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Kevin Harvick didn’t have the quickest automobile at Daytona and struggled in opposition to an overheating downside that dropped him again into the murkier zones of the whirling dervish pack, however what he did have was the appropriate transfer up his sleeve on the essential second.
He grasped American racing’s largest prize away from one in every of its best-loved racers, Mark Martin, in sensible – but controversial – type.
Harvick’s sensational last lap transfer dashed the goals of Martin, the now part-time Cup veteran who as soon as once more needed to accept being the bridesmaid. He’s by no means gained this race, or the championship, however Martin put himself ready to win after playing on taking solely two tires in his last pitstop.
He at all times seemed vulnerable to assault from fixed challenger Kyle Busch’s Hendrick Chevrolet, which had taken recent rubber all-round, however his true opposition was coming from a lot additional again within the subject.
Mark Martin leads Kyle Busch on the final restart
Photograph by: Eric Gilbert
Busch had moved ominously into second place because the race entered its endgame, and was difficult Martin for the lead with 4 laps remaining when a multi-car accident prompted a crimson flag, resulting in a two-lap inexperienced/white-checkered race to the flag.
“We will win this factor,” Martin instructed his crew over the radio as he sat ready for the restart, whereas Busch’s crew chief Alan Gustafson identified bluntly to his cost: “We’ve bought 4 new tires; he’s solely bought two.”
Having led briefly within the first half of the race, Harvick seemed to be out of the body after his automobile acquired a bang on its nostril that despatched the water temperatures sky excessive. Happily, the workforce was in a position to rectify its cooling duct in a pitstop, and from twenty ninth with 22 laps to go, he rallied his method again into seventh place for the essential restart.
The racing had been positively restrained by NASCAR restrictor plate racing requirements, but it surely was nearly to get an entire lot wilder. Because the night turned to twilight, and with the final word bragging rights of the yr at stake, as one driver put it: “The danger versus reward ratio adjustments and other people do issues they wouldn’t usually do.” Or, as Harvick put it: “A bunch of demons got here out when it bought darkish.”
Mark Martin leads Kyle Busch with one lap to go
Photograph by: Eric Gilbert
As the gang took to their toes, Martin made a stable getaway and hugged the yellow line on the backside of the observe forcing Busch to comply with him because the pack constructed its valuable momentum, hamstrung by their strangled engines. Additional again, Harvick was the aggressor, however his first transfer to the surface on the again straight solely gained him one place, so it appeared a high 5 end was his solely life like goal.
On the ultimate lap, nonetheless, Martin was busy blocking Busch going into Flip 3, whereas Harvick once more opted for the excessive line. This time, he bought a mega bump draft from a mixture of Matt Kenseth and Jeff Burton, they usually “pushed the hell out of me” to assist him rocket previous Elliott Sadler, David Gilliand and Greg Biffle on the again straight.
As he approached Flip 3, Harvick additionally roared previous Busch – who tried to dam however couldn’t deal with Kevin’s “freight-train” momentum.
Kevin Harvick takes the lead over Mark Martin in flip 4
Photograph by: Eric Gilbert
Unbelievably, Harvick then drew stage with Martin going into the ultimate yards and edged forward exiting Flip 4, with simply inches separating them as they raced to the road. Behind them, an enormous accident kicked off because the chasing pack self-destructed, however the entrance two stored it clear as they dipped for the road.
Right here’s the place the controversy arose, as NASCAR now not permits the follow of racing again to the end line if there’s a crash. However that is the Daytona 500, and as Martin would shrug later: “NASCAR did its greatest to get an thrilling end – it’s by no means over till it’s over.”
NASCAR insisted that the yellow was known as, however solely when Clint Bowyer started his alarming somersault, and never for the preliminary crash instigated by a spinning Busch. The sanctioning physique maintained that Harvick had already crossed the end line at that time, though many took subject with its stance.
Kevin Harvick takes the victory forward of Mark Martin
Photograph by: NASCAR Media
The profitable margin was 0.02secs, which was the closest end within the Daytona 500’s historical past on the time – though they solely timed it precisely since 1993, and took three days to resolve the winner of the primary one.
Martin stated of the state of affairs: “I used to be main after they had been wrecking. I observed the smoke in my mirrors, however my focus was on beating the 29 [Harvick] to the end line, and I believed had Kyle behind me. However I’d misplaced Kyle, so I hoped for a push however there was no one there. It was trying good, however I let it slip by my fingers and I’m high-quality with that. I’m not going to cry over it.”
Mark Martin
Photograph by: Eric Gilbert
Harvick stated of the grandstand end: “I noticed the yellow come out proper after we crossed the end line. I don’t actually know when it got here out, however I used to be concentrating on Mark as a result of I used to be in entrance of him however he side-drafted as we got here off Flip 4, so I knew it might be shut.”
What Martin actually wanted was the good thing about push from behind, however the almost certainly supplier, Busch, wasn’t there as a result of he was spinning like a high exiting Flip 4. This triggered an enormous crash as Matt Kenseth spun in sympathy, scary Casey Mears, Sterling Marlin (who managed to slam into the pitwall), Jeff Gordon, David Stremme and final, however actually not least, Bowyer to crash. He would cross the end line the wrong way up and on hearth, however shortly hopped out because the flames licked round his windscreen.
Final lap crash: Clint Bowyer flips over and catches hearth
Photograph by: Eric Gilbert
“I noticed all of them wreck and thought I used to be clear,” stated Bowyer. “Then someone clipped me and turned me over. I wrecked the race automobile; it’s just about junk. Oh properly.”
The person with the strongest automobile within the race was Tony Stewart. The winner of the Bud Shootout and a Gatorade Duel 150 qualifier seemed on track for his first Daytona 500 victory – this regardless of working over particles whereas main, getting caught behind a spinning automobile within the pitlane after which getting caught rushing as he left the pits.
From fortieth place on lap 80, Stewart was again on the entrance with 50 laps to go. However simply after he bought there, he ran too low in Flip 4, bought right into a slide and was collected twice by an in depth following Kurt Busch (who in all probability the second-best automobile within the occasion) sending each into the wall and out of a race both may have gained.
“I mishandled within the nook and the automobile simply took off on me,” stated Stewart, whose days of petulant rants appear a factor of the previous. “It was fairly spectacular to come back again to the entrance after going all the way in which to the again, although.”
Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch crash in flip 4
Photograph by: Eric Gilbert
Busch shouldered the blame for the crash, though it didn’t appear to be his fault: “We had been each taken out of the Daytona 500 due to my mistake. We had been poised for an excellent run on the finish, however bought bottled up in that flip.”
With that duo out of the way in which, Martin Truex took over on the entrance because the race entered its last quarter, beneath strain from Kenseth and Martin. Kenseth grabbed the lead with a sensible cross main as much as the essential yellow interval throughout which Martin took his two-tire gamble to achieve observe place. Though he would play a serious function in Harvick’s win, Kenseth went unrewarded after his last-gasp rotation.
However he wasn’t the one laborious luck story. After the Busch brothers had seemed so sturdy earlier, it was harsh that neither of them would rating the end they deserved. Kyle’s last-lap block try on Harvick meant he was very tight to the underside of the observe and he abruptly spun out of third place exiting that fateful final nook, triggering the ‘massive one’ that had taken so lengthy in coming.
Final lap crash: Casey Mears collide with Sterling Marlin and Clint Bowyer
Photograph by: Eric Gilbert
It additionally eradicated Biffle from the main locations, who had a chief view of what occurred however may nonetheless solely surmise that “Kyle bought unfastened and all of us wrecked”.
There have been some luck tales to be discovered from this race, nonetheless, as Jeff Burton emerged by the chaos to seize an sudden third. “The final 40 laps had been insane. I had my eyes closed the entire time after the restart! I had an incredible seat for the wreck as we got here off Flip 4, it bought actually wild.”
Burton deserved his slice of luck, as he dropped again from second place with 70 laps to go resulting from a sluggish pitstop, brought on by his jackman tearing his calf muscle as he ran across the automobile. “I noticed him actually hopping across the automobile, nonetheless carrying the jack,” stated Burton. “I’m actually happy with him for doing that.”
Mike Wallace
Photograph by: Eric Gilbert
An much more unlikely high 5 finisher was Mike Wallace, who solely made the principle occasion through the qualifying races. His plucky underdog run was rewarded with fourth as a lot larger names contrived to get rid of one another.
The highest rookie was fifth positioned David Ragan, the teen that Jack Roush has chosen to interchange Martin. He had solely raced into the highest 10 within the closing levels earlier than dodging the bullets of the final lap crashfest, having began the penultimate lap again in fifteenth.
Behind Ragan had been the Evernham-run Dodges of Elliott Sadler and Kasey Kahne – not unhealthy contemplating their crew chiefs had been banned for dishonest in qualifying – and poleman David Gilliland, who led for 18 laps however misplaced a lap when he collided with Robby Gordon within the pits. Joe Nemechek and Jeff Gordon rounded out the highest 10 however bore the scars of battle.
Juan Pablo Montoya completed his first Daytona 500 in nineteenth place, getting again on the lead lap after battling dealing with points and a transmission that solely supplied second and fourth gears by the top. “A high 20 end is form of what I needed to do right here,” he stated.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. spins in flip 4 after the crash on the Superstretch
Photograph by: Eric Gilbert
Different pre-race favourites fell by the wayside. Fan favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr endured a day that had extra downs than ups, and he was ultimately taken out in a pile-up that was triggered by Jamie McMurray. Earnhardt rammed entrance row starter Ricky Rudd within the melee that adopted, however admitted: “It’s very irritating to make issues occur when the automobile gained’t cooperate. I couldn’t see what prompted the wreck however Rudd slowed down and I bought into him.”
2006 Daytona 500 winner Jimmie Johnson seemed like an accident ready to occur at Flip 2 all day, and he delivered with 26 laps remaining. Unable to keep away from the fallout had been Denny Hamlin, Jeff Inexperienced and David Reutimann.
To finish Penske’s distress, Kurt Busch’s team-mate Ryan Newman dropped out with a blown engine, legacy of a holed radiator, incurred quickly after he’d led a lap.
Toyota’s arrival on the high stage of inventory automobile racing was a moist squib. Dale Jarrett completed on the lead lap in twenty second, with Michael Waltrip two laps down in thirtieth.
Ken Schrader spins
Photograph by: Eric Gilbert
Actually, essentially the most exceptional facet of its debut was Dave Blaney, who averted a collision between Reed Sorenson and Carl Edwards exiting Flip 4 by driving down the pitlane, however he rejoined at nearly full velocity, full with a blown right-front tire, and was slammed into by Ken Schrader’s Ford. Blaney was given a five-lap penalty for the maneuver, however his automobile was too badly broken to proceed anyway.
After every week the place dishonest in qualifying had made headline information throughout America, it was becoming Daytona supplied an exciting finale. As a poignant postscript, Harvick’s win was the primary Daytona 500 success for Richard Childress Racing because the late Dale Earnhardt’s sole victory in 1998.
After the race, an emotional Childress stated: “It offers me ideas again to ’98 and I’m going to cherish this. Profitable tonight is nice, however I don’t assume something will change a good friend, Dale Earnhardt, an incredible American racing driver.”
With regards to the race itself, Childress added: “It was unbelievable to see the strikes that Kevin made. I instructed Kevin I stored my eyes shut as a result of it was so wild!”
Victory lane: race winner Kevin Harvick celebrates
Photograph by: Eric Gilbert
And the violence didn’t cease there. Harvick’s victory celebration additionally bought out of hand: “I suppose I didn’t realized how excited I used to be and punched the dang mirror out of the automobile! That basically harm my hand.”
It didn’t cease him celebrating a exceptional race win, as Martin left the observe with that acquainted second place feeling.
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