Race #1 Daytona 500
Where: Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, FL
When: Sunday, February 14th, 1:20 EST
TV: FOX
How Long: 500 miles, 200 laps
Last Year at Daytona.....
Rain, rain, rain. The 2009 Daytona 500 was called after 152 laps due to rain, with Matt Kenseth taking the victory. The rain shortened race was fueled in controversy as the rain let up later that night, leading people to believe the race could be finished. Alas, it wasn't and Kenseth stood the winner. Kevin Harvick, A.J. Allmendinger, Clint Bowyer, and Elliot Sadler rounded out the top 5.
Last Week on the circuit....
Kevin Harvick won the Budweiser Shootout in yet another race marred in controversy, as the race ended under caution after a green-white-checker attempt. Many people were outraged by this and it led to NASCAR changing the rules starting this week. Harvick was followed by Kasey Kahne, Jamie McMurray, Kyle Busch, and Denny Hamlin.
This Week's Starting Lineup...
| Starting Position | Car# | Driver | Manufactuer | Qualifying Speed (mph) | Reason in the race |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Mark Martin | Chevy | 191.188 | Pole Winner |
| 2 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevy | 190.913 | Outside Pole Winner |
| 3 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevy | 190.359 | 1st in Duel 1 |
| 4 | 9 | Kasey Kahne | Ford | 189.056 | 1st in Duel 2 |
| 5 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | Chevy | 188.996 | 2nd in Duel 1 |
| 6 | 14 | Tony Stewart | Chevy | 189.374 | 2nd in Duel 2 |
| 7 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | 190.054 | 3rd in Duel 1 |
| 8 | 42 | Juan Pablo Montoya | Chevy | 190.408 | 3rd in Duel 2 |
| 9 | 33 | Clint Bowyer | Chevy | 190.118 | 4th in Duel 1 |
| 10 | 2 | Kurt Busch | Dodge | 190.359 | 4th in Duel 2 |
| 11 | 78 | Regan Smith | Chevy | 188.699 | 5th in Duel 1 |
| 12 | 19 | Elliott Sadler | Ford | 188.533 | 5th in Duel 2 |
| 13 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chevy | 189.593 | 6th in Duel 1 |
| 14 | 56 | Martin Truex Jr. | Toyota | 188.727 | 6th in Duel 2 |
| 15 | 43 | A J Allmendinger | Ford | 189.255 | 7th in Duel 1 |
| 16 | 20 | Joey Logano | Toyota | 189.693 | 7th in Duel 2 |
| 17 | 39 | Ryan Newman | Chevy | 190.577 | 8th in Duel 1 |
| 18 | 47 | Marcos Ambrose | Toyota | 189.757 | 8th in Duel 2 |
| 19 | 6 | David Ragan | Ford | 189.282 | 9th in Duel 1 |
| 20 | 00 | David Reutimann | Toyota | 189.314 | 9th in Duel 2 |
| 21 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Chevy | 190.050 | 10th in Duel 1 |
| 22 | 83 | Brian Vickers | Toyota | 188.628 | 10th in Duel 2 |
| 23 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Ford | 188.411 | 11th in Duel 1 |
| 24 | 17 | Matt Kenseth | Ford | 190.050 | 11th in Duel 2 |
| 25 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | 189.072 | 12th in Duel 1 |
| 26 | 12 | Brad Keselowski | Dodge | 189.737 | 12th in Duel 2 |
| 27 | 99 | Carl Edwards | Ford | 189.195 | 13th in Duel 1 |
| 28 | 36 | Mike Bliss | Chevy | 189.052 | 13th in Duel 2 |
| 29 | 55 | Michael McDowell | Toyota | 185.924 | 14th in Duel 1 |
| 30 | 82 | Scott Speed | Toyota | 189.958 | 14th in Duel 2 |
| 31 | 13 | Max Papis | Toyota | 188.198 | 15th in Duel 1 |
| 32 | 98 | Paul Menard | Ford | 189.294 | 15th in Duel 2 |
| 33 | 34 | John Andretti | Ford | 187.512 | 16th in Duel 1 |
| 34 | 7 | Robby Gordon | Toyota | 188.735 | 19th in Duel 2 |
| 35 | 37 | Travis Kvapil | Ford | 187.285 | 19th in Duel 1 |
| 36 | 77 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Dodge | 190.050 | 26th in Duel 2 |
| 37 | 38 | Robert Richardson | Ford | 187.289 | 23rd in Duel 1 |
| 38 | 26 | Boris Said | Ford | 186.908 | 27th in Duel 2 |
| 39 | 31 | Jeff Burton | Chevy | 188.865 | 26th in Duel1 |
| 40 | 21 | Bill Elliott [PC2] | Ford | 190.573 | Qual Speed |
| 41 | 87 | Joe Nemechek | Toyota | 189.709 | Qual Speed |
| 42 | 71 | Bobby Labonte [PC1] | Chevy | 189.665 | Qual Speed |
| 43 | 51 | Michael Waltrip | Toyota | 189.454 | Qual Speed |
My Predicted Finish This Week:
As fun as a race at Daytona is to watch, racing at superspeedways is a crapshoot. The fact that cars are switching positions every two seconds and the possibility of The Big One wiping out half the field is always loomign and leading to odd finishes.
That being said, I am going with Tony Stewart to win this week. Tony has three career wins at Daytona and won the last points race there, last July. He has a favorable starting spot at sixth and has a definite shot at winning this week.Rounding out the top five, Junior needs a good start to the season, he gets second. Harvick had a great run at the Shootout and should be a top five guy again. Jimmie Johnson is...well Jimmie Johnson. He runs a solid fourth. Kasey Kahne, another guy with a good Shootout run, grabs fifth place.
My Top Ten Picks
1. Tony Stewart
2. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
3. Kevin Harvick
4. Jimmie Johnson
5. Kasey Kahne
6. Kyle Busch
7. Jamie McMurray
8. Ryan Newman
9. A.J. Allmendinger
10. Jeff Gordon
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