Early Sign of Spring, (the Dreaded Pothole) — Extends Finish of Daytona 500

While the east coast is still digging out from the recent snowstorms, there was one sign of winter’s thaw found at today’s Daytona 500 that will resonate with just about all drivers: the pothole! The Great American race was red-flagged twice today as NASCAR track maintenance crews tried to repair a pothole which developed on Turn 2 with only 78 laps remaining.

Someone, please call FDOT (Florida Department of Transportation)! I think they could have provided a quicker response to today’s pothole problem. It took NASCAR two attempts and almost a 2½-hour total delay to finally solve this problem. And although the racing was good, there isn’t any doubt that the racing situation changed considerably through the three distinct stages of today’s race.

The first segment lasted 122 laps and we found out early that two of the Dodge Boys (Brad Keselowski and Sam Hornish, Jr.) basically eliminated themselves from any opportunity to win today’s race when Brad’s Penske’s Dodge blew a right rear tire. The ensuing accident collected his teammate – Sam Hornish, Jr in the #77 Mobil 1 Dodge. This left the blue deuce Miller Lite Dodge driven by Kurt Busch as the only competitive Dodge in the field. And, was he ever so competitive. Busch led most of the laps (30+) in this segment. Although the track was slippery, Kurt found it very manageable all afternoon, as his competitors’ cars were not handling the track conditions as well.

However, with the first red-flag event lasting over 1½ hours, the sun began to set and the shadows grew longer, and with it the racetrack temperatures began to fall. These changes to the track temperatures presented handling problems for the blue deuce. And many of the competitors, who were having problems with the slippery track earlier in the day, saw their handling situations improve. Even so, the Miller Lite Dodge was still very competitive and still running near the front of the pack.

The second red-flag caused yet another 45-minute delay in the racing. Now with the lights turned on, the fans, most who were still in attendance, all knew that the fastest laps were about to be turned. These final 38 laps were going to be a real shootout for sure—this is what NASCAR racing is all about.

Kurt Busch battled his way up in this third segment from middle of the pack to third place. Then the yellow flag came out with 6 laps remaining for an accident involving Elliott Sadler, Ryan Newman and Travis Kvapil. At this point, I thought Kurt had the Miller Lite Dodge right where he wanted to be, but his team decided to pit for fuel and tires instead. Only half the field came in with him on this caution with the majority of those leaders staying out.

Yep, what a stupid move, I was thinking! But this year, one of many new rule changes involves the green/white/checker–rule. This year, unlike prior seasons, there can be multiple attempts of a green/white/checker finish. Basically, a green/white/checker cannot be official unless the race leader takes the white flag. This could present an opportunity for multiple green/white/checker attempts if an accident occurs on the green lap. And today, it was put to the test. As yet another caution came out halfway through the first green/white/checker flag finish. Even though today’s race went 520 miles (with an extra 8 laps added to the race), Kurt Busch’s blue deuce couldn’t overcome the deficit of being in the middle of pack, running 20th late in the race. The Miller Lite Dodge came across the finish line 23rd getting bumped against the wall in the final turn accident with Jeff Gordon.

Today’s win by Jamie McMurray was his first Daytona 500 win, and a first with his new team—Earnhardt-Ganassi. The racing now turns westward for the next two weeks as NASCAR goes to California and Las Vegas. With colder than normal temperatures in both locations the race teams may find the conditions similar to those found at Daytona these past few weeks.

Dodge Boys finishing positions at the 2010 Daytona 500:

#2 (Miller Lite), Kurt Busch, 23rd
#12 (Penske Racing), Brad Keselowski, 36th
#77 (Mobil 1), Sam Hornish, Jr., 37th

J.R.
14 Feb 2010

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