Speedweeks Staple Opens 26th NASCAR Busch Series Season

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Feb. 12, 2007) – Call it the ultimate undercard, the premier preliminary in perhaps all of sports.

The annual NASCAR Busch Series season-opener at Daytona International Speedway is the final “Speedweeks” event before the Daytona 500 and it inevitably stands on its own merit – both in terms of its field, and its excitement.

Expect more of the same Saturday afternoon, as the ORBITZ 300 will have a mix of NASCAR’s biggest names and some of its most promising newer talent, starting with two-time defending champion Tony Stewart (No. 33 Old Spice Chevrolet).

Stewart, also a two-time NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series champion, will drive a Chevy owned by last year’s NASCAR Busch Series champion Kevin Harvick and his wife DeLana; Harvick will be in the race as well, driving the No. 21 AutoZone Chevrolet owned by Richard Childress.

Harvick is the series’ reigning champion but he won’t be defending his title this season.

He plans a limited schedule, sharing the No. 21 with newcomer Timothy Peters, a “graduate” of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, where he raced the previous two seasons.

Harvick-Peters won’t be the only intriguing driver combination, which will make for an especially compelling competition for the car owner championship.

Another combo to watch: Todd Kluever and Greg Biffle in the No. 16 3M Ford; Kluever has the honors this week in the No. 16 with Biffle sliding over to Roush Racing’s No. 26 Oreo Ford.

Three past winners of the Orbitz 300 are entered in addition to Stewart: Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 8 Menards Chevrolet); Matt Kenseth (No. 17 Arby’s Ford); and Joe Nemechek (No. 87 NEMCO Chevrolet).

Earnhardt is a three-time winner of the race (2002-04).

Nonetheless, coming into the 2007 season there are five drivers ready to face that challenge by running full time in both the NASCAR Busch Series AND in NASCAR NEXTEL Cup.

Here’s the can’t-get-enough lineup, with their NASCAR Busch Series rides in parentheses:
Dave Blaney (No. 32 Fan1st.com Toyota);
Carl Edwards (No. 60 Scott’s Ford);
David Ragan (No. 6 Discount Tire Ford);
David Reutimann (No. 99 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota);
J.J. Yeley (No. 1 Miccosukee Resort Chevrolet).

For Edwards, it will be his third consecutive double-duty season. His first two such efforts have been admirable. He finished third in the 2005 NASCAR Busch Series points and second last year.

No driver has ever won both of NASCAR’s top two series championships in the same season.

Harvick came close last year by winning the NASCAR Busch Series title and finishing fourth in NASCAR NEXTEL Cup points.

Could be. Start with Juan Pablo Montoya (No. 42 Texaco-Havoline Dodge), and go from there. Montoya, a former Indianapolis 500 winner and a seven-time winner in Formula One racing, supplies immediate marquee value.

Whereupon Sam Hornish Jr. (No. 12 Mobil Dodge) adds to it.

Hornish is another former Indy 500 champion who has decided to try the NASCAR environment.

Hornish will do so this year while also competing in the IndyCar Series.

Those are the lead players. Here is the supporting cast:
Marcos Ambrose (No. 59 Kingsford Ford), the Australian who is taking over one of the series’ more-established rides;
Justin Diercks (No. 70 Foretravel Chevrolet) a former Toyota All-Star Showdown champion;
Brad Keselowski (No. 23 Oklahoma Centennial Chevrolet), a NASCAR Craftsman TruckSeries alum;
Robert Richardson (No. 28 Jay Robinson Racing Chevrolet);
along with Timothy Peters and David Ragan.
Montoya and Ragan also are running for rookie honors in NASCAR NEXTEL Cup.

Neither Montoya nor Hornish plan to run a full schedule, but that doesn’t mean they can’t win the rookie title. David Stremme (No. 22 Super Cuts Dodge) did so in 2003, making only 18 starts, becoming the series’ first Raybestos Rookie of the Year who didn’t run a full-time schedule.

Loop Data is compiled from electronic sensors embedded at various points around race tracks hosting NASCAR national series events. The result is a myriad of telling statistics showing drivers’ strengths and weaknesses at a given race – or a given race track.

That said, coming into the ORBITZ 300 Stewart looks strong.

In Loop Data compiled over the last two years at Daytona (four races total) Stewart – who is going for three straight season-opening wins – has a third-best Driver Rating (106.0) at Daytona International Speedway.

But guess who ranks first and second in the all-telling stat, Driver Rating? You guessed it, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Martin Truex Jr.

Earnhardt has a series-best Daytona Driver Rating of 112.5 and Truex has a runner-up rating of 111.5. DEI teammate Paul Menard (No. 15 PEAK/Menards Chevrolet) sits in 11th place with 90.1.

Earnhardt – with five career NASCAR Busch Series victories at Daytona – has the third best Average Running Position (8.883) in the four Daytona races since Loop Data has been taken.

Menard ranks among the top drivers in Daytona’s pivotal Turns 3 and 4. Over the last two years he’s the fastest driver in Turn 2 with an average speed of 182.492 mph and third-fastest in Turn 3 at 185.090 mph.

Truex also owns impressive numbers. He has the fifth-best Average Running Position (10.009) and the second-best Driver Rating (111.5).

Stewart, on the other hand, has the third-highest total of Laps Led with 59 and a seventh-best Average Running Position of 12.395. And with Daytona known for its side-by-side, nose-to-tail racing, Stewart could be crowned king again thanks to an impressive, fifth-best Speed in Traffic of 183.517 mph.

In the ORBITZ 300, fourToyota entries will be featured – three from Braun Racing’s stable with Jason Leffler (No. 38 Great Clips Toyota, Dave Blaney (No. 32 ABF/U-Pack Toyota) and John Andretti (No. 10 Camping World Toyota) – and one driven for Michael Waltrip Racing by David Reutimann (No. 99 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota) of Zephyrhills, Fla.

Reutimann is one of the most interesting new faces to appear in NASCAR in recent years. He is a third-generation racer, following his grandfather Emil Reutimann and his father Buzzie Reutimann, who was a major modified star in the 1960s and ‘70s. Also, Reutimann’s uncle Wayne is a long-time Sprint Car competitor.

Reutimann comes to Daytona confident.

“We can come out of the gate strong and win races,” Reutimann said. “We have Toyota’s support and the team is intact from last season. [Crew chief] Jerry [Baxter] and I were able to work together several times last year and have a good relationship. He’s the right guy for the job there’s no doubt about it. Our team is capable of making a serious run for the championship.”