Racing News
Updated Feb.17 2007
That time of year has finally arrived, when we know that spring
is just around the corner as the green flag drops on the Daytona
500 on Sunday and on the 2007 racing season.
What an interesting Speed Weeks 2007 has been thus far, with NASCAR
impounding race cars, penalizing teams & drivers. Is this a
sign of things to come for the 2007 season? Time will tell on that
one.
With the start of Speedweeks last weekend Bobby Gerhardt was the
first visit victory lane at Daytona in the ARCA race, with a fifth
win in the event. Later the same day, Smoke found victory lane in
the Bud Shootout, an event he has won three times now.
Qualifying for the front row of 49th Daytona 500 on Sunday, had
it’s share of surprises in more than one way. Rookie David
Gilliland captured the pole in his first ever attempt at Daytona.
Which is not really a big surprise, because RYR has a pretty good
speedway program. David will be partnered on the front row with
his RYR teammate Ricky Rudd, who is has come back to Cup after taking
a year off from racing. Some of the other surprises on Sunday were,
in the Evernham stables where all three crew chiefs, were suspended
for a few races. Roush also had a suspension with Matt Kenesth crew
chief Robbie Reiser. The big story of the day was with Michael Waltrip
Racing where NASCAR suspended some team members indefinitely and
levied some big fines and points, for a foreign substance found
in the intake manifold of Waltrip’s 55 NAPA Toyota. That was
not a good way to start a new season, especially with a new car
make, such as Toyota, it kind of puts tarnish on Toyota’s
first season in Cup.
With only 35 cars locked into the 500, and the rest of the cars
to come from the dual 150’s on Thursday. It made for a great
show on Thursday, with Smoke winning the first dual and Jeff Gordon
winning the second. However after post race inspection Gordon’s
car was found to be to low and will have to start in the back of
the field on Sunday. After all the trouble and fines that Waltrip
Racing incurred this week, Mikey was able to race his way into the
500, and his other two cars also made to in the Big Dance on Sunday.
Busch Qualifying took place on Friday, for Saturday’s Busch
Season opener and Gibbs racing driver Aric Almirola grabbed the
pole, the second of his career. Jason Leffler will start on the
out front row. Jon Wood will start 3rd and the first Busch Whacker
Martin Truex Jr. who will start 4th. The race is set to start at
1:30pm on ESPN 2 today.
Friday nights truck race was an exciting one with the caution flying
7 times for 34 laps. New Roush Fenway racing truck driver Travis
Kavpil led most of the laps in the end and was leading coming out
of turn 4 on the last lap. However Jack Sprague got a push from
fellow Toyota driver Johnny Benson to nose past Travis at the line.
It was a three way photo finish at the line with Sprague on the
high side, Kavpil in the middle and Benson on the inside. With Sprague
and Benson making the late charge Kvapil finished third, behind
Sprague and Benson.
|
