2. Starting Line-Up : Scanner Frequencies : MRN Photo Gallery
iNSiDe V ol. 5, Issue 1 www .D aytona I nternatIonal S peeDway . com : Daytona InternatIonal SpeeDway : February 14, 2010 : not For InDIvIDual Sale
aNotHeR SHot at iMMoRtaLity
KeNSetH LooKS to RePeat
WiLL PoLe tRaNSLate iNto DaytoNa 500 ViCtoRy FoR MaRtiN?
t
aking the opportunity to blessed with such a tremendous
drive the No. 5 Chevrolet career and it will still be
for Hendrick Motorsports complete even if I don’t win
has propelled Mark Martin it. I’ve been here a lot of times.
to a career rejuvenation. In I’ve won an IROC race and a
2010, he came up short of Bud Shootout, so that’s all. So,
winning an elusive NASCAR what do you think I’m going to
Sprint Cup Series championship. be trying to do? I’m going to be
The revival has also given him trying to win me a race.”
a second chance to win another In 2007, while driving
coveted prize that has eluded him a partial Sprint Cup Series
during his illustrious racing career schedule for team owner Bobby
200 Laps / 500 Miles — a Harley J. Earl Trophy that Ginn in the No. 01 Chevrolet,
comes with a Daytona 500 victory. Martin nearly made history
Race Record (average Speed) In his second season with when he lost the Daytona 500
Buddy Baker (1980) Hendrick after nearly retiring by .02 seconds to Kevin Harvick.
177.602 mph two years ago, Martin has It was the closest Martin has
his sights set on snapping an come to winning the “Great
Qualifying Record 0-for-25 streak in the “Great American Race” since 1995,
Bill elliott (1987) American Race.” The driver when he finished third.
of the No. 5 GoDaddy.com After starting second, he
210.364 mph
Chevrolet won the Coors Light finished 16th in last year’s race, Mark Martin put the No. 5 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet on the pole for today’s Daytona 500.
2009 Winner Pole Award for the season- but came back to finish second Getty Images
Matt Kenseth opening event last Saturday, his to Jimmie Johnson in the Chase
first Daytona 500 pole and his for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
first at Daytona International Martin’s crew chief, Alan to run faster than anybody else it that much sweeter to be in this
Speedway since 1989. Gustafson, is a Daytona Beach in the biggest race of the year. situation. It’s really cool for me.”
At 51, Martin is the oldest driver native and has been coming to If that wasn’t enough, I grew There is no place that Martin
to win the Daytona 500 pole. the Daytona 500 as a spectator up about five miles from here, would rather be today than at
“I love getting records,” Martin and participant for nearly 30 and I could hear these cars in Daytona International Speedway,
2009 top 35 said. “After being one of the years. He would love to both my backyard when I was six and nothing he would rather
youngest to get one, I’m still after win his first Daytona 500 and years old. be doing than trying to win the
Rank Driver Points it, and I’m so proud to be a part give Martin his first Daytona “I came here for years and years Daytona 500.
1 Jimmie Johnson 6652 of the No. 5 team at Hendrick. 500 victory at the same time. — this place, the speed, the cars, “I’m so happy to be at the
2 Mark Martin 6511 “As far as the Daytona 500 “For me, it’s a huge deal,” and I watched the great crew chiefs racetrack,” he said. “I’ve not regretted
3 Jeff Gordon 6473 is concerned, we all know that Gustafson said. “You’ve got like Dale Inman, Gary DeHart, Ray this opportunity with Hendrick one
4 Kurt Busch 6446 every driver in NASCAR wants an opportunity to put a well-
5 Denny Hamlin 6335
Evernham. Now that my hero bit. I’m still very, very fortunate to be
to win this race. I’ve been engineered, fast car out there, (Martin) is driving the car, it makes in the position I’m in.”
6 Tony Stewart 6309
7 Greg Biffle 6292
8 Juan Montoya 6252
StaRtiNG LiNe-UP
Scanner Frequencies Provided by
Be sure to see the RACING Electronics trailers around the track
9 Ryan Newman 6175 for the latest in scanner supplies and scanner programming!
10 Kasey Kahne 6128 PReSeNteD By
# Scan frequencies are subject to change.
11 Carl Edwards 6118 Start Position Car No. Driver/Hometown Sponsor / Car Frequency #
12 Brian Vickers 5929
13 Kyle Busch 4457 1 5 Mark Martin, Batesville, AR GoDaddy.com Chevrolet 468.2125
14 Matt Kenseth 4389 2 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kannapolis, NC AMP Energy / National Guard Chevrolet 462.0625
15 Clint Bowyer 4359 3 48 Jimmie Johnson, El Cajon, CA Lowe’s Chevrolet 452.2375
16 David Reutimann 4221 4 9 Kasey Kahne, Enumclaw, WA Budweiser Ford 451.8500
17 Jeff Burton 4022 5 29 Kevin Harvick, Bakersfield, CA Shell / Pennzoil Chevrolet 469.0125
18 Marcos Ambrose 3830 6 14 Tony Stewart, Rushville, IN Office Depot / Old Spice Chevrolet 469.7375
19 Kevin Harvick 3796
7 18 Kyle Busch, Las Vegas, NV M&M’s Toyota 467.4500
20 * Joey Logano 3791
21 Casey Mears 3759
8 42 Juan Pablo Montoya, Colombia Target Chevrolet 466.1000
22 Jamie McMurray 3604 9 33 Clint Bowyer, Emporia, KS Cheerios / Hamburger Helper Chevrolet 469.6375
23 Martin Truex Jr. 3503 10 2 Kurt Busch, Las Vegas, NV Miller Lite Dodge 451.8250
24 A.J. Allmendinger 3476 11 78 Regan Smith, Cato, NY Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 452.2625
25 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 3422 12 19 Elliott Sadler, Emporia, VA Stanley Ford 456.8500
26 Elliott Sadler 3350 13 1 Jamie McMurray, Joplin, MO Bass Pro Shops / Tracker Boats Chevrolet 466.6875
27 David Ragan 3252 14 56 Martin Truex Jr., Mayetta, NJ NAPA Auto Parts Toyota 452.1125
28 Sam Hornish Jr. 3203 15 43 AJ Allmendinger, Los Gatos, CA Best Buy Ford 461.6250
29 Reed Sorenson 3147
16 20 Joey Logano, Middletown, CT The Home Depot Toyota 462.5250
30 Bobby Labonte 3128
17 39 Ryan Newman, South Bend, IN U.S. Army Chevrolet 469.1375
31 Paul Menard 2979
32 David Stremme 2919
18 47 Marcos Ambrose, Australia Kroger Floral Toyota 457.5375
33 Michael Waltrip 2839 19 6 David Ragan, Unadilla, GA UPS Ford 460.9500
34 Robby Gordon 2699 20 00 David Reutimann, Zephyrhills, FL Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota 463.2125
35 * Scott Speed 2690 21 24 Jeff Gordon, Vallejo, CA DuPont Chevrolet 467.0625
* Raybestos Rookie of the Year Candidate 22 83 Brian Vickers, Thomasville, NC Red Bull Toyota 451.6125
23 16 Greg Biffle, Vancouver, WA 3M Ford 468.4500
24 17 Matt Kenseth, Cambridge, WI Crown Royal Ford 458.4750
25 11 Denny Hamlin, Chesterfield, VA FedEx Express Toyota 467.4750
26 12 Brad Keselowski, Rochester Hills, MI Penske Racing Dodge 452.6750
27 99 Carl Edwards, Columbia, MO AFLAC Ford 466.2750
28 36 Mike Bliss, Milwaukie, OR Wave Energy Drink Chevrolet 461.6625
29 55 Michael McDowell, Phoenix, AZ PRISM Motorsports Toyota 467.4375
Tune in to the local MRN Radio affiliate to 30 82 Scott Speed, Manteca, CA Red Bull Toyota 452.0875
hear all the action: 31 13 Max Papis, Italy GEICO Toyota 452.9875
32 98 Paul Menard, Eau Claire, WI Peak / Menards Ford 468.5250
WKRo-FM 93.1 33 34 John Andretti, Indianapolis, IN Window World Cares Ford 467.1125
WNDB-aM 1150 34 7 Robby Gordon, Bellflower, CA Monster Energy Drink Toyota 469.4500
Daytona Beach, Florida 35 37 Travis Kvapil, Janesville, WI ExtenZe Ford 463.3125
36 77 Sam Hornish Jr., Defiance, OH Mobil 1 Dodge 461.2125
37 38 Robert Richardson Jr., McKinney, TX Mahindra Tractors Ford 467.8500
38 26 Boris Said, Carlsbad, CA Window World Cares Ford 465.9750
39 31 Jeff Burton, South Boston, VA Caterpillar Chevrolet 468.5750
40 21 Bill Elliott, Dawsonville, GA Motorcraft / Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford 452.2000
41 87 Joe Nemechek, Lakeland, FL NEMCO Motorsports Toyota 464.2875
42 71 Bobby Labonte, Corpus Christi, TX Taxslayer.com Chevrolet 453.6625
43 51 Michael Waltrip, Owensboro, KY NAPA Auto Parts Toyota 451.4375
Information is tentative and subject to change.
3. PHoto GaLLeRy
For more great photos or to post your favorite photos from Daytona international Speedway, visit MotorRacingNetwork.com.
NeWS&NoteS
presented by
Petty to DRiVe PaCe CaR
Richard Petty will find himself in
a very familiar place
Sunday afternoon,
leading the field in
the Daytona 500.
Petty, who holds the
NASCAR record with
seven Daytona 500
victories, will pace all
43 cars to the green
flag in the 52nd Richard Petty
running of the “Great Getty images
American Race” behind the wheel of
a special edition 2011 Mustang GT,
powered by Ford’s all-new 5.0-liter
V-8 engine.
“There’s nothing like the Daytona 500.
It’s one of the biggest races in the world
and to be a part of it in this way is the
next-best thing to actually being able to
race,” Petty said.
GReeN-WHite-CHeCKeReD FiNiSHeS ReViSeD
NASCAR has implemented a
revision to one of its race procedures,
allowing a maximum of three restart
attempts prior to the White Flag under
NASCAR’s green-white-checkered flag
finish. If the leader has taken the white
flag and the caution flag is displayed,
the field is frozen and the race will not
be restarted. Previously, there was only
one restart attempt.
Every time you see our “We want to do all we can to finish
our races under green flag conditions —
the fans want to see that and so do the
pinwheel, take a breath.
competitors,” said Robin Pemberton,
NASCAR vice president of competition.
tRG, RCR FoRM aLLiaNCe
TRG Motorsports and Richard
Childress Racing have announced
And then help us spread the word about COPD. Because for 24 million Americans, an alliance for the 2010 Sprint Cup
the simple act of breathing can be a real struggle. Anyone over 35 who has ever been Series season.
With this agreement, RCR will provide
a smoker could be at risk. That’s a lot of people. Do you know one of them? cars, chassis repairs and testing resources
for TRG’s Sprint Cup Series operations.
Since every second counts on the track,
TRG will team with Stewart-Haas Racing
for pit crew support to coordinate faster
pit stops.
oDDS BoDe WeLL FoR HeNDRiCK
Visit today The last time Hendrick Motorsports
swept the front-row starting positions
to answer five brief questions on a for the Daytona 500, a Hendrick driver
screener and talk to your doctor. — Darrell Waltrip — won the “Great
American Race,” in 1989. Ken Schrader
started from the pole and Waltrip
started second.
Team owner Rick Hendrick is hoping
for more of the same in the 52nd edition
of the Daytona 500 today. Hendrick
drivers Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt
Jr. will start first and second, respectively.
NASCAR® is a registered trademark of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc. On top of that, Hendrick driver Jimmie
Johnson will start third.
COPD72861CONS
www.MotorRacingNetwork.com
4. KeNSetH LooKS to MaKe HiStoRy
WitH DaytoNa 500 RePeat
M
otivation won’t be a factor for Matt Kenseth in today’s Daytona 500. He
has plenty of reasons for wanting to celebrate in Gatorade Victory Lane.
First and foremost, he wants to kick off the 2010 season the way he did
a year ago — on a winning note. After scoring victories in the first two
races of last season, he went on to miss the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup
for the first time in his career. It’s something that didn’t sit well with him during
the off-season.
Secondly, he is looking to making a bit of history. If he wins the “Great American
Race,” he’ll be the first driver to repeat as Daytona 500 champion since Sterling
Marlin in 1995, and only the fourth to do so in history. Richard Petty won
the race in consecutive years in 1972 and 1973, while Cale Yarborough won in
1983 and 1984.
Also, Kenseth would love to give his new sponsor, Crown Royal, a victory in
their first race together.
“We tried to win the Daytona 500 for a long time, and we finally got one Sporting new colors on his No. 17 Ford, Matt Kenseth will look to win his second consecutive Daytona 500. Should he
last year,” Kenseth said. “We’ve had a lot of good years down here where we accomplish the feat, he’ll be the fourth driver in history to do so.
actually ran pretty good. There was one year in particular where I thought we Getty images
definitely had the car to win hands down and got crashed out.
“We’ve had some good cars, and we’ve had some opportunities to get the “You’ve got to be in the right place at the right time and you’ve got to be
win and get good finishes down here, but never really did it until last year. It’s hooked up in the right draft, so you don’t know what is going to happen. I was
the biggest race of the year.” pretty relieved, and pretty surprised and excited that we ended up winning it.”
Kenseth won the 2009 Daytona 500 when rain interrupted the race after After winning at Daytona and Auto Club Speedway to start the season, the
152 laps. He overcame adversity earlier in the week when his No. 17 Ford got No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing team went into a skid that saw it finish in the top
caught up in an accident in the Gatorade Duels. He started from the back of 10 only once in its next eight races. Kenseth had made the Chase from 2004
the field in the 39th position. to 2008, but finished 14th in the Sprint Cup Series standings in 2009.
When NASCAR decided to call the race 48 laps short of the finish, a feeling “When we went to Las Vegas for the third race and the car broke down on the first lap
of relief and elation came over Kenseth. and we finished last, that was really kind of a reality check for us,” Kenseth said. “It was
“Nobody could have been happier. In these kinds of races, you never know really difficult from there on out. We could never really get anything to go exactly right.
what’s going to happen,” Kenseth said. “I felt good if we were going to go “Hopefully, we’ve gotten a lot smarter. With this being the second year for me and
back to green because our car was really fast and we worked our way to the crew chief Drew Blickensderfer to work together, we’ll improve on a lot of stuff and
front. But, in a restrictor-plate race, you never know. come out of the box stronger and make better decisions and get better finishes.”
Legendary racer Bobby allison waves the green flag to start last year’s Daytona 500. Chris Graythen | Getty images
tHey aRe aLWayS
tHe to WiNNiNG tHe SeaSoN-oPeNiNG DaytoNa 500
FiVe KeyS
GReeN FLaG By RoB SNeDDoN
RaCiNG SoMeWHeRe
USe yoUR BUMPeR CHooSe yoUR PaRtNeR GRaB tHe HaNDLe
1 4
Stock car racing has never been for Unlike Talladega, its sister plate
DoN’t MiSS aNy oF the meek. But the 52nd Daytona
500 could see the most aggressive
track, Daytona is not just about
horsepower. Winning is still a mat-
tHe aCtioN -- FRoM driving yet, thanks to NASCAR’s new po- ter of getting your car to stick. That’s
lice-yourselves policy on bump-drafting. partly because the track offers less grip.
tHe BULLRiNGS to Last Saturday’s Budweiser Shootout pro- (Daytona was last resurfaced in 1978,
vided a glimpse of how the 500 is liable
SUPeRSPeeDWayS, to play out. “In [driver] intros, there were
Talladega in 2006.) “Every year it wears
out a little more,” says Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Speedway IlluStrated guys saying, ‘Should we take it easy?’”
said Kasey Kahne, driver of the No. 9
“You’ll see a lot of close racing in the first
15 laps of a tire run, but after that you’re
iS tHeRe. Ford. “But it was on from the time the
green flag came out. I was getting hit and
going to see a lot of guys sliding around,
trying to hang on to their race cars.”
I was hitting cars.”
three-wide action with Brian Vickers (83), Denny Hamlin
FoR JUSt a LittLe MoRe HaRNeSS tHoSe HoRSeS (11) and Juan Pablo Montoya (42) was common during
RiGHt PLaCe, RiGHt tiMe
Saturday’s Budweiser Shootout. John Harrelson | Getty
tHaN a BUCK a MoNtH,
2 5
images for NaSCaR
This year’s larger restrictor plate
3
Racers are at the mercy of the fates.
yoU CaN Stay CoNNeCteD. has already paid obvious dividends. Deciding which cars to draft with is A driver can’t do anything about a
At times during the Budweiser tricky business. It’s not just about latch- blown engine or a cut tire. All he can
Shootout cars closed so quickly that they ing onto the fastest cars and steering do is put himself in position to take ad-
looked like they had “boost” buttons. “It clear of loose cannons. Drivers also have to vantage when racing’s random luck claims
sure felt like we were going pretty fast, factor things like team and manufacturer affil- somebody else. Just as Petty did in 1979,
compared to (the old plate),” said Shoo- iations into the equation, along with whether when he went from third to first on the
tout winner Kevin Harvick. “I could be their own car works better up high or down last lap after Cale Yarborough and Don-
ViSit very aggressive with my race car. Even low. And sometimes even the best drivers can nie Allison crashed each other. Or Derrike
when the thing would get dead sideways,
WWW.SPeeDWayiLLUStRateD.CoM you could stay late in the gas. You could
get their signals crossed. In the first practice of Cope did in 1990 when he took the lead a
2010, Mark Martin and Denny Hamlin — not mile from the end after Dale Earnhardt Sr.
to SUBSCRiBe toDay! steer the thing and drive the car.” Never-
theless, added Harvick, the Daytona 500
exactly a pair of reckless rookies — caused a blew a tire. Or Matt Kenseth did last year,
six-car crash when each tried to yield to the when the rains came after 152 laps in and
“is still going to be a handling race.” other in traffic. made him the winner.
