Winner: Ryan Newman
Recap: While Joe Gibbs Racing dominated the 500, it was a pair of teammates, Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch who were able to cross the start/finish line one, two to give Penske South their first ever Daytona 500 win. The race could be divided into two parts, the first two thirds of the race which offered almost caution free racing and saw Kyle Busch and teammate Denny Hamlin trade the lead and the final third which offered a caution almost every three laps and ended with Newman in front. That's not to say JGR didn't have a realistic chance to bring home the checkers for the first time since Dale Jarrett was in the car. Tony Stewart lead the race with one lap to go, dodging to the inside in hopes of receiving a little help from his new teammate Kyle Busch, but Busch claimed he didn't have the run to get up to Stewart's bumper and instead Newman and the other Busch brother stuck together like glue and propelled themselves to Penske's first ever one, two finish in the big race.
Suprises: Penske South - All week long the talk of Speedweeks was the Hendrick stable of drivers, the fanastic four as they have been nicknamed, and the Joe Gibbs cars. Both teams had dominated speedweeks up until that point. Too bad they weren't there when it counted. On the other hand, Penske not only brought home the first and second positions, they also had the highest finishing rookie in Sam Hornish, Jr's 15th place run.
Robby Gordon - Robby Gordon leads the army of single car teams which have gone out of fashion. With a new partnership with Gillett Evernham Racing, Robby Gordon was able to charge his Dodge all the way up to 8th spot, right behind his mechanical teammates, Elliott Sadler (6th) and Kasey Kahne (7th).
Dissappointments: Hendrick Motorsports - Three members of the Hendrick stable have their names inscribed in the Harley J. Earl trophy making them the early favorite. But only Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was able to bring his Chevy across the finish line inside the top 10, with Jeff Gordon suffering from mechincal problems and Casey Mears and Jimmie Johnson having more cosmetic issues due to run ins with the wall.
(photo: AP Photo/John Raoux)
It's been fun blogging with you,
Kate
No comments:
Post a Comment