The Daytona 500...the Superbowl of this sport comes first in the season. Odd, but true. This race pays the most and sets the tone for the season. If a driver has a great 500, that can boost their entire season. If just the opposite happens, it can put the team in a tailspin early on that they may not be able to recover from. There were 57 teams that tried to make it into the 500, but the field only holds 43. That means 14 teams failed to make the first points race of the season. Here's an interesting fact and the main incentive for a team sinking a lot of money into making the 500...if you finish last, that's last place, the absolute worst of the field, 42 cars finish ahead of you, you are the biggest loser...it pays $250,000...to lose! So making the 500 is huge! Many teams come to the 500 hoping to make the field and with that publicity try to get sponsorship for the rest of the season. One of those teams that did that this season is a brand new team with a very familiar name at the helm. Tommy Baldwin, crew chief of the 2002 Daytona 500 winning team was let go by Stewart/Haas Racing at the end of the year. He quickly put together a team called Tommy Baldwin Racing, hired Scott Riggs as his driver and they qualified for the 500. They parlayed that into some new sponsorship that just may get them into every race of the 2009 season. Baldwin and Riggs are both cast offs to a certain extent and now have the chance to "prove 'em all wrong". I hope he has a great day!
Another great story is the previously mentioned Stewart Haas Racing team. Tony Stewart, 2 time Sprint Cup Champion left the comfort of Joe Gibbs Racing, his home for over 10 years, to for SHR. He hired fellow Hoosier, Ryan Newman, away from Penske Racing to make a great 2 car team that is loosely affiliated with Hendrick Motorsports. They get their chassis and engines from HMS, so it is basically a 5th and 6th team for Rick Hendrick. Tony had to qualify on time to get in and did...Ryan also qualified well and both were in great starting positions for the 500...then came yesterday's Happy Hour...which was neither happy nor an hour for SHR. Ryan's right rear tire blew during the practice and he wrecked...it only got worse from there. As he was spinning, his car collected the car of team owner Tony Stewart and both cars were trashed. Therefore, both the 39 of Ryan Newman and the 14 of Tony Stewart have to go to the back of the field in backup cars. I am still pulling for Tony. Though many people don't like Tony because he is quite a jerk sometimes, I think he's an incredible driver!
I am also pulling for A.J. Allmendinger, a former open wheel driver starting in his first Daytona 500. Who's you're pick for today's race?
It will be an incredible 500 once again...if the rain holds off! With the chance of rain sitting at 70%, it doesn't seem likely that we'll get the whole race in today. If we can at least get halfway plus one lap, the I can go home tomorrow! I have been here since February 3rd and I'm ready to go home...for a day. I have to fly to California a day early, on Wednesday, to get the truck put back together after SpeedWeeks. Yippee.
I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, but, as you know, it may just be an oncoming train!
My projected top three is:
3. Denny Hamlin
2. Jimmie Johnson
1. Jeff Gordon
Happy Raceay!
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