Nascar Blog

Just call him butter because he’s on a roll. I had a little doubt that they would continue their success after last week, and granted, just sitting on the pole doesn’t mean anything unless it helps you win, but, there’s an all Earnhardt Ganassi front row this week, with McMurray on the pole and Juan Montoya in second.

On Trackside after qualifying they attributed it to Earnhardt Ganassi finally getting the cars good at the end of the season, and now they are running, I believe they said ECR, Earnhardt Childress Racing, motors. Whatever they are doing, they are doing it right right now.

With a lap at 183.744 mph (39.185 seconds), McMurray edged Earnhardt Ganassi Racing teammate Juan Pablo Montoya (183.477 mph) for the top starting spot in Sunday’s Auto Club 500, the second points race of the Sprint Cup season.

Clint Bowyer qualified third at 183.127 mph, as cars powered by Earnhardt-Childress Racing engines grabbed the top three positions on the grid. Kasey Kahne (182.913 mph) was fourth in the No. 9 Ford, followed by Dave Blaney (182.908 mph).

Kevin Harvick (182.899 mph), Bowyer’s teammate at Richard Childress Racing, qualified sixth. Four-time defending Series champion Jimmie Johnson, eager to rebound from a 35th-place finish at Daytona, qualified seventh. Sam Hornish, Kyle Busch and Mark Martin claimed starting positions 8-10. Source: Daytona champ McMurray earns pole in California

Here is the video of Jamie’s pole run.

Here is how they qualified in California:
1 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops / Tracker 183.744 39.185 Leader
2 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet Target 183.477 39.242 -0.057
3 33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet Cheerios / Hamburger Helper 183.127 39.317 -0.132
4 9 Kasey Kahne Ford Budweiser / Team USA 182.913 39.363 -0.178
5 66 Dave Blaney Toyota Prism Motorsports 182.908 39.364 -0.179
6 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Shell / Pennzoil 182.899 39.366 -0.181
7 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe’s / Kobalt Tools 182.890 39.368 -0.183
8 77 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge Auto Club 182.811 39.385 -0.200
9 18 Kyle Busch Toyota Interstate Batteries 182.788 39.390 -0.205
10 5 Mark Martin Chevrolet GoDaddy.com 182.741 39.400 -0.215
11 00 David Reutimann Toyota Aaron’s Dream Machine 182.597 39.431 -0.246
12 2 Kurt Busch Dodge Miller Lite 182.292 39.497 -0.312
13 82 Scott Speed Toyota Red Bull 182.195 39.518 -0.333
14 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet Caterpillar 182.085 39.542 -0.357
15 6 David Ragan Ford UPS 181.974 39.566 -0.381
16 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet Old Spice / Office Depot 181.883 39.586 -0.401
17 36 Mike Bliss Chevrolet Wave Energy Drink 181.749 39.615 -0.430
18 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet Haas Automation 181.726 39.620 -0.435
19 20 Joey Logano Toyota The Home Depot 181.671 39.632 -0.447
20 17 Matt Kenseth Ford Crown Royal 181.502 39.669 -0.484
21 12 Brad Keselowski Dodge AAA Insurance 181.333 39.706 -0.521
22 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet Furniture Row Companies 181.324 39.708 -0.523
23 83 Brian Vickers Toyota Red Bull 181.314 39.710 -0.525
24 09 Aric Almirola Chevrolet Phoenix Racing 181.314 39.710 -0.525
25 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota FedEx Freight 181.301 39.713 -0.528
26 47 Marcos Ambrose Toyota Armor All 181.228 39.729 -0.544
27 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet Amp Energy Juice / National Guard 181.109 39.755 -0.570
28 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet DuPont 181.055 39.767 -0.582
29 43 A.J. Allmendinger Ford Best Buy 181.041 39.770 -0.585
30 55 Michael McDowell Toyota Prism Motorsports 180.895 39.802 -0.617
31 99 Carl Edwards Ford Aflac “You don’t know quack” 180.768 39.830 -0.645
32 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota NEMCO Motorsports 180.755 39.833 -0.648
33 71 Bobby Labonte Chevrolet TaxSlayer.com 180.587 39.870 -0.685
34 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota NAPA Auto Parts 180.523 39.884 -0.699
35 13 Max Papis Toyota GEICO 180.501 39.889 -0.704
36 16 Greg Biffle Ford 3M 180.325 39.928 -0.743
37 98 Paul Menard Ford Energizer / Menards 180.081 39.982 -0.797
38 19 Elliott Sadler Ford Stanley 179.919 40.018 -0.833
39 190 Casey Mears Chevrolet Keyed-Up Motorsports 179.915 40.019 -0.834
41 34 Travis Kvapil Ford Long John Silver’s 178.975 40.229 -1.044
42 135 Johnny Sauter Chevrolet Tommy Baldwin Racing 178.940 40.237 -1.052
43 46 Terry Cook Dodge Whitney Motorsports 178.064 40.435 -1.250
44 7 Robby Gordon Toyota Warner Music Nashville / Whitney Duncan 176.302 40.839 -1.654
45 38 David Gilliland Ford Taco Bell 176.207 40.861 -1.676
46 26 Boris Said Ford Sacred Power / Southern Pride Trucking - - -

The racing in this Daytona seems like it was better than last year, although, myself, I didn’t really like the results, but you’ll have that, and I only got to see the last 60 or so laps because of the delay for the repaving they had to do. Jamie McMurray won this one, over Dale Earnhardt Jr., Greg Biffle and Clint Bowyer. Nascar.com has articles like the timing of Jamie getting back together with Chip Ganassi and how they proved they weren’t also ran’s. Give me a break, whoever is up front at the right time can win Daytona these days. Let’s see if they can do anything else this year before we anoint them anything.

Jr. came out of the pack like a rocket, where was this the whole race, was he holding back the whole time, or did he just get lucky that Reutimann pushed him to the front? Whatever happened, it certainly got the crowd excited, and the media has certainly been talking about how big a shot in the arm a competitive Earnhardt would be, just like they’ve been talking about Danica pepping up the sport. We shall see, we shall see.

Here is how they finished:
1 13 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops / Tracker
2 2 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet Amp Energy / National Guard
3 23 16 Greg Biffle Ford 3M
4 9 33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet Cheerios / Hamburger Helper
5 20 00 David Reutimann Toyota Aaron’s Dream Machine
6 14 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota NAPA Auto Parts
7 5 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Shell / Pennzoil
8 24 17 Matt Kenseth Ford Crown Royal
9 27 99 Carl Edwards Ford Aflac
10 8 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet Target
11 39 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet Caterpillar
12 1 5 Mark Martin Chevrolet GoDaddy.com
13 32 98 Paul Menard Ford Peak / Menards
14 7 18 Kyle Busch Toyota M&M’s
15 22 83 Brian Vickers Toyota Red Bull
16 19 6 David Ragan Ford UPS
17 25 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota FedEx Express
18 43 151 Michael Waltrip Toyota NAPA Auto Parts
19 30 82 Scott Speed Toyota Red Bull
20 16 20 Joey Logano Toyota The Home Depot
21 42 71 Bobby Labonte Chevrolet TaxSlayer.com
22 6 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet Office Depot / Old Spice
23 10 2 Kurt Busch Dodge Miller Lite
24 12 19 Elliott Sadler Ford Stanley
25 38 26 Boris Said Ford Window World Cares
26 21 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet DuPont
27 40 21 Bill Elliott Ford Motorcraft / Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center
28 34 7 Robby Gordon Toyota Monster Energy
29 35 37 Travis Kvapil Ford Extenze
30 4 9 Kasey Kahne Ford Budweiser / Team USA
31 37 38 Robert Richardson Jr. Ford Mahindra Tractors
32 15 43 A.J. Allmendinger Ford Best Buy
33 29 55 Michael McDowell Toyota Prism Motorsports
34 17 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet U.S. Army
35 3 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe’s
36 26 12 Brad Keselowski Dodge Penske Racing
37 36 77 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge Mobil 1
38 33 34 John Andretti Ford Window World Cares
39 11 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet Furniture Row Companies
40 31 13 Max Papis Toyota GEICO
41 18 47 Marcos Ambrose Toyota Kroger Floral
42 28 36 Mike Bliss Chevrolet Wave Energy Drink
43 41 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota NEMCO Motorsports

Was that a good race or what? No Nascar related controversy to speak of, had the usual wrecks, good racing, a wreck between teammates that ended with an owner who wasn’t too happy I’m sure, and a photo finish. What else could you ask for? Not too sure about the change in advertising, it was a little weird at first, need to see how easy it is to ignore.

Jamie McMurray passes Kyle Busch at THE last second to win the Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway by only .005 second. This tied the second closest victory margin of all time, the number one being that great finish between Ricky Craven and Kurt Busch in 2003 at Darlington. Talk about another good race. This win one a long time in coming for Jamie, he hadn’t won since his second actual Nascar start while replacing Sterling Marlin in 2002.

McMurray, one of the Roush Fenway Racing drivers, benefited with his first trip to Victory Lane since 2002 when he scored his only career victory as a replacement driver for an injured Sterling Marlin at Charlotte. The win came in McMurray’s second career start, a NASCAR record, and anointed him as the sport’s newest star.

But expected success never followed as McMurray struggled through the next four seasons. Those down times were not lost on him in an emotional Victory Lane.

“I always said for five years, however long, there would never be another victory like Charlotte,” McMurray said. “And you wait so long to win. Every driver out here can tell you how special it is. I started crying, and I said, ‘Why are you crying?’ Because I was so happy.” Source: McMurray ends 166-race streak with Daytona win

Tony Stewart is starting to crack me up, it’s always someone else’s fault not his, as evidenced by his first interview after he wrecked Denny Hamlin. I don’t know about you guys, but it’s really funny that he said something about him being a teammate and wrecking him, when it was the other way around, it didn’t look to me like Denny slowed down that much, but he did slow down. Here is a video from the broadcast of the wreck and how it happened.

Kyle Busch felt snubbed by Gordon after the race, I remember seeing him slap high fives with Gordon after the race, while they were asking Jeff a question, and it didn’t look to me like he snubbed him, but, I wasn’t there. I’m sure Kyle feels like he’s all alone right now, when you leave an organization, you do kinda get put outside. I’m sure Jeff has already talked to him about it.

Here is how they finished:
1 15 26 Jamie McMurray Ford IRWIN Marathon Saw Blades 190/5 160 Running
2 11 5 Kyle Busch Chevrolet CARQUEST / Kellogg’s 175/5 160 Running
3 16 2 Kurt Busch Dodge Miller Lite 170/5 160 Running
4 7 99 Carl Edwards Ford Office Depot 160/0 160 Running
5 1 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet Pepsi / DuPont 160/5 160 Running
6 18 16 Greg Biffle Ford Dish Network 150/0 160 Running
7 12 07 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet Jack Daniel’s 156/10 160 Running
8 3 17 Matt Kenseth Ford R+L Carriers / DEWALT 142/0 160 Running
9 27 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge Dodge Dealers / I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry 138/0 160 Running
10 4 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe’s 134/0 160 Running
11 32 38 David Gilliland Ford M&M’s Red, White & Blue 130/0 160 Running
12 24 6 David Ragan * Ford AAA Travel 127/0 160 Running
13 10 1 Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops / NWTF 124/0 160 Running
14 14 12 Ryan Newman Dodge ALLTEL 121/0 160 Running
15 25 7 Robby Gordon Ford Camping World / RVs.com 118/0 160 Running
16 5 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet AT&T Mobility 115/0 160 Running
17 9 01 Mark Martin Chevrolet Principal Financial Group 112/0 160 Running
18 35 70 Johnny Sauter Chevrolet Haas Automation 109/0 160 Running
19 21 25 Casey Mears Chevrolet National Guard / GMAC 111/5 160 Running
20 17 18 J.J. Yeley Chevrolet Interstate Batteries 103/0 160 Running
21 41 15 Paul Menard * Chevrolet Pittsburgh Paints / Menards 100/0 160 Running
22 26 40 David Stremme Dodge Coors Light 97/0 160 Running
23 40 22 Dave Blaney Toyota Caterpillar 94/0 160 Running
24 38 21 Bill Elliott Ford U.S. Air Force 96/5 160 Running
25 43 78 Kenny Wallace Chevrolet Furniture Row Racing 93/5 160 Running
26 42 00 David Reutimann * Toyota Burger King 85/0 160 Running
27 37 44 Dale Jarrett Toyota UPS 82/0 160 Running
28 34 45 John Andretti Dodge Tire Kingdom 79/0 160 Running
29 33 13 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet Charleston S.C. Fire Dept. 76/0 160 Running
30 36 83 Brian Vickers Toyota Red Bull 73/0 160 Running
31 31 88 Ricky Rudd Ford M&M’s 70/0 158 Running
32 20 42 Juan Montoya * Dodge Texaco / Havoline 67/0 157 Running
33 22 19 Elliott Sadler Dodge Dodge Dealers / UAW 64/0 153 Running
34 8 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Shell / Pennzoil 66/5 147 Running
35 19 43 Bobby Labonte Dodge Pillsbury / Cinnabon 63/5 137 Running
36 13 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet Budweiser 55/0 134 Running
37 30 66 Jeff Green Chevrolet Haas Automation 52/0 131 Running
38 6 20 Tony Stewart Chevrolet The Home Depot 49/0 125 Running
39 23 96 Tony Raines Chevrolet DLP HDTV 46/0 120 Running
40 29 14 Sterling Marlin Chevrolet Waste Management 43/0 114 Out of Race
41 39 10 Scott Riggs Dodge Valvoline / Stanley Tools 40/0 105 Out of Race
42 28 41 Reed Sorenson Dodge Target 37/0 103 Running
43 2 11 Denny Hamlin