The Daytona 500: Like No Other Race In The Motorsports World

The field is already set for the 52nd running of "The Great American Race" on Sunday.

The who’s who of NASCAR, as well as the rest of the sporting world, will have their eyes set on the 43 hard charging warriors who will do battle on one of the sport's most famous and historic asphalt battlegrounds.

With the days leading up to the start of a new decade of NASCAR racing, the fans have already been treated to a sneak preview of what to expect once the green flag drops and the season officially begins.

The story lines that have followed each team from the end of the 2009 season are beginning to quickly take shape, with the hopes and expectations once again taking center stage.

The fans are hungry after their short, and what seemed like a never-ending, hibernation since last season’s final race at Homestead-Miami.

So is it any wonder that while taking a look outside the box at the many story lines that continue to clog the daily internet airwaves, they are not about the drivers or the teams, but instead are a little more internally focused on what is happening to the sport itself?

The sport has gone through a transformation period in the past 10 years, with some of the changes not taken too lightly by those fans who have remained faithful through the trial and error periods.

Change, as we all know, can be for the better depending on the circumstances, as long as they are carefully researched before being put to use.

Now on the flip side, there are those changes that for one reason or another have been instituted at the most inopportune times.

One thing is for sure, and that is once the month of February rolls around, even if for a brief moment, all is forgiven because of the love that each fan has for the sport, along with the excitement the Daytona 500 generates.

Many of our heroes from the past and present have graciously given of themselves, knowing that the fruits of success are not always waiting in the wings.

Exactly what the beginning of the season means to each one of us as individuals can be as precious as the foundations we have built from the very first day we set eyes upon this great sport of ours.

Many challenges and obstacles have stood the test of time, yet the dreams that each driver envisions are carefully withheld in the grasp of destiny’s hands, along with the fans that are there in spirit to also partake of them.

This is Daytona, and for this one weekend the track will come alive, while shining down its glory upon the one driver who can tame the wicked high banks of this hungry asphalt beast.

Good luck to all our drivers, and may the 2010 season be one to remember.


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Hendrick Motorsports clinches top three starting positions for Daytona 500

DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. -- Hendrick Motorsports made NASCAR history last November by sweeping the top three positions in the battle for the 2009 Sprint Cup championship.

On Sunday, the Hendrick juggernaut will kick off NASCAR's season-opening Daytona 500 in the same dominant fashion, with Jimmie Johnson winning the first of two 150-mile qualifying races Thursday to lock up starting spot No. 3.

Johnson's teammates Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt Jr. had claimed the front row last Saturday by running the fastest qualifying laps -- upwards of 193 mph -- around the high-banked, 2.5 mile oval.

On Thursday, Johnson prevailed in a furious, side-by-side battle with Kevin Harvick exiting Turn 4 on the final lap of the 60-mile event to roar across the finish line 0.005 of a second in front.

Kasey Kahne edged Tony Stewart in the second race in a last-lap duel that was just as heated and nearly as close, taking the checkered flag with 0.014 of a second to spare.

Both races featured plenty of bumping and jostling at nearly 200 mph down the straightaways. But the first race was a testament to Johnson's skill and his race team's might, given that he was skating around the track on worn tires over the final laps and competing in a backup car after his best Chevrolet was mangled in a pileup during Wednesday's practice.

The 150-mile qualifying races cull the 50-plus entrants for the Daytona 500 to 43 and set the starting order for positions No. 3 on back. They also serve as a preview of what's in store for the Daytona 500 -- a race that can be riveting one year and tedious the next, depending on many variables.

Last year's race ended on more of a whimper than a roar, with rain halting the proceedings 48 laps shy of the finish just after Matt Kenseth had taken the lead. NASCAR officials cut the event short and awarded the trophy to Kenseth, who had crept across the finish line at a 55-mph crawl under the caution flag.

NASCAR is unique among pro sports in starting its season with its marquee event. But last year's anticlimactic 500 was a buzzkill, generating little momentum for the races that followed. And the TV ratings were a disappointing 9.2 -- down 16 percent from 2005, when the 500 drew a 10.9 rating.

With an eye toward reversing the trend, NASCAR officials have given the racecars more horsepower and, in turn, more speed, for this year's race. They also lifted the ban on bump-drafting -- the practice of intentionally ramming a car ahead to create an aerodynamic boost through traffic. And on the eve of Thursday's 150-milers, NASCAR officials announced they'll make three attempts to finish races at top speed (under green-flag conditions) rather than having them end on a caution flag.

That new rule may come into play in Sunday's 500, which is notorious for multi-car wrecks as drivers jockey for position over the final laps. Each restart that follows a caution tends to breed subsequent wrecks as 43 drivers frantically accelerate from 55 to 190 mph as quickly as possible.

Martin, who will start Sunday's race from the pole, has warned that three attempts at a so-called "green-white-checkered finish" could result in "a circus."


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Key Motorsports Acquires Sponsor For Daytona

Key Motorsports announced today Bad Boy Buggies and Buck Commander have teamed up to sponsor the #40 Chevrolet and driver Mike Bliss for Saturday's Drive4COPD NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Daytona. Bad Boy Buggies, a Mississippi-based company, sponsored Bobby Labonte and the RCR Nationwide Series team in the 2009 season opener at Daytona.



Bliss practiced the #40 near the top of the speed chart during Wednesday's Nationwide Series practice session, turning in the third-fastest time of the day and drawing the attention of Bad Boy Buggies company officials.



"When we found out the 40-car driven by Mike Bliss was avialable we contacted Richard Childress, who was at the race track," a Bad Boy Buggies spokesperson said. "We told him the car had ESPN in-car cameras and we had the opportunity for a primary sponsorship. Richard said it was a steal, so we jumped on it.”



Bad Boy Buggies executives contacted Buck Commander about the possibility of teaming up with Key Motorsports for Daytona.



“They thought it was a great opportunity to promote their brand," stated a Bad Boy company executive. "The split sponsorship was a natural with Buck Commander. We met with Buck Commander last month in Las Vegas, and we formed a partnership with them and Bad Boy Buggies.”



Buck Commander company officials are confident Key Motorsports will provide great representation of their brand.



"Buck Commander is excited to team up with Key Motorsports and driver Mike Bliss for the NASCAR Nationwide race at Daytona. Key Motorsports represents the everyday working man race team...Mike Bliss will bring the buckshot for Buck Commander in this event. NASCAR racing fans love the outdoors, we feel this primary sponsorship is a great fit for our brand."


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Nemco Motorsports Signs Waverly Property Group As Associate Sponsor For Daytona Speedweeks 2010

NEMCO Motorsports today announced a partnership with Waverly Property Group of Daytona Beach, which includes associate sponsorship of driver Joe Nemechek’s entries in this month’s Speedweeks events at Daytona International Speedway.

Waverly Property Group, an independent real estate company with a focus on waterfront properties, will serve as associate sponsor on Nemechek’s No. 87 NASCAR Sprint Cup and No. 87 Nationwide Series cars throughout the events in Daytona. The partnership marks Waverly Property Group’s first venture as a team sponsor with NEMCO.

"We welcome Waverly Property Group to the NEMCO Motorsports team and look forward to giving them the best experience possible," said Nemechek. "We’re guaranteed a qualifying spot in the Nationwide Series race and feel very confident about qualifying for the Daytona 500 given our success rate last season. We’re coming into Daytona prepared not just to qualify well – but to race well."

Nemechek, a four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race winner and former NASCAR Nationwide Series champion, spent the majority of the 2009 season qualifying for races in the hopes of finding funding to race. Fielding both NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series cars out of his family-owned NEMCO Motorsports shop again in 2010, Nemechek says they’ll take it one race at a time.

"We had a lean staff at NEMCO over the off-season but our guys put in the extra hours to get ready for Daytona," Nemechek explained. "Our hope is if we can have a good effort, a potential sponsor may take notice and find NEMCO to be an appropriate and affordable fit. For now, we’re coming to Daytona to race 300 miles in the Nationwide race (Feb. 13) and 500 miles in the Daytona 500 (Feb. 14). We’re thankful for the support of Waverly Property Group in helping us kick off the 2010 season.


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SCC: Daytona: Multimatic Motorsports race report

Strong pace but tough season debut for Multimatic Motorsports in Daytona; Foster/Maxwell and Jeannette/Monteclavo duos encounter gremlins

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (January 29, 2010) - The Multimatic Motorsports squad's hopes of debut success with the Ford Mustang Boss 302R at the Fresh from Florida 200 came up short today after the Canadian team dealt with 'new-car' gremlins at the Daytona round of the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge.

Despite showing encouraging speed, the #15 car of Joe Foster and Scott Maxwell had issues with the power steering of their Ford Mustang Boss 302R and Frankie Montecalvo and Gunnar Jeannette's #16 Bayshore Recycling machine retired late in the race on account of mechanical and electrical issues.

Things looked good early for Multimatic Motorsports - immediately turning competitive times on the opening day of practice. Starting second aboard the #15 Ford Mustang Boss 302R, Foster maintained his position in the lead pack throughout his stint despite slight engine issues. By the time the team made a driver change and put Maxwell behind the wheel, the #15 car was sitting in fourth.

Meanwhile, aboard the team's second car was Frankie Montecalvo. The teenager, who drives beyond his years, put in a good run in his debut with Multimatic Motorsports. Having qualified the car 12th yesterday, Montecalvo immediately improved his position to ninth on the first lap. The team's newcomer consistently made his way through the field, getting as high as fifth. Unluckily, due to some engine problems, the American had fallen to seventh before entering pit lane to hand driving duties to teammate Gunnar Jeannette.

16 car on track Daytona Race With the first round of pit stops of the season completed flawlessly by the crew, things were looking up for the team which enjoys a championship winning pedigree in this class. Half way through the race the #15 car was sitting third with the #16 car right behind in fourth. Sadly for the crew things started dwindling in the second half of the two and half hour event.

While the 16 car piloted by Jeannette continued its run in the top five, the #15 Multimatic machine driven by "Mustang Master" Scott Maxwell encountered problems with the power steering. After losing nine laps to the leaders while making repairs, Canadian Maxwell returned to competition with about 40 minutes to go.

By the time the Canadian driver returned to the track, his teammate Jeannette had fallen to 14th in the #16 car having faced problems of his own. Electrical gremlins had caused the car to stop on track, thus getting his Mustang rear-ended by another competitor. After having lost time restarting the car, Jeannette continued to push hard and had made his way back up to eighth before once again losing some positions. While trying to make another attempt through the field with about 15 minutes to go, Jeannette suffered a brake issue that put an end to his day.

As for Maxwell, he also retired before the checkered flag fell due to recurring problems.

Next up for the Multimatic Motorsports squad will be the Grand-Am Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge race at Homestead-Miami Speedway March 5 and 6, 2010.

26th - Frankie Montecalvo, #16 Bayshore Recycling Ford Mustang Boss 302R

"I had a pretty good start and everything was going great. I had a good run on one of the BMWs at the start and got by him. After that I had to work a little behind a few cars. I went through my stint the best I could, finding a rhythm and trying to keep the car in good shape for Gunnar. Unfortunately I started having some issues and the problem was getting worse as my stint went on so I ended up pitting a little early. Things didn't get any better for Gunnar and things went downhill later on. Even with these problems, I think we have a really competitive car and I'm confident that the issues we faced will be sorted by our next race."

26th - Gunnar Jeannette, #16 Bayshore Recycling Ford Mustang Boss 302R

"It was a tough race. We had several mechanical and electrical issues that haunted us today. The engine would miss and then it would get better but then the problems kept coming back and getting worse, to the point the car shut itself off on me. That caused us to get rear-ended. Once I got the car started again I was picking up time but then we had the brake failure. There have been better days but as they say, there is no better testing than during a race. On the bright side, we learned a lot and we were competitive despite the problems we faced."

30th - Joe Foster, #15 Ford Mustang Boss 302R

"Things went well at the start of the race. But then we had an engine problem and then the power steering problem occurred. They're what you call new car development problems but the car ran great and in the top two or three for about an hour and everything was going according to plan until those gremlins snuck in but those things happen sometimes. The BMWs were really hard to catch up to but all in all it was a very encouraging weekend."

30th - Scott Maxwell, #15 Ford Mustang Boss 302R

"We already had an engine issue when I got in but we still remained in third and fourth for a while. Unfortunately the engine was not getting any better and then I started having problems with the power steering and our day sort of ended there once we had to go behind the wall to fix the problem. It wasn't what we were looking for, but I think if we look at it as a brand new car it was an encouraging debut. We qualified well and we were in the top two in practice. We need to take the good from the weekend and build on that. There's still work to do but everyone at Multimatic Motorsports is up for it."


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