Daytona 500 had it all, but not the greatest ever

By Luke, Thunder Lounge
Published on Thunder Lounge.

It’s OK. Throw me under the bus. The 50th Anniversary of the Daytona 500 was good. Actually, it was damn good. However, it wasn’t the best ever. It was worthy of being the 50th anniversary though.

The season opener had it all. Drama, strategy, surprises, and [gasp] racing.

The internet trolls will tell you it sucked. Consider the source of that opinion. To them, everything sucks. They long for “the good old days”, yet their memory is clouded with nostalgia. This very well was one of the most competitive 500’s in recent memory. Ignore the fact that the results will tell you that 6 of the top 10 spots were taken by a Dodge. Don’t ask where they came from, we don’t know either. Yet there they are, taking home 1st, 2nd, 5th-7th, and 9th. Round out 2 Toyota’s, a Chevy and a Ford, and call it your top 10.

The lone Chevy? Dale Jr. Ford? Greg Biffle. Add in Smoke and Shrub in 3rd and 4th, and there you have it.

I can only imagine the hearts of the Toyota boys as they came down the backstretch on the final lap. Up to that point, you would be hard pressed to convince a new fan that Toyota wasn’t worth the paper in the Mens Room last season. Kyle Busch was making a scene, as was Tony Stewart. If you take any lessons from this, it better be that Toyota is coming.

However, as with every tale there has to be some drama. As Tony Stewart moved down to pick up his teammate Kyle Busch, Ryan Newman made the charge with his teammate Kurt Busch stuck to his bumper with Gorilla Glue.

The dreams of The Captain, and we don’t mean Morgan, then came true. After all these years, all the trials and tribulations, Roger Penske finally ended up in Victory Lane for the Daytona 500.

It was a typical plate race, chess-like maneuvers and precision positioning for a while, but that’s just the nature of the game. You have to make it to the end to have a chance to win. But the closer you get, the riskier your moves, and if you play your cards right, you win.

Last season, Dodge wasn’t impressive. Pre-season Thunder, still no love. Reed Sorenson showed some promise in the Shootout and Duels, but for most of the 500 Dodge was relatively quiet. They were there at the end though, and Penske has a nice $1,000,000 bonus from Dodge to prove it.

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Filed Under: Chip Ganassi Racing #41, Dale Earnhardt Junior, Daytona, Drivers, Elliot Sadler, Evernham Motorsports #19, Evernham Motorsports #9, Greg Biffle, Hendrick Motorsports #88, Joe Gibbs Racing #18, Joe Gibbs Racing #20, Kasey Kahne, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Nascar, Penske Racing #12, Penske Racing #2, Reed Sorenson, Robby Gordon, Robby Gordon Motorsports #7, Roush Racing #16, Ryan Newman, Sprint Cup, Teams, Tony Stewart, Tracks

Tagged As: Dale Earnhardt Jr, Daytona 500, Elliot Sadler, Greg Biffle, Kasey Kahne, Kurt Busch, Reed Sorenson, Robby Gordon, Ryan Newman, Tony Stewart



Trackback URL for: Daytona 500 had it all, but not the greatest ever

By Luke, Thunder Lounge
Monday February 4, 2008
7:07pm CST
Published on Thunder Lounge.

Ryan Newman

• 2007 Stats

  • Organization: Penske Racing South
  • Car Number: 12
  • Crew Chief: Mike Nelson
  • Sponsor: Alltel
  • Points: 13th :: 4046 :: -2677
  • Starts: 36
  • Poles: 5
  • Wins: 0
  • Top 5’s: 7
  • Top 10’s: 15
  • Winnings: $5,002,410

• 2008 Preview

  • Organization: Penske Racing South
  • Car Number: 12
  • Crew Chief: Roy McCauley
  • Sponsor: Alltel

Our top finishing non-Chaser, and missing the previous $1M bonus, is Ryan Newman.

The Rocket did manage to squeeze off 5 launches for the pole in 2007, 3 more than in 2006, however like in 2006 he failed to seal the deal and translate Friday speed into a victory on Sunday.

Ryan did improve over 2006, when he finished 18th in points, but his biggest drawback is that Dodge just wasn’t as competitive as the rest of the group. In fact, he is the next to last Dodge that we’ll talk about in this little series of reviews (and there are still 12 positions to review).

Looking to 2008 there is always hope. While data is positive or negative during testing, you really can’t pass judgement based on it. It isn’t always the goal to be the absolute fastest in a test session, and teams may not be bringing their “A” game in terms of a car either.

Note: information is accurate as of date published. Check Thunder Lounge for additional updates and information.

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Filed Under: Drivers, Nascar, Nextel Cup, Penske Racing #12, Ryan Newman, Sprint Cup, Teams





Trackback URL for: Daytona 500: 13 Days and Counting

By Luke, Thunder Lounge
Thursday May 17, 2007
10:21am CDT
Published on Thunder Lounge.

While the Wood Brothers obviously have high hopes for young Jon, according to the Atlanta Constitution-Journal they are facing the hard facts of life.

Bring out of the top 35 in Owner’s points, they’ve struck a deal that will see “Awesome Bill From Dawsonville” make a brief return to the series. In a Ford, obviously, which he hasn’t done since he moved from his own Bill Elliott Racing over to the #9 for Ray Evernham.

He’ll start with the Coca-Cola 600 a week from Sunday, and has also filed entry for Dover the following week.

The obvious advantage: 6 guaranteed races. With Dale Jarrett having burned up all his freebies, Elliott will make the show.

Provided Elliott gets it back into the coveted Top 35, and there are provisionals remaining, he could very well be the safety net the Wood Brothers have needed. It’s a long way to the Top 35 though, so who knows.

Hello, Newman

While still under contract with Penske Racing South, through 2009, the Winston-Salem Journal seems to think that Newman could be looking for a new ride. This coming at the time the #12 Alltel Dodge Pit Crew was wrapping up a win over the #43 team in the Pit Crew Challenge. Needless to say, it probably isn’t going to get any better as we roll towards Homestead, with just a race over the 2/3 mark remaining in the season. Oh joy.

Get Your Junior Gear Here…

Also, according to the Associated Press, while the so-called “experts” believed there would be a dip in the sales of red merchandise to the Junior Nation, this has yet to happen. In fact, it’s just the opposite. Sales have skyrocketed 107%, according to the report, but who knows if this is temporary or will hold up. Either way, someone’s raking in some cash.

Wrapping it up

So now we’re prepping for the All-Star race this Saturday. The trucks are back on track Friday night, and in a new twist for Saturday the crew chiefs will be running little roadsters around the 1/4 mile front stretch track before the other festivities begin Saturday night. Heck, that might be a pretty cool little show.

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Filed Under: Bill Elliott, Charlotte/Lowe's, Dale Earnhardt Inc #8, Dale Earnhardt Junior, Drivers, Nascar, Nextel Cup, Penske Racing #12, Ryan Newman, Teams, Tracks, Wood Brothers #21





Trackback URL for: Thursday Catch-Up: Elliot, Newman, And Some Other Items