Local Look: Daytona

Events: Pepsi 400, Winn-Dixie 250, O'Reilly Auto Parts 250 (Kansas)

Local papers contributing: Florida Today, Orlando Sentinel, Daytona Beach News-Journal

Stewart looking forward to Pepsi 400 after dominating win

	Inside the Numbers Tony Stewart at Daytona Date Start Finish Laps Led 2/99 2 28 0 7/99 6 6 0 2/00 7 17 0 7/00 7 6 1 2/01 24 36 0 7/01 36 26 0 2/02 6 43 0 7/02 29 39 0 2/03 8 7 6 7/03 13 21 0 2/04 5 2 97 7/04 17 5 12 2/05 4 7 107

The deal: Mark DeCotis of Florida Today says all joking aside, the only beating Tony Stewart had to administer to improve the morale of his Joe Gibbs Racing team on Sunday was to the other 42 drivers at Infineon Raceway.

That accomplished, Stewart and his crew now can look forward to Saturday's Pepsi 400 at Daytona, where Stewart led the most laps in February's Daytona 500, but could only manage a seventh-place finish..

Why we care: Stewart's convincing road-course victory at Infineon catapulted him into fourth place in the points race and put him in position to challenge for his second Nextel Cup championship in four seasons.

But, what could be more important, it provided the momentum to propel his once beleaguered team through the grind of the 20 races remaining before a champion is crowned Nov. 20 in Homestead.

"It kind of felt like forever," Stewart's crew chief Greg Zipadelli told reporters about the agonizing wait for Stewart's first win of the season.

"I started to doubt myself if we could do it. We had some good opportunities and we let them slip away. I think last week (second at Michigan) was a big charge for everybody. We were close again and didn't capitalize on it. Unloaded here with a pretty good race. I'm just proud of everybody for putting the effort in and bringing a great race car right from the truck."

For focused Johnson, pressure a piece of cake

The deal: Ed Hinton of the Orlando Sentinel says ho-hum. Jimmie Johnson just lost the Nextel Cup points lead he'd held since March 28. No biggie.

	Johnson spunDale Jarrett spins Johnson on Lap 69 at Sonoma Sign up for TrackPass now and earn Fan Miles BUY YOUR NEXTEL DRIVER PHONE

Time was when that would have hurt, almost halfway home in the season, going into the midsummer Pepsi 400 at Daytona. For years, few drivers left Daytona in July atop the points without going on to win it all.

But now it's mostly cosmetic.

"Last year we had a huge points lead in the first 26 [races, the regular season]," Johnson points out, "and didn't end up with the championship."

Why we care: The Chase for the Nextel Cup, which begins Sept. 17, is everything now. Just be in the top 10 in points then, and it's a whole new ballgame.

So at this point in the season, second is just about as comfortable as first -- especially considering that Johnson trails new leader Greg Biffle by only 22 points.

Besides, Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus have known since last fall that their team plays better from behind. Witness their onslaught at the end of last season, when they won four of the last six races.

"We like staying just below the peak and to keep trying to reach for it," Knaus said.

Differences drive Daytona races

The deal: Godwin Kelly of the Daytona Beach News-Journal says Bobby Raider is a grandstands regular at the Daytona 500 and Pepsi 400, and enjoys both NASCAR Nextel Cup Series events.

But, the Port Orange man said, in a financial pinch, if he had to choose between events, he would attend Daytona International Speedway's summer race -- which is Saturday.

"Since 1992, we've been coming down here for the Daytona 500," Raider told the paper. "Once my wife, Frances, and I moved down here, we started to go to the Pepsi 400. I like the Pepsi 400 because it's more fun. It's like a big party."

Why we care: The Pepsi 400 and Daytona 500 are as different as, well, night and day.

The Pepsi 400 became a night race in 1998, while the 500 remains a Sunday afternoon sports fixture.

"The Daytona 500 has no plans to move to night," Speedway president Robin Braig told the paper. "That's pretty sacred, though we have inched the start closer to the afternoon to catch some TV ratings on the west coast. We have no plans for the Daytona 500 to be a night race."

The start time isn't the only major difference. The Daytona 500 is 100 miles longer, and since the early 1980s, has been NASCAR's kickoff event. The 400 has always fallen toward the middle of the Nextel Cup schedule.

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There is a major difference in posted awards, or purse money. This year's Daytona 500 paid competitors a record $17,623,980 while Saturday's Pepsi 400 is offering $5,932,320.

"The best way to describe the difference between the Daytona 500 and Pepsi 400 would be to look at the recent Super Bowl in Jacksonville," Braig said.

"The Daytona 500 is NASCAR's Super Bowl; a race of national and international importance. It's NASCAR's showcase event. The Pepsi 400, on the other hand, is more like a Jacksonville Jaguars home game."

Twenty years later, Sacks' win still shocking

The deal: Godwin Kelly of the Daytona Beach News-Journal says it was ironic that Greg Sacks' upset victory in the 1985 Firecracker 400 at Daytona International Speedway signaled the end of one of the greatest race teams of that NASCAR era.

The trophy won that day became the end of DiGard Racing, which in 1983 had reached the stock car summit and won the NASCAR championship with Bobby Allison.

Twenty years later, Sacks' appearance in Victory Lane is still considered one of the all-time great upsets in NASCAR's top touring series.

Why we care: Bill Elliott, who started from the pole that day, was heavily favored after winning seven superspeedway races, including the season-opening Daytona 500. The 400 was the 15th race of the '85 season.

Results 1985 Firecracker 400 Pos. Driver Make 1. Greg Sacks Chevrolet 2. Bill Elliott Ford 3. Darrell Waltrip Chevrolet 4. Ron Bouchard Buick 5. Kyle Petty Ford Complete results, click here

Tired of getting whipped on a weekly basis, DiGard owner Bill Gardner instructed crew chief Gary Nelson to start a research and development team using discarded parts and pieces from Allison's No. 22 Buick.

"There was a point in time where our whole program needed to be upgraded," said Nelson, now a NASCAR vice president. "The cars didn't handle well, the aerodynamics weren't good. The engines weren't good. We said, 'Let's see if we can pinpoint what we need to work on.' "

Nelson purchased a used Chevrolet racecar, once wheeled by Cale Yarborough, and started an intense chassis research project under the name of Bill Gardner Racing.

Nelson felt Elliott, who could run Daytona's 2.5-mile course on the lowest racing groove, was beating everybody with a finely tuned wheel alignment. He concentrated his study efforts in that area.

"You want all the wheels going the same direction, working together," Nelson said. "It sounds simple, but when you're talking alignment, you're talking thousandths of an inch."

After working about a month on "dynamic alignment," Nelson wanted to test his theory, and entered the R&D car in the summer race at Daytona, now called the Pepsi 400. Sacks, who had 40 starts at that point in his career, was tabbed as the driver.