Kevin Harvick has found the key to winning the biggest races at Daytona International Speedway: lead as few laps as possible. Harvick, who won the 2007 Daytona 500 after leading just four laps, led just one Saturday night en route to winning his first Bud Shootout.His improbable win was just the tip of the iceberg on a wild, full moon Florida night as 28 of NASCAR's stars knocked the dust of the steering wheel in the season-opening exhibition.
"I say we have offseasons from November to February every year," said Harvick. "That was the most exciting race I've been a part of in a long time."
Opting to wait out what proved to be a crash-heavy race, Harvick stayed towards the back of the pack during most of the race before charging to the front when it really mattered.
The 75-lap affair under the lights on the high banks of Daytona's 2.5-miles truly lived up to its wild expectations, after an off-season with limited testing, multiple driver moves and an interesting draw for Shootout starting positions left the the events scheduled to take place following the drop of 2009's first green flag with a myriad of questions.
The race -- the longest in the history of the season-opening event thanks to NASCAR's new format for 2009 -- featured a record eight caution flags. The final yellow flag sealed the deal for Harvick as drivers behind him tangled in Turn 3 of the last lap.
The final wreck happened during a two-lap, green-white-checkered finish after Jimmie Johnson and Casey Mears made contact entering the second-to-last corner. Johnson's car slammed the outside wall as Mears spun, collecting Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin while fourth-place finisher Jeff Gordon slipped past the carnage. Gordon's move was the second time that the two-time Shootout winner narrowly escaped a crash Saturday night.
The final crash froze the field immediately, per NASCAR's rulebook, after the yellow flag was displayed -- giving Harvick the win and leaving Jamie McMurray second, Tony Stewart third, Gordon fourth and A.J. Allmendinger an impressive fifth. The race finished in a green-white-checkered fashion, thanks to a crash with just three laps to go involving David Stremme and Greg Biffle coming off turn four.
Dale Earnhardt Jr., as is usual at Daytona, looked strong early by leading 24 laps, but the No. 88 got loose underneath teammate Gordon while battling for the lead and fell to the back of the pack. Just laps later, the drop in position cost Earnhardt Jr. after Paul Menard got loose off turn four and slammed the side of the No. 88.
In a measure of just how wild and crazy Saturday night was, of the record 28 drivers who started the event, just 14 finished on the lead lap.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-08-2009 @ 1:19AM
mike said...
im glad the racing season is here...but these plate races are crazy!!!!!!!!!
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2-08-2009 @ 1:57AM
kevskis said...
All in all good race tonight. Glad to see Happy get a win. Can't wait for next sunday!!! I think that being that NASCAR canceled all testing this year it will be the most competive season in years.
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2-08-2009 @ 4:14AM
Don Emerson said...
Not a bad start to the season. it seems the drivers are racing a lot harder this season. Could be out of fear that the economy may result in less rides being available in the near future. Sad to see Jr anchored down by Eury again this season. Gonna be a long year for the nation. lots of empty seats in the stands...bound to turn some heads in Nascar board rooms. It could prove to be an interesting season....time will tell. Works for me...
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2-08-2009 @ 6:12AM
ZO6Vettever said...
Good race! Jr. looked strong, looks like it'll be another great season. I am so addicted to NASCAR racing!
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2-08-2009 @ 9:19AM
sewuph2 said...
Great race and I'm more then ready for the 500 next week. Way to go Kevin.
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2-08-2009 @ 12:14PM
william young said...
Jr. needs a new crew chief. If he was to get that, then look out guys here he comes.If not then just another so,so season for Jr. and that too bad because he has all the tools to win except a crew chief.Als look out for steward in his new ride he will be a force to be reconded with by the time the shoot-out really does start.So lets go guys and do it to it Jr. rules and steward not far behind.
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2-08-2009 @ 2:07PM
robert said...
Oh boy, here we go! One little 70 lap race with no points involved and already its tony eurys fault. Has anybody ever stopped to think that maybe its got something to do with dale jr too?
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2-08-2009 @ 5:15PM
illsell4u said...
Yes, Robert. As usual it was all Jr getting the car to the front but as it was slipping back it was because Eury was sitting up in the tower telling Jr to drive slower. Of course, Eury had nothing to do with getting the car ready to be able to get to the front of the pack to begin with, it was all Jr. Didn;t you know, Jr could ride a scooter to the front row as long as Eury was not the crew chief. wink wink
MBL
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2-08-2009 @ 6:14PM
Kim said...
Good race indeed! Congratulations to Harvick! That win had to feel good especially after being winless last season. As for Jeff Gordon, he needs to be the new spokesman for All State's Safe Driving commercials. That guy is amazing! He managed to mingle his way through not one, not two, but at least three crashes unscathed. That's talent!
And my poor Jimmie, taken out on the final lap....man that sucked! Oh well....at least he looks sexy with the longer hair and beard. Goody boy image, be gone. Hello sexy, LOL!
Hello Don & Mike...Long time, no talk! Mike, as always...funny. Don, you are right...the economy is hitting NASCAR, too and it will be interesting to see how it turns out. Most of you know, hubby is a UPSER. They recently had all their employees who were willing, take a survey about their sponsorship obligations, who they thought was a good sponsorship and so forth. The majority of the questions were in relation to their NASCAR sponsorship. That's pretty scary. You lose UPS, you lose Fed-Ex and others, too.
Kim
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