Bowyer leads laps in Daytona 500 and finishes 4th
Sunday, February 14, 2010
McMurray holds off Earnhardt to win Daytona 500
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Jamie McMurray has won the Daytona 500, holding off a hard-charging Dale Earnhardt Jr. over a wild, two-lap sprint to the finish of NASCAR's version of the Super Bowl.
The race was stopped twice and delayed for more than two hours because of a pothole at Daytona International Speedway, and the setback nearly derailed the race. NASCAR struggled to patch the hole, and drivers knew the pavement could tear at any time after the final repair.
It meant they had to race hard the final 80 miles, and did they ever.
Earnhardt drove from 10th to second over the final two laps, but was unable to chase down McMurray, who won his fourth career Sprint Cup race.
Pit stop: Daytona 500 resumes after pothole repair
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — NASCAR prides itself on being the closest motorsport to everyday driving. It sure looked like that at the Daytona 500, with a bunch of drivers waiting for a pothole to get fixed.
NASCAR's biggest race was halted twice Sunday because of a pothole in the pavement — lengthy delays that meant a race which started in the afternoon would end well after dark.
Racing at the season opener finally restarted with 32 laps remaining.
Earlier, the initial fix took 1 hour, 40 minutes and the drivers then completed 36 laps on the repaired superspeedway before the patchwork broke up. The second repair lasted 44 minutes.
"This is a bad predicament to be in — for NASCAR, the fans, for everybody," driver Kyle Busch said.
It was unclear how or when the hole developed on an area between turns one and two, but it took attention away from a strong race that had a record number of leaders. It comes at a critical time for NASCAR, which began this season by making several on-track changes designed to boost sagging TV ratings.
Speedweeks had been filled with wild races, close finishes and plenty of positive attention.
Until this.
"They need to call a caution," driver Robby Gordon said over his radio at one point. "There are rocks everywhere. There is going to be a big wreck."
Officials initially stopped the race with 78 laps remaining in the 200-lap opener. Cars parked on pit road for about 30 minutes, then NASCAR allowed drivers to get out of their cockpits for a break. Track workers patched the hole, which was about 18 inches long and 8 inches wide, using blowtorches to heat the pavement.
It didn't last, though.
The biggest problem might be the location of the hole, which is about where right-side tires run when cars are on the inside of the track.
"When you go through and hit it wrong, the jack post and everything hits," Kevin Harvick said. "I want to finish it racing. That's what I want to do. The car's been all good. Everything may go sour. I'd love to finish it."
NASCAR chairman Brian France said earlier that workers tried three different types of repairs, but the all-day rain Friday and cooler-than-normal temperatures made it difficult.
"That hole's pretty bad," Dale Earnhardt Jr. said. "Hit it. That's what killed all the momentum we had."
Fellow driver Clint Bowyer said he broke his front splitter in the hole.
The 2½-mile, high-banked superspeedway was last paved in 1978 and is scheduled for $20 million repaving in 2012. But officials said it could be moved up if necessary.
Earnhardt said last February that Daytona International Speedway was long overdue for a new surface. He reiterated his stance during the first break Sunday, saying there was about "2½ miles of hole."
"It's so damn slick," he said. "It shouldn't be like this. It's 2010."
Earnhardt guessed over his radio that the track had been repaved in the late 1980s or early 1990s. "Maybe we'll try to Google it later," he told crew chief Lance McGrew.
Not every driver was as eager for new asphalt on NASCAR's most famous track. Two-time NASCAR champion Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards said they like the slick surface. New pavement could mean considerably different racing at Daytona and significant cost during tough economic times.
The last time a NASCAR race was stopped because of a hole in a track came at Martinsville in 2004. Four-time Cup champion Jeff Gordon tore up his car when a piece of concrete came loose.
Gordon was running second to Earnhardt Jr. when he hit the hole and damaged his car. Gordon avoided the hole this time around.
"Hopefully they'll get it fixed," Gordon said.
Daytona 500 Winners
The Associated Press
2010 — Jamie McMurray
2009 — Matt Kenseth
2008 — Ryan Newman
2007 — Kevin Harvick
2006 — Jimmie Johnson
2005 — Jeff Gordon
2004 — Dale Earnhardt Jr.
2003 — Michael Waltrip
2002 — Ward Burton
2001 — Michael Waltrip
2000 — Dale Jarrett
1999 — Jeff Gordon
1998 — Dale Earnhardt
1997 — Jeff Gordon
1996 — Dale Jarrett
1995 — Sterling Marlin
1994 — Sterling Marlin
1993 — Dale Jarrett
1992 — Davey Allison
1991 — Ernie Irvan
1990 — Derrike Cope
1989 — Darrell Waltrip
1988 — Bobby Allison
1987 — Bill Elliott
1986 — Geoff Bodine
1985 — Bill Elliott
1984 — Cale Yarborough
1983 — Cale Yarborough
1982 — Bobby Allison
1981 — Richard Petty
1980 — Buddy Baker
1979 — Richard Petty
1978 — Bobby Allison
1977 — Cale Yarborough
1976 — David Pearson
1975 — Benny Parsons
1974 — Richard Petty
1973 — Richard Petty
1972 — A.J. Foyt
1971 — Richard Petty
1970 — Pete Hamilton
1969 — Lee Roy Yarbrough
1968 — Cale Yarborough
1967 — Mario Andretti
1966 — Richard Petty
1965 — Fred Lorenzen
1964 — Richard Petty
1963 — Tiny Lund
1962 — Fireball Roberts
1961 — Marvin Panch
1960 — Junior Johnson
1959 — Lee Petty
justthinkin (anonymous) says...
Great effort, Clint. You make us proud.
February 14, 2010 at 7:46 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
slimbolen99 (anonymous) says...
Atta boy Clint & the #33 Helping Hands Crew!
February 14, 2010 at 9:03 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
neighbor (anonymous) says...
Nice job Clint and crew!
February 14, 2010 at 11 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
biscuitboy (anonymous) says...
Great day Clint....and at the Granddaddy of them all to boot!
February 15, 2010 at 6:23 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
justaflushaway (anonymous) says...
GREAT JOB Clint, a great way to start of the 2010 season.
February 15, 2010 at 9:58 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
blulitespecial (anonymous) says...
Well done Clint and the 33 crew! I know local folks who were in Daytona for this. From my armchair here,it was a good day for you,and a heck of a show.
February 15, 2010 at 1:45 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
yev_kassem (anonymous) says...
Someone who has much more knowledge of racing help me out here....why did Clint fall back to get Harvick? I believe, and I could be way wrong here, that if he wouldn't have done that he would have won the race. Instead, he finishes 4th and Harvick got 7th. I think he was overly unselfish.
February 16, 2010 at 11:41 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
blulitespecial (anonymous) says...
yev_kassem- From what I remember,Clint changed lines,and dropped back a bit to pick up Harvick .Kind of a split second decision to make,and maybe he thought it was better to run with Harvick(being a strong car and teammate)in the overall scheme of things.And it was down to crunch time.Bowyer and Harvick might have had a freight train to the front,and been able to stay there,and fight off anybody else.Just not the way it ended up when the big gal sang.No way could I second guess these drivers,but it sure looks like Harvick owes him one next time around.
February 16, 2010 at 12:18 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )