Let's Get This Party Started

GOOD MORNING RACE FANS!!

The wait is over.  Time to get ready for another exciting year of racing.  Guess we'll get started with the line up of how things will happen over the next week leading up to the DAYTONA 500.

It all started yesterday.  Yes I know this blog is a day late.  It's was Valentine's Day and I was otherwise occupied and let's just leave it at that.  Anyways, I digress....

Sprint Unlimited Practice was yesterday.  What is the Sprint Unlimited??  Good Question.  This is one of the races that  leads up to the big race next Sunday.  Anyone who has earned a pole or was a previous Sprint Unlimited Champion is entered to race.  

Below is who is entered this year and how they got into the race.

No. 1 Jamie McMurray (Coors Light Pole at Sonoma)

No. 2 Brad Keselowski (Coors Light Pole at New Hampshire-1)

No. 4 Kevin Harvick (Coors Light Pole at Kansas-2)

No. 9 Marcos Ambrose (Coors Light Pole at Watkins Glen)

No. 10 Danica Patrick (Coors Light Pole at Daytona-1)

No. 11 Denny Hamlin (Coors Light Pole at Auto Club)

No. 14 Tony Stewart (Past Sprint Unlimited winner)

No. 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (Coors Light Pole at Atlanta)

No. 18 Kyle Busch (Coors Light Pole at Bristol-1)

No. 20 Matt Kenseth (Coors Light Pole at Kansas-1)

No. 22 Joey Logano (Coors Light Pole at Michigan-2)

No. 24 Jeff Gordon (Coors Light Pole at Richmond-2)

No. 31 Ryan Newman (Coors Light Pole at Indianapolis)

No. 32 Terry Labonte (Past Sprint Unlimited winner)

No. 41 Kurt Busch (Coors Light Pole at Darlington)

No. 48 Jimmie Johnson (Coors Light Pole at Martinsville-1)

No. 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Coors Light Pole at Kentucky)

No. 99 Carl Edwards (Coors Light Pole at Michigan-1)

I would have liked to tell you the race format for this race but here's where it becomes interesting.  We don't know yet.  This year NASCAR has decided to let the fans call the shots..  




I can tell you that it is 3 segments..  The rest is up to you..  If you would like to participate you can go here.

Sprint Unlimited


Here's how the rest of the week is shaping up for race schedules... Plan accordingly.  

SATURDAY, FEB. 15:
ON TRACK
-- 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. ET, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice, FOX Sports 1
-- 1:30-3:20 p.m. ET, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice, FOX Sports 1
-- 8 p.m. ET, The Sprint Unlimited (75 laps, 187.5 miles), FOX Sports 1

SUNDAY, FEB. 16:
ON TRACK
-- 1:05 p.m. ET, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole qualifying, FOX

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 19:
ON TRACK
-- 2:30-3:50 p.m. ET, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series practice, FOX Sports 1
-- 4-5:30 p.m. ET, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice, FOX Sports 1
-- 6:30-8 p.m. ET, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice, FOX Sports 1

THURSDAY, FEB. 20:
ON TRACK
-- Noon-1:20 p.m. ET, NASCAR Nationwide Series practice, FOX Sports 1
-- 1:30-2:50 p.m. ET, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series practice, FOX Sports 1
-- 3-4:20 p.m. ET, NASCAR Nationwide Series final practice, FOX Sports 1
-- 4:40-6 p.m. ET, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series final practice, FOX Sports 1
-- 7 p.m. ET, Budweiser Duels (60 laps, 150 miles each race), FOX Sports 1

FRIDAY, FEB. 21:
ON TRACK
-- 11:30 a.m.-12:55 p.m. ET, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice, FOX Sports 1
-- 1:05 p.m. ET, NASCAR Nationwide Series Coors Light Pole qualifying, ESPN2
-- 2:30-3:55 p.m. ET, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice, FOX Sports 1
-- 4:05 p.m. ET, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Keystone Light Pole qualifying, FOX Sports 1
-- 7:30 p.m. ET, NextEra Energy Resources 250 (100 laps, 250 miles), FOX Sports 1

SATURDAY, FEB. 22:
ON TRACK
-- 10-11:30 a.m. ET, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series final practice, FOX Sports 1
-- 1:15 p.m. ET, DRIVE4COPD 300 (120 laps, 300 miles), ESPN

SUNDAY, FEB. 23:
ON TRACK
-- 1 p.m. ET, Daytona 500 (200 laps, 500 miles), FOX

Now onto business........

Rosters are now open for you to make your selection for the Daytona 500.  Personally I am going to wait and see how things go with Practice and the Budweiser Duels ( which we will talk about during the week).  Also is you have anyone who would like to join, I look at it this way the more the merrier.   Anyone reading the blog can contact me at my twitter account to gain entry.  @cocoabean036

Also check it out, we have a smack board on the league page....




If you click on the league tab, that one is ours, none will be able to see it but us.........    

Guess that's it for now...   Will be updating as the week goes along.  

"REACH UP THERE AND PULL THOSE BELTS TIGHT
ONE MORE TIME!"


"BOOGITY, BOOGITY, BOOGITY, LET'S GO RACING!"

Almost forgot to add this years motto...

ANYONE BUT SAN!!!!!

Thanks Cocoa! Seems like Homestead was just yesterday. I'm ready to kick some butt.

 Here we go!!!! Oh and Cocoa, for your smack motto!

oh oh oh.... let us not forget.... the winner of each race, will get to change a team name of his/her choosing, for the following race..... beware peeps, my right side brain, is in overdrive!

NASCAR Daytona Shootout: Sprint Unlimited start time, info

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — It's NASCAR race night at Daytona International Speedway, and we've got some essential information you need to get ready for tonight's season-opening Sprint Unlimited.

START TIME: Larry King of CNN fame will instruct drivers to start their engines at 8:23 p.m. ET tonight, followed by the green flag at 8:35 p.m. So if you want to skip the pre-race show and just tune in for the race, turn on your TV at 8:35 p.m.

RACE DISTANCE: The Sprint Unlimited (formerly the Budweiser Shootout) is 75 laps around the 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway for a total of 187.5 miles. However, we don't know the format for the race yet. Fans are currently voting to decide how the segments for the race will shake out.

NATIONAL ANTHEM: Shawn King, wife of Larry King, will sing the national anthem. She is also the co-grand marshal with her husband.

TV/RADIO SCHEDULE: FOX Sports 1 — not FOX — will broadcast tonight's race and has a pre-race show beginning at 7 p.m. ET. The Motor Racing Network (MRN) will call the race on the radio.

WEATHER: The National Weather Service is calling for mostly clear skies with temperatures falling from the low 50s into the 40s during the race.

LAST TIME: Kevin Harvick opened Speedweeks 2013 with a victory in the Unlimited by holding off Greg Biffle, blocking his last-lap charge.

STARTING LINEUP: No one knows yet. Fans have the option to choose the starting lineup based on most career poles, 2013 point standings or speeds from the final Unlimited practice.

Poor San

Thanks for the blog....and get ready to do the Gomexwx chase...Imma not looking back!

Oh and by the way Danica Might win ..I sent Tony some shine to up the octane level in her car...she does better when loose )

Was a great Sprint Unlimited last night.  Congrats to Denny Hamlin..

Some highlights of the evening....

Jimmie Johnson wrecks early...




Kyle Busch's incredible save...




Matt Kenseth takes out half the field...




The pace car catches fire....  




Dale Jr. and Marcos Ambrose get into it....





And the win....





Was an exciting race all night.  Today  is qualifying for the front line of the Daytona 500.  Stay tuned....

Stewart-Haas Racing teammates suffer engine issues, will start at rear for Daytona 500


DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- With less than an hour left in Saturday's final practice before Daytona 500 Coors Light Pole qualifying, last year's pole-winner Danica Patrick and her Stewart-Haas Racing team owner Tony Stewart both suffered blown engines in their Chevrolets, prompting a scramble to swap out motors and diagnose the problem.

A third Hendrick Motorsports-supplied engine -- in Bobby Labonte's No. 52 Chevy -- also had mechanical problems in the practice. All the teams involved remained optimistic that the back-up motors would be equally as fast.

Still, NASCAR announced Saturday evening that even if Stewart, Patrick or Labonte win the pole or outside pole position for the Daytona 500, they will have to start from the rear of the field because it is an unapproved engine change. The drivers will also have to start from the rear of their respective Budweiser Duel races on Thursday.

Neither Patrick nor Stewart said they had any indication there was going to be a problem while negotiating Daytona International Speedway's famous high banks.

"The good thing about having the telemetry is you can see what's going on and what's happening, but it wasn't anything like we had a warning, it happened all at once," said Stewart, who is returning to NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competition for the first time since breaking his leg last August. "Hopefully the (new) motor we put in will be just as good as this one. If this happened getting ready for the race, you'd be a little more concerned. They pay the big check a week from (Sunday)."

Coincidentally, Patrick's No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet blew its engine as reporters were finishing interviews with Stewart in his garage stall with crew members frantically worked on his car in the background.

But as far as Patrick is concerned the timing may have been a blessing in disguise.

"I only had a few hundred yards to go before the start/finish line then I would have shut it off (and ended practice), so I guess I'm glad it happened then -- being five seconds away from blowing up -- because that would have been tomorrow (if she had come into the garage as planned)."

None of the four Hendrick Motorsports team cars experienced problems during the two practice sessions. Scott Maxim, director of track engine support for Hendrick Motorsports, confirmed that initially it looked like a problem in the back end of both Stewart and Patrick's engines.

"Across the board, we're trying to do the best we can for qualifying for those two laps," said Hendrick Motorsports General Manager Doug Duchardt. "As we work through that process, obviously we've been pushing the limit and we found the limit there. So we feel like we understand what's happening. When we get the engines back over and tear them down for NASCAR, I think we'll be able to confirm what we think is happening.

"The drivers have been consistent. It feels like it's been something in the bottom end of the engine. So we think we understand what's happening there, and we'll take a look at that. But for tonight and for the rest of the week when we go to race, we don't really have any concerns with The Sprint Unlimited or as we get into the (duel races) or the 500."

SHR driver Kevin Harvick was fastest of any cars using the Hendrick motors -- fourth in the second practice. Hendrick driver and defending Daytona 500 winner Jimmie Johnson was ninth quickest.

Patrick's best lap was 22nd fastest and Stewart was 38th in the final session.

"Sure it was a concern when I saw Tony blow up," Patrick said. "It was like, ‘Man, are we doing something?’ It wasn't necessarily specific to our team, I guess, but it's something we're doing in our family here and we need to figure it out. I bet other Hendrick cars are thinking, ‘What's going on?' We've got time to hopefully figure out, definitely figure it out before the race."

Despite the mechanical setback, Stewart said he was still feeling good physically after getting extended time behind the wheel. Friday's two practices for The Sprint Unlimited -- an hour and 45 minutes of track time -- were Stewart's first laps since being medically cleared to compete.

"Yesterday was a little more fun, today definitely feels like I'm back to work," Stewart said, mustering a smile. "Single-car runs aren't very fun for the driver, but they're necessary. I still feel good and I've got all afternoon to rest and get ready for tonight."

Patrick's veteran crew chief Tony Gibson took the first-day woes in stride.

"These things happen," Gibson said. "You're asking these engines to do a lot, run a lot of RPMs, run hot, a lot of crazy stuff. Obviously, they've proven we can build really fast motors. Those guys will come up with an answer and we'll put another one in here and we'll be fine.

"It could just be a batch of something. Engine parts are crazy. You could get a thousand parts and have only two of them with a nick or something like that. I imagine those other guys are really nervous, but they do a fantastic job and we never have engine problems."

Saturday was a far cry from Patrick's 2013 Daytona Speedweeks, a fact not lost on Gibson or Patrick. At this point last year, she was solidly atop the practice speed charts and went on to make history as the first woman to earn the Daytona 500 pole.

"It's definitely a departure from last year when we were really quick when we unloaded and were fast each practice and everything was perfect," said Patrick, who led five laps in the Daytona 500 and finished a historic best eighth place. "This is a different year and that happens. That's why when (the media) asks what I expect for the year, you have to really get into the year to set expectation levels. This is already very different from the last time.

"But I don't doubt their effort and ability to fix this, so the bright side is it didn't happen in qualifying, it happened before."

Thanks Cocoa, it was a fun race to get back into the flow.

LMAO, looks to me Stenhouse's hood was down for 6 seconds with clear visibility before he took out DP.

http://www.sportingnews.com/nascar/story/2014-02-15/danica-patrick-ricky-stenhouse-crash-boyfriend-wreck-sprint-unlimited-daytona

With Austin Dillon behind the wheel, the No. 3 Chevrolet made a triumphant return to NASCAR Sprint Cup Series racing during Sunday's time trials for the 56th Daytona 500.

Shrugging off the pressure of driving a car he knew could be a Coors Light Pole winner, Dillon toured 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway in 45.914 seconds (196.019 mph), locking the No. 3 into the top starting spot in the number's first appearance in the Cup series since Dale Earnhardt died after a last-lap crash in the 2001 Daytona 500.

The Coors Light Pole Award was Dillon's first in 14 attempts and proved the ideal kickoff to his first full-time season in Sprint Cup racing.

Dillon, 23, edged second-place qualifier Martin Truex Jr. (195.852 mph) for the top starting spot, but both drivers are locked into the front row for the Great American Race and will lead their respective fields to green in Thursday night's Budweiser Duel at Daytona 150-lap qualifying races.

Both Dillon's No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet and Truex's No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Chevy featured Earnhardt Childress Racing power under the hood. The front-row sweep was the perfect present for chief engine builder Danny Lawrence, who celebrated a birthday Sunday.

"We got him a 1-2 start at Daytona, so this is pretty awesome," Dillon said after clinching the pole. "You just try and stay focused, because everyone wants to see this number perform well. That's what my goals are -- to stay focused.

"It's hard to celebrate, because I know this is just qualifying, but it's great for (the team). You never know the next time you'll be standing in this position again. So it's awesome; just want to thank our family back home at RCR. They've done such a good job -- fab shop, engine shop, everybody, my guys.

"It's all them. I hoped I didn't mess it up. We knew we had a fast car, and we brought it back, so it's good."

LOL... I have to agree with Aug... from the camera shot, I saw yesterday, Stenhouse's hood was not barring him, from seeing ahead of him.

ummm e...   nothing poor here.  My guy came in second; any comment on where your's finished?  Oh that's right... He DIDN'T !

Start praying to the race gods.  No Rain on Sunday!!  




Maybe we can get a forecast from our very own weather guys here at the bolt....

They are much better at forecasting, than racing!

sangria wrote:ummm e...   nothing poor here.  My guy came in second; any comment on where your's finished?  Oh that's right... He DIDN'T !

     

sangria wrote:They are much better at forecasting, than racing!

  

Looks to be possible wet weekend setting up. Atleast the potiential is there.

emcf30 wrote:Looks to be possible wet weekend setting up. Atleast the potiential is there.

Yep. MLB PM discussion for the weekend. Keep in mind Volusia County (Daytona) is the northernmost in their CWA.

SAT-SUN...WEEKEND CONTINUES TO LOOKING UNSETTLED. SURFACE COLD FRONT
NOW SHOWN BY BOTH THE 12Z GFS AND ECM TO INITIALLY HANG UP ACROSS
NORTH FL THROUGH LATE SATURDAY...THEN SAG SOUTHWARD INTO (ECM) OR
THROUGH (GFS) CENTRAL FL BY LATE/AFTERNOON EARLY EVENING. POOLED
MOISTURE INVOF AND AHEAD OF THE BOUNDARY WILL LEAD TO CLDY-MCLDY
CONDITIONS WITH A CHC FOR SHOWERS. POPS ARE CAPPED AT 30 PCT BOTH
AFTERNOONS...WITH A LITTLE HIGHER RAIN CHCS ACROSS THE NORTHERN CWA
SAT OWING TO THE MORE NWD POSITION OF THE FRONT. HOWEVER...AS THE
EVENT APPROACHES...THINK THAT WE MAY NEED TO ADJUST THESE NUMBERS UP
ONE OR BOTH DAYS...ESPECIALLY ACROSS THE NORTH. EVEN WITH THE INCREASE
IN CLOUDS/RAINFALL...EXPECT TEMPS OVER MOST IF NOT ALL THE AREA TO
AVERAGE ABOVE CLIMO FOR BOTH MAXES AND MINS.

Thank you gentlemen.  We'll just have to keep our eyes open and hope for the best...  

On the schedule for tonight ...

As of last night.  Surely this will change many times up until the start of the race.

The last two year rain has threaten the "Great American Race" the Daytona 500, with 2012 being a wash out and having to run on Monday night. It's a new year but feels like the same weather forecast, a chance of rain across Florida thanks to a stalled front across the state.



Cold front is expected to arrive across Florida Friday afternoon and evening bringing with it showers and even the possibility of some strong gusty thunderstorms. This will be an issue for the Camping World Truck series race later that evening.

The threat of rain doesn't end Friday night, the cold front is expected to stalls and become stationary over central Florida Saturday and on Sunday. This is almost the exact same thing that happened last year for the 2013 Daytona 500. It was a very similar scenario where a cold front moved through then stalled just south of Daytona International Speedway. The rain last year was about 15 to 25 miles away from the track but never threatened.

Like last year, the chance of rain will come down to where that boundary stalls and focuses the precipitation. The last couple of data runs on the various forecast models meteorologists use to predict the weather have not been favorable for this Sunday. They all continue with a chance of rain showers over Daytona International Speedway Saturday for the Nationwide race and Sunday for the Daytona 500.

Based on current data I give the odds of racing on Sunday around 50 to 60 percent. I am not ready to call this a wash or even predict a Monday race. We are five days out from the Daytona 500 and a lot can change between now and then.

Thanks to NASCAR_WXMAN.  We'll stayed tuned for any more updates...

MLB AM Discussion......    SATURDAY-SUNDAY...AN UNSETTLED PATTERN IN STORE AS THE FRONTAL
BOUNDARY STALLS ACROSS CENTRAL FL AND ADDITIONAL MID LVL IMPULSES
TRIGGER ADDITIONAL CONVECTION OVER THE WEEKEND. INCREASING MID LAYER
FLOW TO 50 KNOTS AT H5...AFTERNOON CAPE TO 1500-1800 J/KG AND COLD
TEMPS AT H5 FROM -10 TO -12 DEGS C KEEP THE CHANCE FOR LIGHTNING
STORMS IN THE FORECAST OVER MUCH OF EAST CENTRAL FL SATURDAY AND
SUNDAY AFTERNOONS. ECMWF HAS WETTER SOLUTION AND WILL NOT GO QUITE
AS HIGH AS ECMWF WITH RAIN CHANCES...BUT HAVE ADDED THUNDER WITH GFS
AND ECMWF BOTH SHOWING SUFFICIENT CAPE FOR SOME AFTERNOON LIGHTNING
STORMS BOTH DAYS. 00Z GFS GUID TEMPS HAVE WARMED AND WILL FORECAST
LOWER TO MID 80S FOR HIGHS...WITH THE CAVEAT THAT CONSIDERABLE
CLOUDINESS COULD LIMIT HIGH TEMPS A BIT ACROSS NRN SECTIONS.

Rookie Parker Kligerman went for a long slide on his roof after the front end of his No. 30 car got on top of the outside wall and into the catchfence as part of a crash that claimed several vehicles in opening Sprint Cup Series practice Wednesday at Daytona International Speedway.

The accident appeared to begin when Joey Logano and Matt Kenseth made contact in tight drafting practice, causing a number of vehicles to go sideways. Kligerman got the worst of it, riding up and over the car of Paul Menard, and then getting pushed from behind by the vehicle of Ryan Truex. The front end of the No. 30 car slid along the top of the wall and grinded against the catchfence, causing some damage to the mesh fencing. With Truex still behind him, Kligerman rolled over and slid on his roof before being extricated from the car.

Fortunately, no drivers were hurt in the accident, and no spectators were impacted by the damage to the catchfence.

"I guess that was the first time I've ever flipped over. Never done that before in a race car," said Kligerman. "I assumed it would be rougher, but it was actually really soft. I saw the whole thing go down. I'm up in the fence kind of floating along. Thankfully none of the fans got injured …. Obviously, it was a scary situation when a car gets that close to the fence. Then it just flipped over softly, and I slid on the roof. I guess the strongest thing going through me at that time was anger over the wreck. Most importantly is the fans are okay and I'm OK."

A number of drivers were involved in the incident, among them Logano, Kenseth, Truex, Kligerman, Menard, former Daytona 500 champion Trevor Bayne, and veteran Dave Blaney. The accident came shortly after an earlier accident involving Cole Whitt, Casey Mears and Brian Vickers, which proved just a prelude to the bigger one to come. According to NASCAR, six teams planned to move to backup cars.

"Turns out Joey was bump drafting the 20 (car of Kenseth) in the middle of the pack when we were trying to getup to speed," Menard said. "I guess that’s the end result."

Kligerman said he was about to pull off the track and park his car for the remainder of the session. His Swan Racing team planned to try and repair Whitt’s primary and put Kligerman into a backup.

"I thought we were good. We were going to quit for the day, probably, pack it up and wait until tonight," Kligerman said. "I guess from what I can see, the 22 (car of Logano) was just being overly aggressive. It's a shame. He's supposed to be a veteran. You go up here to the Sprint Cup Series, and it's supposed to be the best of the best, and you've got a guy in practice who wants to race people like that like it's the end of the Daytona 500. … I don't quite understand that one. I'll have to talk to him about how all that went down."

The accident unfolded as the cars rolled off Turn 4 and into the tri-oval. "I guess that’s when the 22 car got close to me, got right on me," Kenseth said. "I moved my car to the left a little bit, and we had plenty of room for everybody, and then he kind of clipped my right rear and that seemed to trigger it. He had to slow down after that, so that seemed to trigger the wreck. Looked like it, anyway."

Logano said Kenseth made a move as if he were headed down the race track. "I had the run, so I was going to fill that hole and then he started to come back up, and I was there," Logano said. "Maybe I shouldn't have been racing as hard as I was in practice, but everybody was in a big pack there trying to make things happen. As soon as he came back up, I checked up a little bit, and then the 21 (car of Bayne) hit me from behind and we spun out. It happens. That's Daytona for you."

Those drivers bound for backups -- which according to NASCAR included Logano, Kligerman, Menard, Truex, and Blaney from the second incident, and Vickers from the first -- will have to start at the rear of Thursday's two 150-mile Budweiser Duel qualifying races. Menard, who led one of Saturday's practice sessions and had had one of the faster cars of these Speedweeks, is now bound for a backup.

"We had a really fast Chevrolet, all the RCR cars were extremely fast. Our backup car is pretty good, too," he said. "It comes out of the same shop, obviously. It's not as good as our primary because it's our backup. Sometimes a slower car drives a little better too, so we'll see. I have no reservations about the 150. We'll try to race our hardest and get the best starting position we can."

Richard Childress, who owns Menard's car, could only shake his head. "These guys have just been cooped up all winter, and they're going at it real hard. I don't know what they were doing there," he said. "It's a shame to keep tearing these cars up. It's going to be a week like that. They get a little more run with this little bit more spoiler, and I think some of them are struggling."

Bayne received only nose damage, and Wood Brothers Racing planned to repair his primary vehicle. "The problem is the closing rate is so fast, that if you try to move you have to be so decisive here," he said. "If you commit to a lane, even if it’s going to send you backward, you almost have to stay there because if you try to switch back and forth a couple of times, it isn’t good. It teaches me something for these Duels -- to get in a lane, stay there and ride it out."

AJ Allmendinger was fastest in the session, which was cut short due to repairs that needed to be made to the catchfence -- which was reinforced in the wake of last season's Nationwide Series crash involving Kyle Larson's car. A Daytona spokesman said the fence performed the way it was designed, suffering "some minimal damage" along the frontstretch. One cable and some of the mesh fencing had to be repaired before a second Sprint Cup practice Wednesday evening, which was completed without incident.

The day's first crash forced both Vickers and Whitt to backups. A cowl flap from one of the cars involved in that incident stuck in the front end of Jeff Gordon's car, in the crease between the hood and the front grille. But the No. 24 team was able to repair the damage and did not move to a backup.

It was a costly afternoon for drivers like Whitt, Truex and Blaney who still need to race their way into the Daytona 500 through Thursday night's qualifying races. Blaney, driving a car for Humphrey-Smith Racing, said he didn't have a backup car immediately available.

"We were coming to the tri-oval behind Ryan Truex, and he checked up, and by the time I got checked up, it was on and cars were all over the place," Blaney said. "Going down the back straightway right before that, I told myself, 'I don't need to be out here right now. We got no backup car.' But I was in the outer lane and there was no bailing, so it got us."

No wonder some teams decided against drafting altogether. "That's the reason you see the 3, 48, and the 88 just sitting," Childress said, referring to the cars of Austin Dillon, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. "Tonight's when you want to go, when the weather's like it's going to be when you're racing anyway.''

Piece of metal from Brian Vickers' car stuck in front end of Jeff Gordon's car, in crease where hood meets grille. No move to backup for 24.

In other news.  Tony finally tells Richard to pretty much put up or shut up.  


Tony Stewart broke his silence on Wednesday regarding seven-time NASCAR premier series champion Richard Petty’s comments about Stewart’s driver, Danica Patrick.

A guest on a taping of Performance Racing Network’s "Fast Talk" radio show at a Daytona Beach Outback Steakhouse, Stewart told Patrick that "she should challenge Richard to a heads-up race."

"I think that would pretty much settle it once and for all," Stewart continued. "Maybe get him to shut up a little bit, too.

"I think he forgets that, that NASCAR's changed a lot since he was a driver and how hard it really is now."

The three-time champion offered to supply cars for the challenge.

"If he wants to race her, I'll make sure they have exactly the same setup in the car and give him a chance," Stewart said. "He can drive one of my 14 cars."

When host Doug Rice suggested that Patrick have Petty sign her Sunoco checkered flag after her first win, Stewart said, "If I were her, I'd take it over and cram it up his (expletive)."

"That's the first time I've said anything about it. It's like I've tried to steer away from it, but it's like, "Man, did he really think about what he said before he said it?"

Stewart's comments came after NASCAR Hall of Famer Petty's response to a question at the Canadian Motorsports Expo on Feb. 9 when he said that the only way the second-year driver would win a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race was "if everybody else stayed home."

At NASCAR Media Day on Feb. 13, Patrick said, "You know, people have said things in the past and they will say things in the future, I still say the same thing and that's that everybody is entitled to their own opinion," Patrick said.

"People are going to judge what he said and I'm just not going to."

Stewart noted that his driver has been "under a microscope" since she began racing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series in 2010, moving over from IndyCar.

"Everybody was judging her from Day 1 that she got in a stock car when it was a Nationwide car, when she got in a Cup car," Stewart said. "It takes a little longer than what the media and everybody's giving her time to learn."

"I think that's why it surprised us so much that Richard said what he said because I remember when I was in a Nationwide car and crashed a lot. I remember when Jimmie (Johnson) was there, and he struggled. I remember when Jeff Gordon struggled in a Nationwide car. We all did."

"People didn't pay attention to what we were doing. We got to wreck cars. Nobody cared. Nobody knew who we were. Nobody cared about paying attention to us. There was somebody else that was a bigger name to watch."

"When Danica came in, she's had all the pressure, all the media attention. She can't walk two steps in the garage area without being smothered. How she can even focus on driving a car, I can't comprehend it…so I think she does it better than anybody that I know right now. "

Stewart said Patrick's boyfriend, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., had a steep learning curve while racing for him.

"He drove sprint cars and midgets for me and literally about put me out of the open wheel industry. He crashed everything we had, and then he went to Roush and crashed everything he had."

"And in about a two-week period, all of the sudden, he got the feel. Once he got the feel there then everything switched. That's what happened to me as well."

A former IndyCar champion, Stewart explained the learning curve Patrick faces and reiterated his support for his driver.

"When you go from an IndyCar that's as light a weight and has as much downforce and as much grip as it has to a 3,400-pound stock car, it is a huge change, and it's not something that happens overnight."

"She's learned a lot. She's asked a lot of great questions. She has what it takes to do it."


Way to go Tony!!  Now that's a race I want to see...

Good Morning and Happy Friday Race fans!!

Last night was the Budweiser Duels.  Some great racing going on.  

Here are a couple of the highlights..

Duel 1 was pretty clean with Matt Kenseth taking the win.  

Duel 2 on the other hand was a little more exciting.


Now just in case you ever wanted to know how it looks inside the car when flipping over just take a gander at this.    DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME!!!!


And now for the official line up for the DAYTONA 500

Brian Neudorff  @NASCAR_WXMAN

Gave an updated forecast and his predictions for the Daytona 500.

You can read it all here...

Daytona forecast

Saw this on the Nascar Fantasy page.

Numerous drivers including Stewart, Patrick, B Labonte, Johnson, McMurray, Bowyer, Truex, Waltrip, and Ragan will drop to the back to start the Daytona 500 because of engine changes before the Duels and backup cars after. Per the rules, Place Differential will be based on NASCAR’s official starting position.