Nightona 500

Ten post Daytona 500 thoughts...

1 - Rain rain go away... nuf said.

2 - Wow Here it Comes, Here Comes the Night... The first Daytona 500 under the lights, and on a school night! Well done to NASCAR for getting the race done!

3 - If Jimmy Spencer was Mr Excitment, Elliot Sadler has to be Mr Impatient... Lap 2? Really?

4 - Oh look its a girl in a race suit... the new "face of NASCAR" was stuffed in the wall, hard, in her Duel race, taken out by her team mate in the Nationwide race, and her 500 effectively ended courtesy of Mr Sadler. Pity! Only time will tell if she can win races in either series.

5 - Pack is back... Much credit to NASCAR for delivering the style of racing the fans wanted while also giving the drivers the ability to race for themselves and slingshot for the win.

6 - Juan for the delay, Two car for the show, Three delays to get ready, now go cat go, but don't you, wreck my new tarmac... or something like that... Who would have thought the "big one" would be between one race car and a jet drier? Que a Twitter and Facebook world full of "Juan less jet drier", or Days of Thunder, "hit the pace car" gags. While it looked like something on the 42 car broke, JPM needs to start looking like the world class race car driver again, and not, frankly, a waste of space!




7 - Two car for the show? It can only be Brad Keselowski... posting on twitter... in the middle of the race... brilliant!!

8 -  More NASCAR love... Half way payout worked perfectly, as did fuel injection!

9 - Umbrella, ella, ella... This years Daytona 500 proved once and for all that in racing... just when you think you have seen it all...

10 - Ford rules... Well done to Matt Kenseth, 2012 Daytona 500 winner!!



Now the regular season starts... roll on Phoenix!!

Duel at the Daytona Corrall

What do we know after yesterdays two Gatorade Duel races ?

Firstly the field is now set for Sundays running of the Daytona 500!


http://www.jayski.com/news/stats/2012/story/_/page/01-Daytona-Qualifying-Lineup

We know the big race could be a race of two halves. The first, fairly laid back, just getting some laps in, trying a few things out, settling the car in to the track, seeing how the draft works, and seeing how the engine temperatures change when bump drafting, a lot like the second Duel race. The second half could be a real eye opener, just like the first Duel race. Full of action, wrecks and riches for the victor.

We know that not only does tandem drafting work, for as long as the engine temps can handle it, but we also know that the old fashioned draft works very well too! Just look at the run the 88 had on the 14 on the last lap of the first Duel when the yellow flag came out. Was Smoke really going to win that race had it stayed green?



We know that Danica was very unlucky! We must also be impressed with not only what she did with her hands as she approached the inside wall, but also her attitude to the whole weekend, learn and gain respect first and results will come!

We know that as a young, inexperienced rookie, Michael Waltrip is likely to make silly mistakes...

We also know that the 500 is a long race, and a different prospect completely to the Shootout and the Duels.

So I guess that means we don't know all that much after all!