But remarkably, the NASCAR people have almost finished their repairs, and they expect to re-start the race tonight. So NASCAR will join baseball in having its major event conclude after midnight on the East Coast.
Everyone is very excited, except for Dave Blaney, who has been leading the Daytona 500 during this red flag because he had not yet taken advantage of the caution to go into the pits.
All credit should go to the emergency crews at Daytona, who did a remarkable job of putting out the fire and repairing the track. And maybe there's a silver lining here. If my sons are representative, nothing promotes NASCAR like giant explosions where no one is hurt.
MRN has reported that the driver of the truck pulling the jet dryer that exploded is OK.
ReplyDeleteOK, so here's the top 10 after 160 laps:
ReplyDelete1. Dave Blaney
2. Landon Cassill
3. Tony Raines
4. David Gilliland
5. Matt Kenseth
6. Dale Earnhardt
7. Casey Mears
8. Kevin Harvick
9. Greg Biffle
10. Jamie McMurray
After two hours and 5 minutes, the red flag has been replaced by the yellow flag. The cars are going around and around.
ReplyDelete39 laps to go; still under caution -- the cars are moving in and out of the pits.
ReplyDeleteThis was already the first Daytona 500 to take place on a Monday; now it's also the first to take place on a Tuesday.
ReplyDelete36 laps to go. Casey Mears, who was in seventh place, has stopped because of fuel problems. A tow truck has gone to get him.
ReplyDeleteMore people are going into the pits, including Dave Blaney, who finally gives up the lead.
And we're back under green! 34 laps to go.
ReplyDeleteThe current leaders are Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle, and Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
ReplyDeleteDenny Hamlin, who is in 5th, is trying to lead a group that is taking the outside line. But Kenseth is still leading the field.
ReplyDeleteJeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Kurt Busch, Danica Patrick, and Trevor Bayne are all out of it, but the rest of the field still has a chance.
ReplyDeleteHamlin has led his group up to fourth place.
ReplyDeleteHamlin and Kevin Harvick are having a tremendous battle for fourth place. Kenseth, Biffle, and Earnhardt, Jr. still hold the top three positions.
ReplyDeleteThrough lap 172:
ReplyDelete1. Matt Kenseth
2. Greg Biffle
3. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
4. Kevin Harvick
5. Joey Logano
6. Denny Hamlin
7. Mark Martin
8. Jeff Burton
9. Brad Keselowski
10. Paul Menard
Caution at lap 177. There was a wreck at the back of the field. It took out Casey Mears, who is spinning in the infield. Mears also took out Marcos Ambrose, who ran well much of the day. But it doesn't seem to have affected the leaders.
ReplyDeleteIt looks as though Aric Almirola (driving the 43 car) spun out in front of Mears, causing the wreck.
ReplyDeleteI also like the Farmers Insurance commercials. I would at least consider watching a sit-com based on Farmers University.
ReplyDelete20 laps to go. Still under caution. Kenseth, Biffle, and Earnhardt, Jr. are still in the lead.
ReplyDeleteThrough 180 laps:
ReplyDelete1. Matt Kenseth
2. Greg Biffle
3. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
4. Kevin Harvick
5. Denny Hamlin
6. Jeff Burton
7. Joey Logano
8. Mark Martin
9. Paul Menard
10. Ryan Newman
16 laps to go. Kenseth, Biffle, and Earnhardt, Jr. are still hugging the inside lane with the top 3 positions.
ReplyDeleteKenseth is going for his second Daytona 500 -- he also won in 2009. He is driving the Best Buy Ford Fusion, which is yellow and blue with number 17.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe this race is still going on.
ReplyDeleteBelieve it, man!
Delete13 laps to go. Caution. A big wreck in the middle of the pack. Joey Logano bumped Jamie McMurray, who spun and took out a number of other cars, including Kasey Kahne, Aric Almirola, and Brad Keselowski.
ReplyDeleteKeselowski had already had a very interesting evening. He actually races with his phone in his car, and so he used the opportunity of the long red flag delay to gain many new followers for his Twitter feed.
The leaders were not affected by the wreck, so Kenseth, Biffle, and Earnhardt, Jr. will still be in the front when the green flag returns.
ReplyDeleteMy guess is that we will keep having re-starts and wrecks until we finally have a green-white-checkered finish, which is what happens almost every time I watch a NASCAR race.
ReplyDeleteBrothers: Please explain this change from yellow-flag finish to green-white-checkered finish and why it's not as good.
DeleteTony Stewart and Carl Edwards, who fought a tremendous battle for the points title last year but who haven't done that much tonight, were also involved in that last wreck.
ReplyDeleteSince the re-start, I haven't seen much evidence that anyone can catch Kenseth.
ReplyDeleteStewart is still on the track. He seems to have done an amazing job of steering through the wreck without too much damage.
ReplyDeleteStill under caution. Through lap 191:
ReplyDelete1. Matt Kenseth
2. Greg Biffle
3. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
4. Denny Hamlin
5. Kevin Harvick
6. Jeff Burton
7. Paul Menard
8. Mark Martin
9. Ryan Newman
10. Martin Truex, Jr.
The number of cautions down the stretch anymore is just nuts.
ReplyDeleteIt's like this almost every time. If they have a caution with less than 20 laps to go, they will simply keep bumping into each other over and over on the re-starts, because the field can never get spread out.
DeleteSeven laps to go, and we're under green!
ReplyDeleteKenseth immediately shoots to the lead, followed by Biffle and Hamlin. Earnhardt, Jr. is in fourth.
The bottom line has been the best line all day, and now all the leaders are following that line.
ReplyDelete5 laps to go. Still Kenseth, Biffle, Hamlin, and Earnhardt, Jr.
ReplyDelete4 laps to go. Caution. Another wreck in the middle of the pack, this one apparently caused by Tony Stewart. No, wait, it looks as though Ricky Stenhouse bumped Logano and Stewart, and then a whole bunch of folks spun out.
ReplyDeleteAgain, the leaders are not affected. But everyone will get one more chance to go after Kenseth on the re-start.
ReplyDeleteSince the caution cannot be ended before the cars have raced 200 laps, we will have a green-white-checkered finish. This is NASCAR's version of overtime. Once the race restarts (green), they will go two laps, the next-to-last lap (white), and the final lap (which ends with the checkered flag).
ReplyDeleteThis is the sixth time in the last seven years that the Daytona 500 has ended with a green-white-checkered finish.
ReplyDeleteStill under caution. Through lap 197:
ReplyDelete1. Matt Kenseth
2. Greg Biffle
3. Denny Hamlin
4. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
5. Jeff Burton
6. Kevin Harvick
7. Paul Menard
8. Mark Martin
9. Joey Logano
10. Martin Truex, Jr.
Here's the green flag!
ReplyDeleteIt's Kenseth, then Biffle, then Earnhardt.
ReplyDeleteThere's the white flag!
That's a joke they need to go back to finishing under yellow.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree.
DeleteMatt Kenseth wins the 2012 Daytona 500!
ReplyDeleteEarnhardt, Jr. kept pushing Biffle, hoping that their draft would get them past Kenseth, but Kenseth's car was too strong. Finally, on the last turn, Earnhardt, Jr. went wide -- and he did pass Biffle -- but he couldn't catch Kenseth.
ReplyDeleteI don't root for Ford cars, but Kenseth was very much a deserved winner. He clearly had the strongest car after the re-start.
ReplyDeleteLet's also give credit to Earnhardt, Jr., who ran a very strong race and was did everything possible to win.
Here is the final top 10:
ReplyDelete1. Matt Kenseth
2. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
3. Greg Biffle
4. Denny Hamlin
5. Jeff Burton
6. Paul Menard
7. Kevin Harvick
8. Carl Edwards
9. Joey Logano
10. Mark Martin
Tony Stewart came in 16th.
Kyle Busch was 17th.
Kasey Kahne was 29th.
Trevor Bayne was 35th.
Danica Patrick was 38th.
Jeff Gordon was 40th.
Jimmie Johnson was 42d.
Kenseth, who is from Wisconsin, has put together a very nice career. This was his 22d career win on the Winston Cup circuit, and his second victory at the Daytona 500 (he also won in 2009). He was also the points champion in 2003.
ReplyDeleteWe congratulate him, and we wish all the NASCAR folks luck as they move on through their circuit. We'll catch up with them once basketball season is over.
Oh, and Dave Blaney came in 15th. But for over two hours, he led the Daytona 500 -- and my guess is that feeling will stick with him for a long time.
ReplyDeleteGood stuff. Heath Post is my exclusive provider of Oscars and Daytona 500 coverage.
ReplyDeleteI know absolutely nothing about Danica Patrick except that she does those Go Daddy ads, but I just heard her interview on PTI last week and have to say she comes across as someone I could see people rooting for.
ReplyDelete