nascar 2012 - race 18

Daytona Superspeedway, Round Two




Submitted by Rick A. Talford

NASCAR Enthusiast



DAYTONA, FLORIDA - The Nationwide Series returned to Daytona for the Subway Jalapeno 250. A 100 laps race on the 2.5 mile race track. A technical violation for not plugging to air vent hoses in the race car, dropped the pole sitter # 3 Austin Dillon from first to last at the start of the race. # 6 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. then took over the pole position after the penalty by Nascar was handed down. # 88 Cole Whitt started second and # 7 Danica Patrick began the race from the third spot. A F-5 Sundowner flew over in the pre-race celebration. Retired Colonel Gadson from the US Army was the Grand Marshal.



Lap nine brought out the first caution for # 11 Brian Scott. His car lost power while on track, and he was unable to get back to pit road. By lap seventeen, Danica Patrick had taken the lead and was showing that her # 7 Go Daddy race car was going to be one of the best cars to beat in the race. Lap 41 brought out the second caution for # 01 Mike Wallace spinning by himself on track. During the pit stop, # 54 Kyle Busch received a penalty for equipment out of the pit box, when a tire rolled across pit road. He went from running second, to last in the running order. The “BIG ONE” happened on lap 70 when # 30 James Buescher and # 01 Mike Wallace got together in a corner and started a multi-car pile-up. Harvick, Whitt, Keselowski, Bowyer, Annett, Roderick, Bowles, Sadler, Scott, Long, Nemechek, Efland, Townsley, Sweet, and both Busch brothers were involved.



On Lap 77 # 38 Brad Sweet was again involved in a caution, when he was tagged by # 6 Stenhouse Jr.. On lap 82 # 7 Danica Patrick while running sixth was tagged after checking up. She crashed into the inside wall hard, ending her dominating run for victory. The caution was started by # 6 Stenhouse Jr. hitting # 15 Jeffrey Earnhardt, crashing him.



The final caution came out on lap 97 for debris from a blown tire. # 1999 John Wes Townsley had his tire fall apart on the track. The race would finish under the Green-White-Checker Rule, as well as another pile-up crash on the final corner of the race. # 81 Bowles, # 3 Dillon, # 54 Kyle Busch, # 70 Johanna Long, and a few others were involved in the crash. The final results were # 1 Kurt Busch winning the race with a car that was damaged earlier in the race. # 6 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was second. The rest of the top ten were: # 43 Michael Annett, # 3 Austin Dillon, who crossed the finish line backwards. # 18 Joey Lagono, # 2 Elliott Sadler, # 31 Justin Allgaier, # 44 Mike Bliss, # 41 Timmy Hill, and # 12 Sam Hornish Jr. # 70 Johanna Long had her best career finish with a twelfth place finish.



Next race will be at New Hampshire on Saturday.







Coke Zero 400



DAYTONA, FLORIDA - The Sprint Cup Series also ran at Daytona for the 160 lap race on the 2.5 mile track. Goodyear brought a special tire for the race. “Support Our Troops” was printed across the face of the tires, instead of the normal Goodyear stamp. A B-52 Bomber flew over in the pre-race ceremony, and HLN Reporter Robin Meade sang the National Anthem. The Pole Sitter was # 17 Matt Kenseth, with # 39 Ryan Newman starting second, after # 14 Tony Stewart had his time dis-allowed for an infraction in post qualifying inspection. Stewart had to start 42nd. # 50 Bill Elliott started his 60th race at Daytona in the third position, and stayed there for a good part of the race. A big story prior to race occurred, when # 22 AJ Allmendinger was suspended “Indefinitely” by Nascar for failing a drug test, just an hour prior to the race. Sam Hornish Jr. would take his place in the race car.



The race ran green until Hornish blew a tire on lap 82. During the pit stops, # 5 Kasey Kahne and # 39 Ryan Newman, were squeezed together by # 24 Jeff Gordon on pit road. Newman’s car then spun around and into the back end of # 2 Brad Keselowski’s car while in the pit box. No one was injured on the # 2 crew, but his car did receive damage to the rear corner. On lap 91, # 51 Kurt Busch attempted to make it three wide, and started a couple different issues. # 21 Trevor Bayne and # 43 Eric Almirola tagged one another, and # 11 Denny Hamlin and # 42 Jaun Montoya also tagged one another. # 47 Bobby Labonte also spun out by himself.



Lap 124 brought another multi-car crash. # 24 Jeff Gordon, # 48 Jimmie Johnson, # 5 Kasey Kahne, # 50 Bill Elliott, # 20 Joey Lagono, # 55 Michael Waltrip, and # 78 Regan Smith were all involved. During the crash, the # 16 Greg Biffle car stopped in the pits while pit road was closed. He was penalized, and moved to the rear of the field after running second, when the caution flew. On Lap 146 # 2 Brad Keselowski had another incident, this time on track. He spun out all by himself, and after pitting came back on track in 29th spot.



Lap 152 brought out the fifth and final caution of the race, and it was for the “BIG ONE” crash. Montoya, Bayne, Lagono, Bowyer, Gordon, Kyle Busch, Hamlin, Ambrose, Blaney, Truex Jr., Menard, Reutimann, Biffle, Ragan, and Gilliland were all involved. The wreck started when the leader # 17 Matt Kenseth and # 16 Greg Biffle were separated a bit, and Biffle tried moving around on the track. # 1 Denny Hamlin got out of control from a light touch with Biffle, and then he tagged his teammate # 18 Kyle Busch.



On the restart with just a few laps remaining, Another large wreck happened on the final lap, when Kenseth lost the lead and got Biffle loose, running him into Harvick and starting a second big pile-up. Harvick, Biffle, Earnhardt Jr., Kyle Busch, Truex Jr., Gordon, Menard, Blaney, McMurray, Kvapil, Almirola, Mears, and Terry Labonte were all collected in the final wreck.



# 14 Tony Stewart would win his third race of the year, with # 31 Jeff Burton in the runner-up spot. The rest of the top ten were: # 17 Matt Kenseth, # 39 Ryan Newman, # 99 Carl Edwards, # 55 Michael Waltrip, # 2 Brad Keselowski, # 47 Bobby Labonte, and # 10 David Reutimann.



The next race is on Sunday at New Hampshire Raceway.







Indy in Toronto



TORONTO, CANADA - The IZOD Series ran their race on a street course on a 1.7 mile track in Canada’s largest city, Toronto. The race was 85 laps. Ryan Hunter Raey was attempting to get his third consecutive victory, after winning in Milwaukee and Iowa. Bobby Rahal won the inaugural race held at this track in 1986. Will Powers came into the race as the points leader over Hunter Raey by three points. The “Push to Pass” button was back at this race. A button on the steering wheel can be pushed up to 100 times during the race, to give the car a boost in order to make a pass. Robert Herjavick was the grand marshal. The Canadian Air Force did a fly over during the pre-race ceremony. The pole sitter was Dario Franchitti, with Will Power starting second.



On lap nine, Contender Dario Franchitti had engine failure, dropping him out of the race early. Lap 23, # 11 Tony Kanaan was penalized after hitting a tire from another team while leaving his pit box, during a green flag stop. On lap 24, the first caution flew, when # 38 Graham Rahal crashed. During the pit stops, Franchitti stopped too far away from his fuel man, making his stop extra long. He fell from fifth to last on track. Just a couple laps later, # 27 James Hitchcliffe was off track with engine noises. His day would end at that point.



The final laps were a bit of a mess, when on lap 79 # 67 Josef Newgarden was put into the tires by a blocking move, made by # 77 Simon Pagenaud. The restart was then done, with another multi-car crash including Pagenaud, Andretti, Briscoe, Franchitti, Barrichello, Bourdais, and Carpenter.



The race ended under caution, with # 28 Ryan Hunter Raey winning his third consecutive race. # 83 Charlie Kimball finished in his career best second. The rest of the top ten were: # 14 Conway, # 11 Kanaan, # 22 Servia, # 3 Castronevez, # 4 Hilldebrandt, # 19 Jakes, # 15 Sato, and # 98 Tagliani. There are only five races left at this point, and Hunter Raey now leaves with a 34 point lead in the series. He and Powers have each won three straight this season.