The Bud Shootout started Speedweeks 2011 and introduced a new phenominon. Two cars locked bumper to bumper around the freshly laid asphalt of Daytona, can gain about ten miles per hour on cars that run in a large pack. If you were not partnered up in the Shootout, you were shuffled to the back and had no chance at the victory. The same was true for the Gatorade Duels yesterday. If you wanted to take maximum advantage of the new, grippier tarmak, you had to find a dancing partner. That led to record lead changes and some exciting, dramatic racing to see who would make the Great American Race.
Going into the Duels, Bill Elliott, Travis Kvapil and Joe Nemechek were guarenteed spots in Sunday's 500 field from their qualifying laps last Sunday. And if one of those drivers managed to race in through the Twin 150s, Michael Waltrip and Dave Blaney were next in line to get in on qualifying speeds. As the first Duel went green, it became evident that the "Two Car Tango" would be the key to winning. It also became apparent what a nessesary evil this new kind of drafting is. On the second lap, Tony Stewart was pushing teammate Ryan Newman off of turn two, when Newman broke loose and spun down to the infield. That was the extent of the on track contact, but the close quarters racing was far from over.
The early conetnders were the tandem of Kurt Busch and Regan Smith. Another potent duo was Kevin Harvick and Matt Kenseth. Mark Martin, Juan Montoya and Kasey Kahne were also factors. Now, there is a downside to this two car breakaway. And that is the fact that the car that is pushing will eventually need to duck out of line for air. Otherwise, the radiator will start pushing water out the overflow and the motor will overheat. The way the drivers eliviate this problem is to switch off and have the lead car move back and push their partner. This change takes just a few seconds, but they will lose considerable time and speed in the process. Despite the potential for overheating problems, Kenseth never left Harvick's back bumper and pushed the Budweiser Chevy for a vast majority of the event.
Despite a late race restart, Kurt Busch and Regan Smith, one of the most potent tandems throughout Speedweeks, managed to break away to settle the finish amongst themsevles. Coming off turn 4, Smith ducked low, Busch blocked, Smith looked high and ran out of time. Kurt Busch went two-for-two and won his second race in a row in his new #22 Shell-Pennzoil Dodge. This further proved that Busch has a legitimate shot to win his first 500 on Sunday. But Regan Smith and his Colorado based Furniture Row Chevy team proved they can get it done as well. With the strength of the ECR engine program, especially on plate tracks, the sky is the limit for the Cato, New York native and his little know #78 team. Bill Elliott netted the first transfer spot, meaning that another spot on the grid opened up and Michael Waltrip got in on his speed from quals last Sunday (Way to go Mikey!!!) and J.J. Yeley passed teammates Kevin Conway and Joe Nemechek on the final restart and snuck his shoestring budget race team into the big show, sending Conway to the house. And that was just the FIRST race of the day!!
The second duel proved to be just as exciting, as veteran Jeff Gordon and youngster Trevor Bayne led the field to the green flag. Just to give you some perspective, it was mentioned during the SPEED broadcast that Bayne was born the year that Gordon ran his first Cup Series race. Yea, he's that young! And he's also that talented, as Bayne's #21 and Gordon's #24 were inceperable all race long. But they could not go on restarts (Remeber that for later). Teammates Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards led several times, as did the Childress Racing machines of Clint Bowyer and Jeff Burton. But the Michael Waltrip Racing Toyotas were extremely strong as well. David Reutimann, Martin Truex, Jr and Michael Waltrip had plotted and planned all week to try and push Waltrip into a spot in his 25th consecutive Daytona 500. But now that Bill Elliott had locked him in through the first duel, all that mattered was trying to win.
Reutimann and Waltrip pushed their way from running ninth and eleventh respectivly at the start to running fifth and sixth by the second lap. Truex also found a pusher in Toyota teammate Denny Hamlin, both of whom started at the rear of the field and wasted no time rocketing to the front. The first yellow flew early in this race too, as Casey Mears blew his second engine in as many days, ending his hopes of racing this weekend. And the image shown on television of Mears sitting on the window, half out of his Geico machine, helmet on and motionless, shows just how crushing and harsh a reality that can be.
When the race went back green, the drivers teamed up again. There was a lot more pack racing in this duel than in the first, more like the old, worn out, bumpy Daytona, but the tandem draft was still the key to sucess. It also proved to be the downfall of Joey Logano. In an incident similar to the one that claimed polesitter Dale Earnhardt, Jr's car, as well as Martin Truex, Jr's, Logano came up on a goup of cars that was slowing down just a bit. Since you can't see though these racecars, Michael Waltrip didn't see the pack slowing up ahead, so when Logano went to slow down and duck out of line, Waltrip couldn't see and was still pushing Logano. This sent the #20 Home Depot Camry carening off the inside wall on the frontstrech, forcing the team to roll the backup off the truck for the 500. Logano didn't blame Waltrip in his interview afterwards, he just said it was a product of this new style of racing.
On the next green flag run, Reutimann and Waltrip got seperated making a run at the Childress cars that led the pack. Reutimann was picked up by stablemate Truex, and Mikey was pusjed by Toyota teammate Kyle Busch. Denny Hamlin was later squeezed out of line down the backstrech, just like Newman earlier, bringing out the final yellow and setting up an exciting finish. Remeber how I said Bayne and Gordon couldn't get going on restarts? Well that was the case again, and they were shuffled to the rear to attempt to make a later run. Back up front, Burton led Bowyer and Waltrip was getting pushed by Busch. It looked like the Toyota tandem was in a great position to pass the Bowtie bergaid, but they never got a good enough run. Jeff Burton won his first Gatorade duel and Bowyer finished second by a hair. Waltrip got third and Busch netted fourth. But the action didn't stop there.
Jeff and Trevor were still trying to make a run at the finish, and Jeff got loose in the process. Trevor ducked low to avoid contact, but the #24 came down off the wall and got into him, collecting the #6 of David Ragan in the process. Not what any of these teams wanted with only a few hours of practice left before the big show this Sunday. The underdog from this race was Brian Keselowski, who was not even on the same same budget as a team like Yeley's. Brian took a 2006 Dodge chassis he bought and, with a lot of pushing help from little brother Brad, Brian made the Daytona 500 and will now have the money to race at Phoenix next weekend.
But the feel good story was definitly Michael Waltrip making it into his 25th consecutive Daytona 500. This weekend is also the tenth anniversary of his first Daytona 500 win, which remains shrowded in sadness, as that was the race when NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt was killed. That was Waltrip's first race for his close friend Earnhardt's team and it was Dale's belief in Mikey, telling him "You'll win in my cars" that helped him to realize a dream and snap a 462 race winless streak by winning the biggest race you can win. Waltrip is running a special Toyota Camry this weekend, branded with the NAPA shield, yellow stripes and #15 that he wheeled to victory on that day ten years ago, and again in 2003. The car has a NAPA blue stripe from the hood to the decklid, but the sides, front and rear are matte black to pay tribute to the life of the legend that gave him the confidence and the opportunity to win races and cahmpionships.
The car also advertises Michael's new book "In the Blink of an Eye" (Now #10 on the NY Times Bestseller List). This is Mikey's memoir, chronicling his journey to earn a NASCAR ride like his brother, Darrell, to his start as a team owner in 2007. But the book centers around the 2001 Dayona 500 and Waltrip's dealing with the grief and coming to grips with the loss of his owner, mentor and closest friend and the profound effects it has had on his life. If Mikey could win the Great American Race this Sunday, it would bring him full circle, pay tribute to his friend Dale Sr, and maybe finally give him a sense of closure. He definitly has the car and the skills to pull it off.
Going into the Duels, Bill Elliott, Travis Kvapil and Joe Nemechek were guarenteed spots in Sunday's 500 field from their qualifying laps last Sunday. And if one of those drivers managed to race in through the Twin 150s, Michael Waltrip and Dave Blaney were next in line to get in on qualifying speeds. As the first Duel went green, it became evident that the "Two Car Tango" would be the key to winning. It also became apparent what a nessesary evil this new kind of drafting is. On the second lap, Tony Stewart was pushing teammate Ryan Newman off of turn two, when Newman broke loose and spun down to the infield. That was the extent of the on track contact, but the close quarters racing was far from over.
The early conetnders were the tandem of Kurt Busch and Regan Smith. Another potent duo was Kevin Harvick and Matt Kenseth. Mark Martin, Juan Montoya and Kasey Kahne were also factors. Now, there is a downside to this two car breakaway. And that is the fact that the car that is pushing will eventually need to duck out of line for air. Otherwise, the radiator will start pushing water out the overflow and the motor will overheat. The way the drivers eliviate this problem is to switch off and have the lead car move back and push their partner. This change takes just a few seconds, but they will lose considerable time and speed in the process. Despite the potential for overheating problems, Kenseth never left Harvick's back bumper and pushed the Budweiser Chevy for a vast majority of the event.
Despite a late race restart, Kurt Busch and Regan Smith, one of the most potent tandems throughout Speedweeks, managed to break away to settle the finish amongst themsevles. Coming off turn 4, Smith ducked low, Busch blocked, Smith looked high and ran out of time. Kurt Busch went two-for-two and won his second race in a row in his new #22 Shell-Pennzoil Dodge. This further proved that Busch has a legitimate shot to win his first 500 on Sunday. But Regan Smith and his Colorado based Furniture Row Chevy team proved they can get it done as well. With the strength of the ECR engine program, especially on plate tracks, the sky is the limit for the Cato, New York native and his little know #78 team. Bill Elliott netted the first transfer spot, meaning that another spot on the grid opened up and Michael Waltrip got in on his speed from quals last Sunday (Way to go Mikey!!!) and J.J. Yeley passed teammates Kevin Conway and Joe Nemechek on the final restart and snuck his shoestring budget race team into the big show, sending Conway to the house. And that was just the FIRST race of the day!!
The second duel proved to be just as exciting, as veteran Jeff Gordon and youngster Trevor Bayne led the field to the green flag. Just to give you some perspective, it was mentioned during the SPEED broadcast that Bayne was born the year that Gordon ran his first Cup Series race. Yea, he's that young! And he's also that talented, as Bayne's #21 and Gordon's #24 were inceperable all race long. But they could not go on restarts (Remeber that for later). Teammates Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards led several times, as did the Childress Racing machines of Clint Bowyer and Jeff Burton. But the Michael Waltrip Racing Toyotas were extremely strong as well. David Reutimann, Martin Truex, Jr and Michael Waltrip had plotted and planned all week to try and push Waltrip into a spot in his 25th consecutive Daytona 500. But now that Bill Elliott had locked him in through the first duel, all that mattered was trying to win.
Reutimann and Waltrip pushed their way from running ninth and eleventh respectivly at the start to running fifth and sixth by the second lap. Truex also found a pusher in Toyota teammate Denny Hamlin, both of whom started at the rear of the field and wasted no time rocketing to the front. The first yellow flew early in this race too, as Casey Mears blew his second engine in as many days, ending his hopes of racing this weekend. And the image shown on television of Mears sitting on the window, half out of his Geico machine, helmet on and motionless, shows just how crushing and harsh a reality that can be.
When the race went back green, the drivers teamed up again. There was a lot more pack racing in this duel than in the first, more like the old, worn out, bumpy Daytona, but the tandem draft was still the key to sucess. It also proved to be the downfall of Joey Logano. In an incident similar to the one that claimed polesitter Dale Earnhardt, Jr's car, as well as Martin Truex, Jr's, Logano came up on a goup of cars that was slowing down just a bit. Since you can't see though these racecars, Michael Waltrip didn't see the pack slowing up ahead, so when Logano went to slow down and duck out of line, Waltrip couldn't see and was still pushing Logano. This sent the #20 Home Depot Camry carening off the inside wall on the frontstrech, forcing the team to roll the backup off the truck for the 500. Logano didn't blame Waltrip in his interview afterwards, he just said it was a product of this new style of racing.
On the next green flag run, Reutimann and Waltrip got seperated making a run at the Childress cars that led the pack. Reutimann was picked up by stablemate Truex, and Mikey was pusjed by Toyota teammate Kyle Busch. Denny Hamlin was later squeezed out of line down the backstrech, just like Newman earlier, bringing out the final yellow and setting up an exciting finish. Remeber how I said Bayne and Gordon couldn't get going on restarts? Well that was the case again, and they were shuffled to the rear to attempt to make a later run. Back up front, Burton led Bowyer and Waltrip was getting pushed by Busch. It looked like the Toyota tandem was in a great position to pass the Bowtie bergaid, but they never got a good enough run. Jeff Burton won his first Gatorade duel and Bowyer finished second by a hair. Waltrip got third and Busch netted fourth. But the action didn't stop there.
Jeff and Trevor were still trying to make a run at the finish, and Jeff got loose in the process. Trevor ducked low to avoid contact, but the #24 came down off the wall and got into him, collecting the #6 of David Ragan in the process. Not what any of these teams wanted with only a few hours of practice left before the big show this Sunday. The underdog from this race was Brian Keselowski, who was not even on the same same budget as a team like Yeley's. Brian took a 2006 Dodge chassis he bought and, with a lot of pushing help from little brother Brad, Brian made the Daytona 500 and will now have the money to race at Phoenix next weekend.
But the feel good story was definitly Michael Waltrip making it into his 25th consecutive Daytona 500. This weekend is also the tenth anniversary of his first Daytona 500 win, which remains shrowded in sadness, as that was the race when NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt was killed. That was Waltrip's first race for his close friend Earnhardt's team and it was Dale's belief in Mikey, telling him "You'll win in my cars" that helped him to realize a dream and snap a 462 race winless streak by winning the biggest race you can win. Waltrip is running a special Toyota Camry this weekend, branded with the NAPA shield, yellow stripes and #15 that he wheeled to victory on that day ten years ago, and again in 2003. The car has a NAPA blue stripe from the hood to the decklid, but the sides, front and rear are matte black to pay tribute to the life of the legend that gave him the confidence and the opportunity to win races and cahmpionships.
The car also advertises Michael's new book "In the Blink of an Eye" (Now #10 on the NY Times Bestseller List). This is Mikey's memoir, chronicling his journey to earn a NASCAR ride like his brother, Darrell, to his start as a team owner in 2007. But the book centers around the 2001 Dayona 500 and Waltrip's dealing with the grief and coming to grips with the loss of his owner, mentor and closest friend and the profound effects it has had on his life. If Mikey could win the Great American Race this Sunday, it would bring him full circle, pay tribute to his friend Dale Sr, and maybe finally give him a sense of closure. He definitly has the car and the skills to pull it off.
