JR WINS FIRST
Daytona, FL: After his domineering performance in the Bud Shootout and the 1st Gatorade Twin 125 Race, it was not hard to figure out that Dale Earnhardt, Jr. would continue this trend in the 46th Daytona 500. It was exactly 6 years ago to the day that Dale Earnhardt, Sr. won this same race. It was the only time Jr’s father had won the Daytona 500. It was also only the 3rd time in history that a father and son had won the same race.
Jr’s trip to Victory Circle was not easily achieved. In the past, the #8 Budweiser Chevrolet would hook up with his DEI team mate, Michael Waltrip. However, Michael got caught up in the pack and was not able to connect with Jr. Instead, Jr found a partner in Tony Stewart. The #20 Home Depot Chevrolet had started behind Jr. He pushed Jr. to the front and the two stayed together for most of the day.
The lead switched from Jr. to Tony as the two headed for pit stops on lap 30. While Jr. was braking at the entrance to pit road, Tony skipped past him and slowed down quickly before getting to the speed line. Tony proceeded to the lead for most of the remainder of the race. But, with 19 laps left, Jr. powered his way past Tony to take the lead. Trying as hard as he could, Tony could not get past Jr again. Tony finished 2nd.
The surprise finish of the day came in the 3rd place position with Scott Wimmer. The #22 Caterpillar Dodge started 26th. He stayed out of trouble and made his way through the field. Then, on lap 170, crew chief, Frank Stoddard, made a decision to take only 2 tires. This put Scott into the lead. Unfortunately, he was running alone with no drafting help. It didn’t take long for the drafting line of Tony Stewart, Jr. and Kurt Busch to catch Scott and pass him by;. He was able to snag onto the rear of this small pack and ride it through to the end of the race.
Although Kevin Harvick led the race on several occasions, the #29 Goodwrench Chevrolet was not strong enough to stay there. Kevin did stay in the top 10 during the entire race, finishing 4th.
Jimmie Johnson was looking for drafting help early in the race. Imagine his surprise when that help came in the form of team mate, Jeff Gordon. Jeff had started the race in the back of the field with a provisional. Jimmie was able to take the lead on lap 42 when the lead cars were sandwiched in with lapped traffic. Jimmie’s lead was short-lived when Tony Stewart broke free and took back the lead. Jimmie battled again, but couldn’t get past the powerful #20. Jimmie ended the race 5th. After a very disappointing start, Jeff Gordon finished 8th.
Of course, a restrictor plate race would not be the same without the “Big One”. It came on lap 71 and 12 cars were involved. The huge wreck began when John Sauter got loose in the #30 AOL Chevrolet. He moved up into the #25 GMAC Chevrolet of Brian Vickers, who squeezed Michael Waltrip into the outside wall. The #15 NAPA Chevrolet slid down across the track and was struck by the #31 Cingular Chevrolet of Robby Gordon. Michael then flipped over onto the roof of his car. There were a few tense moments as the rescue crew tried to figure out the best way to get Michael out. Fortunately, Michael was not injured and they flipped the car over. Michael was able to climb out. Brian Vickers was turned into the wall and the 10 other vehicles spun and collided as they checked up or tried to avoid the wreck. Luckily, no one was injured.
A prior incident that occurred on lap 60 took out Rusty Wallace in the #2 Miller Lite Dodge, Jeff Green in the #43 Cheerios Dodge and Ken Schrader in the #49 Schwen Dodge. The #6 Viagra Ford of Mark Martin and the #99 TNT Ford of Jeff Burton both lost engines early in the race.
The race did not turn out as well as we had hoped. The first Twin 125 race had been exciting with
lots of lead changes and passing. The 500 was dull with the same two cars leading for most of the race
and very little passing. Perhaps NASCAR will take a look at the race and make adjustments that will
improve the overall race for the upcoming Talladega and Pepsi 400 races.
Article by S. Kipple
02/15/04
Links
Website designed and maintained
by CSP
Media
original content (c)2002-2004 Dawn Church
Visit http://www.Virtual411.com
"Your Place" in cyberspace
Statements within are the opinions of their authors and do not
necessarily reflect the opinion of CSP Media and their affiliates.