The Big Race

[18W]

Daytona is Wakefield compared to Summerfest. The race arround the floating golf green at night in front of thousands of captive spectators. Then the mad dash down to Depue for the divisonals the next day. 8 boat fields under lights, what else needs to be said.

[ricochet112]

Stewart vs Kenseth

Has there been a fued between Tony and Matt that I missed last year?
I think Tony should be more upset at Jeff for taking him into the wall on lap 47. Tony said " Matt shouldn't be driving like that so early in the race there's no need for that, I just finished what he started", Matt was 2 feet away from Tony on the outside, lap 27, and Tony just got loose, then tries to blame it on Matt!?!?
Reason #7 to hate Stewart and one less reason to hate Gordon, except Jeff didn't take the jerk out completly. Tony needs to be docked major points for that "blocking" move!

From nascar.com,
After smoking the competition with five wins, 17 top-five finishes and 25 top-10s last year, Tony Stewart has started this season with a bull's-eye on his back. It now may be flashing neon, in light of Sunday's pseudo-demolition derby in the Daytona 500.

During the 203-lap race Smoke hit everything except a media member, sometimes his fault, other times it was just one of those racin' deals that drivers often mention when they don't want to lay blame for carnage.

Daytona 500
Official Results
Pos. Driver Make

1. J. Johnson Chevrolet
2. C. Mears Dodge
3. R. Newman Dodge
4. E. Sadler Ford
5. T. Stewart Chevrolet

• Complete results, click here

Victory LaneJimmie Johnson celebrates a Daytona 500 victory
Top finishersNewman, Kenseth, Stewart, and Junior talk about their day
Rough racingStewart slides into Kenseth and is sent to the back of the field
Multi-car wreckJeff Green spins in Turn 3 and collects several others
Gordon and Stewart brush wallGordon and Stewart make contact and brush the wall
Early cautionRacing is clean until Truex Jr. finds the wall
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On Lap 47, Stewart and Jeff Gordon traded paint after Gordon failed to clear Stewart in a three-wide pack. Both cars rubbed the wall and received right-side damage.

Matt Kenseth suffered the brunt of Stewart's in-car rage, wheeling his car into the infield and back to the track on Lap 107 after Stewart swerved into Kenseth's lane.

After a pit stop, Kenseth stormed back to the track and rushed to draw his car alongside Stewart's -- and was promptly black-flagged by NASCAR for not blending into traffic. Stewart also was penalized, sent to the back of the field for his maneuver that forced Kenseth to take the low road.

"I got penalized but they didn't penalize him for getting me sideways," Stewart said of his clash with Kenseth. "He should have been smart enough to know not to be tucking down our doors in the first 20 laps of a 200-lap race at Daytona. He has no room to complain.

"He started the whole thing and I finished it."

Stewart was assessed another rear-of-the-field penalty by NASCAR after he ran over his jack during a pit stop on Lap 125. And then Stewart and Kyle Busch held a tête-à-tête with sheet metal doing most of the talking -- until the end of the race.

"Kyle Busch, he's the one guy that's probably going to hurt somebody out there," Stewart said. "He's what we like to call a bird with no feathers.

"He just doesn't know where he's going. He has a fast car. He just needs to learn how to drive the thing."

For a guy who was outspoken during Speedweeks about the beating and banging that is bump drafting, Stewart -- and many of the other drivers in Sunday's race -- didn't help the cause for leaving it to the drivers to enforce the unwritten gentleman's agreement on the track.

Or maybe because it was the Daytona 500 and Stewart is the defending series champion that everyone paid more attention to the bright orange blob that is the No. 20 Chevy; it would seem tough to miss all that day-glo in a rear-view mirror.

Unless you're Dick Cheney.

Everyone is shooting for Smoke ... and missing, for the most part. He still managed to finish fifth Sunday, which speaks volumes for his abilities -- as a driver and to overcome adversity, self-inflicted or otherwise. Stewart may be softer (around the middle), but it's clear he's no gentler than before, which isn't good news for the competition

[ricochet112]

Lake Lloyd

Plenty long, but it's very narrow. The first time I saw it I was like any boat racer, we could have a race there. I'm sure the I.S.C. would rent out the lake REAL cheap . Maybe a format like in Japan, step hydros 1 pin turns.....

[treadguy]

The Big Race..........

Chip Solms made a presentation to the powers that be a while back at D. I. S. regarding having races at the track. At that time the lake was filled with debris consisting of old grandstands, port-o-potties that were no longer in working order, and anything else that needed to be dumped from the track. You might be able to go into a turn but it was always a gamble if you would ever come out the other side. They have done a MAJOR clean up of Lake Lloyd and there is plenty of room for a short course to be set up and have some good racing there. Does anyone remember racing in the city fish pond in Reno, Nev.? Lots more room here in Daytona..................