at Daytona (Dale Earnhardt). And both times the said runners-up were coming off disappointing seasons in which they won just one race and finished outside the top ten in points. By the way, Earnhardt went on to win the 1993 Winston Cup championship. There's a little trivia for you all." That's just creepy. So many similarities that you pointed out. 1064. Ryan W posted: 02.24.2014 - 1:37 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jr's back!!! 1065. Zackary Shawn posted: 02.24.2014 - 1:42 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think of all the years I've been following NASCAR (1999-PRESENT), tonight's Daytona 500 was by far my favorite. 1066. Aaron posted: 02.24.2014 - 2:00 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) That's right up there with the 2004 Sharpie 500 (which I saw Junior win in person), the 1992 Winston, the 1993 Winston and the 2010 Subway Jalapeno 250 as my favorite races I've ever watched. Also interesting to note, Richard Petty's 43 car beat Danica Patrick by finishing one lap more than her to get 39th to her 40th. 1067. MStall41 posted: 02.24.2014 - 2:06 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think I have to agree with Zackary Shawn. That was perhaps the best overall race I've ever watched flag-to-flag. 1068. JG24shouldbe5time posted: 02.24.2014 - 2:26 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Glad to see Jr back in victory lane. I've come to like him the last few years as he went from being the (IMO) annoying face of an (IMO) annoying, especially post Sr., organization. Hendrick Motorsports seems to have treated him like junk, setting him behind Golden Boy, JG and even Kahne. Great way fro Jr to kick of 2014. Glad Jeff ran well, it was good to see him challenging for a win and finishing near the front. My initial reaction is that this was a decent race; a little boring before the rain delay and a parade until about 50 laps into the resumed evening portion...then things got a bit more intense. Excellent finish. 1069. Mr X posted: 02.24.2014 - 2:29 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Webmaster, this is unrelated but I was poking around this otherwise amazing site and just happened to notice that all the qualifying data for at least NASCAR prior to 2007 seems to have disappeared. It seems odd because I seem to remember it being there not too long ago, either that or it was never there and I'm just dreaming, but F1 qualifying data exists at well back into the 1960's at least. Obviously this isn't a big problem, just seems odd though. 1070. joey2448 posted: 02.24.2014 - 2:43 am Rate this comment: (4) (0) I think the best part about the finish for me was the ride Junior took along with fence with the driver's side window to the fans, and seeing that emotion on his face. He was loving every second of it! What a thrill for him. I tell you what, seeing the excitement on Junior's face, it reminds me of the swagger he had 10 years ago. When he won the 2004 Daytona 500 and continued on to win several more races that year, he was rolling around the garage area like he was the baddest thing on the planet, with his ballcap turned backwards and all. That confidence pushed him to eight wins and two top-five points finishes in the 2003 and 2004 seasons. Hopefully we'll see this kind of Dale Jr. for the rest of the season. 1071. b4il3y posted: 02.24.2014 - 3:32 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Happy to see Dale Jr. win... lots of hate will go for this.. but I don't care. He was, as everyone has said, really genuinely happy to win this race. I hope he wins more this year, and does well. Momentum is everything. 1072. Anthony posted: 02.24.2014 - 6:23 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) As a Gordon fan I rather say its a 3rd place effort. 1073. 23andJoe posted: 02.24.2014 - 6:26 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) #30 sponsor: LendingTree #33 sponsor: Whitetail Club #52 sponsor: Florida Lottery #66 sponsor: BlueDEF Diesel Exhaust Fluid 1074. joey2448 posted: 02.24.2014 - 7:18 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Well, Junior lived up to his promise... https://twitter.com/DaleJr/status/437852511039684608 1075. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 02.24.2014 - 7:42 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) To the several posters who enjoyed Jr's Polish victory lap, it was the only option he had to celebrate. The ambulances and wreckers were along the track and the grass was a lost cause after 2pm. I still liked it, especially the fan who was trying to get Dale to pose for a pic as he was grabbing the checkered flag. 1076. Evan posted: 02.24.2014 - 9:05 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) * One of the more satisfying victories I have ever had the chance to see, it had to be! I waited so long for the race get back on and it did! What a way to start the season! What a satisfying win for Dale Earnhardt Jr. and just how happy he was and everyone at the track was genuinely happy for him. Dale Earnhardt Jr. looked like himself tonight and how much he wanted to win the 500 again and a race again. He saw Denny Hamlin in his mirror and he closed the door off, he was not letting anyone by. A great win for NASCAR which needed a win like this after the rains came and a very unmemorable season opener the past couple of years save 2011. * Debut of Austin Dillon in the Cup Series and first time the car number 3 has been in the field since 2001. I am glad it is back, Dale's number is back in Cup it feels almost normal again. * Longest delay in the history of the season opener, 6 hours of storms, tornado warnings and everything else led to s great race. * Longest stretch between Daytona 500 wins, Earnhardt Jr. won his in 2004 and wins 10 years later in 2014. * A couple of other shout outs, Bobby Labonte finishes 15th in the 52 car for Harry Scott, not bad for that equipment. Casey Mears avoided two wrecks and still comes home 10th. Tony Stewart finishes 35th in his first official race back from knee surgery, Tony goes 16 years without a 500 win. * Paint Scheme Debuts Miller Lite(All White) for Brad Keselowski, Dow Chemicals Chevy for Austin Dillon, Jimmie Johnson Lowe's White Reverse, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Nationwide's debut as a car sponsor, Kevin Harvick Budweiser just a cosmetic change the 4 number on the car, Jamie McMurray 1 McDonalds Chevy(different number to differentiate from Earnhardt Inc. Number. Kurt Busch debut in the Haas Automation #41, Martin Truex's debut with Furniture Row, and Danica Patrick debuts her new GoDaddy scheme green with orange and finally Dale Earnhardt debuts a new National Guard scheme that is reminiscent of the car his father raced in one of his many pickup rides before joining Rod Osterlund. 1077. cjs3872 posted: 02.24.2014 - 10:10 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Anthony, it should have been third, but since NASCAR put out the caution for that last lap crash for some unknown reason, it ended up being fourth. But here's something interesting. This marks the first time that Gordon has finished higher than eighth in a Daytona 500 he didn't win in 20 years (he was fifth in 1994). Also, add Alex Bowman (23rd) into that group of drivers that had unexpected good finishes. Granted, his was de to attrition more than how well he ran, but he did wind up finishing the race, which was more than a lot of other top drivers could say. If that ends up being his best finish of the season, I would not be surprised. And by the way, I think it's about time we think about both Dale, Jr. and Jimmie Johnson as among the greatest Daytona 500 drivers of all-time, because with his win, Dale, Jr., has two wins, four seconds, a third, and has led the most laps twice, and Jimmie has put up a stellar record in the 500, as well, despite his six-year lull from 2007-'12. Jimmie has also finished in the top five six times, including his two wins. Jimmie's not quite up to Dale, Jr. and Jeff Gordon yet when it comes to the Daytona 500, but he's got a better record than most think. And this also shows just how bad Kasey Kahne is at Daytona, because he can't even sniff a top five finish, and spun out trying to be too aggressive exiting the pits following his first green flag stop, a problem no other driver had. And I contribute this to the fact that Kasey has never been comfortable racing in confined spaces, which you have to be to be successful at Daytona and Talladega, and which is also the reason he struggles at the short tracks. But he's not the only successful driver that's been uncomfortable racing at Daytona and Talladega's more confined environment. Ricky Rudd and Harry Gant are other examples of this, as neither of them were ever successful at Daytona or Talladega, either. Put Kahne in open spaces, and he's nearly as good as anyone else. 1078. BON GORDON posted: 02.24.2014 - 10:36 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) ^CJS I'd say Dale Jr. is one of the best Daytona 500 drivers ever. Jimmie Johnson on the other hand, no way. I know he has two victories in the 500 but he finished poorly many years in between his two wins. I wouldn't quite put Jimmie in the Top ten of all-time in the Great American race. 1079. NicoRosbergFan posted: 02.24.2014 - 10:52 am Rate this comment: (1) (3) Great run for Junior! I regret missing this one, but sleep comes first. 1080. JP88 posted: 02.24.2014 - 11:26 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) Wow still can't believe Dale pulled it off...but man was that an awesome race. It was cool to see the long-green flag run after the delay and boy did a lot of drivers and crews made mistakes on/leaving pit road. Somewhat to do with the area still being damp for some of those mistakes. Smoke was just invisible yesterday and that was a freaky issue that cost him any hope of even mixing it up in the front. I have a bad feeling he is going to struggle bad this year, like Jr.'s 2009 season. (Hopefully not) Austin Dillon...I don't know what the heck he was doing and fellow ROTY contender Kyle Larson had a rough day. When Jr. got out front I was stoked but man did he have a long time to go to stay up there and I was worried something crazy would happen to elude him of a win. My emotions continued to fluctuate between the constant cycle of him and the Roush duo of Edwards and Biffle exchanging the lead, I was just hoping he could stay in the right position. I knew he had one of the best cars and the way the racing was held back other strong cars from getting straight to the front. But then the cautions kept coming and I was just hoping he was in the lead when they did. I thought Biffle was in front when he passed him and then the caution came out a lap later (I forgot which one, I think Bayne's wreck with 15 to go) but to my surprise, he had gotten back in front. Then when he decided to start on the outside with Sorenson in 4th, I was going nuts wondering why the everyone on that 88 team would decide that but he got a great start and pulled off the only move that would have worked or else he may have finished in the teens. Then came the final restart with 2 to go...I was so nervous. Jr had held off everyone for the last 15 laps but now Brad had Kyle and Denny with him and Jr. was with Jeff on the bottom... Then he hit the bear bond!!! Me and my dad just turned and looked at each other with the "Are you f'in kidding me, this is how he's going to lose the Daytona 500" look. It was the 1991 Daytona 500 all over again when Sr. hit the seagull. I knew he had to clear the outside and get in lane blocking mode like he had been but the best cars had made it to the front and when I saw Hamlin go low in 4 coming to the white flag, I thought that could be the winning move. Thankfully Stenhouse did an excellent job of breaking the momentum of the high line by shuffling Kyle out of the way and by the time the hit the backstretch I knew as long as Brad did get close enough to side draft Jr. that he had it. Then Denny inched closer and got the final bump off of 4 by Jeff and I was just holding my breath that he didn't get along side him and break my heart by beating Jr. to the line ala 2007. But cars wrecked off of 4 and Jr. took the 500!!! I was jumping up and down doing my best Daniel Bryan impersonation as my dad gave me a high-five. I was jumping so high I knocked a small picture over on the end table and I began to shake and shed tears of joy as I watched Dale go nuts celebrating during his victory lap. Man what a night I'll never forget. My grandmother passed away last Thursday and my uncle (who is a big Jr. fan as well) came up from Florida and he told me that Jr. would win for my Nonna, and it just feels so good to have this feeling of joy when I really needed it. It had to be the best race I've ever watched him run...the determination, the heart, the will to win. This was more than just a race for me. Thank you Dale for racing your a** off. 2014 DAYTONA 500 CHAMPION!!! YES!!! YES!!! YES!!! 1081. StenhouseFan17 posted: 02.24.2014 - 12:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #98 Josh Wise had Victory Junction on the car for the race. 1082. Jarrett88fan posted: 02.24.2014 - 1:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) All should be right with the world at least in NASCAR with Jr's Daytona 500 win and in WWE with Hulk Hogan returning to Monday Night Raw after a six year stint in TNA. Whatca going to do Green Bay when all the little and big Hulkamaniac run wild on you brother! Add Ric Flair and the return of the Undertaker to coincide with this two day stroll down nostalgic boulevard. 1083. Nascar Lead Lap Points posted: 02.24.2014 - 1:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsor Updated 98 Jetstar Aviation/Victory Junction/Curb Records 15 5 Hour Energy/Walgreen's 1084. brownsblue45 posted: 02.24.2014 - 2:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) AJ Allmendinger ran well for 86 laps before losing his brakes (cracked right-rear caliper, causing him to lose 7 laps in the pits, falling all the way to the 40th position on Lap 140. However, the #47 team salvaged a P26 thanks to multiple sizable wrecks. 1085. Edwards99 posted: 02.24.2014 - 3:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The first time Carl Edwards led laps in the 500! The 8 laps he led is more than in his previous 18 starts at Daytona combined and then doubled. 1086. joey2448 posted: 02.24.2014 - 4:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This is just a little nitpicking thing I have with the broadcasts, but does anyone else get annoyed when the winner crosses the finish line and the TV switches to the camera that's positioned right near the finish line, on the fence? In the Nationwide and Truck races this weekend (both photo finishes), the live shot of the cars taking the checkers was that camera on the fence, immediately past the flag stand! The reason I'm complaining is because it doesn't show a good enough angle of the cars crossing the line. It's alright, but when Regan Smith barely edged Keselowski in Saturday's 300, it was hard to see who beat who, since that was a bad angle. I wish the broadcasters would use a camera set up on the roof right at the start-finish line, like they always have. Again, that's just a minor annoyance of mine. Nothing I'm killing myself over :) 1087. cjs3872 posted: 02.24.2014 - 4:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) BON GORDON, I wouldn't put Jimmie among the top ten Daytona 500 drivers of all-time, but he's closer than you might think, given his overall record, which is what I base it on. In fact, I'm not sure I would rank Dale, Jr., despite two wins and four second place finishes, among the top ten, either. And if you think that length of time between good finishes for Jimmie in the 500 affects his all-time standing in the race, then would you say that Gordon's even longer length of time between his last good finish, his 2005 win, and last night's fourth-place finish (which should have been third) adversely affect his standing when it comes to the greatest drivers in Daytona 500 history. There were seven years between good finishes for Jimmie, while there were nine years between good finishes for Gordon. If anything, the one thing that would adversely affect Gordon's standing among the Daytona 500's greats is the fact that, in 22 races, he's never once led the most laps in a race. The one thing that might adversely affect Jimmie's standing is the fact that he's only won one qualifying race, compared to three for Dale, Jr. and five for Gordon. I will say this. Late in last night's race, Darrell Waltrip echoed the sentiments of Jackie Stewart back in 1976 when he said that the drivers that were battling for the win were doing so, partially because they know how to win these big races, something Stewart said in 1976, because before that race even started, he predicted that it would be a battle between Richard Petty and David Pearson, even though neither driver had showed signs all week that they would be the ones batting to win that Daytona 500, and he later said that he made that prediction because they knew how to win. And speaking of that, I knew it was for a brief time during the first round of green flag pit stops, but for one brief moment, it was 1976 all over again with the 21 and 43 running 1-2 at Daytona before both had problems on the same set of pit stops, and neither Trevor Bayne, the driver of the 21 car and the 2011 winner, or Aric Almirola, the driver of the 43 car, ever recovered, and both ended up crashing. 1088. Daniel posted: 02.24.2014 - 4:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Go Gordon! 1089. murb posted: 02.24.2014 - 5:19 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Since it is being discussed, here are my Top Ten Daytona 500 Drivers of All Time. 1. Richard Petty 2. Cale Yarborough 3. Bobby Allison 4. Dale Earnhardt (Yeah, he only won one, but his history with the race is obvious.) 5. Jeff Gordon 6. Dale Jarrett 7. David Pearson (A lot like Earnhardt. Only won one, but was involved in several defining moments for the race.) 8. Bill Elliott 9. Sterling Marlin 10. Dale Earnhardt Jr (Not only because of multiple wins, but I also think all of his runner ups.) Honorable Mentions: Jimmie Johnson, Ernie Irvan, Darrell Waltrip, Buddy Baker, Kevin Harvick (a lot of people forget, but he easily could be a three time winner had things gone a bit different in 2009 and 2010). 1090. murb posted: 02.24.2014 - 5:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) About Jr, I meant to say "I think all of his runner ups mean something". 1091. Aframe43 posted: 02.24.2014 - 5:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) No mention of Tony Stewart, who has countless wins at Daytona (yet, Ernie Irvan gets a mention?) 1092. Aframe43 posted: 02.24.2014 - 5:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Never mind, didn't see you specified Daytona 500. Whoops! 1093. 23andJoe posted: 02.24.2014 - 6:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #30 sponsor: LendingTree (no space) 1094. 23andJoe posted: 02.24.2014 - 6:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #40 owner: Mike Hillman 1095. Daniel posted: 02.24.2014 - 6:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 46 entered at Phoenix: -Travis Kvapil in the #32 -Blake Koch in the #35 -Joe Nemechek in the #66 -Morgan Shepherd in the #87 -#21, #52, #93 not entered 1096. joey2448 posted: 02.24.2014 - 6:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Good list, murb. I can't think of anyone else who might be higher than those 10...Harvick is definitely an honorable mention, because even though he has only one win in the big race, he always seems to be in contention every year. And perhaps someone you missed on the honorable mention list is Fireball Roberts? I would include him. 1097. murb posted: 02.24.2014 - 7:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "And perhaps someone you missed on the honorable mention list is Fireball Roberts? I would include him." Yeah, if I had to pick a couple of the "pioneer" type guys, he and Lee Petty would have been my choices. I just went with all those guys because they've all been crucial to the growth of the 500 as a race. Plus, I admittedly don't know as much about the 50s and 60s era. I'll have to brush up on that this year. 1098. Ryan posted: 02.24.2014 - 8:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Was going to get worked up about NNS Quals being on FS2, but then saw only 40 on entry list 1099. cjs3872 posted: 02.24.2014 - 8:55 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Well murb, Fireball Roberts was so dominant in his six Daytona 500 appearances that he still ranks sixth on the race's all-time lap leader list with 365 laps led, including a two-year record of 314 that will likely never even be approached. That was done in 1961 and '62. Back to the present, was anyone else that posts here upset in any way when Danica Patrick hit a part of the outside wall that did not have the SAFER barrier in that lap 146 crash. I know there's a lot of people that detest Danica, and I don't even like her that much because I think she's a prima donna, but still, the mere fact that her car hit a part of the wall that did not have a SAFER barrier is uncalled for in this day in age, especially at track like Daytona, and she hit the wall at about a 45 degree angle. And another thing that continues that I don't like in plate racing is all these late race crashes. Fortunately, there weren't any real bad ones this time, but the fact that we continue to see millions of dollars of machinery wrecked in these late race crashes when the field continues to be bunched up double-file is disturbing. I think there are a couple of remedies for this on plate tracks. The first is to abolish the double-file restarts, at least on plate tracks, because that is a leading cause of so many cars getting involved in these wrecks, because the track is clogged, with nowhere for anyone else to go, which is a root cause of these crashes, especially at Daytona. Another way to alleviate these continuous late-race crashes is for NASCAR to adopt a version of USAC's old P.A.C.E.R. light system (which was used at Indy from 1972-'78) for the plate tracks, in which the field would be slowed under caution, but cars lagging behind would not legally be able to close up on the leader, which would also negate both the free pass and wave around. Of course, pit stops could change things as always, but you wouldn't have the entire field all over each other with nowhere to go. And at Daytona and Talladega, you would still have cars close together, but not as many of them, since pit stops, as we saw last night, will spread the field out. 1100. Ryan posted: 02.24.2014 - 9:03 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) In Indy 500 news, sounds like Jacques Villenueve will be making a return in a third SPM car per Robin Miller, and Marty Snider expects Kurt Busch to run Indy with Andretti 1101. Dave #38 Fan-Go Gilliland! posted: 02.24.2014 - 9:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Was going to get worked up about NNS Quals being on FS2, but then saw only 40 on entry list" Don't worry, it wouldn't be worth watching anyway. "And the pole goes to (insert cup driver here)" 1102. BluesTravelerFan posted: 02.24.2014 - 9:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @1047 You couldn't have echoed my thoughts anymore Long Shot. I don't have time to give my full thoughts on what has happened (hopefully tomorrow) but what I can say is that almost a full day later it still barely feels real to me, and I'm not even a diehard fan of Jr's. Welcome aboard man. 1103. Eric posted: 02.24.2014 - 9:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think Jacques Villenueve is making a mistake in terms of returning to the Indy 500 as a driver. I remembered Jacques Villenueve in CART and remembered watching parts of F1 races in 1996 and 1997 in terms Jacques being at his peak as a driver. I see two major problems with Jacques Villenueve for the Indy 500. The first problem is Jacques Villenueve turning 43 in April since it has been a very long time he has been at his peak as a driver. I don't know if it was greed, desire, bad equipment, or a combination of all 3 in terms of why his peak ended after the 1997 F1 season at the age of 26. The 2nd problem is Jacques Villenueve hasn't raced in Indy Cars since 1995 on an oval. While Jacques raced in F1 from 1996 to 1996, those cars didn't race on ovals. While Jacques did race at IMS in F1, F1 used the road course part of the track. That means there is a big difference in how a Car in Indycar on an oval is in 1995 to 2014. 1104. NoLongerAnonymous posted: 02.24.2014 - 10:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) One thing is for certain: Jacques' return to Indy can't possibly go any worse than the unmitigated disaster that was Jean Alesi's Indy debut in 2012. 1105. cjs3872 posted: 02.24.2014 - 10:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well Eric, Jacques Villeneuve and Juan Montoya are likely going to find out that racing the Indianapolis 500 is much like a NASCAR race at Daytona or Talladega, because of the drafting, and that might be something neither of them are totally prepared for, though Montoya would be much more prepared than Villeneuve would be. And I'll say this. If Kurt Busch does go to Indy for the 500 and has a good car, he might have a sizeable advantage on most of his competition because of all his experience at drafting, though that advantage would be less than it would have been one or two years ago. If the IndyCars draft in 2014 like they've done the last two years, it will resemble a NASCAR plate race (remember that there were 68 lead changes in last year's Indianapolis 500). Of course, if Kurt actually goes there and somehow manages to win the race, what happens then regarding the Coca-Cola 600, since he'd be delayed substantially by all that would go on in victory lane. If he wins a Cup race prior to that this year, it might not matter, but if he doesn't, he might lose one of his chances to make the Chase as a result. And who would Tony Stewart have in reserve if Kurt can't make the start of the Coca-Cola 600? 1106. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 02.24.2014 - 10:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And who would Tony Stewart have in reserve if Kurt can't make the start of the Coca-Cola 600? The return of Mark Martin. 1107. Eric posted: 02.24.2014 - 11:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) cjs3872, I haven't forgotten how the Indy 500 was for the last 2 years. The Indy 500 for the last 2 years reminded me of when CART was at MIS or at Auto Club Speedway because of the drafting. I compared MIS and Auto Club Speedway for CART to Daytona or Talladega because of the drafting. Auto Club Speedway for CART had races with 57, 73(just in 440 Miles) and 44 lead changes starting 2000 and MIS starting in 1998 for CART has 63,29,52 and 60 lead changes. I think Stewart would have Reagan Smith or Mark Martin as a backup driver for Kurt if he doesn't get back for the Coco Cola 600 in time if Kurt does the Indy 500 and win the race. Also you shouldn't forgot that Montoya had experience in drafting in Indycar from racing at Auto Club Speedway and MIS in CART back in 1999 and 2000. That means Montoya has drafting experience before his NASCAR career. Montoya in 2000 won a MIS race with a last lap pass that had 52 leap changed, but had even more lead changes that didn't count. 1108. ch posted: 02.25.2014 - 12:11 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsor Change: 98 - Jet Star Aviation / Victory Junction Owner Change: 40 - Joe Falk 1109. An Aussie Commentator posted: 02.25.2014 - 1:53 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Gyus, can we just agree that the team owner for #40 is both Joe Falk and Mike Hilman? I have seen it on so many entry list videos. #40 Landon Cassill Hilman Racing (Mike Hilman)/Circle Sport Racing (Joe Falk) So doesn't that tell us that both Joe and Mike own the #40? Anyway, great Daytona 500, won't be watching anything other than highlights for the rest of the season (uni) but I might still scan these comments sometimes. 1110. Aaron posted: 02.25.2014 - 11:54 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) I'm not afraid to admit that I plan on getting quite drunk this weekend to celebrate Dale Jr.'s 500 win. 1111. cjs3872 posted: 02.25.2014 - 12:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Eric, I did not forget about Montoya. In fact, I mentioned that Montoya would be more ready than Villeneuve because of his seven years in NASCAR's top series, where Villeneuve only ran a couple of NASCAR plate races, and he failed to qualify for the Daytona 500 the one time he tried to qualify for it. But Montoya has seven years of that kind of drafting experience from his time as a full-time NASCAR driver, so he certainly has the experience in that kind of racing. And also, as for who would replace Kurt if he can't make the start of the Coca-Cola 600 on time, Regan Smith would be the only logical choice, since Mark Martin was a disaster in the #14 car from a competitive standpoint. As I've mentioned, the only time that car was a factor in any race after Tony's injury was when Austin Dillon drove it at Talladega, so assuming that Stewart would have to choose from only Chevrolet drivers, Smith would be the only logical choice, since I don't see any other Chevrolet drivers capable of getting in such a potentially good car. 1112. Sean posted: 02.25.2014 - 1:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Eric, I did not forget about Montoya. In fact, I mentioned that Montoya would be more ready than Villeneuve because of his seven years in NASCAR's top series, where Villeneuve only ran a couple of NASCAR plate races, and he failed to qualify for the Daytona 500 the one time he tried to qualify for it. But Montoya has seven years of that kind of drafting experience from his time as a full-time NASCAR driver, so he certainly has the experience in that kind of racing." I agree with you that Montoya will do better, MUCH better, than Villeneuve but I disagree with your reason. I wouldn't say the last two Indy 500s were much like recent plate races at all. Modern plate races are all about pack racing, while the recent Indy 500s are about slingshot passes, which are much more like what Daytona/Talladega racing was like BEFORE the plates. If we're going to make open wheel comparisons here, the last two Indy 500s are like the CART Handford device races at Michigan and Fontana from 1998-2002, while plate racing is more like the IRL pack racing at Chicagoland and Texas. Montoya will have an advantage because he competed in the Handford device races (plus he's in a Penske car where inferior oval driver AND inferior open wheel driver A.J. Allmendinger almost won the race in the same car last year), not because of his NASCAR plate experience. Handford Device experience is clearly what's rewarded since the top four finishers in 2011 (Franchitti, Dixon, Kanaan, and Servia) all competed in the Handford races as did last year's winner Kanaan. Additionally, Montoya's contemporaries like Franchitti, Kanaan, and Castroneves have still been competitive RECENTLY, even though none of them in the past couple years had been as competitive as they WERE, while none of Villeneuve's contemporaries are even active (unless you count Montoya, Takuma Sato, and Justin Wilson because he competed against them in F1). "I see two major problems with Jacques Villenueve for the Indy 500." There's a third problem. He really wasn't THAT great an oval driver. He won two oval races EVER - a Toyota Atlantic race in 1993 and the 1995 Indy 500. Montoya by contrast was much better on the ovals in CART... 1113. Anonymous posted: 02.25.2014 - 1:38 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Happy birthday, Davey Allison 1114. jabber1990 posted: 02.25.2014 - 2:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) no offense to Mark Martin but do you have any clue how "rusty" he'll be if he's hired to replace Kurt for the Coke 600 and just for that race? I would also love to see Smith run in the car, I think he's earned a Second Chance. 1115. NicoRosbergFan posted: 02.25.2014 - 6:10 pm Rate this comment: (2) (1) I thought Rusty and Mark were two different drivers. :P 1116. Cornys posted: 02.25.2014 - 9:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This was one of the best races that I have seen. For reasons that you all shared previously Dale Jr has made a fan out of me. He didn't just thank his crew on TV, he hugged and high-fived every last one of the people who got him there BEFORE even looking at the TV cameras. I'm glad that the race was finished on Sunday and that I was wrong again :D. I was VERY happy that NASCAR let this race play out as they should. I'd like to believe that it had nothing to do with the threat of rain. No debris cautions, no cautions for strange or questionable reasons, and a long green flag run that involved mistakes costing teams a chance to compete for the win. That's what makes the entire race interesting and meaningful. I loved it. Austin Dillon caused the two big crashes that happened in this race and finishes in 9th. FOX refused to call him out for causing them as well. 1117. An Aussie Commentator posted: 02.25.2014 - 9:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I have a question. What is the difference between a Major and Associate sponsor? 1118. ch posted: 02.25.2014 - 11:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yes, both Falk and Hillman own Circle Sport, but the team cars should be listed with the same owner (Falk). Some might say, "there was a Hillman Racing logo on the car." My counter would be that Cassill's driver suit is a Little Joe's Auto's suit with the Circle Sport logo on it (brand new for this year), and that on twitter, Joe Falk constantly refers to the #33 AND #40 as his cars. So... Owner Change: 40 - Joe Falk 1119. Zackary Shawn posted: 02.26.2014 - 1:59 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) For real though, I've been following NASCAR since I was 6 years. I'm 21 now and I don't know if there's ever been a race that I have more personally enjoyed than the one that was run on Sunday. 1120. cjs3872 posted: 02.26.2014 - 9:52 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) And the 1995 Indianapolis 500 fell into Villeneuve's lap, Sean, as he, more or less, inherited that win after two guys in front of him (Jimmy Vasser and Scott Pruett) crashed and a third (Scott Goodyear) jumped the final restart, passing the pace car in the process. And that after Villeneuve was, himself penalized two laps early in the race for passing the pace car on consecutive laps because he did not know he was leading the race at the time. 1121. Anonymous posted: 02.26.2014 - 12:21 pm Rate this comment: (4) (6) Why are there 1120 comments? Twenty years from now when I look at this results page, I will click on the comments hoping to see interesting tidbits, like so and so's last/first race, top 5, top 10, etc or some other funfact. I would NOT expect to spend three hours going through 1000+ comments of random whining and arguing. Am I the only one that sees it like this? 1122. Anonymous posted: 02.26.2014 - 12:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Good race.Happy for little E.Piss poor coverage by fox as usual. 1123. Zackary Shawn posted: 02.26.2014 - 1:36 pm Rate this comment: (1) (2) "Am I the only one that sees it like this?" Yes. 1124. Anonymous posted: 02.26.2014 - 2:20 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Imagine if all of this was on the actual forum. It would be so active and have the benefit of every person having a registered account so they can keep track of their posts and follow others too. Instead, somehow the comments section was transformed into this big smorgasbord of random posting. 1125. Edwards99 posted: 02.26.2014 - 3:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Lol i posted a tidbit on like comment 1085! 1126. joey2448 posted: 02.26.2014 - 5:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #1121, I too kinda wish we would start using the forums on this site rather than posting comments about the race on the race pages. I mean, when I click on any given race on this site, I always check out the comments page to see any additional tidbits that don't show up purely in the stats. Like you said, 15 or 20 years from now, when someone clicks on these race pages, they'll see a bunch of guys debating on completely random things and arguments on how 2013 was a bad year and we all need to cool our jets and not get emotional with each other! Jeez Louise it's a race page, not a Dr. Phil seminar! If you wanna discuss things not pertaining to the race page, let's start using the forums, eh? 1127. JG24FanForever posted: 02.26.2014 - 7:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Since it is being discussed, here are my Top Ten Daytona 500 Drivers of All Time." Here is my Top 10: -1. Richard Petty (The luckiest and greatest 500 driver that will ever be.) -2. Jeff Gordon(All three of his wins are of legendary status, and every runner-up finisher to him was a Cup champion.) -3. Dale Earnhardt -4. Cale Yarborough -5. Bobby Allison -6. Dale Jarrett -7. Fireball Roberts (He was the original 500 superstar.) -8. David Pearson -9. Buddy Baker (The fastest 500 winner ever in 1980.) 10. Bill Elliott (The fastest Qualifier in 500 history in 1987.) 1128. jabber1990 posted: 02.26.2014 - 7:19 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) last summer I was away from the TV/Radio etc. for a few races so I actually enjoy reading the comments during the race since y'all do a better play-by-play than NASCAR.com (fake cautions, big hits, bad calls) last summer I missed Watkins Glen, Michigan, and Talladega. this site gave me a great play-by-play although I was streaming live-leaderboard on NASCAR.com during Talladega this site was much better, less lag, more honesty and less BS 1129. JG24FanForever posted: 02.26.2014 - 7:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Just in case anybody cares, there is a 1916 blank back Babe Ruth rookie card on e-bay for $135,000. The card is 98 years old, and is extremely rare in any condition, and it happens to be the rookie card for the greatest athlete that ever lived. Lowest ERA in World Series history+15 World series home runs. Top 12 Greatest MLB players: -1. Babe Ruth -2. Ty Cobb -3. Ted Williams -4. Willie Mays -5. Lou Gehrig -6. Hank Aaron -7. Mickey Mantle -8. Jimmie Foxx -9. Honus Wagner 10. Joe Dimaggio 11. Albert Pujols 12. Walter Johnson 1130. JG24FanForever posted: 02.26.2014 - 8:42 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Gordon numbers achieved in this race: 261st career Top 4, 10th at Daytona. 307th career Top 5, 13th at Daytona. 28th career Plate-race Top 5, only 4 behind the record of 32 by Big E. 190th head to head win against Jimmie Johnson, and the 22nd time he's finished directly ahead of Johnson in the finishing order. Gordon is now 14-11 against Johnson when they both finish in the Top 5 and right next to each other in the finishing order. 1131. BluesTravelerFan posted: 02.26.2014 - 9:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I know this comment is SUPER late, but I've really been thinking about this, so here goes: It took until about mid yesterday for it to finally sink in that Junior had won the race, and even now I can't really go 5 minutes without thinking about everything Sunday night entailed. As I will say for the millionth time, I would only be considered a mild Jr supporter, so I'm sure I'm nowhere near as happy as many of his most true fans, but I'm still pretty ecstatic about it. The biggest reason: his reaction(btw NASCAR's official Youtube channel released the uncensored version of his radio chatter during the Win, it is hilarious as well as heartwarming). As I mentioned a couple of days ago, Long Shot's comment @1047 couldn't have been anymore on the money. I was so happy to see his reaction, because it had been so long since I had heard or seen him like that. It has been well testified how in the past few years(especially since joining Hendrick and his slump) how his interviews and his general demeanor seemed downright depressing. Even the reaction he had to his '12 Michigan seemed a bit muted to me. But after this victory, I saw just how much he genuinely cares and that it may very well mean more to him than anyone else out there. It was so awesome to see. I can now safely say that I am proud (although I'm still won't be a full out diehard) to call myself a Jr fan. I've honestly been afraid to come right out and say it because I know all the implications that come with that, but after this I am no longer afraid. I used to pull for him mostly because my dad was a big Dale Sr. fan and then after he died became a Jr fan for a short while before he stopped watching NASCAR altogether years ago. But as I have grown up I have came to realize the real reasons why my heart pumps when he is close to victory. Although there are many things that obviously aren't perfect about him, he has showed himself to be a true class act many times over. I have never seen him show a true display of arrogance, and he never makes it about himself(which even DSFF praised him for during 2011 Speedweeks on the Michael Waltrip page I believe), and he probably acts happier in victory than anyone else out there. On a more general and related note, it was so great to see such an exciting Speedweeks to kick off this year with great races and finishes throughout, we couldn't have had in my opinion a much better start to the season. Hopefully these new rule packages we have for this year will lead to better non plate racing. My final comment on the Junior deal is that after all the trials he and us fans of his went through(which seemed like would never end), we are finally back on top of the world and have vindication for sticking by him through the really rough times. The suffering(for now) is finally over. Congrats to Bronco, Kenny, Zackary Shawn, Speedworld97, Aaron, and all the other real and true Jr fans out there. You guys deserve it. Sorry if I bothered anyone with this long and mushy Dale Jr post, but it came from the heart and I couldn't go without saying it. PS speaking of real Jr fans watch the video on Youtube entitled Dale Earnhardt Jr wins 2014 Daytona 500, happy fan celebrates by user John Whitt if you want to see something truly heartwarming. 1132. Bronco posted: 02.26.2014 - 10:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This win also locks Dale Jr into the All Star race for 2014 and 2015, which will keep his string of 16 consecutive appearances going. This was also the first restrictor plate win for him since October 2004 at Talladega, nearly 10 years ago. Since then he he scored those three 2nd place finishes in the 500 as well as two at Talladega and came within a lap of winning in 2006 before getting wrecked on the last lap. Also the first points win for the National Guard since the 2007 Coke 600. Lastly this is Dale Jr's first win after returning from the concussion he had late in 2012. I can't wait to see what he does this year...the last 9 races of last year proved that he can run with the best when the cars are set up right. 1133. 18fan posted: 02.27.2014 - 3:26 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) There is a war of words between Eddie Gossage and Bernie Ecclestone revolving around the fact that the F1 race in Austin and the Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway are being run on the same day at almost the same time. 1134. Scott B posted: 02.27.2014 - 11:08 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Going all the way back to comment #192: "I'm going to guess that Kvapil will run the #33 for Circle Sport in the races RCR doesn't run since it seems like Cassill is going to run the #40 full time for them." Kvapil is taking over Timmy Hill's portion of the races in the #32 (probably Ken Schrader's as well), and Hill will move over to the partial schedule in the #33 for those races that don't have full RCR backing. 1135. Aaron posted: 02.27.2014 - 12:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Here is my Top 10: -1. Richard Petty (The luckiest and greatest 500 driver that will ever be.) -2. Jeff Gordon(All three of his wins are of legendary status, and every runner-up finisher to him was a Cup champion.) -3. Dale Earnhardt -4. Cale Yarborough -5. Bobby Allison -6. Dale Jarrett -7. Fireball Roberts (He was the original 500 superstar.) -8. David Pearson -9. Buddy Baker (The fastest 500 winner ever in 1980.) 10. Bill Elliott (The fastest Qualifier in 500 history in 1987.)" I love Buddy Baker, but no way in hell does he deserve it over Dale Jr. Also, your 24 bias is all that puts Gordon over Cale. Here's my top-10 Daytona 500 drivers ever: 1. Richard Petty 2. Cale Yarborough 3. Jeff Gordon 4. Dale Jarrett 5. Bill Elliott (Tough call but Bill gets the spot over Bobby here) 6. Bobby Allison 7. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Jr.'s run of a win and three 2nds in 5 yrs, plus 2 wins to Sr.'s 1, gets the nod) 8. Dale Earnhardt Sr. 9. David Pearson 10. Danica Patrick (just kidding.) Buddy Baker gets this spot from me. Honorable mentions: Davey Allison, Jimmie Johnson, Fireball Roberts, Junior Johnson, Sterling Marlin 1136. Aaron posted: 02.27.2014 - 12:48 pm Rate this comment: (2) (1) Also, where's DSFF? All those years of trashing Dale Jr., then he wins his second Daytona 500 in an incredible driving performance, and DSFF is nowhere to be found. I shouldn't be surprised. 1137. Spen posted: 02.27.2014 - 2:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) He announced just during speedweeks that he wouldn't be watching anymore, aside from his yearly trip to Martinsville. 1138. DB1995 posted: 02.27.2014 - 3:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Aaron, i don't know what i'm missing, but how was this exactly an incredible driving performance? Its a plate track in the best equipment in the sport. 1139. Jim Davis posted: 02.27.2014 - 3:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) For anyone who hasn't heard Jeff Gordon and Pepsi have done a sequel to their "Test Drive" prank video from last summer. Googling "Test Drive 2" should take you to the sequel where Gordon is disguised as a taxi driver with a prison record in a chase with police while his fare freaks out. 1140. Aaron posted: 02.27.2014 - 3:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Aaron, i don't know what i'm missing, but how was this exactly an incredible driving performance? Its a plate track in the best equipment in the sport." You're missing the fact that he had to fend off the best drivers in the business to win. This was no fluke, -the-big-names-all-wrecked kind of win. I understand how some people, perhaps not yourself, hate to admit that Dale Jr. beat their driver. It's gotta be painful. But he was the best driver on that track and he earned that win. 1141. DB1995 posted: 02.27.2014 - 4:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I never said it was a fluke (a driver with 10+ wins doesn't get fluke wins) and i will admit that Jr. beat my driver (Keselowski) but i will take it lightly because it is a plate track and it relies on a lot of luck to win, now if Jr, beats Brad at every track then i might get worried, but as of now i'm not. 1142. Aaron posted: 02.27.2014 - 5:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Oh I'm not saying "get worried," I'm just disproving people who say he got a lucky win. He led 54 laps, more than anyone. Hell, if he had any luck it was bad late in the race, having the field bunched up twice and Bear Bond on his grille (though that's up in the air as to whether or not it was hurtful. Clearly it was not bad enough to keep him from winning). 1143. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 02.27.2014 - 5:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "For anyone who hasn't heard Jeff Gordon and Pepsi have done a sequel to their "Test Drive" prank video from last summer. Googling "Test Drive 2" should take you to the sequel where Gordon is disguised as a taxi driver with a prison record in a chase with police while his fare freaks out." FYI, the guy in the back of the cab was a writer who ragged Gordon in a review of the first test drive spot. 1144. NadeauFan91 posted: 02.27.2014 - 5:58 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) @1136 read post 110, apparently some people still can't accept there is someone else in the 3 car (not saying I support Austin Dillon, I hate the kid). 1145. An Aussie Commentator posted: 02.27.2014 - 6:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "They're lucky Danica didn't get hurt" There would have been an absolute s***storm if Danica got hurt so NASCAR, the guys who install the SAFER barriers and Daytona officials dodged much more than a bullet, they dodged a full-on bomb. 1146. Anonymous posted: 02.27.2014 - 7:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Most papers (and NOT the tabloids) are saying Schumi's chances are almost gone... 1147. Eric posted: 02.27.2014 - 8:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The problem people have accepting Austin Dillon in the 3 car is an easy one. Dale Earnhardt is one of the biggest legends in NASCAR History and people identify him with the 3 car number since Dale got 69 out 76 Cup wins and 6 out of 7 cup championships with the 3 number. The best way to compare it for the 3 car and Dale Earnhardt Sr. is if the future replacements of Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon race the 48 and the 24 numbers. Those 2 numbers I am mentioned are easy to identify with like the 3 number was Dale Earnhardt Sr. If a cup driver races a majority or all of their career with one time, their race number is very easy to identify with that one driver like the 43 number is Richard Petty, or 3 is Dale Earnhardt Sr. 1148. JG24shouldbe5time posted: 02.27.2014 - 8:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) "The problem people have accepting Austin Dillon in the 3 car is an easy one. Dale Earnhardt is one of the biggest legends in NASCAR History and people identify him with the 3 car ...The best way to compare it for the 3 car and Dale Earnhardt Sr. is if the future replacements of Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon race the 48 and the 24 numbers..If a cup driver races a majority or all of their career with one time, their race number is very easy to identify with that one driver" Not that you make a bad point, but there's a HUGE difference in these scenarios. Barring tragedy, Gordon will finish his career on his terms in the #24 driving for Hendrick. Johnson, that seems a little too far off to call; over the years people have complained the drivers of the 43 since Petty aren't doing the number justice, but the King is still involved with the team, #, etc. Dale Sr's career didn't end on his terms,he's no longer among us and his superstar son didn't even get his #. What I think personally is annoying about Dillon and the 3 is that the number disappeared for years (unlike the 43), Dale has nothing to do with it and that Childress seemingly held on to it for one of grand-babies. That's just my opinion. 1149. JG24FanForever posted: 02.27.2014 - 9:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Also, your 24 bias is all that puts Gordon over Cale." Nah, Gordon blew a tire in turn 2 and saved it in the 1997 edition, came from almost a lap back and bulldogged Big E on to his roof. Then he made a daring pass on Bill Elliott to take the lead for good. His 1999 win was one of the all-time best, with the ultimate daring move for the lead on Rusty Wallace combined with a 10 lap battle with Big E. 2005 was his all-time best victory. He didn't have the fastest car and he still made an unassisted outside pass for the race win on June Bug, with a Top 10 stacked with legends. All three of his wins had Cup champion runner-up finishers, combined with two wins from starting positions of below 5th, AND he won his first start at Daytona, and finished 5th in his first 500, a race in which he led his first 500 lap. Richard Petty waved the green for the 1993 Daytona 500, and Gordon led the first lap of Nascar without Richard Petty in the field. -1. Richard Petty -2. Jeff Gordon I'm not just biased, I believe I have a fairly descent perspective too. Maybe. And yes, June Bug is a well deserving candidate for the 10-6 best ever Daytona 500 drivers. 1150. cjs3872 posted: 02.27.2014 - 9:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well, I see that a couple of posters have rated their top 10 Daytona 500 drivers of all-time. About six years ago, mainly in preparation for the 50th Daytona 500 in 2008, I put my list together, and then added 15 names in the "just missing he cut" segment, bringing the number of drivers to 25. Obviously, some of that has changed, but the top ten hasn't really changed at all, as no drivers on that portion of the list then that has been active have done anything to affect their standing, and only one or three active drivers, Dale, Jr., Matt Kenseth, and Jimmie Johnson, only the first of whom was even on the board, has done enough to move up the board, with Dale, Jr. now moving into my top ten all-time. Here's my list then and now: Then (2008-'10): 1. Richard Petty 2. Cale Yarborough 3. Bobby Allison 4. Dale Earnhardt, Sr. 5. Bill Elliott 6. Jeff Gordon 7. Dale Jarrett 8. Buddy Baker (those that say he doesn't belong among he greats in Daytona 500 history simply don't know what they're talking about) 9. Sterling Marlin (he was always at his best in the Daytona 500) 10. Benny Parsons (just 1 win, but 8 top 5 finishes, including a record 4 top 3s in a row) Just missing the cut: 11.David Pearson, 12. A.J. Foyt, 13. Fireball Roberts, 14. Fred Lorenzen, 15. Davey Allison, 16. Ernie Irvan, 17. Geoff Bodine, 18.Terry Labonte, 19. Donnie Allison, 20. Marvin Panch, 21. Lee Petty, 22. Michael Waltrip, 23. Dale Earnhardt, Jr., 24. Darrell Waltrip, 25. Junior Johnson. And there was no mention at all of Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth. That was the list, as I had it then, but there have been changes, though not to the top 8. They stay exactly as they were ranked before. So here's the list now: 1. Richard Petty 2. Cale Yarborough 3. Bobby Allison 4. Dale Earnhardt, Sr. 5. Bill Elliott 6. Jeff Gordon 7. Dale Jarrett 8. Buddy Baker 9. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (up from 23rd on my original list) 10. Sterling Marlin Just missing the cut: 11.Benny Parsons, 12. David Pearson, 13. Jimmie Johnson (new addition), 14. A.J. Foyt, 15. Fireball Roberts, 16. Fred Lorenzen, 17. Matt Kenseth (new addition), 18. Davey Allison, 19. Ernie Irvan, 20.Geoff Bodine, 21. Terry Labonte, 22. Donnie Allison, 23. Marvin Panch, 24. Lee Petty, 25. Michael Waltrip. In the top 25 on the last list, but not on this one: NASCAR Hall of Famers Darrell Waltrip and Junior Johnson. 1151. cjs3872 posted: 02.28.2014 - 12:14 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) JG24FF, I disagree with you that Jeff Gordon didn't have the fastest car in the 2005 Daytona 500, because he did. Michael Waltrip, who had one of the best cars in that race before blowing an engine just past the 400-mile mark, even said that Gordon had the fastest car in the race, and when that race got to it's latter stages, he was trying to get past Tony Stewart, but the caution flag came out every time he did. So he did have the fastest car, but as he usually did, he simply waited to make his move. But Dale Earnhardt, Jr. came from seemingly nowhere and took the lead from Tony Stewart. In fact, after the green flag pit stops before the caution came out for Ryan Newman's scrape with the wall, Gordon was pulling himself, Stewart, Waltrip, and Newman away from the rest of the field by about 1-2 tenths of a second per lap. There's another mistake about that comment about Gordon and the 2005 Daytona 500. You said that he passed Dale, Jr. without help, but he actually got hit by Jimmie Johnson, which gave him the boost to get alongside, and past Dale, Jr., just before the caution came out for debris from Kasey Kahne's car. Another factor in that finish was that Dale, Jr.'s car was slow when it had to push the wind. That's what got him beat by Michael Waltrip in the qualifying race three days earlier, because his car just wouldn't run in clean air. In fact, Dale, Jr. qualified around 40th on pole day, so his car was slow all week, but his drafting expertise made that car more competitive than it should have ever been. Michael Waltrip was really the one among the DEI drivers that year that was best able to challenge Gordon and Stewart. 1152. The Long Shot posted: 02.28.2014 - 12:45 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) A couple of interesting news items have flown under the radar over the past couple of weeks. Young ARCA drivers Kyle Benjamin and Kyle Weatherman have signed developmental contracts with Roush Fenway Racing (all the more reason why Trevor Bayne will be ousted from the organization after year's end). Also, Bobby Hamilton Jr. will run full-time in ARCA for the remainder of the season, driving the #40 Carter 2 Motorsports Dodge. 1153. Dave #38 Fan-Go Gilliland! posted: 02.28.2014 - 10:07 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Young ARCA drivers Kyle Benjamin and Kyle Weatherman have signed developmental contracts with Roush Fenway Racing (all the more reason why Trevor Bayne will be ousted from the organization after year's end)." Doubtful. Roush doesn't have a truck program anymore, and Benjamin will not be eligible to run a Nationwide race until November 2015, and Weatherman not until August 2015. Neither are moving up to Nascar full-time before 2016 at the earliest. Plus, Roush started Chris Bueshcer in an ARCA development program when he was 16 in 2009, and it wasn't until this year (5 years later) that he finally moved Chris up full-time. 1154. murb posted: 02.28.2014 - 2:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "and it wasn't until this year (5 years later) that he finally moved Chris up full-time." Buescher actually isn't even full time this year, as he is so far scheduled to drive an undetermined amount of races. Are the comments on this page weird for anyone else? On the race page it says there are 1159 comments, but then when you click on the comments it is only showing 1153. 1155. NicoRosbergFan posted: 02.28.2014 - 5:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) ^It means for whatever reason the webmaster decided to delete certain comments (either due to vulgarity or rudeness) sometime after comment 1140. Since 1152 was there when there were 1152 when I first came on this morning, somebody went on a troll spree in the last few hours and got in deep trouble for it. Or things are screwy. 1156. The Long Shot posted: 02.28.2014 - 5:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Buescher actually isn't even full time this year, as he is so far scheduled to drive an undetermined amount of races." This is part of the reason why I think Bayne will be gone after year's end. My belief is that Roush finally shutters his third Nationwide team due to lack of funding and runs just two cars in Nationwide next year. Buescher and Reed are Roush's top two current developmental priorities, and Benjamin and Weatherman are now waiting in the wings, so it's easy for me to see Bayne leaving. Besides, we've all been predicting Bayne's departure for months now (a lot of us thought he was the favorite to land the #9 ride, at least until Ambrose was re-signed). 1157. murb posted: 02.28.2014 - 6:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This new qualifying format rules. 1158. New14 & 88Fan posted: 02.28.2014 - 6:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This knock out qualifying is a winner. Best idea NASCAR has come up with in a very long time. 1159. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 02.28.2014 - 7:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It does need a few tweaks. Halfway through the 1st session and the only cars on track are riding around at pace speed to cool their engines. 1160. 18fan posted: 02.28.2014 - 7:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This going really slow to cool everything off is kind of lame. I think they need to let them cool the engines on pit road and need to let them change tires. 1161. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 02.28.2014 - 7:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) How does Fox not have a countdown clock? Its a rhetorical question. 1162. 18fan posted: 02.28.2014 - 7:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And how are they so far behind? FOX is 13 minutes behind. 1163. murb posted: 02.28.2014 - 7:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yeah, they do need to let them cool the engines down. That's really the only problem I see. 1164. joey2448 posted: 02.28.2014 - 7:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Logano, Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Larson, Biffle, Johnson, Kahne, Junior, Almirola, McMurray and Hamlin are the 12 drivers moving on to the 10-min shootout in qualifying. 1165. murb posted: 02.28.2014 - 7:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) "And how are they so far behind? FOX is 13 minutes behind." Because they are total morons. They also just tried to talk to Logano on the radio as he was clearly talking to his crew guys at his window. 1166. New14 & 88Fan posted: 02.28.2014 - 7:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Penske sweeps the front row at Phoenix with Brad K on pole and Logano starting 2nd. 1167. joey2448 posted: 02.28.2014 - 7:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Penske front row for Sunday, Keselowski gets the pole and teammate Logano starts second after the first knockout qualifying session for the Cup series! Dale Junior will start fifth and young Kyle Larson will start seventh! 1168. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 02.28.2014 - 11:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hopefully someday I'll actually get to watch one of these qualifying sessions to see how it all plays out that way. I'm gonna have to work during all of them, so it's doubtful I'll get to watch one live this year. 1169. JG24FanForever posted: 03.02.2014 - 6:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Gordon numbers achieved in this race: 308th career Top 5 finish. 343rd career Top 6 finish. 191st head to head win against Jimmie Johnson, and the 23rd time he's finished directly ahead of Johnson in the finishing order. This was his record 98th Top 5 finish from a starting spot of 11th or worse. 1170. JG24FanForever posted: 03.02.2014 - 6:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) ^^^I meant to post that on the phoenix page. 1171. Nascar Lead Lap Points posted: 05.10.2014 - 8:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 44 Eric McClure 45 Michael McDowell 46 Joe Nemechek 47 Ryan Truex 48 Morgan Shepherd WD Dave Blaney 77 Plinker Arms Randy Humphrey Ford In the DNQ list Sponsor Updated 98 Jet Star Aviation/Curb Records 15 5 Hour Energy/Walgreen's 1172. Nascar Lead Lap Points posted: 05.11.2014 - 3:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And Owner of the #33 was Richard Childress. Since 2012 When Austin Dillon or Brian Scott drove the #33 it was owned by Richard Childress 1173. Ryan W posted: 11.30.2014 - 2:57 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) This race was probably the best ever ran by Dale, Jr. He ran a really smart race. He kept his car up front all day, had good pit stops, had good restarts when he had to, and battled like it was the last race of his career. He has matured a lot professionally and personally. I really believe that has a lot to do with him settling down some in his relationship with his current girlfriend. Also, I believe that Steve Latarte brought a more professional approach to the team than Dale, Jr. had ever seen before. Dale, Jr. went on to win three more races and had a great season even though he didn't make final four. He got his grandfather clock that was long overdue and swept Pocono by being mature. Big steps this year. It will be interesting to see if he keeps being competitive or even takes it to another level that no one sees right now, or goes back to his own ways. He was good enough to win the championship this year if he would have caught a few breaks here or there... One thing about it though, his dad would be very proud of the professionalism he showed this year on and off the track and the way he won his 2nd Daytona 500. 1174. jimi d posted: 01.26.2017 - 11:19 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) wow 1173 comments ! 1175. Mr.Victory posted: 03.07.2018 - 2:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Cars involved lap 145 wreck: 66, 10, 43, 3, 4, 27, 38, 5, 52, 98, 51, 9, 30, 98. 1176. TheDewCrew posted: 02.29.2020 - 12:38 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) The start to my personal favorite, and bittersweet season. Only fitting my guy Jr got me an early birthday present from it 1177. SweetRich posted: 02.29.2020 - 12:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The commentators for the race were Mike Joy, Larry McReynolds and Darrell Waltrip. The pit road reporters were Steve Byrnes, Matt Yocum and Krista Voda. 1178. Indycar1 posted: 07.31.2020 - 9:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The lap 33-46 caution flag had a red flag of 6 hours 22 minutes 1179. Rich posted: 08.10.2020 - 3:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Mike Joy, Larry McReynolds and Darrell Waltrip were the commentators. Steve Byrnes, Matt Yocum and Krista Voda were the pit road reporters. Chris Myers and Jeff Hammond were in the Hollywood hotel. 1180. Dennis posted: 09.26.2020 - 7:55 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) This may have been explained and I somehow missed it but why was Brian Scott's car owned by Joe Falk in the qualifying race but by Richard Childress for the 500??? It's also that way for the 2016 except Ty Dillon's car was owned by grandpa in the qualifier and by Leavine Family Racing for the 500 1181. DI9_ForLife posted: 12.09.2020 - 8:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This running of the 500 was probably the best one that I've ever watched in my 10 years of NASCAR fandom. The 99 lap green flag run was great to watch, mainly because they never really went single file throughout the entire time. Despite having 4 big ones, the race wasn't really a wreckfest, and the big wrecks were spread out enough to where you didn't feel like you were watching a demo derby. Dale Jr. drove the race of his life that day/night, arguably the best drive of his career, it truly showed his plate racing prowess and the overall strength of his car. Also, if you're looking for a good laugh, scroll through this race's comments on the second page ;). ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: