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Harvick Wins Back-To-Back Budweiser Shootout In Exciting Finish

     DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. - The Budweiser Shootout has the proper name.... a Shootout.... anybody's race.... A no-holds-barred, fistfight with stock cars..... NASCAR stock cars.
     Whoowee.... What a race! And what a finish.
    After a caution fell with just six laps remaining, the second of the race for Michael Waltrip, who was turned sideways by Ryan Newman, the stage was set for a spectacular finish and America's best professional race drivers didn't disappoint a huge crowd.
    Kevin Harvick, sidelined with the flu for a week leading up to Saturday night's race at Daytona International Speedway, won the race, taking the lead with just two laps remaining.
    The race actually ended under caution when Greg Biffle's car had a flat tire to trigger an eight-car pileup behind winner Harvick, runner-up Kasey Kahne and third-place finisher Jamie McMurray.
    Just before the race, Harvick, who had never run a lap in his car before strapping in for the race, told a national FOX network television audience, "I'll earn my paycheck tonight."
     And that he did. Harvick ran in front or close to it the entire final 50 laps of the 75-lap race and held off some stirring challenges by Tony Stewart and McMurray, as well as a pack of other snarling drivers, who bumped and banged each other all night. The night might have been a chilly one but the action was hot and heated.
    Carl Edwards appeared to be the car to beat, dominating the first 25 laps, but he was shuffled out of line with about 30 laps to go and was eventually involved in the crash at the end.
    The win for Harvick and his Shell-sponsored Richard Childress Chevrolet team was his second in as many years and was worth $200,000.
     Rounding out the top 10 behind Harvick, Kahne and McMurray were Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Jeff Gordon, Joey Logano, Brian Vickers, Stewart and Montoya.
     Pole-sitter Edwards led the first lap of the 25-lap opening segment with Vickers on his bumper in the Red Bull Toyota.
   After just a few laps, the cars were bunched like bananas as they darted and diced around the bumpy, two-and-a-half mile, high-banked, tri-oval.
     Edwards continued to lead after 10 laps with Harvick running second and Stewart third. Trailing that trio was Jimmie Johnson, Kahne, Biffle, Vickers, McMurray, Earnhardt Jr. and Kenseth.
     Johnson, who started 16th, slipped silently forward as he has done so often during the past four seasons when he captured the NASCAR Sprint Cup championship an unprecedented four years in a row.
     At 20 laps, Stewart was challenging Edwards with a push from Kahne. Meanwhile, Harvick was shoving Edwards as the four cars battled lap after lap, side by side, inches apart.
    The racing was unbelievable with the biggest carburetor restrictor plate since ol’ D.W. (Darrell Waltrip) won the Daytona 500 in 1989.
    By the time they reached the 25-lap intermission point, when Michael Waltrip brought out the night's first caution with a spin out of Turn 2, it was Edwards still in front with Stewart a close second. Kahne was next followed by McMurray, Harvick, Vickers, Johnson, Biffle, Burton and Gordon.
   Although it wasn't easy, Edwards was the official leader of every one of the first 25 laps. Stewart actually challenged Edwards just about every lap towards the end of the first segment, but Edwards held him off at the start/finish line where official lead changes are recorded.

Martin, Earnhardt earn top two starting spots at Daytona

(February 6, 2010)

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Three weeks ago, at a Fan Fest appearance at Daytona International Speedway, Dale Earnhardt Jr. spoke of a renewed spirit of cooperation at the Hendrick Motorsports shop shared by the No. 5 and No. 88 teams.

What Earnhardt termed a "change in culture" spurred by personnel moves within the shop was in full flower Saturday at Daytona.

Mark Martin, who led NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series with seven poles last year, added another his resume, putting his No. 5 Chevy in the top starting spot for the Feb. 14 season-opening Daytona 500. Navigating the 2.5-mile superspeedway in 47.074 seconds (191.188 mph), Martin edged Earnhardt (190.913 mph) for the pole.

Those two drivers, who will start first and second in the 52nd running of NASCAR's most prestigious race, are the only two who know their positions on the grid for the Valentine's Day event. The starting order for the rest of the 43-car field won't be determined until Thursday, with the running of the two Gatorade Duel 150-mile qualifying races.

Team owner Rick Hendrick lavished praise on crew chiefs Alan Gustafson (Martin) and Lance McGrew (Earnhardt).

"The challenge was to run one team with two cars, and then to have those two cars down here that ran almost identical times . . .," Hendrick said. "I know this is just one race, but no one here, and no one outside our company will know the effort Alan and Lance put into this team and these two cars, and I'm really proud of them."

Martin, who won his first Daytona 500 pole and the 49th of his career, tying Bobby Isaac for eighth all-time, echoed those sentiments.

"This is such a great accomplishment for the 5 and 88 teams," Martin said. "That was not an accomplishment of mine. It is one of all our guys on this team. To have Dale Jr. on the outside of the front row, locked in, just means that we are doing stuff right."

Ryan Newman (190.577 mph) was third quickest in Saturday's time trials, followed by Wood Brothers Ford driver Bill Elliott (190.573 mph), the fastest of the 19 drivers required to make the field on speed. Elliott, Scott Speed (13th) and Joe Nemechek (16th) -- the three quickest in the go-or-go-home group -- all know they'll start the race, but won't know their starting positions until the Duels are run.

The other 16 drivers whose cars are not locked into the field by virtue of top-35 owner points finishes in 2009 must try to race their way into the 500 on Thursday. Bobby Labonte, however, is guaranteed a place in the field as the most recent past Cup champion not already exempt, regardless of his finish in the Duels.

Juan Pablo Montoya was fifth fastest, as Chevrolet claimed four of the top five positions and seven of the top 10. Seventh-place Kurt Busch led the Dodge contingent, and ninth-place Kyle Busch paced the Toyota entries.

Martin will lead the field to the green flag in the first of Thursday's Duels, with Earnhardt pacing the second.

"I'm real proud to be on the front row with my teammate, in Hendrick cars, and it's a testament to the engine shop and the fabricators," said Earnhardt, who took a positive step toward rebounding from a career-worst 25th-place points finish in 2009. "Those guys really make the biggest difference at Daytona. We obviously have got great individuals piecing the cars themselves together and making sure they're going to do all things we need to do in qualifying.

"I'm real proud for our sponsors, AMP Energy and National Guard. They've been really supportive, and we've been waiting for what seems like a lifetime through the offseason to get to the racetrack and do good for 'em. So this felt really good today."

Notes: The last driver to win the Daytona 500 from the pole was Dale Jarrett in 2000. The last driver to win the Daytona 500 from the second starting position was Dale Jarrett in 1993. … Martin's pole-winning speed was the fastest for the 500 since Jeff Gordon took the top spot in 1999 at 195.067 mph. … At 51, Martin is the oldest Daytona 500 pole winner.

QUALIFICATIONS

RACING REPORTS

NEWS & NOTES

Best Daytona 500 Finishes, No. 5

1993: Dale Vs. Dale Results In Father-Son Moment

(Note: This is the first installment in a five-part series on some of the best Daytona 500 finishes in the history of “The Great American Race.” Finishes were chosen based on the drama they created — and the historical value that resulted.
Today, we take a look at No. 5 in the countdown: Dale Jarrett’s scant .16-second victory over Dale Earnhardt, in 1993.)

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Feb. 8, 2010) — The 1993 Daytona 500 provided a photo-finish fit for a family album, provided that family was the Jarretts.

In the record book, the result reads cold and concise — a .16-second margin of victory by Dale Jarrett over Dale Earnhardt. But this was a result with ramifications beyond the checkered flag, as it became one of NASCAR’s signature moments, memorable to say the least.

On the Daytona International Speedway tri-oval, the competition evolved into a fantastic “Dale vs. Dale” battle, with Jarrett chasing down Earnhardt in the closing laps. Jarrett was trying to win his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. Earnhardt was trying to finally win the Daytona 500 on what was then his 15th attempt.

Up in the television booth, Ned Jarrett had his own battle ongoing — to keep his composure. The invariably unflappable CBS commentator found himself torn between doing his job and cheering his son down the stretch. CBS’s Bob Stenner black-flagged protocol in deciding to see if the father could somehow do both. Stenner told play-by-play man Ken Squier to “lay out,” television lingo for basically getting out of the way and letting a situation develop naturally.

And develop it did.

Jarrett, a 36-year-old driver with the then-fledgling Joe Gibbs Racing organization, had the audacity to horn in on another late-race duel, that one involving Earnhardt and a heralded rookie named Jeff Gordon. Using an aerodynamic boost from longtime Earnhardt adversary Geoff Bodine, Jarrett went from third to first, getting past Earnhardt after their cars bumped in Turn 3.

Coming out of Turn 4, entering the DIS tri-oval and finish line, the nation’s television viewers heard Ned Jarrett at his finest.

“Come on Dale! Go, baby go! He’s gonna make it … Dale Jarrett’s gonna win the Daytona 500!”

Moments after that memorable call, the cameras found Martha Jarrett, Dale’s mother, crying her eyes out, happily. As for Ned, he was having the same experience, and became the welcome recipient of a box of tissues in the booth.

Dale Jarrett had delivered car owner Joe Gibbs his first NASCAR Sprint Cup win — in the sport’s biggest race, no less. There was serendipity at work; Ned Jarrett won two series championships in the 1960s but never won the Daytona 500. Interviewed post-race, Dale dedicated the victory to Ned and the rest of his family.

The 1993 Daytona 500 finish was NASCAR at its finest.

Statistical Advance: Analyzing The Daytona 500

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Feb. 8, 2010) – Below is a bulleted statistical look at some of the top performers at Daytona International Speedway, including both the Daytona 500 and the annual July race:

Clint Bowyer (No. 33 Cheerios Chevrolet)

· One top five, five top 10s

· Average finish of 13.4

· Average Running Position of 16.7, 12th-best

· Driver Rating of 84.6, ninth-best

Jeff Burton (No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet)

· One win, six top fives, eight top 10s; one pole

· Average finish of 17.8

· Average Running Position of 15.4, ninth-best

· Driver Rating of 83.5, 10th-best

· 38 Fastest Laps Run, ninth-most

· Series-high 1,987 Green Flag Passes

· Average Green Flag Speed of 185.228 mph, sixth-fastest

· 1,004 Laps in the Top 15 (57.0%), 11th-most

· 1,195 Quality Passes, fourth-most

Kurt Busch (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge)

· Nine top fives, 10 top 10s

· Average finish of 17.2

· Average Running Position of 14.8, sixth-best

· Driver Rating of 92.5, fifth-best

· 37 Fastest Laps Run, 12th-most

· Average Green Flag Speed of 185.074 mph, 13th-fastest

· 1,148 Laps in the Top 15 (65.2%), sixth-most

· 1,143 Quality Passes, sixth-most

Kyle Busch (No. 18 M&M's Toyota)

· One win, four top fives, four top 10s

· Average finish of 18.0

· Average Running Position of 10.9, second-best

· Driver Rating of 101.0, second-best

· Series-high 1,363 Laps in the Top 15 (77.4%)

· 1,181 Quality Passes, fifth-most

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 AMP Energy Drink/National Guard Chevrolet)

· Two wins, six top fives, 11 top 10s

· Average finish of 15.6

· Average Running Position of 15.3, eighth-best

· Driver Rating of 87.3, seventh-best

· 49 Fastest Laps Run, fourth-most

· Average Green Flag Speed of 185.139 mph, eighth-fastest

· 1,096 Laps in the Top 15 (62.2%), seventh-most

· 1,048 Quality Passes, 10th-most

Carl Edwards (No. 99 Scotts Turf Builder Ford)

· Three top fives, three top 10s

· Average finish of 19.7

· Average Running Position of 16.3, 10th-best

· Driver Rating of 83.1, 12th-best

· 1,871 Green Flag Passes, fourth-most

· Average Green Flag Speed of 185.281 mph, fourth-fastest

· 1,043 Laps in the Top 15 (59.2%), eighth-most

· 1,246 Quality Passes, second-most

Jeff Gordon (No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet)

· Six wins, 11 top fives, 17 top 10s; three poles

· Average finish of 15.5

· Average Running Position of 12.4, fourth-best

· Driver Rating of 91.9, sixth-best

· 36 Fastest Laps Run, 13th-most

· Average Green Flag Speed of 185.096 mph, 11th-fastest

· 1,180 Laps in the Top 15 (67.0%), fifth-most

· 1,076 Quality Passes, eighth-most

Denny Hamlin (No. 11 FedEx Toyota)

· One top five, one top 10

· Average finish of 23.8

· Average Running Position of 17.0, 13th-best

· Driver Rating of 83.2, 11th-best

· 46 Fastest Laps Run, fifth-most

Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet)

· One win, six top fives, nine top 10s; two poles

· Average finish of 14.2

· Series-best Average Running Position of 10.4

· Driver Rating of 94.3, fourth-best

· 1,659 Green Flag Passes, 13th-most

· Series-best Average Green Flag Speed of 185.321 mph

· 1,328 Laps in the Top 15 (75.4%), second-most

· 1,237 Quality Passes, third-most

Matt Kenseth (No. 17 Crown Royal Ford)

· One win, three top fives, nine top 10s

· Average finish of 17.9

· Average Running Position of 13.5, fifth-best

· Driver Rating of 96.1, third-best

· 50 Fastest Laps Run, third-most

· Average Green Flag Speed of 185.300 mph, second-fastest

· 1,279 Laps in the Top 15 (72.6%), third-most

· Series-high 1,267 Quality Passes

Mark Martin (No. 5 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet)

· Nine top fives, 17 top 10s; one pole

· Average finish of 18.1

· Driver Rating of 81.8, 13th-best

· 1,015 Laps in the Top 15 (57.6%), 10th-most

· 992 Quality Passes, 11th-most

Ryan Newman (No. 39 U.S. Army Chevrolet)

· One win, two top fives, three top 10s

· Average finish of 20.9

· Average Running Position of 16.4, 11th-best

· Driver Rating of 85.9, eighth-best

Tony Stewart (No. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet)

· Three wins, seven top fives, 12 top 10s; one pole

· Average finish of 16.5

· Average Running Position of 11.6, third-best

· Series-best Driver Rating of 108.2

· 51 Fastest Laps Run, second-most

· Average Green Flag Speed of 185.266 mph, fifth-fastest

· 1,279 Laps in the Top 15 (72.6%), third-most

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Final 2009 Top 12 at Daytona International Speedway

	Driver	Races	Poles	Wins	Top Fives	Top 10s	DNFs	Average Finish	Driver Rating
1	Jimmie Johnson	16	2	1	6	9	1	14.2	94.3
2	Mark Martin	49	1	0	9	17	11	18.1	81.8
3	Jeff Gordon	34	3	6	11	17	4	15.5	91.9
4	Kurt Busch	18	0	0	9	10	1	17.2	92.5
5	Denny Hamlin	8	0	0	1	1	0	23.8	83.2
6	Tony Stewart	22	1	3	7	12	4	16.5	108.2
7	Greg Biffle	14	1	1	1	3	1	22.1	70.5
8	Juan Pablo Montoya	6	0	0	0	1	1	24.0	59.1
9	Ryan Newman	16	0	1	2	3	3	20.9	85.9
10	Kasey Kahne	12	0	0	0	4	1	17.8	79.4
11	Carl Edwards	10	0	0	3	3	2	19.7	83.1
12	Brian Vickers	11	0	0	0	3	2	20.1	81.3

Daytona 500 Tidbits

The 2010 edition will be the 52nd running of the Daytona 500.
Although the first Daytona 500 was held in 1959, it has been the season-opener only since 1982.
510 drivers have competed in at least one Daytona 500; 300 in more than one.
33 drivers have won a Daytona 500.
Eight drivers have won more than one Daytona 500, led by Richard Petty with seven victories.
Fred Lorenzen posted a top-10 finish in eight of his nine Daytona 500s, the best percentage of drivers who have competed in more than two Daytona 500s.
Dale Earnhardt finished in the top 10 in 16 of his 23 Daytona 500s.
Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty each had 16 top 10s in the Daytona 500, more than any other driver.
Dale Earnhardt had 12 top fives in the Daytona 500, more than any other driver.
Only 13 drivers have an average finish of 10th or better in the Daytona 500, six of those competed in the Daytona 500 only once.
Kevin Harvick has a 12.9 average finish in eight appearances, the best of the active drivers who have competed in more than one Daytona 500.
Other than Lee Petty, who won the inaugural Daytona 500, no driver has ever won in his first appearance.
27 of the 33 drivers who have won, participated in at least two Daytona 500s before visiting Victory Lane.
Dale Earnhardt competed 19 times before winning his only Daytona 500 (1998), the longest span of any of the 33 race winners.
Six drivers made 10 or more attempts before their first Daytona 500 victory: Dale Earnhardt (19), Buddy Baker (18), Darrell Waltrip (16), Bobby Allison (14), Michael Waltrip (14) and Sterling Marlin 12). Last year’s winner, Matt Kenseth, won it in his 10th try.
The most Daytona 500s all-time without a victory was Dave Marcis (33 races).
Mark Martin (25) leads active drivers without a victory. He will start on the pole for this year’s race.
Six drivers posted their career-first victory with a win in the Daytona 500: Tiny Lund (1963), Mario Andretti (1967), Pete Hamilton (1970), Derrike Cope (1990), Sterling Marlin (1994) and Michael Waltrip (2001).
Three other drivers posted their career-first victory in (point-paying) qualifying races: Johnny Rutherford (1963), Bobby Isaac (1964) and Earl Balmer (1966).
Only eight drivers have won the Daytona 500 more than once: Richard Petty (seven), Cale Yarborough (four), Bobby Allison (three), Dale Jarrett (three), Jeff Gordon (three), Bill Elliott (two), Sterling Marlin (two) and Michael Waltrip (two).
A driver has won back-to-back Daytona 500s three times. Richard Petty (1973-74), Cale Yarborough (1983-84) and Sterling Marlin (1994-95)
Kevin Harvick’s 0.020-second margin of victory over Mark Martin in the 2007 Daytona 500 is the ninth-closest overall since the advent of electronic timing in 1993, and the closest in a Daytona 500.
26 of the 51 Daytona 500s have been won from a top-five starting position.
Matt Kenseth won the Daytona 500 from the 39th starting position last year, the deepest a race winner has started.
Nine have been won from the pole. The last to do so was Dale Jarrett in 2000.
15 Daytona 500s have been won from the front row.

At Daytona International Speedway

History

Groundbreaking for Daytona International Speedway was Nov. 25, 1957. The soil underneath the banked corners was dug from the infield of the track and the hole filled with water. It is now known as Lake Lloyd.
The first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Daytona was a 100-mile qualifying race for the Daytona 500 on Feb. 20, 1959.
Richard Petty won his 200th career race on July 4, 1984 at Daytona.
Lights were installed in the spring of 1998. However, the race was delayed until October that year due to thick smoke from wildfires. The second Daytona race has been held under lights ever since.

Notebook

There have been 125 NASCAR Sprint Cup races since the track hosted its first race in 1959: 51 have been 500 miles, 47 were 400 miles and four 250 miles. There were also 23 qualifier races that were point races.
Fireball Roberts won the inaugural pole at Daytona.
Bob Welborn won the first race at Daytona, the 100-mile qualifying race for the Daytona 500.
Lee Petty won the inaugural Daytona 500 on Feb. 22, 1959.
Fireball Roberts won the first 400-mile race at Daytona, the 1963 Firecracker 400.
52 drivers have posted poles at Daytona; 19 have more than one.
Cale Yarborough leads all drivers with 12 poles at Daytona.
Bill Elliott leads all active drivers with five poles at Daytona.
52 drivers have won at Daytona; 24 have won more than once.
Richard Petty leads all drivers in victories at Daytona with 10.
Jeff Gordon has six victories at Daytona, more than any other active driver.
The Wood Brothers have won 14 races at Daytona, more than any other car owner.
16 full-length races at Daytona have been won from the pole, including last July’s Coke Zero 400, won by polesitter Tony Stewart.
A driver has swept both races at Daytona only four times, most recently by Bobby Allison in 1982.

NASCAR in Florida

There have been 162 NASCAR Sprint Cup races in Florida.
156 drivers in NASCAR’s three national series have their home state recorded as Florida.
There have been nine race winners whose hometown is Florida in NASCAR’s three national series:

Driver	NSCS	NNS	NCWTS
Fireball Roberts	33	0	0
LeeRoy Yarbrough	14	0	0
Marshall Teague	7	0	0
Joe Nemechek	4	16	0
Bobby Johns	2	0	0
David Reutimann	1	1	1
Shorty Rollins	1	0	0
Rick Wilson	0	2	0
Aric Almirola	0	1	0

Daytona International Speedway Data

Race #: 1 of 36 (2-14-10)

Track Size: 2.5 miles

Race Length: 500 miles (200 laps)

Banking/Corners: 31 degrees

Banking/Straights: 3 degrees

Banking/Tri-Oval: 18 degrees

Driver Rating at Daytona

Tony Stewart 108.2

Kyle Busch 101.0

Matt Kenseth 96.1

Jimmie Johnson 94.3

Kurt Busch 92.5

Jeff Gordon 91.9

Dale Earnhardt Jr. 87.3

Ryan Newman 85.9

Clint Bowyer 84.6

Jeff Burton 83.5

Note: Driver Rating compiled from 2005-2009 races (10 total) at Daytona.

Qualifying/Race Data

2009 pole winner: Martin Truex Jr. (188.001 mph, 47.872 seconds)

2009 race winner: Matt Kenseth (132.816 mph, 2-17-08)

Qualifying record: Bill Elliott (210.364 mph, 42.783 secs., 2-9-87)

Race record: Buddy Baker (177.602 mph, 2-17-80)

Estimated Pit Window: 36-38 laps depending on fuel mileage

SCHEDULES

2010 NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES SCHEDULE
Date       Site
Feb. 6     Daytona International Speedway (Budweiser Shootout At Daytona *)
Feb. 14   Daytona International Speedway
Feb. 21   Auto Club Speedway
Feb. 28   Las Vegas Motor Speedway
March 7  Atlanta Motor Speedway
March 21 Bristol Motor Speedway
March 28 Martinsville Speedway
April 10   Phoenix International Raceway
April 18   Texas Motor Speedway
April 25   Talladega Superspeedway
May 1     Richmond International Raceway
May 8     Darlington Raceway
May 16   Dover International Speedway
May 22   Lowe’s Motor Speedway (NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race *)
May 30   Lowe’s Motor Speedway
June 6    Pocono Raceway
June 13   Michigan International Speedway
June 20   Infineon Raceway
June 27   New Hampshire Motor Speedway
July 3      Daytona International Speedway
July 10    Chicagoland Speedway
July 25    Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Aug. 1     Pocono Raceway
Aug. 8     Watkins Glen International
Aug. 15   Michigan International Speedway
Aug. 21   Bristol Motor Speedway
Sept. 5   Atlanta Motor Speedway
Sept. 11  Richmond International Raceway
Sept. 19  New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Sept. 26  Dover International Speedway
Oct. 3     Kansas Speedway
Oct. 10   Auto Club Speedway
Oct. 16   Lowe’s Motor Speedway
Oct. 24   Martinsville Speedway
Oct. 31   Talladega Superspeedway
Nov. 7    Texas Motor Speedway
Nov. 14   Phoenix International Raceway
Nov. 21   Homestead-Miami Speedway
* – Denotes non-point event.