Harvick wins Daytona 500; Elliott Sadler finishes 6th

Six years to the day of Dale Earnhardt's death, Kevin Harvick nosed ahead of Mark Martin at the finish line to claim the Daytona 500 victory.

Read the rest of the story at http://msn.foxsports.com/nascar/cup/raceTrax?gameId=20070218001

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Wow! What a race for my boy, Elliott Sadler.

After spending almost all of the Daytona 500 buried in the back of the pack, Elliott Sadler's No. 19 Dodge team took advantage of a caution near the end of the race to make major changes to the car. Sadler then made rapid progress toward the front and was soon riding in fifth place. When the leaders headed down pit road following a caution on lap 186, Sadler's team owner, Ray Evernham, who served as team manager/crew chief for Sadler today, called for two tires. That call helped keep Sadler in fifth as the race went green with just 10 laps to go. Sadler was still in fifth when another caution flew on lap 198 for a multi-car incident that put the race under red flag conditions and set up a green-white-checkers finish. During the red-flag break Sadler, Evernham and spotter Brett Griffin talked strategy. Evernham suggested the 09 might help them since Mike Wallace has expressed interested in driving an Evernham truck some this year. Griffin went down to talk to the 09 spotter and came back on the radio with a promise from the 09 that he would help push Sadler in the closing laps. As the field prepared to go green for the final time, Everham said to Elliott, "OK, Ricky Bobby. Check your belts." Then he said, "I've got all the confidence in the world in you, Elliott. Go get 'em."

As the green flag flew on lap 201, it was every man for himself. On the final lap, No. 5 Kyle Busch got loose and slid up the track into the Matt Kenseth No. 17. As everyone behind the spinning cars began to check up, Wallace got in the back of Sadler and he shot up the track in front of Jeff Gordon's No. 24. As Sadler bounced off the wall, David Regan in the AAA Ford No. 6 and Wallace shot ahead and "the big one" was under way. Jeff Gordon, Casey Mears, Sterlin Marlin, Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle, David Stremme and Juan Pablo Montoya were all caught up in the melee as Clint Boyer crossed the finish line on his roof.

Sadler recorded a sixth place finish. When the race ended, Evernham had high praise for his driver on the radio while Sadler thanked his team for their efforts to get his car in a position to win the race. Despite spending much of the day struggling to keep up, the No. 19 team ended up having a great points day.

Way to go, Elliott.

Thursday's Nextel Cup Update

Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon celebrated in victory lane as winners of the Gatorade Duels Thursday. Meanwhile 18 other drivers and their teams headed had their dreams of racing in the 49th Annual Daytona 500 shattered when they failed to finish high enough in the qualifying races or have a high enough qualifying time to fall back on. Brian Vickers, A.J. Allmendinger, Ward Burton, Jeremy Mayfield and Paul Menard were among the drivers sent packing following the races.
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Post-race inspections revealed that Jeff Gordon's No. 24 Dupont Chevrolet was an inch too low, according to NASCAR officials. For that reason, Gordon will start 42nd in Sunday's Daytona 500. NASCAR officials concluded the bolts used to install the rear shocks on Gordon's car had been misaligned. During the course of the race, the load on those misaligned bolts caused the car's quarterpanels to drop below the minimum height. The roof, however, did not drop below the minimum height. NASCAR officials said that no further penalties would be forthcoming because they felt certain that the infraction was not in any way intentional.
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Click here for the Daytona 500 Lineup:
http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2007/1/data/lineup.html

Victory Junction adds three disease groups

Known for giving children with chronic medical conditions a life changing camping experience, the Victory Junction Gang Camp is in its fourth year of operation and proud to announce the addition of three new disease groups: blind, deaf and Down syndrome, bringing the total number of diseases served to 24."We are very excited to have added these three new groups," said Pattie Petty, co-founder and CEO of Victory Junction. "Adding new disease groups is something that we strive to achieve. We've seen more than 4,500 campers free of charge since our opening in 2004 and the addition of these new disease groups will allow us to give more children the Victory Junction experience."Victory Junction works closely with its partnering hospitals when considering the addition of new disease groups."The camp has 20 partnering hospitals and each hospital has a representative that serves on our Medical Advisory Board," Petty said. "We consult with the board to help determine potential new disease groups and to decide what needs to happen to properly serve these new groups.""When children come to Victory Junction they are able to do things that they never imagined possible," said Peter Sim MD, medical director of Victory Junction. "For example, campers with spina bifida that are confined to a wheelchair have the chance to climb a 55-foot-high ropes course, something that they might have never dreamed of being able to do. Not only will they be able to participate in these amazing activities, they will interact with other children having the same condition, possibly for the first time ever."

Fines, suspensions continue at Daytona

NASCAR officials ended almost 72 hours of suspense when they announced Wednesday afternoon that Michael Waltrip Racing would face the stiffest penalties ever for rules violations discovered during pre- and post-qualifying inspections. Sunday morning NASCAR officials announced they had confiscated the manifold from the No. 55 Toyota before Daytona 500 qualifying after they said an “unknown liquid” had been found in the manifold during pre-qualifying inspections. Then Sunday night NASCAR officials said they had confiscated the car and were going over it with a fine-tooth comb because of other unnamed concerns. Since then, speculation had mounted over what NASCAR had found and what kind of punishment would be forthcoming. After fines and suspensions were announced yesterday for four other Nextel Cup teams, rumors began to circulate in the garage that the No. 55 team would be banned from the Daytona 500 and/or suspended from NASCAR indefinitely. Those rumors became more believable after both the team’s crew chief and the team’s vice-president of competition were escorted from the track. And while the rest of the Nextel Cup teams prepared for tomorrow’s Gatorade Duels, the No. 55 team rolled out a backup car and tried to get it through NASCAR inspection. When the No. 55 failed to make an appearance in the final round of practice, some reasoned it was because the team was being sent home. Finally, just before 6 p.m. NASCAR officials held a press conference to announce their decision. First, crew chief David Hyder was fined $100,000. In addition, Hyder and Bobby Kennedy, MWR vice president of competition, received indefinite suspensions. Finally, Waltrip and his team were 100 points and his qualifying time for the Daytona 500 was disallowed. Plus, NASCAR announced that Waltrip’s car would remain impounded by NASCAR and that it would be sent back to NASCAR’s Research and Development Facility in North Carolina.
In a statement issued by Waltrip Wednesday night, he pointed a finger at those responsible for preparing his car. “During preparations for the 2007 season and especially the 2007 Daytona 500, I specifically requested that our competition teams not disrespect NASCAR, our competitors or our sponsors by blatantly circumventing the rules,” Waltrip said. “This is not the action of an organization, a manufacturer or a sponsor. This was an independent act done without consent or authorization from me or any of my executive management team. As an owner, I realize I am ultimately held responsible for the actions of my employees. Therefore, I accept the penalties issued tonight by NASCAR. “I respect NASCAR’s rules, its people and the sport’s integrity, which is why I am so sad and embarrassed. I am dedicated to get to the bottom of this because I will not let the independent act of an individual or individuals tarnish the incredible accomplishment my organization has made to be where we are today.”

Fines, suspensions handed down by NASCAR

Big fines and unprecedented penalties were handed down Tuesday by NASCAR after four teams for rules violations discovered before and after qualifying. Four crew chiefs were suspended and their teams were fined a total of $150,000, 150 driver points and 150 car owner points.

Robbie Reiser, crew chief of the Roush Racing No. 17 driven by Matt Kenseth, and Kenny Francis, team director of the Evernham Motorsports No. 9 Dodge driven by Kasey Kahne, were each suspended for four races and fined $50,000. In addition, their drivers and teams were docked 50 driver and owner points, making it the first time NASCAR has deducted points before a season began.

Josh Browne, team director for Elliott Sadler, driver of the No. 19 Evernham Motorsports Dodge, and Rodney Childers, team director for the No. 10 Dodge driven by Scott Riggs, were fined $25,000 each and suspended for two races. Sadler and Riggs were each docked 25 driver points and their teams lost 25 car owner points as well.

NASCAR officials said that both the No. 17 and the No. 9 infractions involved "air improperly ducted into the car.” The infractions were discovered in post-qualifying inspections. While Kenseth qualified 11th and Kahne 28th, those times were disallowed. Kenseth will start 29th and Kahne 30th in the second race of the Gatorade Duels on Thursday.

The rules infractions on the No. 19 and No. 10 were discovered during pre-qualifying inspection, so these cars will be allowed to keep their qualifying positions. Sadler will start 10th and Riggs will start 22nd in the second of the Gatorade Duels.

All four teams finished last season in the top 35 in owner points and are guaranteed a starting spot in the Dayton 500.

NASCAR officials have not determined whether or not there were any rules violations by the Michael Waltrip No. 55 Toyota, despite confiscating the manifold and impounding the car after qualifying on Sunday.

To read more on this story click here: http://www.nascar.com/2007/news/headlines/cup/02/13/mkenseth.kkahne.penalties/index.html

Race Update - Sunday, Feb. 11, 2007

Gilliland wins pole for Daytona 500
David Gilliland, driver of the No. 38 M&Ms Ford Fusion, will start on the pole in his first ever Daytona 500. Gilliland, who recorded a speed of 186.320 mph, will be joined on the front row by teammate Ricky Rudd. Rudd, who took the 2006 season off before replacing Dale Jarrett in the Robert Yates racing No. 88 Snickers Ford Fusion for 2007, captured the outside pole with a speed of 185.609 mph. While the front row of the Daytona 500 is set, the rest of the 43-car starting grid will be determined following the Gatorade Twin 150s on Thursdays.

Click here for the rest of the qualifying speeds http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2007/1/data/lineup.html

Stewart captures Bud Shootout victory
Tony Stewart drove his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Home Depot Chevrolet to Victory Lane at Daytona Speedway Saturday night, winning the Bud Shootout fo the third time in his career. Stewart got the win after bumping leader Kyle Busch from the lead with eight laps to go in the all-star race. David Gilliland finished second while Busch ended up third.

Click here for the rest of the story http://www.nascar.com/2007/news/headlines/cup/02/10/tstewart.wins.shootout.ap/index.html
'Trackside Live' to air 200th show on SPEED
When Steve Byrnes, Darrell Waltrip, Larry McReynolds and Jeff Hammond take the SPEED stage Friday at Daytona to "work hard and play hard," it will mark the 200th episode of the popular SPEED Friday night show Trackside Live. Carl Edwards and Denny Hamlin will be Trackside guests for show No. 200 on Feb. 9 at 8 p.m. ET. Reigning Nextel Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson and Elliott Sadler will be guests on the Feb. 16 show at 6:30 p.m. ET. Sadler will join the Trackside team every week during the second half of the season.

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http://www.nascar.com/2007/news/headlines/cup/02/07/trackside.live.200.show/

Ladies in Black

We had a great time despite the fact we did not record the fastest time!