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Daytona 500 - Daytona International Speedway
Harvick Completes Weekend Sweep at Daytona
Kevin Harvick, cool, calm and collected, kept the pedal to the metal in a furious final-lap shootout to beat veteran Mark Martin to the finish line in a wild and wooly Daytona 500 Sunday.
Harvick's Chevrolet nudged Martin's Chevy by an eyelash in one of the sport's greatest finishes.
While Harvick and Martin were trading paint down the stretch, a melee broke out behind them when Kyle Busch’s car jumped sideways and prompted a chain-reaction demolition derby that took out more than half-a-dozen contenders.
Trailing Harvick and Martin were Harvick’s teammate Jeff Burton, veteran Mike Wallace, rookie David Ragan and Elliott Sadler.
Martin, racing in his 23rd Daytona 500 without a win, held the lead when a caution came out with 10 laps remaining in the 200-lap race around the historic 2.5-mile tri-oval.
Racing part-time for the Ginn Racing team, he used his experience and know-how to put himself in position to win the sport's biggest event.
Harvick, however, got a terrific shove from behind when Matt Kenseth and Burton lined up behind. Martin was a sitting duck but wiggled his car several times and hung with the hard-charging Richard Childress Chevrolet, losing by 0.020 seconds, less than a bumper width.
It was not a good day for several former champions, including Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart, a pair of early leaders in the race.
Stewart's Chevy wiggled a little right in front of Busch on lap 152. The two cars barely touched but both spun, sustaining enough damage to end their chances for the day.
Harvick, the defending NASCAR Busch Series champion, also won the Orbitz 300 race Saturday, making it a sweep of what is known as the "super bowl" of racing.
Gordon, Stewart Duel to Wins on Thursday at Daytona
Two of NASCAR’s biggest stars, Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon, won the Gatorade Duels Thursday afternoon at Daytona International Speedway.
In the second 150-mile qualifying race, Gordon took the lead with just a couple laps left after the Busch brothers, Kyle and Kurt, led most of the way.
Drivers Joe Nemechek and Mike Wallace zigged and zagged their way into the Daytona 500 starting field with ninth and 11th place finishes.
Trailing Gordon was Kurt Busch, David Stremme, Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth.
Neither of the new Red Bull Racing cars made the race, with both Toyotas involved in crashes. Drivers AJ Allmendinger and Brian Vickers will be watching this year's race from the sidelines, as will former Daytona 500 winners Derrike Cope, Bill Elliott and Ward Burton.
The first race produced plenty of drama with 72-year-old James Hylton trying his best to grab a starting spot in Sunday’s Daytona 500. He had his car in eighth position with six laps to go before a freight train of cars roared past, leaving Hylton in its wake.
Three caution flags in the last 10 laps had the huge crowd on its feet for the green, white, checkered flag finish.
Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished one-two but the story of the day was Michael Waltrip’s ninth-place finish.
Waltrip, who considered not even starting the race after a news-capturing three days of turmoil over rules violations, finished ninth to gain one of two available positions for cars not locked into the Daytona 500 through NASCAR’s top 35 in points procedure.
Waltrip raced briefly with the leaders Stewart and Earnhardt early in the race after working his way to the front from a back of the pack starting position.
The former Daytona 500 winner drew the ire of the crowd when he tried to squeeze between Earnhardt and Stewart and tapped his former teammate Earnhardt into a spin. Earnhardt, however, recovered to finish second.
The day was heartbreaking for driver Mike Bliss in the No. 49, BAM Racing Dodge, who lost a dash to the line on the last lap with Boris Said. Said, 12th in the race, edged Bliss at the line by inches.
Jeff Burton finished third behind Stewart and Earnhardt, with pole winner David Gilliland fourth and Denny Hamlin fifth.
Ironically, even though Waltrip's week was riddled with controversy, all three of his Toyotas will now start the Daytona 500. Dale Jarrett, 18th in the qualifying race, will get the former champion's 43rd provisional starting spot. And young David Reutimann will have one of four spots based on qualifying speeds.
Gilliland Secures Pole for 49th Daytona 500
Fresh off of a runner-up finish in the Budweiser Shootout on Saturday night, David Gilliland won the pole position for the 49th running of the Daytona 500. Gilliland set the pace with a lap of 48.304 seconds, at an average speed of 186.320 mph, to capture the top starting spot for the “Great American Race” in his very first attempt. Not bad for the youngster who was planning a part-time Busch Series schedule this time last year. This is the second pole for Gilliland in his short career. Robert Yates Racing teammate Ricky Rudd will join Gilliland on an all-Yates front row, after posting a second-place qualifying effort. Rudd had posted the fastest time in both practices on Saturday but fell just short during today’s qualifying session. Only Gilliland and Rudd have their starting positions locked, as the remainder of the field will be set on Thursday during the Gatorade Duel at Daytona.
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