Daytona Weekend Wrap-up

Nascar touched down in Daytona this Independence Day weekend, and set off some fireworks of it's own. The weekend was full of joy, frustration, and carnage. No driver was safe from the old monster that Daytona became this weekend. This was the last race weekend on the old pavement, and it went out with a bang. From Nationwide to Cup, rookie to veteran, Daytona seemed to have a "take no prisoner" attitude this weekend.

Nationwide series craziness began in the first practice when, after hitting lead bricks that had fallen from Mark Green's car, Reed Sorenson's tire flew off, and onto Stephen Wallace's car, hitting the A-post on the front of the window. Heavy penalties are expected to be handed down on the #49 Jay Robinson Racing Chevy, the car Mark Green was driving.

Through the caranage and mahem, there was a bigger story being laid out. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was driving the #3 Wrangler Chevy. He was bringing the 3 back to Daytona. This had the possibility to be either the best, or worst thing Junior could do. It would be the best if he would win, taking the 3 back to Victory Lane, and in turn taking himself there, somewhere he hasn't been since 2008. It could also be the worst thing he does, if he were to wreck, or just flat out lose, he would have essentially of brought the 3 back for nothing. Luckily, it turned out to be the best. Junior piloted the #3 Wrangler Chevy into Victory Lane, in a moment that brought out many emotions to everyone involved. From the excitement of seeing Junior finally win a race, to the bittersweet feeling of seeing the 3 in victory lane again, and possibly the final time.

The Coke Zero 400 Saturday night had more of a "battle" feeling than a race. The battle was to simply finish the race.No one was immune to the mayhem, as even Kyle Busch, leading at the time, making a simple pass on Juan Pablo Montoya, cut across the nose too early and sent himself head first into the wall, ending his night. In the "Big One", which might even be an understatement in this case, twenty cars were collected, including Four Time himself, Jimmie Johnson. Kevin Harvick survived the chaos, winning the race and beating second place finisher Kasey Kahne. Third place was Jeff Gordon, fourth place went to Dale Earnhardt Jr, and Jeff Burton finished 5th. Other notable finishes are Mike Bliss (9th), Scott Speed (10th), Steve Park (13th), and Kevin Conway (14th).

As mentioned earlier, this was the last time a race will be held on the old pavement, as they will immediately begin work on the new surface. I want to hear from you, what was your favorite moment on the "old" Daytona?

The Rise of Jr.

The past three weeks Dale Earnhardt Jr has exited his car with a smile on his face. To a casual fan this may seem like a useless fact, but to die hard fans this is huge. He's finally happy again, happy with the car, with the team, and with the results. It seems like when Jr is happy, good things happen. Hopefully this momentum will carry over to this weekends Nationwide race at Daytona where Jr will be driving the #3 Wrangler Chevy, a tribute to his father. No way to sugar coat it, when people see the #3 on the track, they expect it to succeed. Anything less than a win will be slightly disappointing, and even worse, if he wrecks, there will be a firestorm of critique on how he did not live up to his fathers standards, and to everyone's expectations. I wish Jr. all the best, this is an emotional burden I would not wish on anyone.

Being a Jr fan, i'm really hoping he wins both Friday and Saturday, but also being a Jr fan, I keep waiting for the team to backslide again. It's happened too many times for me not to wonder when it will happen again. Perhaps this is the rise of Jr and the 88 team though. Only time will tell.

What's up with the 88?

What in the world is wrong with that 88 team? The season started out fairly well, alot better than last season to be sure, but these past few races have given me flashbacks of last season. As a Junior fan, it is extremely frustrating to watch this team fall apart. But where can one put the blame? You could blame the driver, the crew chief, the crew, the owner, the track, the other drivers, the list goes on and on. Much like the oil spill in the gulf, however, someone HAS to take the blame! At this point, I believe that Junior needs to step up and get the team on the right track. The crew follows the drivers example, so to speak. If they see the driver walking around with their head down, what motivation will that give them? However, if they see the driver walking around with a smile on their face, pumping the team up, it will give them a a reason to try harder! It basically is like a circle, everyone has a little responsibility, and a team runs best when each person accepts their responsibility and acts upon it.

So anyway, this was just some ramblings I wanted to get out :)