Dodge Does It!

February 20, 2007

By Chuck Abrams

Chuck Abrams

Wow.

That is how I can best sum up the Daytona 500 this year.

When was the last time we went nearly the entire race before there was a wreck? When was the last time that we did not have The Big One? When has Dodge had a bigger weekend? When has Toyota had a bigger weekend! When have cars tried to wreck more and somehow the drivers kept it from being a bigger wreck?

On Saturday afternoon, I called into KFAN and Chris Hawkey in Minneapolis on the local race show and we chatted about how I thought anyone in the top fifteen had a shot at winning. I specifically mentioned Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch as two to watch. They had spectacular runs all week long even though Kurt blew up in the qualifier.

Everyone I spoke to wanted a 500 with a new winner. Some people were even willing to swallow their American-made pride to accept a Toyota win as long as it was Dave Blaney, Jarrett or Reutimann.

For a long while, it appeared that Toyota would get the nod and it would be one of the Gibbs cars that would be in Victory Lane. Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. did their best to run up front with the Toyotas and Earnhardt made some pit stop gambles to get his Amped up 88 to the front. Unfortunately for him, there were too many cautions at the end for him to stay in the lead.

Add to that Gordon and Jimmie Johnson both exited early and the door was left wide open for someone new to win.

Kasey Kahne and Reed Sorenson had a strong week’s worth of racing and proved up to the task all day. Jeff Burton and Clint Bowyer were able to put their Chevys up front for a while with Burton able to save a top ten finish and Bowyer made a great save after being punted, enabling him to salvage a 23rd place run. Greg Biffle surprised many by running mid-pack before heading to the front for good.

But in the end, it was the Penske Dodges that teamed up and looked as though they were shot from a cannon -- passing Tony Stewart to lead Dodge to a near sweep of the top three positions. I don’t know if it was a case of Reed Sorenson backing off a bit or Stewart and Kyle Busch just forcing their way in front of him down the final stretch that kept Dodge from the sweep.

Surprisingly, Waltrip was never a threat, nor was last year’s top duo Kevin Harvick and Mark Martin. Sam Horninsh, Jr. made an impressive run but it was Daytona folks, so not get too excited. Let’s see what he does at Martinsville, Bristol and Darlington before we crown him king.

And don’t write off Gordon and Johnson quite yet. Hendrick is just too good and these guys are just too good to let one bad finish keep them out of the running. It was a big race, but it is just one race.

I really don’t expect to see Elliott Sadler, Robby Gordon, Bobby Labonte or Reed Sorenson still in the Top Ten by the time we get to Texas. One by one, perhaps even two by two, those drivers will slip back into the Top 15. Eventually, one or two may slide into the top 20 or worse. Heck, we may see these guys drop out by Bristol.

But enough of that. Kudos to Ryan Newman for winning his first race in 2 years and for winning the Daytona 500. Welcome back Rocket Man.

Drive fast, turn left and keep the shiny side up.

Feel free to send Chuck your thoughts on this and other race topics at Insider Racing News. The blog at www.turnleftracing.com is down now due to spammers. We will have that back up as soon as we can.

The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN.

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