 | | Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s crew works to service his car as it sits sideways on pit road. Credit: AP |
By Ryan Smithson, NASCAR.COM
February 21, 2005
02:17 PM EST (19:17 GMT)
Pit Story of the Race NASCAR promised strict enforcement of pit speeds in 2005, and their timing of the cars during the Daytona 500 showed just how often drivers actually speed on pit road. No fewer than 11 cars -- more than a quarter of the field -- received penalties for speeding during the round of green flag stops on Lap 63. Among those caught were the front-running cars of Kurt Busch and Jimmie Johnson, but each managed to remain on the lead lap despite a drive-through penalty. "We had very timely pit stops we were able to stay in the lead draft, except for when Jimmie Johnson and I decided to go speeding down pit road," said Busch. Close quarters Daytona may be one of the larger tracks on tour, but its pit road can seem like Martinsville's. All day, cars jockeyed for position within the 43 pit stalls, often with near-disastrous results. On Lap 62, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Burton touched on pit road, sending Earnhardt Jr. into his pit with the nose of his Chevrolet towards the pit wall. Despite the strange angle, his crew performed a normal stop, although Earnhardt Jr. lost a lot of time when he had to back up the car to exit. "I tried to avoid (Burton)," Earnhardt Jr. said. "It was my fault." The biggest pit road incident of the day involved Kasey Kahne and Jason Leffler, who collided during the round of stops on Lap 161. Both lost a lot of track position, and each were later swept up in accidents, although Kahne managed to finish on the lead lap. We got in that deal on pit road, and that kind of set us back," Kahne said. "We had a much better car than where we finished. Its just circumstances."  |  | | Tire changer Ira-Jo Hussey (right) and front-tire carrier Tom Dean (let) work to get Tony Stewart off pit road. Credit: Autostock |
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Top performers The Daytona 500 was Michael Waltrip's first with crew chief Tony Eury Jr. at the helm -- and Waltrip was buoyed by fast pit stops all day. On Lap 87, Waltrip's crew gave him a 13-second pit stop that allowed him to restart the race right behind leader Tony Stewart. Stewart's crew was mistake-free all day -- they consistently helped him retain top position on the track with quick green-flag stops on Laps 87 and 138. Nemechek not happy "I really feel I let my team down by messing up in the pits," said Joe Nemechek, who drove from the rear of the field to 13th in a backup car. But Nemechek slid through his pit box during two separate pit stops, costing him the chance to catch the lead draft. Quoteable "I'm going have to go back and look at that. I don't know if I was speeding or not, but with this new system we have to adjust the way we get on pit road a lot. We'll work on that in the future." Elliott Sadler, on getting caught speeding on Lap 63."Jimmie Johnson and I got caught speeding on pit road with their new device, so I'll have to double-check how that all works." Kurt Busch, on getting caught speeding on Lap 63. | 
