February 15, 2009
By Ben Brumitt
We’ve seen how close the races have been here in recent years, just like in 2007 when Kevin Harvick held off Mark Martin. Also, in the duels this year as there has been much jostling out of the final turns. Martin was again up there, battling Kyle Busch who only held him off with a close block. What is certain is that there will most likely be several cars and teams pushing on each other heading for the final oval.
Last season displayed a classic as heavyweight favorites Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart were up against each other. Each one had a teammate in stow so it came down to a last minute decision on which line each driver would take. Busch ultimately pushed his teammate Ryan Newman to victory, but it came down to teams against teams as it will this year.
Back in 1997 Hendrick saw its three drivers finish 1-2-3 with Jeff Gordon, Terry Labonte and Ricky Craven. On the other hand, Martin led the most laps that day, 52, while Dale Earnhardt led 48, yet it came down to team work. This year Hendrick is good enough to phathom a 1-2-3-4 finish. Martin, Gordon and Jimmie Johnson all start in the top seven while Earnhardt Jr. starts 14th.
One other team can also realistically place 1-2-3. The Gibbs trio of Kyle Busch, Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin all start in the top ten. Between the two teams that is seven drivers that will be working together as individual teams, does that leave room for anyone else?
Oh yeah, my pick Tony Stewart, starts 5th while last years winner, Newman , now Stewart‘s teammate starts 36th. Those two WILL work together. Kurt Busch will again be a favorite and rolls off 13th. That is 10 drivers right there, Newman possibly being the weakest link, but 74-year old James Hylton could run top ten with Stewart’s help.
We haven’t even mentioned Harvick yet. Despite starting near the back in 32nd he is not afraid to be the one who jumps out of line to start another one. So, he may hookup in the end with drivers like Brian Vickers (6th), Kurt Busch or even Bill Elliott. Yes, two-time 500 winner Bill Elliott. He is rumored to be fast in the #21 Woods Brothers car and he led both practice sessions on Saturday. Harvick may need to enlist help from teammate Clint Bowyer, who led 55 laps in the 2007 summer race and has the best average at the track (12.3).
That’s 14 drivers and we haven’t even cited the one of the most dangerous drivers, Carl Edwards. He rolls off 16th, and carries some momentum after finishing 2nd in last year’s summer race and 4th in the summer race of 2007. He could have help from his Jack Roush teammate, Jamie McMurray who won that summer race in 2007 in one of the closest races in NASCAR history, beating Kyle Busch by .005 seconds. He also finished second to Stewart in the summer of 2005.
Factor in drivers like Kasey Kahne and the man who will lead the field to the green, pole-sitter Martin Truex Jr. David Ragan has finished fifth in two of his four career starts here. That’s 19 drivers not including Greg Biffle and teammate Matt Kenseth.
Did we mention Michael Waltrip, who has three wins here, including 500 wins in 2001 and 2003! He will have a good running mate with David Reutimann.
Jeff Gordon leads active driver with 6 wins, while Elliott has 4, Waltrip 3, Junior and Stewart each with 2. Drivers with one each: Kyle Busch, Burton, Johnson, Biffle, McMurray and Newman.
Drivers in this race account for 10 Daytona 500 wins, in the last 24 years, since 1985 when Elliot won his first. This is the single most competitive 500 since its inception, where the term blanket won’t encompass it’s magnitude.
My top ten picks:
Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Mark Martin are the top-five. -- Jimmie Johnson, Kurt Busch, Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin round out the top ten.
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