Posted on by Holly Cain

The newest full-time Nationwide series driver announces he’ll be a father 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Even for a guy who’s jumped out of an airplane without a parachute, Travis Pastrana says last Saturday’s season-opening Nationwide Series race at Daytona International Speedway was a thrill ride of its own.

In the moments after climbing out of his dinged-up brightly-colored No. 60 Ford Mustang, the X Games superstar-turned-NASCAR driver was wide-eyed and still jacked up.

He obligingly signed autographs in the garage area for the large group of fans who immediately descended upon this generation’s great action hero, but judging by the look on Pastrana’s face, he was still living the 120 high-adrenalin laps he’d just completed.

"I’m not going to be happy until we win."

— Travis Pastrana

Pastrana and wife announced they’ll be having a baby via Twitter and Facebook on Tuesday.

“Our goal was definitely to get a top-10 and don’t crash the car. We’re 10th and have a half-crashed car so we’ll take it,’’ said a grinning Pastrana, who announced Tuesday via Twitter and Facebook that he and his wife, professional skateboarder Lyn-Z Hawkins Pastrana were expecting a baby this fall.

The parents-to-be also posted a photo of a miniature Pastrana jersey numbered 199 1/2, but it probably wouldn’t surprise many people if their child grows up to compete and entertain.

As an 18-year old, Pastrana did a backflip on his motorcycle into the Grand Canyon. Now, 29, he insists his first race on the 200-mph Daytona high banks ranked right up there with most other full sensory experience he’s had.

And that’s saying a lot.

“It seems like when you’re driving that Daytona is going to be an easier track that it’s like, ‘Oh, it’s all just dumb luck, it’s whatever,’" Pastrana said. “But when you’re driving (in the race), it’s all about wind and that wake of air that you’re trying to position yourself in and the whole time you’re thinking and you can’t see anything coming into the corners.

“So you’re going in 195-200 miles an hour and you’re three-wide and you’ve got people bumping you and a wall that’s right next to you. And when (your spotter) says three-wide top, you’ve got to be right on that wall, still pushing the guy in front of you and if the guy behind you hits you, you’re going to get loose. If the guy in front of you doesn’t, you’re going to get tight.

“The whole time you’re just mentally going … and it’s like a sauna in that car.’’

And Pastrana acknowledged, a completely different sensation than anything he’s done on two wheels.

“It’s different because with the motorcycle the prerequisite to be in freestyle is to do a 150-foot jump, so most people are like, ‘wow, that’s scary,’" Pastrana explained.

“The prerequisite here is to go 200 mph and most people go, ‘yeah, I’ll get in my car, I could probably do that.’  But when you put that on a tight course with all these people that are all so good just battling back and forth and pushing off of you. .. it’s the most intense experience I could ever explain.’’

In-car audio from Pastrana confirms as much.

“Wow! Did you see that? Wow!’’ Pastrana screamed into the team radio seconds after a 13-car pile-up with three laps to go that sent Michael Annett’s crashing car directly in front of — only inches away — from the front of Pastrana’s Roush-Fenway Racing Mustang.

“I’ll tell you what. I’ve never seen a car do that, I mean that 43 of Annett went from my left to my right and was gone, I didn’t even see it, it was so fast,’’ Pastrana said after the race, still shaking his head.

Another multi-car accident on the last lap nicked Pastrana’s car, but he carried on to earn his best finish (10th) in the 10 Nationwide starts he’s made over the last two seasons. And it gives him a nice starting point in the championship — he’s ranked eighth — entering Saturday’s race on Daytona’s antitheses, the fickle 1-mile Phoenix International Raceway oval.

It will be Pastrana’s first time racing a car at Phoenix, but he said he left Daytona feeling more encouraged than anything.

“Sum it all up, I accomplished 50 percent of my goal,’’ Pastrana said of the Daytona season-opener. “I’m not going to be happy until we win and I’m not going to be disappointed with that (10th place), especially here.’’

READ MORE:

READ: Subway Fresh Fit
500 entry list

READ: Phoenix by
the numbers

WATCH: Phoenix fantasy
showdown

READ: Phoenix paint
scheme preview

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Power Rankings ahead of Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix International Raceway.

1. Jimmie Johnson (No. 48)

Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet 

Cup standings: 1st, 47 points
Outlook: What is there to say? It’s tough to compete with a five-time champion that nearly won his sixth title last season and opened 2013 with a bang, picking up his second Daytona 500 victory.

2. Brad Keselowski (No. 2)

Penske Racing, Ford

Cup standings: 4th, 41 points
Outlook: The champ’s Ford Fusion limped to the finish line at Daytona — and he still finished fourth. Some ruled out a repeat for Keselowski. Apparently he didn’t get the memo.

3. Matt Kenseth (No. 20)

Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota

Cup standings: 33rd, 9 points
Outlook: With a new team in Joe Gibbs Racing and his last Sprint Cup championship a decade in the past, Kenseth is a popular pick to unseat Keselowski. His 2013 campaign started off with a bang, but unfortunately for him, that came in the form of a blown engine at Daytona.

4. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88)

Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet 

Cup standings:  2nd, 42 points
Outlook: Pulling in right behind his Hendrick Motorsports teammate for a second-place finish in the Great American Race, Junior looks poised to put last season’s 12th-place finish behind him.

5. Tony Stewart (No. 14)

Stewart-Haas Racing, Chevrolet

Cup standings: 37th, 3 points

Outlook: Give him some credit. We didn’t hear much of anything from Smoke during Speedweeks, as he allowed his teammate Danica Patrick to soak up the spotlight. He then wrecked in the 500. It’s a long season, though, and Stewart should be in the running for his fourth Sprint Cup title in 2013.


6. Jeff Gordon (No. 24)

Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet

Cup standings: 19th, 25 points 
Outlook: "Old Reliable" has four Sprint Cup titles under his belt, but the last one came in 2001. Gordon’s last three seasons have gotten progressively worse in terms of points finishes, but don’t count him out yet. The 41-year-old is as determined as ever.


7. Denny Hamlin (No. 11)

Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota

Cup standings: 13th, 31 points 
Outlook: One of NASCAR’s newest dads has a lot on his plate with baby Taylor, but expect Hamlin to be in top-10 contention, despite his 14th-place-finish at Daytona. The JGR driver has finished worse than ninth just once (12th, 2007) since joining the Sprint Cup Series full-time in 2006.


8. Clint Bowyer (No. 15)

Michael Waltrip Racing, Toyota

Cup standings: 10th, 34 points
Outlook: Remember that time Clint Bowyer finished second in points standings last year? So does he. Don’t expect there to be too many more races where he finishes behind the likes of J.J. Yeley and Michael McDowell.

9. Kasey Kahne (No. 5)

Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet

Cup standings: 34th, 8 points
Outlook: Kahne, 33, isn’t the new kid on the block anymore. He showed what he’s capable of last season with his fourth-place finish, but we’ll have to wait to see what 2013 holds in store for the Hendrick driver who wrecked in the Daytona 500.

10. Kevin Harvick (No. 10)

Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet

Cup standings: 38th, 2 points
Outlook: After taking both The Sprint Unlimited and the first of last week’s Duels, many pegged Harvick as an odds-on favorite to place high in the 500. And then Kyle Busch and Kasey Kahne sparked a wreck that knocked Harvick out of the race after 47 laps.


11. Greg Biffle (No. 16)

Roush Fenway Racing, Ford

Cup standings: 6th, 38 points
Outlook: Biffle might not get the same recognition some of the bigger names get, but consider him an underappreciated pick for a top-5 finish in points in 2013. He’s seen five top-7 finishes in the past six seasons and was hot on Johnson’s tail as the cars hit the homestretch at Daytona.

12. Kyle Busch (No. 18)

Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota

Cup standings: 31st, 10 points
Outlook: Kyle Busch is all about racing. That being said, his passion for the sport and risky behavior has only led to two points finishes higher than 10th since he picked up a full-time Cup ride at age 20, and he was knocked out of the 500 five laps early on Sunday.


13. Martin Truex Jr. (NO. 56)

Michael Waltrip Racing, Toyota

Cup standings: 23rd, 20 points
Outlook: Here’s what we can expect from Truex Jr.: he’ll finish high in some races, low in some, and in the middle in most. 


14. Ryan Newman (NO. 39)

Stewart-Haas Racing, Chevrolet

Cup standings: 5th, 40 points
Outlook: After a hot start to his Sprint Cup career (four top-7 finishes in points standings from age 24-28, just one since), the 35-year-old certainly benefitted from nearly half the field not finishing the race, but could be primed for a stronger-than-usual 2013.


15. Carl Edwards (NO. 99)

Roush Fenway Racing, Ford


Cup standings: 30th, 11 points
Outlook: With a pair of top-2 points finishes in 2008 and 2011, it looked like Edwards was going to be a mainstay at the top of the class. However, with the amount of crashes he was involved in at Daytona, it doesn’t look like he’s destined to improve on his 15th-place finish in 2012.


16. Joey Logano (NO. 22)

Penske Racing, Ford

Cup standings: 18th, 26 points
Outlook: It’s hard to believe Logano is entering his fifth full-time Sprint Cup season. While he hasn’t finished higher than 16th, the 23-year-old should benefit tremendously from having teammate Brad Keselowski looking out for him.


17. Danica Patrick (NO. 10)

Stewart-Haas Racing, Chevrolet

Cup standings: 7th, 37 points
Outlook: Daytona’s darling turned nearly every head this past weekend with her finesse and skill. People should not only be impressed that she’s making history, but also because she’s a rookie.


18. Aric Almirola (NO. 43)

Richard Petty Motorsports, Ford

Cup standings: 12th, 31 points
Outlook: Almirola certainly had some bright spots, but it’s tough to see him breaking anywhere higher than 15th overall in the standings with such a talented class ahead of him.


19. Mark Martin (NO. 55)

Michael Waltrip Racing, Toyota

Cup standings: 3rd, 41 points 
Outlook: Martin won’t be running a full slate of races in 2013. That doesn’t mean he can’t get some credit for an inspiring third-place-finish in Sunday’s 500.


20. Juan Pablo Montoya (NO. 42)

Earnhardt Ganassi Racing, Chevrolet

Cup standings: 36th, 5 points
Outlook: Montoya finished in eighth place in 2009, but the rest of his Sprint Cup career has been mostly forgettable. Can he turn it around in 2013? We’ll see.

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In the Rearview


Marcos Ambrose (NO. 9)

Richard Petty Motorsports, Ford

Cup standings: 17th, 26 points


Kurt Busch (NO. 78)

Furniture Row Racing, Chevrolet

Cup standings: 26th, 16 points

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (No. 17)

Roush Fenway Racing, Ford

Cup standings: 11th, 32 points

Paul Menard (No. 27)

Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet

Cup standings: 20th, 24 points


Jeff Burton (No. 31)

Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet

Cup standings: 28th, 14 points

Note: These rankings have been determined by a poll that included writers Kenny Bruce, Holly Cain, David Caraviello and Zack Albert, and video host Alan Cavanna. Tell us what you think about the Power Rankings. Use the hashtag #NASCARPOWER.

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Posted on by Staff Report

Guy Roofing to sponsor the No. 51 at the Subway Fresh Fit 500

AJ Allmendinger will return to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and the No. 51 Chevrolet for Phoenix Racing for the first time since his last race at Texas Motor Speedway in November 2012. 

With Guy Roofing sponsoring the car at Phoenix International Raceway, Allmendinger will be paired again with crew chief Nick Harrison. Although he has eight starts at Phoenix, this will be Allmendinger’s first race in the Generation-6 car.

Allmendinger sat on the pole in 2010, and he has two top-10 finishes at the track. He has finished outside of the top 20 only once, in his first start.

"It’s been a few months since I’ve been in a stock car," Allmendinger said. "I haven’t been in one of the Gen-6 cars yet, so I think it will take a little time to get acclimated to it. Phoenix International Raceway is a great place for me to get back behind the wheel. I’ve always enjoyed the race track. It will definitely feel different, but I’ll be ready to go."

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Posted on by Staff Report

Special paint schemes for the Subway Fresh Fit 500 unveiled

Editor’s note: This story will be updated as additional paint schemes are revealed.

After an eventful Speedweeks — which included the fan-controlled Sprint Unlimited, heated Daytona Duels (won by Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch), a Camping World Truck Series opener that saw a veteran regular (Johnny Sauter) take the checkered flag, a subdued victory for Tony Stewart in the NASCAR Nationwide Series race and Jimmie Johnson winning his second Daytona 500 — teams now head west for the two-week West Coast swing.

The first race is at Phoenix International Raceway, which has been recently reconfigured and repaved, changing how the drivers race the course.

Traditionally teams will swap their cars in hotel parking lots, as the haulers head to Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the race just a few days later.

VIDEO: Jimmie Johnson wins the Daytona 500

Below are some of the special paint schemes you’ll see at the Subway Fresh Fit 500.

RELATED: Purchase die-casts of favorite driver | Classic die-casts

Kasey Kahne will drive the No. 5 Quaker State Chevrolet.


SHOP: Kasey Kahne die-casts

Marcos Ambrose will drive the No. 9 DeWALT Ford.


SHOP: Marcos Ambrose die-casts

Matt Kenseth will drive the No. 20 Husky Toyota.


SHOP: Matt Kenseth die-casts

Jeff Gordon will drive the No. 24 Pepsi MAX Chevrolet.


SHOP: Jeff Gordon die-casts

Kevin Harvick will drive the No. 29 Jimmy John’s Chevrolet.


SHOP: Kevin Harvick die-casts

Jeff Burton will drive the No. 31 Cheerios Chevrolet.


SHOP: Jeff Burton die-casts

Ken Schrader will drive the No. 32 SAFE SKIES LOCKS Ford.


SHOP: Die-casts

Aric Almirola will drive the No. 43 Farmland Ford.


SHOP: Aric Almirola die-casts


Bobby Labonte will drive the No. 47 Glad Toyota.

SHOP: Bobby Labonte die-casts


Martin Truex Jr. will drive the No. 56 NAPA Filters Toyota.

SHOP: Martin Truex Jr. die-casts

Kurt Busch will drive the No. 78 Furniture Row Chevrolet.


SHOP: Kurt Busch die-casts

Carl Edwards will drive the No. 99 Subway Ford.


SHOP: Carl Edwards die-casts

READ MORE:

READ: Subway Fresh Fit
500 entry list

READ: Phoenix by
the numbers

WATCH: Phoenix fantasy
showdown

READ: Phoenix paint
scheme preview

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Posted on by Nascar

Average finish, mandatory pit stop put premium on hard racing (Harold Hinson Photo)

CONCORD, N.C. — If drivers want a starting spot up front for the final 10-lap shootout in this year’s Sprint All-Star Race, they’re going to have to earn it.
 
Their pit crews will have to as well.
 
Officials with NASCAR and Charlotte Motor Speedway announced a change to the format for this year’s event, scheduled for May 18 at CMS.

RELATED: Event video

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The average finishing position from the first four segments of the five-segment race will determine the running order of the field before a mandatory four-tire pitstop.
 
How quickly drivers return to the track, however, will determine the order for the restart.
 
“We’re changing the format a little bit, put a little more emphasis on all the laps and your finishes there,” Robin Pemberton, vice president of competition for NASCAR, said. “The four segments, you take those, average your finish and that’s what re-positions you for that last mandatory pit stop.
 
“The crews are involved; it will make you hustle.”
 
All laps (caution and green-flag) in the first four segments will count toward the total for each segment.
 
Only green-flag laps will count in the final 10-lap shootout.
 
“I think it’s going to be really aggressive,” Chad Knaus, crew chief for defending race winner Jimmie Johnson said. “Once you … race and you win that first segment, whoever that winner is, he’s going to be going for broke in that second segment. If he’s able to pull off two of them, I think going into (that third segment) after a pit stop, it’s going to be really, really exciting to see what happens.”
 
The format change was only one of the more noteworthy moves unveiled Feb. 26 during a press conference at the 1.5-mile track.
 
The other? A $1 million bonus for any driver who wins all five segments of the special, non-points race.
 
“It’s real; it’s taped down, too,” defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Brad Keselowski said as a “car” consisting of $1 million in paper currency was unveiled.
 
“I don’t have a strategy but to win,” he said, eyeing the car tabbed “Bruton’s Big Bonus” after Speedway Motorsports Inc. founder Bruton Smith. “It looks like now I’ve got a reason to do so.”
 
Can it be done?
 
“It’s going to be extremely difficult to win all five,” Keselowski said. “But in order to win an extra $1 million, you should have to do something special. And winning all five segments would be something very special.”
 
Drivers who have won one or more Sprint Cup races in 2012 and 2013 are eligible for this year’s race. Winners of the event the previous 10 years are also eligible, as are those drivers who won a Cup title within the last 10 years.
 
Once again, the top two finishers from the Sprint Showdown, a 40-lap preliminary race, will advance to the All-Star race. One more position will be filled by fan vote, as long as the driver chosen finishes on the lead lap of the preliminary and the car is in “raceable” condition.

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Posted on by Nascar

No. 29 team has rebounded from similar start in the past

The race had barely begun when the day came to a sudden, halting end for Kevin Harvick. The Richard Childress Racing driver finished a disappointing 42nd in the season-opening Daytona 500, an unexpected turn of events for a team that had shown plenty of promise throughout much of Speedweeks.
 
Sound familiar? The same thing happened two years ago. But four weeks after an engine issue cut short his day at Daytona, Harvick and his Gil Martin-led team were coming off a win at Auto Club Speedway and back in the top 10 in points. Harvick finished the year third in the standings, with four wins.
 
As NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series teams prepare to head to Phoenix International Raceway for this year’s Subway Fresh Fit 500, Harvick finds himself in a similar situation. Caught up in a multicar accident during Sunday’s Daytona 500, he was on the sidelines after just 47 laps of the 200-lap race.

"We just go ahead and prepare for what’s in front of us."

— Gil Martin, crew chief of Kevin Harvick

The not unfamiliar task of putting a misstep behind them and focusing on the next week’s race has begun. Even if much of the offseason work, effort, testing and focus had been on a single race — the Daytona 500 — the work had already paid dividends as Harvick had won The Sprint Unlimited non-points race a week earlier, then one of the two Daytona Duels qualifying races days before the 500.
 
“That Sunday, it’s pretty tough,” Martin said of the team’s quick exit. “But Monday morning, as soon as you walk in the shop, you’re faced with getting four cars ready, two for Phoenix, two for Las Vegas because they basically leave at the same time. That pretty well takes all your attention so you don’t have an opportunity really to dwell on what happened Sunday. We just go ahead and prepare for what’s in front of us.”
 
Harvick won at Phoenix last fall, his third career Cup win at the one-mile track. He also was runner-up in the spring race. In 20 career starts, he’s managed to post six top-five and 10 top-10 finishes.
 
“Actually, the first four or five tracks that we go to are excellent for Kevin,” Martin said. “I think we’re prepared for them. It’ll take a few weeks to get ourselves out of this hole, but we’ll eventually get ourselves out of it.”
 
Phoenix will mark the first competitive stop for the new Generation-6 car on a downforce track, where drafting won’t be an issue and handling will be crucial. The new car has been tested extensively, yet there is still much that is unknown about how it will race on the intermediate and short tracks.
 
Can anything from last year’s successful setups carry over for Harvick and his team?
 
A lot can and will, according to Martin, who has 12 career Cup wins with three different drivers.
 
“We did a 2013 car test there at the end of the year and some of the stuff that we did with the car actually applied to our race that we ran in the fall,” he said. “It wasn’t that big of a deal.
 
“We didn’t have quite as much spoiler and as much splitter then as we do now. But I think that’s just going to be an offset in our setups and everybody will overcome that pretty fast.”

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Posted on by Staff Report

Here’s the entry list for the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at 4:30 p.m. ET on Saturday at Phoenix International Raceway:

Entry Veh. # Driver Manufacturer Sponsor
1 00 Jason White Toyota Headrush
2 01 Mike Wallace Chevrolet TBA
3 2 Brian Scott Chevrolet White Tail
4 3 Austin Dillon Chevrolet AdvoCare
5 4 Daryl Harr Chevrolet TBA
6 5 Jimmie Johnson(i) Chevrolet Great Clips
7 6 Trevor Bayne Ford Valvoline
8 7 Regan Smith Chevrolet TaxSlayer.com
9 10 Jeff Green Toyota TriStar Motorsports / Embassy Suites
10 11 Elliott Sadler Toyota One Main Financial
11 12 Sam Hornish Jr. Ford Detroit Genuine Parts
12 14 Eric McClure Toyota Hefty/Reynolds Wrap
13 15 Juan Carlos Blum Ford VMP
14 18 Matt Kenseth(i) Toyota RESERS
15 19 Mike Bliss Toyota TriStar Motorsports / Sheraton
16 20 Brian Vickers Toyota Dollar General
17 22 Brad Keselowski(i) Ford Discount Tire
18 23 Harrison Rhodes(i) Chevrolet Rick Ware Racing
19 24 Blake Koch Toyota I am Second-Salt Life-Support Military
20 27 Michael McDowell(i) Toyota TBA
21 30 Nelson Piquet Jr. # Chevrolet Worx
22 31 Justin Allgaier Chevrolet Brandt
23 32 Kyle Larson # Chevrolet Eveready
24 33 Kevin Harvick(i) Chevrolet Menards
25 40 Reed Sorenson Chevrolet TheMotorsportsGroup.com
26 42 Josh Wise Chevrolet Curtis Key Plumbing
27 43 Aric Almirola Ford Flying J
28 44 Hal Martin # Toyota American Custom Yachts / Crowne Plaza
29 46 Chase Miller Chevrolet Curtis Key Plumbing
30 51 Ryan Sieg Chevrolet TBA
31 52 Joey Gase Chevrolet TBA
32 54 Kyle Busch(i) Toyota Monster
33 55 Jamie Dick Chevrolet Viva Auto Group
34 60 Travis Pastrana Ford Roush Fenway Racing
35 70 Johanna Long Chevrolet Foretravel
36 74 Mike Harmon Chevrolet TBA
37 77 Parker Kligerman Toyota Toyota
38 79 Jeffrey Earnhardt # Ford TBA
39 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota TBA
40 92 Dexter Stacey # Ford Maddie’s Place
41 99 Alex Bowman # Toyota TBA

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Roush Fenway driver runs out of steam on the homestretch

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Another Daytona 500. And another opportunity for Greg Biffle to finally claim the Great American Race.

The Roush Fenway driver seemed in prime position, given that the final-lap leader of a restrictor-plate event is often so vulnerable to being overtaken by the drivers behind him. And there was Biffle, second to Jimmie Johnson as the field drove beneath the white flag — and without enough car to make a move to win NASCAR’s marquee event.

It wound up being another frustrating close call for a driver who finished third here last year. In that race, Biffle was also second at the white flag — but couldn’t mount a challenge to eventual winner Matt Kenseth, and was passed by Dale Earnhardt Jr. for second on the final lap. Sunday, he didn’t have enough at the end for Johnson, and fell to a sixth-place finish after he slid back in traffic before the checkered flag.

"More frustrated now than I was last year."

—Greg Biffle, on his sixth place finish

“More frustrated now than I was last year,” Biffle said in the garage area. “Just angry that I didn’t pin that thing on the yellow line and forget — whatever happens behind me, happens behind me. That doesn’t mean I was going to win, that means I may have still finished second behind (Johnson). I just didn’t think that bottom row was going to go. We saw all day the bottom row just didn’t have any steam.”

We saw it all Speedweeks, in fact. Biffle made what seemed the sensible decision, to remain in a high line that had been the ticket to the front at Daytona ever since last weekend’s season-opening Sprint Unlimited exhibition race. It was the high line that helped Johnson win Sunday, given that he chose the preferred outside lane before what proved the final restart.

And really, Biffle didn’t have much choice. His car wasn’t as fast as some of those around him, he said, and having the speedy green vehicle of pole winner Danica Patrick immediately behind him was proving a benefit. Plus, no one had been able to make the low lane work — until Dale Earnhardt Jr. jumped down there on the final lap, and drove to his third runner-up finish in the Daytona 500 in four years. Mark Martin followed and claimed third.

“I couldn’t have done much without Mark helping me there at the end,” Earnhardt said. “I was hoping he was thinking what I was thinking as we came off Turn 2 on that final lap.”

He was. Biffle, though, wasn’t able to follow.

“We had a little bit slower car than everybody else around us, so I certainly couldn’t go down there,” said Biffle, who has won a summer race at Daytona, but never the 500. “I needed to stay in line and be the sandwich, if you will. That’s what I needed to do until the last lap, the white flag, to make my move. Some guys had fast cars, and could get it done. … We just hung in there today. I’m frustrated, but happy with a top 10, I guess.”

Biffle and the other drivers in the outside line saw Earnhardt coming and got on the gas, providing them with the momentum that Johnson needed to stay out front long enough to win the race. Biffle said he thought about blocking, but knew his car probably wasn’t fast enough to make the move stick, and didn’t want to cause a wreck. It was Johnson who eventually moved down off the final corner, shutting the door on Earnhardt and securing his second Daytona 500 victory.

Biffle, meanwhile, could only consider what might have been — for a second consecutive year.

“I was in a bad position right there,” he said. “Some years you’re in the right spot, some years you’re not.”

READ MORE:

READ: Danica earns
500 respect

Read: Keselowski
drives through damage

Watch: Johnson
hits Victory Lane

READ: Daytona 500
takes shape

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Posted on by Nascar

Veteran hangs with 50 Cent, nearly lands elusive 500 victory

Mark Martin, ever gracious on the heels of defeat, isn’t saying if this year’s Daytona 500 was his last.

It will be remembered as one of his best. Maybe not on par with the stirring 2007 battle with Kevin Harvick, both cars thundering toward the checkered flag while cars crashed in their wake, but it was memorable no less.

The Michael Waltrip Racing driver, 54 and still driving as if he’s just another 20-something, finished third in this year’s season-opener. It was his 29th start in NASCAR’s Big Event for the Sprint Cup Series. Only fellow driver Terry Labonte, also running a limited schedule these days, was in the field in 1982 and again on Sunday. A baker’s dozen of those who rolled off pit road hadn’t even been born back then.

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“First of all, I feel extremely grateful for the opportunity,” Martin, seated alongside runner-up Dale Earnhardt Jr., said afterward. “There are a number of drivers that didn’t get to have a shot at the Daytona 500, and I was at least close enough to have an outside shot. So I feel extremely lucky for that opportunity.

“I’ve told you guys over and over again. I’m not bitter about the things I haven’t accomplished. I’m pretty damn proud of the things I have. That’s how I feel about it.”

Martin, like so many others, had a chance. With restrictor-plate racing, that’s the norm. Hook up with the right partner and every opening is an opportunity.

Such was the case Sunday, when he latched onto the back of Earnhardt Jr.’s No. 88 for the final six-lap shootout. Off the track, sponsors National Guard and Aaron’s have never been so close. On it, they seemed inseparable.

If Earnhardt Jr., regarded as one of the best plate racers, was going to the front, then Martin was going along for the ride.

Competitors are no longer allowed to converse with one another via team radios, but that doesn’t mean spotters, who intently watch the action from afar, can’t relay information. A plan was already in place before the green flag appeared for the final time.

“Well, we did … what we thought would be right,” Martin said. “The spotters did have a discussion before the restart. Obviously I knew Junior had a fast car and is one of the masters here; certainly (I) would trust his judgment.

“I was in a position where I needed to pass a bunch of cars in order to get in contention to win. So we did that. If things would have got crazy enough, maybe we could have got the big trophy.

“That’s how it went."

Things didn’t get crazy, but they got fast. And Jimmie Johnson raced away to become a two-time Daytona 500 champion.

It was a day that began under somber tones, gray skies fitting after the bedlam that ensued a day earlier at DIS when a Nationwide car slammed into the catch fence and at least 28 fans were treated for injuries. Yet just as fitting, given the excitement, size and scope of the 500, it somehow wrapped up under sunny skies.

Martin said he awoke mindful of the previous day’s incident, one “which is something that we cannot have happen.”

“I was happy to see the drivers OK,” he said. “It was sad to see some of our fans get injured. I was happy today that we were able to race and not have a huge accident.”

There were accidents. A nine-car crash knocked out several of the favorites early in the race. But nothing came close to the severity of the storm that hit the speedway the previous day.

Martin has seen it happen before. It’s part of the risk, part of the allure, some might suggest.

“That’s how it plays out,” he said. “Sometimes you have ’em and sometimes you don’t. There was plenty of recipe to have a big one there at the end, we just didn’t.

“Probably next time, they probably will … in July. And I’ll be on the couch. That will be good."

His last Daytona 500? Perhaps even Martin doesn’t yet know the answer to that one. He knows that he was close this time, and could take solace in that.

A huge fan of rap, Martin chatted briefly with the artist 50 Cent prior to the race, telling him “if we won the race, he would have to change his game to 55 Cent for one day.”

The No. 55 adorns the sides and roof of Martin’s MWR Toyota.

“I was trying really hard,” a grinning Martin said, “to get that name change for one day.”

 

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Watch: Johnson
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READ: Daytona 500
takes shape

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