Notebook: Hendrick, others start new season in a hole

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- So much for Hendrick dominance.

For one night, at least, the Hendrick Motorsports juggernaut, which accounted for 18 wins in 36 NASCAR Cup points races last year, came to a grinding halt in Sunday's Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.

Suspension problems hampered Jeff Gordon, who completed 186 laps and finished 39th. Casey Mears ran 35th after slamming into the Turn 1 wall on Lap 195 while contending for the victory. Jimmie Johnson lost ground on a pit stop on Lap 74, when his car rolled off the jack.

And Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished the race on old tires after crossing signals with crew chief Tony Eury Jr. and failing to come to the pits under caution with 22 laps to go. Earnhardt held on for a ninth-place finish and was unable to complete a Speedweeks triple -- he had won the Feb. 9 Budweiser Shootout and Thursday's first Gatorade Duel 150 qualifying race (read more).

"It wasn't tires -- we had good grip at the end," Earnhardt said. "The track was cooling off, and the car was fine. I got great runs ... just made poor choices on what to do with them. That was the difference.

"We started off a little bit tight, and we adjusted on it. [Crew chief] Tony [Eury] Jr. made some good changes that got me great at the end of the race. We had great motors all week and another one [Sunday]. I'm real proud of Hendrick and the effort they gave me because I have had a great time this Speedweeks. I think the year is going to be like that, and I am really going to enjoy it."

Late wreck riles Bowyer
Clint Bowyer surged past Earnhardt into the lead after a restart on Lap 181 -- but not for long. On Lap 183, a bump from Juan Montoya sent his No. 07 Chevy spinning through the infield grass as the cars approached Turn 1.

"We had a car that was capable of winning the race," said Bowyer, who finished 24th. "The Jack Daniel's Chevrolet was as fast as anything I've ever driven. It's pretty hard to stomach being taken out when you're leading the Daytona 500. A couple of guys got impatient up front, and we were the casualty. The worst part about it is having to wait another year to try again."

Biffle looks at big picture
Though Greg Biffle led three times for seven laps Sunday, he knew he didn't have a car capable of winning the Daytona 500. But he's encouraged with the 10th-place finish he achieved in his No. 16 Roush Fenway Ford.

"We had a really good run out there [Sunday]," Biffle said. "We were a little bit shy on speed. They [faster cars] got such a run on us, and I couldn't block them. They're just going to spin us out. We're thinking about the championship, not a Daytona 500 win.

"We needed it to go green for us to have a chance. With cautions like that [four in the final 24 laps], you get ganged up and you don't have a chance."