Daytona 500 - 2007

[K.Snyder]

The 2007 stock car racing season is set to get underway with the Daytona 500 beginning at 3pm today, Feb. 18...

Seems like last years season just ended...

One thing is for sure, and that's, there may be a layoff between races, but with the Daytona 500 being the most anticipated race in the world of Nascar, everyone involved works year around behind the scenes as no race car entering the Daytona 500 can be less than perfect by the standards of the guys in the garage that go unnoticed...As if it's hard enough to get a car to produce an average of 8000 RPM, what people don't realize is that it takes an extended knowledge of suspension and aerodynamics technology to compete in a sport designed to sustain equality throughout the entire field of participants, which in turn makes the sport more competitive.

Daytona 500
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Daytona 500 is a 200-lap, 500 mile (805 km) NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race held annually at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is one of four restrictor plate races on the Cup schedule.

The Daytona 500 is widely considered to be NASCAR's most important and prestigious race, and has the largest purse, although it is equivalent to other races on the calendar for championship purposes. It is also the circuit's first race of the year; this phenomenon is virtually unique in sports, which tend to have championships or other major events at the end of the season rather than the start. Since 1995, U.S. television ratings for the Daytona 500 have been the highest for any auto race of the year, surpassing the traditional leader, the Indianapolis 500. The 2006 Daytona 500 attracted the sixth largest average live global TV audience of any sporting event that year with 20 million viewers. [1]

The event serves as the final event of Speedweeks and is known as "The Great American Race" and the "Super Bowl of Stock Car Racing."

The winner of the Daytona 500 is presented with the Harley J. Earl Trophy in Victory Lane, and the winning car is displayed, in race-winning condition, for one year at Daytona USA, a museum and gallery adjacent to Daytona International Speedway


2007 Daytona 500 Starting lineup

Pos - Car# - Driver - Make
1. #38 David Gilliland, Ford
2. #88 Ricky Rudd, Ford
3. #20 Tony Stewart, Chevrolet
4. #2 Kurt Busch, Dodge
5. #8 Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet
6. #40 David Stremme, Dodge
7. #31 Jeff Burton, Chevrolet
8. #5 Kyle Busch, Chevrolet
9. #11 Denny Hamlin, Chevrolet
10. #17 Matt Kenseth, Ford
11. #07 Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet
12. #18 J.J. #Yeley, Chevrolet
13. #1 Martin Truex Jr., Chevrolet
14. #99 Carl Edwards, Ford
15. #55 Michael Waltrip, Toyota
16. #12 Ryan Newman, Dodge
17. #25 Casey Mears, Chevrolet
18. #13 Joe Nemechek, Chevrolet
19. #21 Ken Schrader, Ford
20. #96 Tony Raines, Chevrolet
21. #48 Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet
22. #109 Mike Wallace, Chevrolet
23. #160 Boris Said, Ford
24. #26 Jamie McMurray, Ford
25. #16 Greg Biffle, Ford
26. #01 Mark Martin, Chevrolet
27. #43 Bobby Labonte, Dodge
28. #9 Kasey Kahne, Dodge
29. #45 Kyle Petty, Dodge
30. #19 Elliott Sadler, Dodge
31. #66 Jeff Green, Chevrolet
32. #10 Scott Riggs, Dodge
33. #41 Reed Sorenson, Dodge
34. #29 Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet
35. #6 David Ragan*, Ford
36. #42 Juan Montoya*, Dodge
37. #22 Dave Blaney, Toyota
38. #14 Sterling Marlin, Chevrolet
39. #7 Robby Gordon, Ford
40. #00 David Reutimann*, Toyota
41. #70 Johnny Sauter, Chevrolet
42. #24 Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet
43. #44 Dale Jarrett++, Toyota
__________________________________________________ ______________________________________
DNQ #36 Jeremy Mayfield, Toyota
DNQ #23 Mike Skinner, Toyota
DNQ #139 Regan Smith, Chevrolet
DNQ #4 Ward Burton, Chevrolet
DNQ #15 Paul Menard*, Chevrolet
DNQ #84 A.J. Allmendinger*, Toyota
DNQ #34 Kevin Lepage, Dodge
DNQ #37 Bill Elliott, Dodge
DNQ #83 Brian Vickers, Toyota
DNQ #78 Kenny Wallace, Chevrolet
DNQ #171 Frank Kimmel, Ford
DNQ #49 Mike Bliss, Dodge
DNQ #104 Eric McClure, Chevrolet
DNQ #130 Stanton Barrett, Chevrolet
DNQ #27 Kirk Shelmerdine, Chevrolet
DNQ #172 Brandon Whitt*, Chevrolet
DNQ #74 Derrike Cope, Dodge
DNQ #158 James Hylton, Chevrolet

[K.Snyder]

Juan Montoya Qualified 36th...

I will be surprised if he finishes in the top 30 to be honest...

[K.Snyder]

Kevin Harvick won the 2007 Daytona 500 on the last lap as he got just a big enough push from Matt Kenseth to edge out Mark Martin starting his 21st Daytona 500, a race he has never won in his 24 year career racing in the Nextel(Winston)Cup.

It was an intense race throughout all 202 laps, as the 200th and what was supposed to be the final lap saw a yellow flag, and because Nascar cannot finish under caution, the end would be decided on the throwing of the green flag, followed by the white, and then the checkered.

Front runners Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart tangled up on lap 152, with only 48 laps to go. Stewarts car got loose in turn four slowing him down enough for Kurt Busch's front end to clip the 20 car sending them both to the outside retaining wall down the frontstretch...

Kevin Harvick was in the right place at the right time going into turn three of the final lap as Martin tried to hold off everyone and anyone trying to pass him, which opened up a great run on the outside as Harvick was being pushed by Matt Kenseth and the momentum Harvick got from the draft gave him just enough speed to edge passed Mark Martin by a half a nose length. It was the first Daytona 500 win of Harvicks career, and his first Nascar Nextel Cup win under new sponsor - Shell. Not a bad way to start. I bet GM Goodwrench is fuming.