NSC 2008 Daytona 500

The Daytona 500 is sponsored by the Subway, where Tony Stewart is going to fuel up for the Subway race, the Hard Heat Press, and by Sprint. Welcome to the

2008

NASCAR sprint cup series. The 50th, the great American race, let's go up to the play-by-play booth and Mike Joy we saw in a

2008

wardrobe. Mike, nothing from my closet was used in that conduit. Chris already received text messages on my Sprint phone. Junior Johnson the 1960 winner and the winner of the Daytona 500, both his driver and his owner, who is Buster OTT and a senior NASCAR official, along with the pace car and here's the view from the back of that Corvette zo6 that will bring them to the start, let's meet the starting lineup for the 50th race of the Daytona 500 here they are on our starting grid for Budweiser Kurt Busch Las Vegas Nevada David Reutimann Zephyrhills Florida Lakeland Florida Dario Franchitti Edinburgh Scotland cow pett and Trinity North Carolina Jamie McMurray Joplin Missouri JJ Yeley Phoenix Arizona Jeff Burton South Boston Virginia Elliott Sadler Emporia Virginia Dave Blaney Hartford Ohio Jeremy Mayfield Owensboro Kentucky boy before you came Travis Kvapil Janesville Wisconsin Regan Smith Kato New York Matt Cutts to Cambridge Wisconsin Scott Riggs bahama north carolina robby gordon orange california martin truex jr put it in new jersey ryan di ck Thomasville North Carolina All Old Menard Claire Wisconsin Dale Jarrett Hickory North Carolina Sam Hornish Jr Challenge Ohio Greg Biffle Vancouver Washington Kenny Wallace st.

Louis Missouri Bakersfield California I am father month oh yeah but what is a Columbia David Ragan of Unadilla Georgia Bobby Labonte Corpus Christi Texas Mark Martin Batesville Arkansas Carl Edwards Columbia Missouri Kasey Kahne enumclaw Washington Casey Mears Bakersfield California Jeff Gordon Charlotte North Carolina Ryan Newman South Bend Indiana Tony Stewart Columbus Indiana Reed Sorenson Peachtree City Georgia Denny Hamlin of Chesterfield Virginia Dale Earnhardt jr. Mooresville North Carolina Michael Walter Owensboro Kentucky I'm Jimmie Johnson from El Cajon California It's the second Daytona 500 pole for Johnson, who also took first place in his rookie year of 2002, makes for a great day for race with a perfect balance of flavor and freshness just turn left and enjoy Budweiser the great american beer what a great pomp and pomp and circumstance to kick off the 50th running of the great race. a super speedway half a mile faster than Indianapolis and a great tradition of stock car racing was born and continues today. we've seen this week Darrell you should have been there with me you had to pass you have to present and you have the future and I'm rubbing shoulders with all my old friends and I You got it yeah I mean it was just amazing I gotta tell you guys I was smashed like a can of sauerkraut I could barely stand up straight Larry the fastest car doesn't always win the 500 this 200 laps now we've been here for a week and a half we've been racing drag races now it's D-day 200 laps 500 miles yeah this is starting to get exciting and trust me the finish will be but there will be so much going on in the middle of this race the strategy avoid a big one make sure you don't make mistakes and you know what when it comes to the finish that decision of a split second just like Kevin Harvick did a year ago choosing the right partner to go with Mike.

I have been coming here for 28 years in a row. I've never felt the energy and excitement that I feel now here, but the tires and the temperament of Darrell Tootie, yeah, well, it's just that this is a race now than you. you have to use patience you have to use all your senses you have to see it and feel it you have to touch it you have to smell it but most importantly common sense better use a lot of common sense if you are going to run 500 miles here and end up in the circle of the victory we have a new toy for 2008 and there is a squirrel we may have not one or two but for the fox squirrel cameras one on each corner they will be coming at him much faster than that when they drop this green flag this is speed From the pace car here, it's time for our FedEx racetracks question this one's from Neil in Toms River, New Jersey.

We know that Richard Petty won a record 7 Daytona 500s. Which crew chief has won the best? Richard had a couple of crew chiefs, but the crew chief is one of the Daytona 500-plus with his team. the boss, a man named Dale Inman was with him on five of those wins. Richard Petty's cousin, Dale Inman, submitted his questions to foxsports.com. 500 wins his father former champ in th winter the first 500 read petty breaking stories let's get down first dick berggren well most of the attention this week has been on dale earnhardt jr. but keep an eye on that number 24 car Jeff Gordon has won the Daytona 500 three times most of his guys are back and he has a fast car Matt Yocum in 1980 Kevin Harvick's parents gave him a go-kart for his yard kindergartners graduation 27 years later his historic career as Cena Daytona 500 win now he wants to do it back to back and Krista told her teammate for the Gator that he did my extremely sports car on Thursday well nothing takes the place of the 500 Daytona that's what Tony Stewart told me earlier this week and he said that winning every other great race he's ever done doesn't make up for the fact that he hasn't won as big when he won everything else at Daytona except the Daytona 500 Steve Krista there's always a sentimental favorite this year's Marvin Panch might be Joe Nemechek.

He starts 41st, but forget that he has been one of the fastest drivers in the fastest car here since testing. He has been one of the fastest guys overall. ry has to start over today Steve missed the driver introductions but for good reason after the drivers meet the motorsports outreach holds a chapel service for the drivers and their families 2/3 from the road through the chapel joe says i have to go and there were so many people between the chapel service and the stage that he couldn't make it in time okay he's only backed down two places there you see him 200 laps 500 miles speed in pit road after being on the track at 190 mph 55 mph fuel pit window 44 to 46 laps Lee petty in 1959 in front of a sparse crowd is Johnny Beauchamp at the finish line in a photo finish that It took three days for all the available newsreels and photos to arrive and it was decided now 49 years later who will etch his name in the DW record books in honor of the golden 50 years of this great American career.

Yeah, catch up there, tighten those belts one more time, beanie baby baby, let's run, guys, lead chain, Michael Waltrip vs. Jimm. I mean Johnson got a little help getting that little Denny Hamlin cheat down in that 11 car where I think you've said it a few times since the 150s we really didn't know how good that 55 car got here 100 points on the hoe last year he now has five two of the big pre-race favorites are behind Waltrip Dale Earnhardt jr. and case and reed sorenson bragged to me about their gold wheels i even got what would just break if i made wheels for the 50th anniversary and he's maybe dried up quick in turn two they'll take those gold the wheels on his mates car team at the first pit stop and auctioning them off for charity it looked like the Highlands had run down the back straight with Denny Hamlin in the 11th Tony Stewart in the 20th but Michael got a shove from Jimmie Johnson in the 48th watch the lap of the lead 2 here but Johnson is going to fight on the good side Larry this is it for the start of this race this is the worst drivers moment in the race right now other than the finish maybe seeing what you got and settling on staying with the lead pack staying in the draft and settling on Waltrip 55 inches ahead, that's Dale Earnhardt jr. 'He's new he rides the 88 Hendrick Motorsports and by the way it's not red it's white he drives with Jeff Gordon these cars right now the mics are the art of the hardest to drive they'll be around all day . your own low air, the tracks a bit. a little dirty so you have to be very very cautious right now a lot of give and take stay out of trouble here in this great group of cars Johnson will lead this lap Jimmie Johnson the defending Sprint Cup champion Pullip saw Hamlin now.

Hamlin with his teammate Tony Stewart pushing goes up front and you never know Jimmie Johnson could have been even on those points and it's okay if I was leading the race on the last lap how would that work? Emmalin got a big push from stewart in the number 20 oh but they took the old rods out and are pulling them back on kasey kahne in that nine car the dodgers weren't very quick on qualifying day but that nine car has been solid every time since we entered race setting for the first time in a spr int cup points race at

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a toyota leads a lap under green is denny hamlin and the new new team in the toyota camp are right up front they have already won 150 Hamlin said it seems to me that it's his car handles a little better than everyone else the way he comes out of a turn Hamlin darts to the inside trying to shake up the draft and then he comes back up that's another one of those three wide yeah you know I thought just his teammate to do that Kurt Busch but I don't know listen it's important to lead this race right now you know you're out front no one around you take advantage of it if they can't get to you, that It's what I call working on both sides. from the fairway you go low pull him a little bit you need to jump outside a little bit looking from Hamlin to Jeff Gordon Hamlet's teammate Tony Stewart in the twenties trying to lead a lap which is Gordon right behind the four time champion of this series you can getting a run like that on the high side out of turn two and that's exactly what Stewart did in the twenty Gordon in the 24 mind you the reason why is because that car comes out and it's nice and free does a lot of Direct speed six of 200 laps this time and for the first time today Tony Stewart leads yesterday's winner from the left in the Nationwide Series race.

I have to tell you that we found out from chassis to after 150 these Toyotas are making a little more power than everyone else and right now it looks like it's them. I'm using trouble early for the defending 500 champ I met Michael a lap ago Kevin Harvick paid attention to his microphone and said something seems wrong with the engine I'm not sure what the last time he says I think we're getting ready for popping big concerns we were worried about this all week about these engines working a lot harder than ever here at Daytona before we had a little bit bigger plate make a little more power spin a lot more rpm michael waltri p on the car 55 sat on the outside of the front row now he's looking at what we call the suction hole in the middle and there's no help there when you see a car start like he did and then back off that means he's really a problem driving time with that car you have to get out of that sketch and move back it's Waltrip's blue 55 in the middle backing up Kevin Harvick didn't hit that time because it's still its on the track diagnosed what could be an engine problem could be in a long time these cars were getting so big in these car packs the front end will move a bit and that will cause the engine to act like its flapping and missing that you're driving around with a Pied Piper from Daytona everyone wants to draft Dale Earnhardt jr.

Now let me show you what Darrell was talking about, just look at the RPMs here on this two and a half mile race track. week but it just sits there and a lot of it is what I call part throttle racing it's really hard on an engine when you hit the throttle here the timing inside the engine gets messed up it'll start to detonate and shake apart here's one thing he didn't see in Thirsty's qualifying races four cars broke away from the field five two from Gibbs Toyota Stewart and Hamlin two from Hendrick Chevy's Gordon and Johnson and the only difference Mike is their camp if you can keep your car wide open around here all the time you'll get away from everyone else because that's what i meant about that Park throttle thing these guys will get away from you a full nine laps in the 50th Daytona 500 on Fox Tony Stewart continues to lead his teammate Denny Hamlin and Jeff Gordon with 12 laps in the Daytona 500 our aerial coverage today presented by DIRECTV NASCAR hot pass only on DirecTV puts you behind the wheel M ike larry these cars are now going through a transition they burned out a little bit of fuel all the pressures in the tires and shocks and everything else you might see some of these guys come back to the front now because their car was a bit sick, they may be doing things you didn't expect now they've got him under him and they're going to get the Chevrolet backJeff Gordon's number 24 in the third house the handling of his car let's hear what he told crew chief Steve Letarte and that's some great information to give Steve Letarte push or nose push means you're spinning the front wheel and the car is unresponsive these cars have mostly been fighting loose the rear ends have been wanting to go around but what jeff gordon knows is that as they burn through fuel load the weight on the front wheels increases and that's going to get better than the car won't turn and the big concern for all these teams is that the right front tire has to not have the car too tight world abusing that tire we've seen some issues with that leading pack of 10 cars this week and at least one of They're a little surprising the number 77 Roger Penske with Indy 500 winner Sam Horn but he started 19 and Hornish has moved up to 8 and is currently running right now in 10th d behind him that Eminem's car is Kyle Busch started in 24th place is about to break into the top 10 I just have to tell you Mike I've thought this the whole time and I still do Sam 28 years old he can get this far he has time he'll gain some experience he'll drive this 500 like he does the Indy 500 he'll be at the bottom 104 Indy 500 winners to try to do all five of them it's not so much about talent you have to have it it's a lot to do with confidence and that is what's good, but Darryl is coming out of turn two, he tried, and in doing so, he had no help there to help him in the draft and he lost three or four positions.

It's good, but you know he's up there. where he can learn he's got is in the group of cars lined up he's with some pretty good drivers here he can learn and before the days are done with you you know he better make that move himself now that he's a long snake he's uncoiled 13 cars in single file in the leading draft and sitting in third place polesitter and defending Cup champion Jimmie Johnson here's Dick he also won this race two years ago his car is a little loose Mike he and it's not running as well at the bottom. -the mile run is like taking a trip down the highway, you know you just have to walk, look at some of the scenery, maybe just take a break once in a while and not get too excited about when I'm going to get there you know you're going gonna have to stop for gas or the kids are going to want snacks downtime now and don't start yelling how much further is a long way we've come it still looks like he's pushing teammate jeff gordon in the car right now 24 jeff will lead his first few laps of this Daytona 500 Gordon is the fifth different leader today and he is looking back at Denny Hamlin and inside his 48 teammate Jimmie Johnson if you got that too keep this in mind this race car follow still an experiment still a project still in progress every time they race this they learn a little more about it they do a little better 17 full laps from 204 time series champion jeff gordon to front at Daytona 500 on Fox hey I like the way this was looking NASCAR action on Fox Daytona 500 on Fox is sponsored by NAPA Auto Parts Napa Gets the Good with Ford f-150 Built Ford Tough my Allstate Are you in good hands and in spirit?

Welcome to the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Speed ​​is beautiful number three in a #18 Bullitt car Kyle Busch as he prepares for new leader Denny Hamlin Busch has gone from 24th to second I don't think I've seen anybody that makes me go wow I'm telling you I said it today and I'll say what I'm talking about here in a minute, he's the only guy that can go three wide by himself. time they tried to adjust it while they've been here they ended up going back to the same settings now schools radio dad says his car is a little tight but he likes it that way right now mike yeah we need when you change lanes away he better be a little bit comfortable now which is going to be interesting we are 22 laps into this race on lap 23 we have no emotion I think now is when the drivers and crew chiefs are going to get a little bit old pins and needles because this is that area where we've had some tire trouble the speaker course and Larry I have one thing we mentioned Sam Hornish is doing things today that I don't think I expected him to do he's right in the middle of this leading group and he's going to school right now and then he's with some of the best teachers out there he's got a 77 he looks pretty good makes me a little nervous so Maddie DW I spoke to Captain Roger Penske the owner of his team Team this morning he said we know today is going to be a big learning curve for Sam being in this type of event in real racing conditions yes Thursday was a qualifier but today is all about learning and trying to impress others to win more shares down the road but DW is the only thing he's saying and he sounds like a vet my car is pushing really weird hey Maddie you know why I think he's going to make it here he's from Defiance Ohio Harnish he's a Indy 500 champion but he's a NASCAR rookie his teammates at Penske Racing are Ryan Newman running 15 and Kurt Bus sch in the blue deuce who had to take the interim champs Crysta yes my son has been through a rough patch about a week and a half for Kurt Busch down here, you mentioned the phrase snake pit, that's exactly what's been going on with Kurt Busch ever since. got to Daytona and then only 1 lap with a lap 23 Kurt is on the radio and says i got a vibe get ready the team started up they are on the wall Kurt is just riding to see what is wrong and Krista Kurt Busch in that car 2 has had a very difficult speed weeks in that is definitely one of the cars that has shown a lot of tire wear and tire problems this week the best story I ever heard about a vibration AJ said it he was leading the race he said he had a vibration Leonard Wood said AJ you know how much it pays to lead this race I don't know what it was - $300 call AJ he called back instead of the vibration gone you're looking at Kyle Busch up close to see in the back of but he hit Dale Earnhardt Jr. in that 88 car again that's basically the team that Kyle Busch drove last year and here he gave him the push and moved him into second place wow man good job no push from 18 to 24 there we go we used to watch over this grandstand and I see the junior nation just a sea of ​​red jackets and it's very apparent that all those Earnhardt jr. the fans have packed the past the only red jackets i've seen on the fans walking into the stands kasey kahne all that red jr. things that are in the closet are in the trunk they are dressed in white and green or something else and they are pulling hard reminds Dale Earnhardt jr. won the Budweiser Shootout a week ago won the Gator in a qualifying race on Thursday since the Budweiser Shootout began in 1979 no driver has won the Budweiser Shootout the qualifying race in the 500 at the same speedway I like that I like what I'm looking at with those hands look how relaxed he's coming down a little flat right away here 18 degree bank and about 200 miles an hour but look how easy he leans on that wheel now let's see what he does come down here to turn one looking in the mirror I'm clear back take it in take that hand there the crank left the cars without jumping jumping he doesn't have to correct it that's a good ride change direction Gordon out in front of 11 as they come out of turn number two But Hamlin got that high ride in tiebreaker two and he's got the writing partners and as I look at this group of five or six cars way back in January testing winter testing here's what we anticipate Joe Gibbs Racing the 11 in the 18 against Hendrick the 24 88 and 48 but again we can not fail to mention the pleasant surprise in that group Sam Hornish in that 77 car driving for pizza 28 complete laps in the great American race on Fox Denny Hamlin the leader Richard Petty won the Daytona 500 seven times more than any other driver and today he waved the green flag to start the great American race his number 43 car today driven by Bobby Labonte runs in the position ion 22 his his son Kyle Petty former polesitter in this race always runs 43 has that big smile on his face a big smile you did what he did you would be smiling too Dale Earnhardt jr. the 88 car gave teammate jeff gordon all 24 little air hits what makes the air hits so unique this year with this new car is that the front bumper doesn't touch the ground and the rear bumper doesn't hits the ground are the same a perfect match to each other unlike the old car seven lead changes between five different drivers so far this Chuck with Jeff Hammond Mike we've been watching these packs go around the track and I've been watching the lap times forty eight ninety about forty nine flat if you go back and look at friday practices saturday lap times then we are in blo forty seven if you don't think the heat around this track is having an effect on these race cars and guys it may be a tire save we have run longer and have run all week 32 laps with no problem at this point it may be because the race track is so hot and slippery and the speeds are a very good point jeff now jeff larry and darrell have a new feature on foxsports.com that ks a home depot is called asked the pros page you can ask questions related to nascar online for instant answers go to foxsports.com force ask the pros and you will know mike tire we are always getting better from the truck race on friday to yesterday the national race just puts rubber on the track and it gets better and better now that we were riding with Tony Stewart in the 20 car, who X actually led eight laps early in the race at this point, is inside the top 10 in 10th has a cup of those Roush Fenway Ford behind him Matt Kingston on 17th in Greg Biffle in the 16 looks at Tony yesterday when the Nationwide race on him went back the same way it's doing today, but they adjusted him at the pit stop and ho man, he came storming up front Matt Kenseth has gained 17 positions since the start of this race, he's not known as a big qualifier, but Kenseth is coming to the front, he's 11th when the green flag pit stops begin And this is not until the fuel window.

I think this is enough. a lot just being a little conservative at first making sure they're in good shape on these with these goodyear tires matt vibration his team called pit row the same thing happened at the gatorade duel his sensibility from the opening side carried over and sure enough in the duel where he was breaking the tire he did it burger OKC beers it's a little early the reason he felt a vibration it's most likely a tire we're getting closer to regularly scheduled pit stops anyway he take John Andretti and Joe Nemechek green flag from the start of this race 34 laps it's all kind of like a driver plants it in his mind here they all come this way here comes a lot of the cars on pit road plant it in your mind and you can't get it put it down the first time a car shakes a little you're coming to pit road Casey Cain at Carl Edwards Matt Kenseth Greg Biffle Reed Sorenson at the pit road along with Clint Bowyer Jeff Burton Ryan Newman and add to that list Scott Riggs and Jerem and Mayfield the cars of Hass Steve and my Carl Edwards on him also said his car was a little on the tight side he's actually trying to saving his team early in the race Kurt Busch Jamie McMurray and Kyle Petty also for pit road dis lap and just remember most tracks we go to you like to pit just like that you have a good pit road open but the way the draft works here you like to pit with about eight or 10 cars that way when you get back up to speed coming off pit road you can line up and start pushing the other packs back, oh yeah this is great it's a petition time now as you pit who can help you the hardest so you don't lose a lap. see Casey Mears on the left and number five losing a lap to leader Denny Hamlin now Sam Hornish is right in front of the leaders as pit stops continue Michael Waltrip along with Robby Gordon Travis Kvapil Kenny Wallace David Gilliland and Dario Franchitti we' told jeff burton he missed his pit overshot his pit has to go around well actually i think he backed up and got into his pit box he completed to stop but he lost a lot of time with that group of cars which faced with Matt and the service already complete.

Michael Waltrip Toyota, his team hung a rag in the window and the little chassis tuning is beautiful. Here are most of the leaders coming to pit road. Gordon Earnhardt Busch and Johnson and a lot of cars following them on Steve Mike Kyle Busch in the 18th says it's just a little tight you see it to the right they're going totake the air out of both rear tires, Matt and Dale Earnhardt jr. a slight chassis tweak looked like it would work Jr says his car was in neutral but it was starting to slide out the right rear also an air pressure tweak for junior Christa Tony Stewart taking four tires said that his car is loose and that he's hoping he could be wrong he's an idiot Paul Center Jimmie Johnson now for a four tire change he's been on both sides of the chassis perfect new front rear tire changers but they did a good job at his first stop in the pits today. the advantage you just told your team when someone pulls over a car distance away i'm a little loose it squeezed me curtis mark of the spotter i'm a former nationwide series driver and i tell you what the other drivers are doing in hamlin race track to the attention of his team is a chassis tune only for Denny Hamlin four Goodyear tires and Sunoco Gas Joe Nemechek will return to pit road has a tire rub on his number 78 so will be making a second stop in the pits Dave Blaney led a lap d now he's in pit lane yeah I accidentally put up another hood on that 70 it must be a little further back we just went through all these green flag stops in the last four or five laps.

Jeff Gordon in car 24 with Kyle Busch in 18 with Dale Earnhardt jr. in '88 not too far back they came out with the lead after the pit stop cycle but I know we keep pushing this guy but remember this is one of the first pit stops Sam Hornish in '77 he made a great stop in the pits he kept up speed on pit road and he's back in the top five six or seven right now I tell you something else I just noticed the average speed we're averaging 182 miles an hour here guys , it's getting a bit of worry and Dale Earnhardt jr.

It's Pit Mat The only thing you don't want to hear on the radio is your drivers saying I got a vibration, that's exactly what Jr. he told his team it's his guys please make sure you tighten the lugs tight you know when you think about it these teams are trying to change four tires remember these wheels they have five lug nuts per wheel not just one lug nut. trying to change these four tires and dump the eighteen and a half gallons of Sunoco race fuel in about 12 12 and a half seconds, you always run the risk that one of the rookies that Paul Menard slid through his pit had a problem with a loose nut. pulled back that slowed down his stop and the front row Joe Joe Nemechek almost starts on the front row, but it's the first car of the 500.

The Daytona 500 on Fox is sponsored by Budweiser. Find the perfect balance between flavor and freshness. Budweiser is a great American. level 42 full laps new leader kyle busch drove alongside jeff gordon and it almost looks like darrell waved to them while driving why they do early in the race its like working together right now theres a reason to come to t la little pearl, I know Eddie, trying to tell him, man, I didn't mean to do this, it got a little loose on me, I might need some help later today when I race in the Craftsman Truck Series, they put the loud Busch over the door and it's sort of reminiscent of the character from Days of Thunder, but in the pre-race you heard Jeff Hammond talk about 19 different driver crew chief combinations starting this 2008 season compared to last year.

I've said since it was announced that I felt like the real winner of all these swap changes could be Joe Gibbs Racing with that guy right there if they kept some chain tension just a little bit and got him out a hundred percent. percent of him, not one hundred percent. ten there's no telling how many races they can win in that 18 car just think it depends what you're looking for these three have a full second now in Dale Earnhardt jr. I think the youngsters are a little worried about that car, something's going on with it, he's not too happy with it at this point, take care of it.

Vanda has blisters on the front right and rear right so what can you could? We have to get that, it's interesting, Tony Eury jr. saying that both the front right and rear right have a little bit of blisters when they got out of that car after 37 green flag laps and I think that's why we saw those cars hit pit road a little bit before they they're going to need fuel jeff hammond mike we've been here a minute ago the argument goes to having a loose lug nut we've seen in years past but in 2008 nascar demands a special place it didn't just leave a huge lug wheel spacer plate , this plate has to be between the rotor and the The wheel is a special hard plate that NASCAR says has to be there in the event, so if the wheel gets a little loose and then starts to bore into the aluminum hat or the softer steel plate, special hardness man took it for NASCAR mandate in 2008, thanks Jeff.

You don't have to have a car crash out of a race because it has a loose nut, yeah, because when you have a vibration and you have a loose nut, normally what it can cause is to break the center of that wheel now. Steve Burns has r I was informed that Kyle Busch our race leader got eight team cars after 35 36 laps his right side tires look great no problem or from Dick Berggren with KC mirror tires, well i had one that was pretty blistered mike but i've been up and down pit lane to most tires i've seen come off the cars looked pretty good jeff gordon had a blister too but the tires Jimmy Johnson's were just the smaller issue that was just getting started, so I'm just telling you that I know our lap times drop at the end of a race, but the overall average speed here.

I keep noticing that we are over 180 miles per hour average speed. lead back from Kyle Busch he's trying to drive these two Joe Gibbs Toyota by himself force those teammates you're looking at there Kyle Busch the 18th Denny Hamlin in the 11th if Gordon wants help he's going to have to back off to get it is a second and a half behind Dale Earnhardt jr. his closest teammate and that's a good sign for Jeff Gordon you saw him come out of the bottom of turn four under those guys and the car didn't go up the track he was able to drive it right out of the corner that's a good driving car.

I know one thing guys we talked about him a while back and we've been witnessing this ever since these cars started getting ready to race those two Roush Fenway Ford Matt Kenseth in that '17 Carl Edwards in that '99 they just keep going and they did a lot of ground , which is not surprising in those green flag pit stops if you told me Matt Kenseth was not going to be in this race before the day was out I say you don't know much about racing what did I hear someone say? earlier in the week it's David Pearson reincarnated exactly Denny Hamlin in the back Denny Hamlin up front now this is where Busch gets a little bit of trouble seeing how he's trying to cross under his teammate for no good reason right now in the race now h We're up there crashing it I mean it's all fun and games but we gotta try to win the Daytona 500 here guys the two leading cars are Toyota we know clearly neither bury the count too early .

I know that's what I've been saying. Before Toyota entered the sport last year, the last time a foreign manufacturer finished in the top 15 of a cup race was a 1962 MG Robert Barrier at winston-salem 52 full laps in the 50th 500 of Daytona Hamline Bush and Gordon about a second in front of Bernhardt Kenseth Johnson Edwards and Kane have a two second gap to another group but per Sam Hornish here are our best Toyotas of the race so far and they are all from the team of Joe Gibbs you know Toyota is working on trying to sweep the weekend essentially they won the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race with Todd Bodine on Friday night they won the Nationwide Series race yesterday with Tony Stewart so they're trying from sweeping all week here hey dave kelly and you know how i look at these cars mike they've tightened up a bit but they're not out of touch they're still cars that can bounce back now at the beginning of the race.

Matt reported a possible problem for Kevin Harvick the defending champion in the 500 on his engine might be going south he has an update Mike Harvick back in 22nd position said his car was tight they put duct tape on the grill in his pit stop but Harvick said the car was terribly slow he tried it too tight he said it looks like he's better in the background but all the fast guys are running that's a big hurdle for the defending popular champ evidently Kevin was Tevin's story and told his crew chief that the water temperature was a bit chilly, so what they could. what we do is we have a battle for the lead again between these teammates Joe Gibbs Racing Kyle Busch in 18 drove in 11 but evidently they put some tape on the front of that car, turned up the water temperature and it plants t The nose of the car helps the front end bite Darrell you led the race your teammates led the race why are neither of you content to just play? falling on the leader for a while could be a could be a couple of things your car doesn't do you don't get along with someone behind you makes you happier with that up front could be the treadmill problem maybe you get hot a little bit behind someone or maybe you're just 22 and you don't don't want anyone in front of you and you're going to let them pass you have a need for a good green baby while they have fun and play that group behind them have decided to line up behind Dale Earnhardt jr. in the 88 white and he's bringing them back because they're lined up when those top three get mixed up it slows down the lap time yeah that's what I was saying Larry nobody some of these guys are nervous but they're not it's out of touch, there's enough draft back there to lift you up if you line up with that second group led by Dale Earnhardt jr. now they are only eight tenths of a second behind the leading group and getting our gopher camera showed us the difference in the lines in those two groups are running the top three were around the last two three and four the next five cars circle the top side trying to keep them tight and now junior cuts the shot off those three lead cars and he should get close to them trying to keep tight there on the road and the ride is much smoother right next to almost touching that safer barrier now that he's going to test the low side camel moves down with him leaving jeff gordon on top best mates look in mirror group closes and piper brings them rowdy busch takes him around

daytona

and over a hundred 80 miles per year hour 57 full laps Didn't see that twist coming Stay tuned for more NASCAR on Fox The Daytona 500 on Fox is sponsored by the 2008 North American Car of the Year the new Chevy Malibu 60 laps 150 miles Kyle Busch in front of Denny Hamlin and d Jeff Courtney Joe Nemechek has gone to the garage and Sam Hornish has made a pit stop for a vibe that practically catches you up the second group caught the leaders and now they are establishing a little bit of distance in there probably in about 10 12 maybe 14 or 15 to the left of what would be his second green flag stop again you just mentioned Mike Sam Hornish in the 77 car he hit him after 24 laps , he had a key five and decided to come to pit road early, so now he is one lap away. down dick jeff burton currently running in second position he has a race car that is basically tight but when he hits the bumpy mic especially if he has some rolling in other words he turned the wheel pretty hard to the left the rear end just snaps right around him so not at all happy with the behavior of the car even though gordon is running second steve dick listening to kyle busch has seen jeff dickerson he just said hey let's take it easy let's drive around a while back kyle busch said negati five ghost riders these guys are racing here jonno we were 61 laps into this race we've had seven different leaders in a dozen lead changes already well like i said about kyle busch alone he can you're a real bad boy but he's gonna be a good man i tell you if he got it he's got fire in his stomach.

John Andretti, who saw the 34 at the scheduled stop for tires. Tony Stewart has led this race he led eight laps but now he's back to 15th that's a bit unusual not to see smoke coming from the lead pack crystal tony it's actually been a lot of fun listening to it on the radio the last few laps he said guys i need a run said zippy on the radio said hey tony come on the harder you try the more we can learn aboutthis car Tony said alright alright I'll try it guys I'll try to give you guys some better info he just got back on the radio this lap and he said the car won't turn when it hits the bumps on the track but yeah the first comment that i heard was i need to d a race and i think that's something you know we can't document enough and Darrell you were there yesterday on your ride and drive yes this race track is wide but it has a lot of bumps and potholes all the things from the car cam that I've seen all week a driver is busy in that racing car yeah don't think about them as much as the bumps as they are tips and the cars hit these potholes and the track racing throws the front wheels in the air and makes the car hard to drive the guy who can master that's a guy who's going to have the best didn't you know hamlin was there? what i can't believe is you drive around like he does and then he goes up down up down you have to have a good drive i won't be able to do that man that thing has to be under you comes out of the corner in front of gordon switch return lane there you need what the En glish called traffic attends to those little traffic lights that came down from the b-pillar to indicate that you were changing lanes or turning.

I would like to have a chart of him for the 500 miles. I think Denny Hamlin has said enough of this. and he got a little help from Jeff Gordon on that 24-car strongest Superman that's some big cheese you can cook. The bosses are always Superman. 500 on Fox is sponsored by FedEx every day is race day by the auto parts experts at autozone get in the zone Auto Zone on DIRECTV NASCAR hot path only on DirecTV puts you behind the wheel and by claritin allergy products that They don't numb the last five leaders all the changes have been between Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin Bushes back in front leading Hamlin Jeff Gordon Dale Earnhardt jr. and Matt Kenseth Elliott Sadler has scrubbed the wall pretty hard his dodge makes a pit stop here's a glimpse of our air coverage from the DirecTV blimp DirecTV his ticket to most sports in HD now Elliott Sadler started in 35th place over the course of 69 laps Even with the green flag stopped without a caution he had driven to the top ten he is up to night position looks like possibly the car got away from him in the corner against that wall let's just say we are definitely inside that window over the next 4 to 5 Lari would come here we have seen Ford dominance we have seen Chevrolet dominate but today a look at qualifying shows Toyota has led all but 5 laps of this race.

Jeff Gordon led for the winner of the pole Jimmie Johnson led one and I think it's a combination of everything, I think it just shows how much they have grown and developed throughout the year there's a lot of work that's been done under the hood and then we had Joe Gibbs Racing in the mix you see the results you know Larry let me tell you do you recognize any of these guys sitting here in this pit box recognize my friend Darian Grubb sitting here behind Tony here listening to the youngsters on the other side he's Brian White so any of those guys have something in common they've been with Hendrick for a long time Darian Grubb was actually Jimmy Johnson's interim crew chief back two years old when he won the Daytona 500 Brian Weitzel was with Jeff when he won the 500 and the Tony jury members Jerry juniors was with David jr.

When he's won the 500, that's what this race is called for Dale Jr. and that's what's going to give them the advantage they've never had before. They got help, yeah, good help, lots of depth juniors in fourth place. Matt Kenseth drafting along with him is the tallest forward in the career. Kasey Kahne, the top elusive in the seventh. there you see elliott sadler the 19 car behind Kyle Busch on 18 what Elliott is trying to do is keep in touch with the leader because in NASCAR if you get a caution the first car behind the leader who is one lap down when the field he's frozen he gets what we call a free pass, he can turn around and he's back on the lead lap.

Dick Berggren Kasey Mears was in the top 10 cars before, he had just dropped out of the top 20 when he comes towards you and he's on pit road. Mike they are all going to take four tires at this stop everyone needs to take good care of their tires right now Mears has a perfectly good stop he pulls away with no major chassis changes to his car many people chose mirrors as dark horse I chose it as mascot The Hamilton of this race Hamilton came here as the junior member of the small team in 1970, only New Englanders had ever heard of him.

He won the 500. Casey Mears has caught the eye of her Hendrick teammates, but yeah, she actually won the coke. 600 last year I said that would be what would propel him to stardom and I'm telling you he finished last year and in great shape and I think you're right Mike I think there's a lot of untapped potential in there with him comes a Pablo Montoya in the car 42 Kyle Petty in the 45 again all of these are scheduled green flag stops what I see is they're adding a few laps to the green flag race 34 to 36 the first time now he's getting there about 38 39 laps with no caution in the state in a 500 so far Big group of cars coming into pit road three wide trying to get to pit lane the nine is Kasey Kahne the 99 Carl Edwards and they sort it all out Krista Matt Kenseth said his car is pretty good he says it is a little loose l but dont know if i would really play it too much he is very happy with number 17 started 28 came in fifth Matt Dale Earnhardt jr. says no vibration right front end but i dont need to know that to know right front end is absolutely too said car was tight recently off tight aces said down times moron is out this fits in your pit stop too catching can give me mange Freddie with a very long wrench can reach in and do the work to tune that chassis the leaders come Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin the two Joe Gibbs Toyotas snapping together Steve Mike you see Denny Hamlin in 11 he says just squeeze me a bit and again this time they're going to do a little air pressure adjustment you see his teammate Kyle Busch on the 18 Kyle said everything feels good let's not change a thing so just four fuel tires for Kyle's 18 Busch his teammate Tony Stewart and also Krista fuel for four tires for Tony Stewart he says right now his race car is loose he also said Before coming up with this set of tires, the guys have been gone longer than the Daytona 500. without a caution flag it's a ll 200 laps in 1959 a first won by Lee without a little warning this kid right here has been strong in every Speedweeks Reed Sorenson in that target 41 car just led the race and got five bonus points for leading first Dodge to lead today Sorenson pits with Mark Martin in eighth Ryan Newman and David Ragan every 10 181 mph except pit road yeah see there's a brake problem at 55 55 miles.

Someone will yell that I can't drive a 55 Ford. finished almost cycling through the whole set of green flag stops here this is good news for cars like Sam Hornish in the 77 Elliott Sadler the 19 this should get them back in sequence what they need although in the near future it is a word of caution to get let's get back up and on a level playing field as far as pit signals when the pit stops started we had 36 cars on the lead lap and now we pass and put kyle busch back in front and a little bit of difficulty for our polesitter Jimmy Johnson on this for good he got support again they have three new members over the wall in what was last year's championship winning team and the jack falls off yes and their left forward was OK, but the left rear couldn't do its job.

Very long stop for last year's champion and that's the guy they've been working with is the point man and it looks like he let them down. We'll update you on Jimmy Johnson's cycle when we return to NASCAR on Fox and our first cautionary flag is debris down the stretch. time for a break in the AT&T race where 80 laps went to Kyle Busch at age 22, currently our leader, by the way, the youngest Daytona 500 winner in history, Jeff Gordon in 1997 won this race At the age of 25, the Gibbs Toyotas have so far dominated in our first Caution, as the track temperature started out warm Jeff Hammond, it's getting cold.

The sun sets in about an hour and a half here at Daytona yeah and seeing that track temperature is going to have a big effect on how these cars have been handling some of the guys have been making adjustments because the car has been losing with the. They have to go back and get that out when the track starts to get more grip. The tracks will definitely be faster, yes we weren't too far from where you thought pit stops. we were going to take place anyway before the first caution, yeah we were able to achieve that in the second round and I think we're starting to calm down a bit, the guys are getting into the rhythm of the race and I think this caution is we're going to put everyone back in balance so they know what to expect from their race cars, guys like Jeff Gordon here, you know, a very solid race so far, just keeping up with everyone.

Denny Hamlin likewise has been forward all day so they got a pretty good grip as to what they think their car should be at this cost it may be exactly what the doctor ordered our average speed up now at a record pace 16 lead changes eight different leaders and that's your AT& At the race break, let's reconvene upstairs in the play-by-play booth for pit stops. Mike Darrell and Larry promised we would update John Jimmy Johnson, who had a jack problem on the left side of the car he came out of the pits with. 25 and let's see if everyone on the lead lap who is eligible to stop this time gets in I think they will just because of those right side tires I think we can see a lot of guys maybe go with just two right side tires Steve Byrnes Larry Mac that's the plan for Kyle Busch the car 18 right side tires only of course to fill in the fuel Krista Steve right side tires only for Matt Kenseth and his Roush teammate Greg Biffle plus tweaks for Dale Earnhardt jr . although they said they are working on that tension of the race car four tires for junior dick and Jeff Gordon said the adjustments on that last launch made the car and I quote sports no pit racing, it does not include the 41 of Reed Sorenson that was kept on track I think during this caution it was a very busy place even though a lot of work was going on there Kyle Busch leads the DirecTV race off pit road 81 full laps 82 laps after 200 miles is the Chevrolet Corvette zo6 pace car at the front of the field Chevrolet winner of more NASCAR races than any manufacturer in Chevy history an American Revolution there's a look in the back jr.

Johnson drove it for the opening green flag today and there's his leader Reed Sorenson right behind Denny Hamlin he's led the most laps of this race so far 32 of them but he's got a concern for some reason it's like sync or whatever, every time I take them to the pits. I don't use the clutch. I'm just taking it out of gear. It won't get out of gear. I have to tighten it up and when I go to change gears on the track I really have to get it out of gear that I can pull hard into the next gear I'm happy as easy as I can with it but I mean I'm still kidding taboos yeah that's good to get out of here the dog greens are a little different that makes sense you're going to know you have to use the clutch more than the transmissions last year I can understand that but it should get you going always diagnosing what's going on with the phones from the race cars it's the start of a new year that could be something different about last year's gearbox filling up different rent looks like we're ready for our claret and ready to drive restart let's clear and clear in and out just one update you Reed Sorenson in the 41 Kurt Busch both chose not to come to pit road we have 39 cars in the lead lap we have three cars one lap down Joe Nem echek is back 28 laps of timeout for our first start oh yeah give those surround sound knobs a twist because we're about to turn it up with the sound and fury of NASCAR's green flag resource and he chose not to write and read, he has lost the lead.

I think he probably regrets that now. Wow, the tires make a world of difference, even just a couple of three laps. and a pothole Kasey Mears all five Casey said look you're not going anywhere I'm going to follow Ryan Newman on this 12 oh yeah it's going somewhere Larry's going to the back he's got Mark Martin in the car 8 he's in trouble coming2 3 and 4 we're here and the tire is down on that 8 car and Mark came with The honorable feat of winning the Daytona 500 last year has got to pit us under green like Brian Vickers in the 83 car coming to pit road and it looks like both cars will do while we stay green now Kurt Busch the older of the Two Las Vegas brothers driving in the number two didn't pit and yet has been able to hold off his brother minor for the lead in what we've seen all week.

It's not that the new tires make you faster, they just give you more grip. you can maneuver the race bar you can drive through it now let's talk about those two cars I've noticed when you have pretty good tires you can keep up but your car seems to pull away very very fast after eight or ten laps . the bushes are just the latest in a long line of sister acts in NASCAR dating back to the three block brothers in the early 50's corps bob and tim kurt had a great race car here and led many laps got stuck in a Mess with someone's stores, but nonetheless they got a good package for right here fight learn Hart jr. running in 13 now you just go through the gears here coming out of the pits and into the pits but still matt you absolutely have to get through them mike and problems for junior the shift ball the threads are stripped so the ball comes straight out of the shifter shifters, your team members are trying to work on a new shifter ball that way, junior can put it on top of the shifter and then try to secure it with some duct tape that they're working on on this time so they can pass it through the window the next time Dale jr. hits the pits all the tech all the spending on these cars these machines now worth about $200,000 with a $60,000 engine and the most common tune-up and repair tool a $5 roll of tape will run ever more what a little problem but it could be that it could make a difference I mean you can't change the car you have to pit now and restart we got a report that Bo's tire lessons were low and flat at mark mark eighth car sounds to me like they put that they didn't have enough air and then when it came out maybe they had too little air that went into the corner and just rolled them out of one of the cars that has been hard against the outside wall which is several times this week has been Paris today it's no exception let's look from the DirecTV blimp look at the zero seven to your left above that's basically the same thing that happened to you in practice you crashed into another car really really fast not having an ado where to go chosen not to hit the car goes to the outside and scrapes the wall there's something that didn't zone Darrell right after the incline to turn into the tunnel that's where you'll see all those Daytona stripes of rubber marks on the wall and he backed up and spun his wheels and everything but those cars have a little bit of a mind of their own when they get in there like this well I know one thing we're at 79 laps they cost him free they got a little nervous but I think the business it is changing. so far ten laps to go in a half a car I've been watching in this group has been terribly strong all week down like he missed early in the race he's on that outside line Kurt Busch's teammate Ryan Newman on The 12 Car Penske Roger Pensken has never won a restrictor plate race with the exception of a Budweiser Shootout one time with Rusty Wallace when the other cars that I think Larry has asked and worried us about a bit are the Roush roush-fenway card cars and if if you look to the outside line the yellow car passing by also looks pretty fast with his teammate behind talking about looking fast throughout the test on the trioval it's far from straight it's the hardest place in this track, believe it. or not, it's 18 degree bank and you're running just as fast through here as you are going through these 31 degree bank.

David Gilliland, former polesitter for five paces in a pit stop, is back on track and Mark Clark reports that Martin ran over debris. with the two tires on the left side and that's what cut them off if you look at the back of this package here remember Sam Hornish had to pit unexpectedly 11:58 Elliott Sadler in the 19th to lap 69 they got the caution that they needed ed and now they're stuck back here in the front pack while that middle grew it was a tough place to be junior fight for space and fight for the helm and almost everyone came together for the test boat someone had to give its I don't curl the Edwards in the 99 said no more guys I don't feel great about this that's the tensest moment we've had in 92 laps of racing so far wrestling motto jr. in the 88 newman shows up things get a little dicey looks like hamlin actually moved in the 11 car in the late start of four but look at that right there that won't work guys i used to think that larry somebody definitely he had to give up there. then I got here and I thought Kurt Busch, who broke and hit the wall and struggled all week and had to start last, now he's first, the Daytona 500 on Fox is sponsored by Pepsi, stuff where every sip gets you about, closed great stuff.

PepsiCo-sponsored captions allow employees to engage in a more inclusive environment for people with disabilities. Well, there's something about that shot that I sure wish I had about 20 years ago and it's this little thing right there, it's an air conditioner that the Bush brothers traded. the start two laps ago, Kyle took the lead from big brother Kurt as Jeff Gordon looked on, remember Kurt Busch in the number two didn't come in during the last round of pit stops and I think we'll see. what we saw was a few others once he was taken out of the lead group there without those good tires it could hurt him you know gosh we haven't talked today but right now we have Jimmie Johnson in the 48 car starting to go back all the way way back to 30th dick what's going on with jimmie johnson well larry the car is very loose the team had been on the wall anticipating a pit stop but he just said he can hold on to it so they've come off the wall no pit stop right now johnson extremely lazy car dont you know not many polling places have won this race what i think is nine mikes nine times seven different drivers nine times the winner of the pole won the 500 now in two laps we'll get the halfway sign the leader at halfway hasn't won the Daytona 500 since Davey Allison in 1992 92 and that was a dogfight that day almost didn't work out racing that half money but you know I just talked about Ryan Newman in that 12 and he's been thinking on the inside he'd been looking for his teammate Kurt Busch and now he's worked his way up to the outside line now he's back at the bottom pretty much without much help down there I think you know why you do that if that's your teammate you run run after him so he can see you and then you dive and keep going because you mean I tried to help you but look at those Roush Fenway Fords behind him Greg Biffle in that The number 16 car took his first career win here in a July race a few years ago, he set up Ryan Newman's rear bumper this way.

It's a lot like the 4th of July, when Biffle one day here, Jeff Gordon was looking at Daryl and now he's fallen to the bottom, he's going to pick Newman number 12 in the draft to try to get past Kyle, boy, now here he is. here's what's going to happen notice turns one and two when we get a shot here a little bit shady as your track gets colder that bottom rut will get better and better you'll see you'll see jeff move right there and then here comes newman yeah he'll take advantage of that guy Gordon just slid in front of Kurt Busch we're also looking back at Busch right now guy he blocked - Jeff lost so much momentum he had to push a bit and he was lucky he didn't get run over look how the track is shading up as we go down towards turn one darryl i think it's happening to kurt busch you talked about that now he's seeing the downside of using those slightly older tires that's a short win term and a long-term loss, about half of the business inventory. for this Daytona 500 presentation, the Sprint Cup Series drivers and one of the funniest in front of the camera is Ryan Newman, he has a great dry sense of humor and he is trying to deliver the good news which is the shadow in the turns one and two, but I also have bad news. it's the sun in their eyes it rises first or when the sun goes down these drivers have a hard time for a moment being able to see what's in front of them because it looks really glared on the windshield my kyle busch has driven half the back you have to go back to Davy Allison to find a winner who led half back when they used to pay a $10,000 bonus and that used to be a lot of money for these teams there isn't a half way bonus anymore we'll see if history can't repeat itself there big old bonus in 99 laps though it's about 1.6 million dollars to win this race look at the sun here we come out turn four guys as these drivers come out of turn four start looking ahead downstairs this little listen right into the travels a lot look at this where did everyone go where did everyone go i can't oh there they are at which makes it an even bigger handicap the observers are right above us the observer spotter can't really let you come out of turn four because they're coming right at you several of the teams told us they put a second spotter in turn four for that reason now if you had anticipated and I love that word because that's what they're all about the races you've got a little extra tape on that windshield for this period of the big race move down the inside guy Jeff Gordon got a race Kurt Busch trying to push him up there with Newman Jeff Jeff Gordon was the rock between two tough places right there the meet between the pins the test was in the five o'clock traffic jam Daytona Beach at a hundred and 90 miles an hour and Kyle Busch way ahead look that's a nice advantage to have at most race tracks Here I wonder why they let him do this Kyle Busch racing for a dream with 97 laps to go the Daytona 500 on Fox is sponsored by Goodyear technology innov loves to help you get there by coke zero real coke taste zero calories enjoy coke tiss from RadioShack where you don't just buy stuff you make stuff and shop semi-pro starring Will Ferrell Woody Harrelson and Andre Benj amin in theaters 29 February teammates trying to take the lead at Daytona check out the 17 interiors of Matt Kenseth and 16 Greg Biffle two of the Roush Fenway Fords we're drafting together trying to take the lead from Kyle Busch as our aerial coverage is presented by Goodyear, The Official Tire of NASCAR helping NASCAR drivers get to the finish line for over 50 years.

I have to tell you it's hard to get past that Toyota the way it runs, but I'm telling you Greg Biffle in that 16 car he's been trying. to push teammate Matt Kenseth into the lead and take him around the back immediately a Ford hasn't led watch Kurt Busch in car 2 to the infield grass if Kenseth can keep it around the 107 line 7 laps past the half a Ford will be driving a 500 for the first time today and we've all been saying for the better part of a week what's wrong with those cars but I don't think there should be anything wrong with their racing in this one moment. need a long way to get going old car to get in or the back of earnhardt jr. now Denny Hamlin was right in the middle of it this is what he saw oh that's what happened new hone your moves and your career comes at a bad time.

Junior moves on, this is the time to look like Kirk. off the track matt mike kevin harvick as enthusiastic as mikey says did you just see that the two of them just walked across the grass miss potterson up i saw that he's going i know he just walked across the grass you know i know harvard has a future on tv just not yet now Greg Biffle in that 16 car that wants to lead in the Daytona 500 has to get a push from Kyle Busch on the 18 now Brian Vickers in the 83 car remembers one of those cars that had to pit right after from the restart he is one lap down trying to keep the first car down to get the free pass in case we get a caution Biffle needed to lead just one lap just like Kenseth you get five bonus points for leading one lap and the driver who leads the most laps gets five more bonus points and right now driving is Kyle Busch, who finished second here Friday night and second in n the 301 yesterday.

Now we're getting closer to that 10 to 12 lap window of what would be green flag pit stops and it can be interesting when they're grouped like this becauseRight now we have about 24 cars within two and a half to three seconds of each other, but you see what the last caution flag did for this race, I mean, it was all blacked out and they made the green flag stops worse, but this last one gave everyone a chance to work on their car, fix some of the issues they had and man, we've tweaked this feeling considerably. Settings are fixing problems.

The track is cooling down and gaining grip. 43 entrants still on the lead lap, stop coming as Kyle Busch drives them through Daytona on Fox. The Daytona 500 on Fox is sponsored by Gillette. Feel great with Gillette Fusion Power FINA, the only razor used by Gillette youth. 114 of 200 complete laps. in the Daytona 500 he has led the most laps 49 of them and still ahead of Greg Biffle while Brian Vickers' 83 is a lap behind Brian Newman, his third seven-tenths of a second, and Dale Earnhardt jr. in his new number 88 he is fourth junior he can become the 11th driver to win the Budweiser Shootout and his Gatorade duel but not the 500 happened to his dad three times it happened to him in O 3 & 2 Tony Stewart last year Matt my Dale Earnhardt Jr. as several drivers in the field with a tear stained on their clear shield, he told his spotter TJ Majors because with all the clouds I'm not really sure if the Sun has set or if the Sun is just being shadowed by the sun.

Clouds so let me know when the sun goes down so I can shed a tear. He has his hands full. I can tell you he watches this. We're looking at the car coming out of turn four. a little slip in look Eddie that's a wooden book it's a little hospital jump there almost die died oh little turkey walk something like still and again we're at about six or eight laps I think about what a scheduled pit stop will be for all these cars now this is just the start of the sprint cup season on fox next week we'll be in fontana california at the auto club 500 3:30 ET on fox first time with this car today the rig has been on use sound at california speedway matt kenseth the defending winner and they will have no problem running three and four wide there or i promise and they go in the corner they are at two zero ten very fast reed sorenson giving a kck excuse me casey mears la boot in the five that's a good thing they're running 18 and 19 now that 41 in those two cars remember they were left out of the last caution that they should be two of the first cars to hit pit road as they n e are nearing the end of this race here at your green flag stop hey who appeared in the top five is Clint Boyer finished third in the chase last year for what is now the Sprint Cup championship driving in the zero seven scored the first career win at New Hampshire last July he moved up into the top five well maybe Dillon's right you know he bounced it off the wall in practice yesterday and they bounced it off the wall a little bit earlier like Maybe he deserves it because he's faster and remember he finished 18th here last year in the 500 oh by the way on his roof across the start/finish line yeah keep the fire there's Matt and d Mike the oh seven from Clint Boyer as you mentioned earlier he's hit the wall he's done it now five times during the sprint weeks between his national car and Nextel or Sprint Cup but Boyer says the car is too tight that's why he's running so high on the pi This racing st you don't want a car it doesn't matter what your car looks like to you personally it's how you are to the rest of the field and right now it's looking pretty good for the rest of the field Carl Edwards Regan Smith Martin Truex on pit road mention that rookie and IndyCar champion or Indy 500 winner, Sam Hornish, who is still running in the top 10 in eighth place like our Tony Stewart and Bobby Labonte.

We have 82 laps left. We still have all the cars running. the track in 36 cars on the lap from lead Kyle Busch lead Ryan Newman Greg Biffle Dale Earnhardt jr. and Clint Bowyer your top 5 in 118 laps, hey you're watching the Daytona 500 on Fox, hopefully we ended well, but the Daytona 500 on Fox is sponsored by Sprint. welcome to the 2008 nascar sprint cup series. a cautionary flag so far in the 500 here is matt kenseth on pit road two laps ago 13 cars went into 11 of them last time and here are two of the dashboards Roush Fenway and all the Michael Waltrip Toyotas on Krista well Greg Biffle thought I was fried when they all came he said we should have come but Matt Kenseth came instead and they think they're gonna ok to do a track bar and pressure fit air for the number 16 wrench for Angela's stock.

I think they are fine. Kurt Busch comes out of the pits too fast. There is electronic timing on several loops along pit road. Average 55 miles per hour on each section or you're electronically ticketed like some kind of photo radar in Phoenix and other places and Kurt Busch will have to take a passing penalty, which means he has to go back to the street of pits, it doesn't. I have to stop, just keep that 55 mph, full lap distances on the race track, which will give you one less lap. I might have a subpoena book in trouble, but this pit road is a place where photo radar works pretty well.

How about our leaders arrest Steve Mike? Good stop for Kyle Busch in 18. He said his car just needed a little grip. it was just a little free it didn't look like any adjustment on 18 they did it it was air pressure and it was small Dario Franchitti his pit stop the ganassi chip with felix abates number 40 now we have a couple of Toyotas not in the pits that stayed out for lead a lap Michael Waltrip in the 55 led a lap and then David Reutimann and the double-0 stayed with him Dario's wife Ashley Judd watching from the pit box at her husband's Daytona 500 debut she's a girl from home around Homer you I know, out of all these green flag stops, I think the group that must have had an amazing pit stop, Kony Stewart in that 20 car that just passed Clint Bowyer in the Oh Seven, was out of the top ten and now just moved into fourth. spot so a big pit stop by the Home Depot team I really think Tony was driving he's probably waiting for a pit stop to tune up his car and they did the same thing yesterday and got to the front throughout the race so I was surprised they did it today. what we saw last year with the team of Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus was that that car always finished the race running better than it did at the start of the race, could this be Stewart's season to win a third Sprint Cup? find out what's going on on pit road quick, well Mike a little update on the gear gate first for Dale Earnhardt jr. this was the knob that they were going to go through the window but they didn't at the last stop now what they're doing is going to a backing for their backing they basically have another knob and I'm going to put glue inside the knob and then move it to the window that way when Dale Earnhardt jr. you put it on top of the gear stick, the glue will hopefully help keep that knob in place and in the meantime update the race car, yes it was loose but Tony Eury jr.

Didn't make any changes that last time so they'll turn it in but do it yourself boy yeah that makes me a little nervous. That did it, stick around to put all that glue on there. Now his hand is stuck on the gear stick. 75 laps to go, you know, a couple of cars that were doing well in the top 10 and were two of the first cars to hit pit road Martin Truex Jr in 1 and Carl Edwards in 99 and now they're all over the place. way back to 25 and 26 I think they didn't have enough cars stopping with them and they really lost touch with the leaders three Toyotas three dodges two Chevys and two Fords in the top ten with 75 laps to go in the Daytona 500 in five times for a break in the AT&T race in the Daytona 500 with Jeff Hammond Chris Myers Kyle Busch er leading Ryan Newman running in second Clint Boyer in third Jeff this wipes out the flight let's get our recap of the race from Sears and then I want to get your take on what we've seen as far as we see some damage to Denny Hamlin's car we had 13 major ges gs in the entire Daytona 500 race last year Kyle Busch and his Jill Gibbs Toyota have one thing in common so the car now for NASCAR at least from what we've seen so far is about a 1w chain yeah so far the guys are having to learn how to drive the car from smart way and let's put it that way but we've seen the indominus, the toyota, you can also see the pressures being put on, you know, Cobb is on the loose right now for the other seven cars.

Clint Boyer. There's a Dodge right there. Back there car 12 all these guys right now are figuring out where they can take advantage of it check out car 11 here it looks like Denny Hamlin in the left rear quarter panel is definitely sticking out and that will be a negative. as far as trying to let you know, racing here and having a really good race car has led 32 laps of leader Kyle Busch's Toyota teammate so far in this race, one thing I want to point out right now as we're watching Kyle Busch has won a lot of races this is the Daytona 500 we might have some issues on the race track right now, you know, looking around the car, he bounced it off the wall and here's Regan Smith, one of our Rookie of the Year contenders, looks like he's definitely crushed. the right side of the car but no yellow so far forget it a lot of people are like looking at the seavers any debris from that zero car was so far so good for the rest of the field but going back to kyle busch when they come together on it was whether or not he can handle the pressure we've seen he can drive defensively and that's maybe unraveling we've only had one caution so far the world of Richard Childress Racing Jeff Burton in the 31 Chevrolet using CV on your AT&T phone can access all of RCR's internal content let's rejoin Darrell Waltrip Larry McReynolds and Mike Jewell why that was a tense moment for Regan Smith he just shot hit the safest barrier between turn one and two, but he got it together and now he's done it. safely to pit road so we're at 131 laps Kyle Busch under pressure from Clint Boyer and Ryan Newman let's take a look you'll see the zero one in the distance that's a tough breakaway Mike but we've said it over and over time. how tough is this car on the right hand side, it's designed to take a beating like that and keep ticking off the Travis people in that 28 race car from Yates barely made it now with those green flag pit stops about the lap 118 mil to 1:21 these guys will still have to lose the full 305 miles here at Daytona to start a Sprint Cup season for 2008 and Kyle Busch, who grew up racing and what we call works cars in his native Las Vegas to as his brother progressed through the ranks he now leads the biggest event in stock car racing now we saw these three guys working together in the 150 Thursday Dale Jarrett was out of the top 35 needed to race and Michael and his partner team David Reutimann all three of them worked together and got in this race now they are working together to chase this leading group here and they are doing a pretty good job or if they stay lined up like that, that's the fastest they're going to run in that leading pack that they keep mixing and matching in there Kyle Busch Clint Porter Ryan Newman Greg Biffle and Dale Earnhardt jr. the Daytona 500 on Fox is sponsored by Budweiser striking the perfect balance between flavor and freshness Budweiser, the great American lager Clint Boyer and Greg Biffle seemed happy to let Kyle Busch lead for a while, the 22-year-old has been in front for 68 circuits so far, that's more than double any other driver as wait time to go to Jeff Hammond for today's State Farm safety briefing, well today, as you see the size of these race cars , look how soft they are no problem so far. as far as the start of the race but they are in the corporation from time to time you will get closer to a more secure barrier or the outside wall or another race car well in behind this skin if you look here there are some resistant foam car crash pads which is also held in place by a piece of carbon fiber between the foam and the roll cage.

All of this is designed to absorb energy and also to help maintain this race car's shape should it come close. to another but the key is that in case you have an accident, you absorb that energy so it doesn't reach the driver and again protecting your driver is the important thing thanks jeff kyle busch the leader sees his teammate denny hamlin athe right of your screen can I've brushed against that wall just a little over the last four times with phones much better than m2 before we stayed in Ironton. Yes, it is, but Denny Hamlin is falling like a rock.

Remember that he lived 32 laps of this race. He has fully returned. to 23rd and he's a second slower than our leader, Kyle Busch, and he's about 18 seconds behind Steve Byrnes. it has to do with that piece on the left panel of his room, you wouldn't think it would make that much of a difference, but remember these guys are running almost 190 miles an hour now that NASCAR officials and observers have judged that that flapping fender is not it's insurance. Ja Zard is in no danger getting out of the car, but the team has been told they need to fix it at their next midway pit stop, which was 40 laps ago.

Jimmie Johnson was ranked 29th. he Now he moved up to the top dozen. to be around to finish and I tell you a couple cars that are running in this group with Jimmie Johnson I want to take note of that Triple A car out there David Ragan in car six that he's been flirting with in the top ten finished fifth here a year ago and remember Richard Petty waved the green flag with his driver Bobby Labonte in that 43 car that's been flirting in and out of the top ten there's also a look at Georgia's second generation Reagan driver sliding in there in front of Jeff Burton petty the cars were pretty good yesterday in final practice so both I think I know Kyle was in there pretty good and I think I'll be in the top ten for speed so they have some speed in this race cars and that's something good but you know I go back to Jeff for sure to inform Regan Smith that oh a car hit that wall like it did a while back a reason she can come back some work cosmetic garlic two new tires a lot has to do with that phone keeping that sheet metal pushed from inside the tires Sam Hornish is a Daytona 500 rookie, he's an Indianapolis 500 winner and he's having a great day.

Some people wondered how Hornish gets into this points race when the Wood brothers had to go home for the first time and Ken Schrader after three straight five Schrader went home and Sterling Marlin after 24 in a row went home is because The car's owner, Roger Penske, placed two cars in the top 35 of what were the Nextel Cup points last year and he chose for this year to use the 12 points and put the two points on this number 77 for the harness had a guaranteed spot and it's his choice to do it with NASCAR's approval that's what happened Hornish is in the race and he's given a great account of himself and he's driving like a champ today.

Now, Kurt Busch back in 32nd place. All kinds of things have happened to him. We mentioned that all 43 cars are still on the track. Black Flag NASCAR has a minimum speed that you must maintain he was below that minimum speed he makes that left turn into the garage area he will join John Andretti who, like Wallace, ran to the 500 with the only two cars out of the race. right now the Daytona 500 on Fox is delivered by UPS thanks to Dale Jarrett for seven unforgettable years it's been one hell of a ride Give him a full 146 laps Dale Jarrett is in his last Daytona 500 in number 44 his career will end five races this season he will hand over the manual controls of that car to David Reutimann moved into the broadcast booth and right now Jarrett three-time winner running in 18th position Kyle Busch continues to lead this which is now 77 laps now when you think about a sprint cup car NASCAR sprint cup car basically all adjustments have to be done on pit road not much the driver can do but Steve Byrnes Kyle Busch and Steve Addington have a little adjustment they can do from that cockpit yeah Larry here's the latest on Kyle Busch in the 18th he just told crew chief Steve Addington he saw I had the front fans on and rear from the last stop but I turned off the front fan and now I'm a little better he also said when I live I mean without stepping on the gas I let go and what they're doing is they have blowers that blow into the tires to prevent let the air pressure really build up so it was a little loose so he cut those holes out of the front tires to let the air pressure build up a little bit which makes the race car tight he has great humor You know what else I think it helped him a lot today this is not his first day running he ran Friday night he ran yesterday and I tell you this is a place. where the fins pay off knowing they were going to be po track situated where the potholes are things he's learned in the last few days and I think he's really helping him today Dale Earnhardt jr.

He hasn't led a lap today, but the Sprint Cup cars have been following him all week in the Budweiser Shootout on Saturday night and Thursday now. Jeff Gordon won this race as the youngest driver to do so at 25. years and has come back and has three Daytonas. 500 trophies, but Dick Berggren is stuck in 20th position, what's up? Well, he can even go further back than that, like he's decided that he just wants to save his tire, so he'll take it easy. Let the car back up. try to make a charge at the end of this event which is a good strategy but he lost the draft he's on his own he was running this big group of cars in front of him here but even he's falling out of that group you lose a second for back, you'll be going a round here in no time.

Don't worry, we still have 51 laps to go, but contrary to what we believed before this race, we only have one Hendrick car in the top 12 and that's Dale Earnhardt jr. in that 88 car is a look at Hendrick Motorsports that has nearly swept Speedweeks for Sprint Cup car events 150 laps this time 375 miles in the 50th Daytona 500 Kyle Busch has now led 80 of those laps his teammate Denny Hamlin 32 the Gibbs' cars together have led 120 of 150 laps. Debris at Turn 2 puts us under the second caution flag of the day. Pit lanes are open. four tires on a small track bar adjustment Kyle said Roger Christopher just a little that's all Tony Stewart needs easy e-juice the car got tight they are making very small very small adjustments in just a tick Michael Waltrip slid through of him has been almost walked into Dale Earnhardt jr. swivel bar fit for jr. meanwhile, his car was free unchanged at 0-7.

Boyar dick LK's speed ended with his pit stop. He was running in eighth position. There were no adjustments to the car. a good car with a real winner kurt busch on that car 2 a little surprised if they made you it was only two tires but that's what it looks like maybe he's like on those old tires but they come a 500 on fox is sponsored by the new AT&T your world delivered by Chevy the most wins in NASCAR history in the American Revolution by coca-cola zero real coke ribbons zero calories enjoy the myths of coke and by State Farm great service great rates nobody cares as State Bar second caution of the day 48 laps to drop debris and this will give Denny Hamlin a chance to fix that rear quarter panel.

We'll show you what happened to Michael Waltrip's 55 that came into the pits on the left of your screen, he just slid right through the man. and had to back off and then Casey Mear s came out of his pit at 5 almost caught Kevin Harvick check this out Brian Vickers gets the free pass he'll be back on the lead lap when we get back to the green under the second caution of the day at Daytona we'll get the restart one lap from now leaving 46 laps to go in the Daytona 500 Kyle Petty at the pit stop Denny Hamlin fixed his fender a few more cars came to fill in and it sure has been a wild day a wild week for the former champion Kurt Busch has led this race after starting last and is currently 30th.

Today he will be our Allstate Good Hands driver for this evasive action when Dale Earnhardt jr. turns down kurt busch had to hit him or get down there and kill yarborough territory gets a little weed remembering the last lap of the 1979 race curtis today is allstate good hands driver are you in good hands ? Jeff Gordon the 24 car just made the left turn into the garage area he was back on pit road they thought possibly even a shock mount might have broken now he's going to the garage something's broken they had to put on a hood I saw him pointing at something dick well they were trying to figure out what it was and when he did the first pit stop they thought maybe it was the splitter they wanted to leave the hood down to get it out again the splitter was fine this time they raised the hood and apparently one of the brackets on One of the control arms has been bent in the last two pit stops.

Gordon's right front tires showed signs of significant blistering. We haven't seen that with other cars it has a major problem so that's why it's in t The garage which is HUGE looking back from the Corvette zo6 pace car and getting ready for our claret and clear restart ready to go green with our easiest clearance to driving the restart might clear it out and feel like yourself again 32 cars up front lap now that he gave Mike Ford and that 11 through a chance to fix that left for Cornell we find out what happened to Kurt hood: he missed his pits the first time, that's why he won all that stuff on pit road now that he's back there he's going to restart again in 28th position Greg Biffle in a Roush Fenway for whom he has a victory in July here in the Sprint Cup Series Dale Earnhardt jr. teammate Matt Kenseth pip I think we'll see some new players as well I think now the tracks the sun has gone down to cool a lot of these cars have only raced at night so I think these guys will really pick up the pace and I think you see some new sheriffs in town as we like to say i think business is about to pick up in the bowl oh yeah the angst is mounting if this coach might be a little rough in traffic they restart double file with cars one or more laps down on the inside, so from fourth to the back, like Ryan Newman's blue car and this red Kasey Kahne car, they have to weave their way through traffic a bit to get to the leaders, it's going to take kind of a double However it's a disaster for someone to make something out of that car 18 because it's so strong it's going to have to be him it's going to have to be lowered a bit for someone else to have it his wife Nicole runs a fundac ion for homeless animals in front of the Daytona 500 that dog that's in the ha nukkah the day we were talking about race pace going up in the Midwife 48 now they're back at second 47 but you know you've been there that's what you're a fan that's what you're going to hear at all dash speeds grip will go up better now everyone can run a little harder a little more open a three time winner and four time series champion is out of the 500 Kristen and the DuPont team is killing it here on the car Jeff what happened suspension failure we saw signs of this when we were testing we bought back he did everything we could to beef up everything to prevent this from happening and you know which is really a product of the kind of suspension we're running these bump stops it's very hard especially on a track like this it really wasn't safe for us to be there and the handling just disappeared and I didn't know to why because the DuPont Chevrolet was awesome.

I mean I don't know if anyone has any. Best for that 18th or 11th before he took the damage and probably 20th before it's all over but you know there's definitely a problem and it's probably not just us jeff gordon season starts with 24's little angst more cars single file up front and then three wide as they cut through the trioval we are fifth in. We haven't seen anything like this back since the start of the race, so we ran very hard again, but he will be very proud of his only teammate, Dale Earnhardt jr. in that 88 car he's right there in the middle of things you know I think we've had some tire issues and they load these right side tires so hard and then you take the gears Jeff him and I think it's which is why we're starting to see some suspension and chassis failure on some of these cars well Larry definitely everything is cooling off the speeds as you say are going to go up the tires have a lot more grip and the big love he's probably talking about with the suspension when they're talking about the a-frame area has to be in this area right here you see the a-frame this is the yellow part here on our chassis right here where this is fold is what connects it to the chassis here that it holds now in place what this means folks is that when you put the static camera in place withthese wedges, expect it to work up and down if this starts to sag which is probably what's happening all of a sudden the sag the gain is going to change you're going to use the right front tire comes off and you're going to have a stall situation Serious safety because these right front tires can't take that kind of abuse and as speeds pick up we may see some more of that.

Larry, thanks, Jeff, that's exactly what Steve Letarte and Jeff Gordon do. they're arguing right now you talked about business picking up on the last lap nine of the top 20 drivers just ran their fastest individual lap of this race Oh problems in turn four here we have a big one David Ragan hard against the wall in the triple a car we have about five or six cars that went down pit road and I don't know Matt Kenseth has some damage but that's unbelievable if we only have two cars with damage Reagan who finished fifth in his first 500 a year ago gets a hard hit and Roush Fenway teammate Matt Kenseth gets the brunt both cars were in the booth Kenseth coming back to pit road either his pit or garage area look at number six and 17 in the middle of his screen six just coming off the back and I think you have to be hopeful because he sure as hell wasn't expecting Matt to give him a little bit of slack but it's two team cars and I think Reagan was probably hoping Ma tt give him a little rest, Darrell almost did. who had no control over the car going up here looks like it's going to slide up there to a certain point trip but they want to come to showtime at the time of the money this is what happens with a hundred miles to go david reagan's car dirty the front of right away now that it will be open this time the field should be open Mark Martin and he will still get the free pass on the lead lap I think pit road will be a busy place with a lot of strategies because this really puts us where we can get to the end of the race in case we are not careful, which is very doubtful.

No I dont think so. so they'd be pretty optimistic at this point but here comes everyone but Dale Earnhardt jr. who actually stayed out steve oh mike kyle bush says his car is good said i dont need a lot of help for 18 its a little bumpy on the potholes but only four tires krista tony stewart coming for a two tire change i like the two tire strategy, we should do six laps on our tires and now we're full of interesting fuel, although Tony Eury jr. leaving Dale Earnhardt jr. in one such is trusting another culture well just look let the package roll off pit road here's our Dave Blaney Direct TV race picked up ten spots he tells me maybe just a little bit of fuel, just haven't said much about old Blaney he's kind of been resting I think 38 laps to go The Daytona 500 on Fox is sponsored by Toyota moving forward by Craftsman Craftsman tools are the official Craftsman tools of NASCAR at Cedars by viagra and by amp energy to focus the energy and control a pure self 37 laps to go Dale Earnhardt jr. didn't stop in this cautionary period he is leading the race when everyone else entered let's find out why he stayed out bet Dale Earnhardt jr. a lonely man the only one left out tony eury jr.

It was your decision why did you keep your man out? I mean, basically just because of track position. I think we can do it with fuel. These guys aren't done. I mean, I think I'd rather be up in track position. He looks big. I mean, I don't know if we have something for the 18th on the 20th, but we'll definitely try that now. This is the scenario they faced with 48 laps to go. under caution we're back to green with 45 to go we know he's well within the fuel window he only had six laps on his tires and remember every caution lap right now is cooling that set of tires and that's two cautions one lap to a green flag I think they can definitely make it from here.

You know, I would feel really safe if you and Jeff were sitting in my pit box and you made that call like I know Tony does with Brian there and Darian there helping him. I'll make that call they've got you covered yeah I think so but Derrick guys we've seen this move before remember I finally stretched him out during the Budweiser Shootout I've been one of those guys all week going the distance with his tires more than anyone, so if two guys are in sync, you'd have to believe that Tony Eury jr. and Dale Earnhardt Jr. they have a battle plan and they are where they want to be right now with basically 36 laps together plus they need to lead a lap with five points right now Kyle Busch is not coming out of the pits with Tony Stewart or Dave Blaney leading a lot because of all the different strategies driven just a lot of two tire stops and of course Dale Earnhardt jr. staying cool guys let's just sit back and see what happens wait what did i tell you?

They better get to the fair and tighten those belts for sure yeah one more time so Kyle Busch who has led the most laps today will restart 11th let's get it rolling. up on the third restart of the day Dale Earnhardt jr. Carries him out of turn four and back on the line with 33 laps to go, his favorite writing partner Tony Stewart tried to catch up but couldn't. Blaney clung to Earnhardt's back and now it's Kasey Kahne and Clint Boyer. week here in that car here and willing to give up who that who and the wellness qualifying race awaited in a dense crowd good save there ladies the number 22 has the best finish in Toyota history in series third at Talladega last fall we were excited about Kasey Kahne in that car nine he's getting a little help from Tony Stewart in the 20 you can see Juna got the blood on the back right away he got too much help tony stewart that man got sideways these cars have very very fast close rate they got so much more power than they had before you had to be very careful running after someone just the number 22 is trying to hold on and race leader Earnhardt all I know is that this race is 168 laughs so you heard steve byrnes talk about it in the main race over two hundred thousand people here they all stay in the race ok i don't have much So the nerves are left and they're starting to get on top they all lose now John Andretti is back in the race Jeff Gordon back in the race 11 laps down Matt Kenseth has come out of the garage five laps here they come after Earnhardt he there goes Kyle Busch in a 18 car in the middle with help from lap 12 wants to get behind he's coming to the front Larry no doubt he's checkers or records that's his deal and he's got a horse oh my god he's got a race car fast new lead Kasey Kahne about 1/100th of a second led that lab hundred that's enough yeah it's pretty wild those kind of people just see the kid outside that was a Power Move there are old baby moves and there are bold moves that was a bold move just put it where it has to man just give me a like i said if you see half a car half ho put the rest there to whoever has business picking up all over the place this looks like the start of the race but speaking from Bo loses look at Tony Stewart this car 20 got pushed back red pepper he'll lead Leo I hear thunder I hear nervous I think this is a storm coming guys I hear thunder It's not Garth Brooks either I know who the thunder is, but Stewart just left for the second time today Now the kitchen meant Kenseth in car 17 and then back to the race track for a ride with Dale Earnhardt jr. getting that Bush from Kasey Kahne to Budweiser car boy junior in Tony Stewart now they love Oh Tony go up the hill he dropped it daddy dropped him right under he got up from under him and sent him up the hill he will stop here I'll help you buddy.

I'm sorry. Be good guys, but your fence is a slower car. Kensic gets out of the way. I do not blame him. little fight in turn four but that's the great thing about this car in this engine package man you can pass he's got power you can shoot you can push they match up well you get a good push in the rear now this is what happened. to tony right here he gets right under the backhoe beeping just got it will shine bright up the hill but the cool thing about this car with that spoiler on the back my claire you know this we've been seeing this all week the car really didn't want to turn , he just moves around a lot, here's Dale Earnhard. t jr. the 88 car jumps back into the lead and the restrictor plate Pied Piper runs exactly in front of lead changes, but that's at the start/finish line not counting all the West Road around us.

Two and a half mile track bell. Reed Sorenson. I don't think there's Casey Kahne on the 9th side on the back straight. I just came out of the Darrell deck, but you can recover just fine. Oh, Elliott Sadler got into the side of Sam Hornish 77. Everyone straightened up, though this gives a whole new meaning to Bobbin and Weavin. With my hands alone, this is the kind of racing that over 175,000 came to see today. This is what we knew we would see. they're up front but the last straw is sitting in third 22 year old Kyle Busch let's take a breather Sunday to break the honey he's old enough to have experience maybe young enough to not knowing what can I have nothing to do with that car.

Who are they? They said goodbye to a guy. Jimmie Johnson spins. Martin Truex Johnson had been caught in the middle coming to the start and finish line. Coming out of turn two to bring out the fourth caution flag out of this state on a 500 which was exactly the storm I thought was going to hit us we got hit I can't see it it's behind the Hornish wall under Jimmy here let's see if Hornish will Pull up on it, you know Jimmy got loose I don't think Hornish had anything to do with it. Jimmy let go. Any handling of the 11.

Will have some damage. Alien Caution of the Day. horny around d va johnson and truex the pits are open five of the leaders stayed out everyone else is coming to pit road steve mike right sides just for kyle busch thats what crew chief steve addington said they have too done an air pressure adjustment to those Krista tires as As soon as the caution came out, Tony Stewart said, I've got to come to me. I have to get tires. I can't win like this. They are also going to tune up the car as well as putting on four tires for Kyle Busch to make his first mistake of the day when he ran over his pit stop he is not allowed to stop his car at the white line that marks the end of his pit box they had to push him back and that cost him some time he sees he lost a spot in pit lane I've been saying all afternoon the only way you're going to win that 18 card is he has to beat himself and that was a little mistake right there, locked her up. working on the car so far until it gets back into its own pit box are the cars involved in the crash all are good and we'll be back to the Daytona 500 on Fox after this here is the group of cars getting ready to stop the cars in the outside lane looked like they were going to follow the pace car he turns around and doesn't come down pit road in this last round of stops and all of a sudden he yells, there goes Stewart, there goes Kyle Busch jr. he stays out like he intends to personally I think if you said last time it's good to stay out it's got to be good to stay out this time well this is what they have 16 laps in their tires and you know when you have breakfast and you look at your bacon then you talk about how that pig committed to that breakfast now they're committed to going all the way Jeff Hammond hey I ain't going with those guys he knows he needs Tony Stewart tires right? now this Snooker tells me that he will take advantage of it, in the end it will cost Dale Earnhardt jr the free flag.

Clint Bowyer Ryan Newman Jeff Burton and Greg Biffle and Juan Pablo Montoya, who play in town, are the six cars that were left out, so he has five cars behind him, but we have 20 laps to go, which, like jeff says it's a lot of running here and i was told if everyone does what i think they're going to do they'll all line up and play well to get the big foot here. We have a lot of good cars behind us. that's not racing we're getting to the bottom twenty laps to go they don't want these Toyotas back there to take the lead Clint Boyer takes his Richard Childress Chevrolet up front Newman followed a bokken Burton Biffle Montoya and the number nine, the red car, that's the first car on new tires, that's Kasey Kahne.

Now all of those cars, like the warrior Newman Burton and Biffle, pitted at the last caution, so even though they fell out of this flag, they still have fresher tires than Dale Earnhardt jr. . in '88 that bad plan or mistake a lot of radio traffic under that precaution Mike juniors has been complaining about radio problems they were coming and going between theObserver and Tony Eury Jr. Dale junior and they went through the commitment cone and when everyone stopped talking junior said ok they're in the pits and Tony Junior said he was going to tell you to pit but everyone was blabbering.

The bad thing is three guys were so on top of that pit box even though they're all smart guys but even with the problem in the pits comes Kyle Busch in that 18 car he's already back in eighth pushing Dale Earnhardt Jr. . in '88, oh my god hey the team rolls to the finish, did you see what bush did? He comes out from behind Kasey Khane. he's on a mission man I'd stay out of his way if it were me it's the 18 on the inside Eminem's car is right behind Montoya just wait he'll be the one jumping a line here when you get to the corner net warrior 7 is coming out of that mirror right now teammate jeff burton is coming in the 31 on the high side boy i tell you montoya better look now the first car on new tires is kyle busch in the 18 3 wide look at that i love it this great shooting tact from Stewart Oh the round goes there goes well this time you want to pit Larry I think we're not a committee anymore and that's a great story we'll get to it in a sec check out the O 7 of Clint Boyer battling teammate Jeff Burton for the lead and hi Newman on the outside Montoya dives on the inside there I'll tell you Montoya had to go even though he had Kurt Busch on the rear bumper I'm telling you when I saw what he was going on there and something you had to give you told the whole story of the pork hen johnson the bacon it's tasty winner of the Daytona 500 early in NASCAR history bill France big bill wada jr to run the entire series four points for be the national champion or at least happy with it jr.

He just wanted to run something big from the big get races, Jr. said. you have to run this whole series are you engaged jr. Johnson said that when you sit down for a bacon and eggs breakfast, the chicken is dedicated, but the pig is committed to a tough break for Clint Boyer as he crashes into the bumper of a former Formula One ace, Juan Pablo Montoya, well We can't have much. lucky here at the end of the Daytona 500 last year he was sliding around here like this except he rolled over. Just kudos again to that spoiler on the back of that car that kept that thing from running wild.

I was wondering about that thing. the lawyer continues, he is fine, our Home Depot asked the pros page on foxsports.com. It is a unique interactive experience. NASCAR fans can ask him questions related to Darrell Larry Mac or Jeff NASCAR for instant answers, just go to foxsports.com. slash ask the pros now last time Bob pit road was still closed I know he saw Clint Boyer come to pit road to get those four tires I'm sure he had some flat tires and the penalty for that has started to go down end of longest line check out a Yellow pit road will be open this is what they are racing for Harley Earl was the head stylist for General Motors during the 1950s and 1960s one of his dream cars was the Firebird he presented a model of the Firebird to his good friend Bill. friends and that became the Daytona 500 trophy the permanent trophy is on display here with the names of all the 49 year old winners and this year their winner will take home that golden trophy behind it is the permanent trophy iconic of detroit horsepower era and the winner of the great american race a couple of quick warnings pretty much change everything ryan newman now fronting the daytona 500 behind the pace car corvette kyle busch has been the best car all day and into the night here at Daytona Tony Stewart has been fast with him, other drivers have had their shot at the front, Darrell, how do you beat Bush?

Well, first of all, there are some players here that we haven't talked about much all afternoon and that's nice. how this race goes how you beat him good he got stuck here in traffic and i thought ok maybe he can't get through but you're not going to stop this kid he's on a mission he's going to end up in victory lane or he's going to end up hooked on one of the other larry jr. puts tires on this caution flag Kenny comes back to the front there's a lot of cars on the lead lap for 30 cars and there's not a long way to go and I don't think we're done with the cautions but what I see is that there are so many guys up there who never won the Daytona 500 and I think it's going to be big here Chris and Jeff we're going to get to the point 81 races since Ryan Newman won his last race know the Daytona 500 last time when Dale Earnhardt you're one that finished right behind him in 2004 was Tony Stewart but the youngsters went 62 races without a win we have 15 laps left you think we'll see more warnings well I think we'll see more costumes because right now everybody realizes that this is the only chance you're going to have to win the Daytona 500, especially the 50th race, so I think at this point you better say it.

Now if you're thinking of going to the grocery store and me going to the fridge don't because it's going to get wild and it's definitely going to be confusing and everyone's going to try to block that car 18 and in the process try to keep it in the back You're gonna trigger something Dale Jr. may end up in the best position yet Chris because he didn't know he had the option to sleep was pit stop because the guys in the front are definitely running on top of each other it's been so exciting lately our gopher camera has gone underground we hope to resurface here just a quick recap kurt busch who led the most laps last year his brother kyle led the most in this race gets pushed onto the grass actually led a few laps earlier in this race jeff gordon three time winner suspension issues and out of this race with about 55 laps to go frustration for Jeff Gordon and this is what's going on with his teammates right now David Ragan in the sixth car gets loose at turn four he goes up it's just the car Matt Kenseth's 17 puts these two guys here behind the wall, a couple of Roush Fenway Fords are out of the picture and Jeff Gord's teammates On and Dale Earnhardt Jr. like Jimmie Johnson the back-to-back champ got into trouble and then a few moments ago which boyer hovered over you with a little push and slid to bring up the most recent caution but again Kyle Busch led 86 laps in the last three races he was in. led the most laps he couldn't make up in the last four Daytona 500s the driver who led the most laps couldn't win the race and right now you're looking at a guy who's definitely hungry and Ryan Newman and a man who knows how to win big and Juan Pablo Montoya there's the death of the Gophers let's go back to Darryl Larry and Mike one of the best things about this course the fans can hear the drivers and the spotters and the crew chiefs during the race there is no stealing cues here you can let everyone in on let's say Tony Stewart strategy hey Tony yeah but can you roll the bottom when we get a big jerk?

Can you change lanes to the corner? I can't do what you can't but I can run the bottom good if just trying to compensate or figure out what you know if we have a good run up the back they protect the bottom if I can change lanes coming in and you You go I can run the top but I mean I'm better on the bottom I think you know I just can't there's no way in hell I can change lanes as fast as you can right now there for you for your tight that wasn't just Tony Stewart so good Tony on the common channel talking to Kyle Busch, yeah they're talking about strategy and that's great.

I like that, but look at these names at the top of the board Ryan Newman Montoya Jeff Burton Greg guys after they've been up there all night and here they are. The driving restart green flag is in the air with 14 laps to go, but they only have two drivers in the top 25 who have won the Daytona 500 Kevin Harvick and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Ryan Newman the Purdue University engineering grad who came out of his sacks silver crown bakers amused by the grace of Nazareth Pennsylvania hand mate Roger Penske got into an argument and Baker became Newman's tutor on how to race on these super racing tracks and this is just a semblance. at which point Burton comes up the outside in the kids car he crashes this is setting up like it did last year Larry where you've got all these cars racing for the win and I have a feeling it's going to get pretty hairy here in turn four earlier.

It was over and eighteen-year-old Kyle Busch thought for a moment about going to the middle, but he dove to the outside right in front of his teammate, Tony Stewart, twelve to go this time, well Larry, we heard you talk, want to help each other, try to take advantage. from my teammate here but Tony already said I can't go where you can go Ryan Newman just can't make that car wild enough in the twelve Jeff Burton in the thirty-one is going to take the lead d through turn two kyle busch bottom right prop watch biffle stewardess with teammates ganging up as we go down to ten to go for good pain watch hitler huh jr. in that 88 car i mean it looks like a traffic jam omo Blaney's up the hill plane is in trouble and on the wall of Mark Martin took Martin with him caution golly boss Dave Blaney who has the best Toyota result in the race of Daggum Woods Sprint Cup with a narrow spot climbed the fence and was given a speck by last year's runner-up Mark Martin now per the restart rule.

They no longer stopped on pit road. They no longer run at all when the yellow field has a timestamp and restart order. it is determined not by the next, but by the last scoring loop that each pair crosses before the caution was issued. here plan D gets touched a bit because Montoya sends him up the hill right into Mark Martin there's car 11 he got into in 15 laps oh well 1/2 turn we're very lucky again we didn't have any more cars involved. on that one that's for sure and folks you've seen these cars all week long that wing these cars will get a little sideways that wing will push you back in line mom Tony was in the middle really backing off actually got a book from Kevin Harvick in the 29th and that has brought him to the race track that's what we're riding well it was Harvick not Montoya laney in jeopardy Denny Hamlin got a piece of that just because of a common table reaction behind queen here's the pothole of 29 Harvick goes up the hill and runs into Mark Martin just shot Blaney in the corner so hard he couldn't keep it in the bottom loosened it up a little bit up the Hill, he gained right on the other side, you know, from there, yes, he crossed the nose of Montoya Travis Kvapil and for the second time JJ Yeley dodges one stays out of harm's way.

This will put David Gilliland back on the lead lap. It was the first car in a lap down. He gets the free pass and I have to use our favorite expression. upstairs you have a million and a half dollars for the winter wallet of 18 million dollars something has to give you oh my gosh I suddenly realize that some guy who was actually driving a Ford product less than a month ago did the trade to dodge Robby Gordon in car 7 basically worked his way up to the top 10 if there's guys up there I've been there all night but here they are now when counts patrick karpati missed the race so sputtering sponsorship transferred to Robby Gordon for tonight's aerial coverage is brought to you by Goodyear, the Official Tire of NASCAR helping NASCAR drivers get to the finish line for more than 50 years, there's the camera dash of Goodyear's blimp and we'll have some drivers coming down pit road, people with damage, Yalie Menard. on pit road Denny Hamlin was also involved bon Toya and now Blaney sneaks into the garage area with no brakes his car pretty well wrecked Martin Martin also in another car that made it to pit road continuing to fight that race car that we've talked about I asked about him he sat on pole Jimmie Johnson in the 48 car here with 10 laps to go he was back on pit road and there's something wrong with all these people's seats.

I don't know what's going on, but it's not them. Don't you know they're standing up There must be something wrong. We talk a lot about parity in NASCAR. Darrell, a Chevrolet leads, a Ford is second, a Dodge is third and Kyle Busch's Toyota is currently fourth. Steve and Mike listen in as a precaution. he came out he's contemplating when to do his race he says i'm afraid if i go now the 20's are going to catch me basically what they've decided to do is go as fast as they can as hard as they can and try to keep everybody in line because they know they have a great racing car career.

HeOwner of last fall's team, Rick Hendrick, told Kyle Busch that he would not return with this team. They opened up a spot basically for Dale Earnhardt jr. He was picked up by Joe Gibbs Racing JD Gibbs runs that team he is a great motivator a great motivational speaker like his father Super Bowl winning coach Joe Gibbs all three give drivers Kyle Busch Denny Hamlin Tony Stewart all have somewhat mercurial personalities out of I sat down with all three of them this week and they said their goal this season is to refute all the people who have said Gibbs' team is going to implode they say it's not going to happen we all have the same personality we all want to win we're all together on this you know what reminds me of eight years ago not sure if mike joy darrell waltrip larry mcreynolds works like we have here in the booth this also reminds me of this we come back bring that tape with you in july with you there see how things go this is the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and let's take a look at tonight's monster mobile Sprint moment racing changed in an instant with NASCAR Spr int Cup Mobile, you can follow the race instantly and see how fast the race has changed and the lead has changed as Newman couldn't hold off Jeff Burton for the lead Greg Biffle Kyle Busch Tony Stewart hot on their heels this race certainly it can change in an instant with nine laps to go hey Larry, you know something that's interesting to me.

We talked about the chassis dyno they did after the 150. The Childress cars dropped 30 horsepower from the Toyotas. Now that it was after Thursday's race at Brecon, they were saving something for today and that's been nice. from the norm back to last year Kevin Harvick hung all the Childress cars where some of the slowest cars here in qualifying but the best race car for Kevin Harvick went to Victory Lane I like what I see here sorry , that's Kent I like that one, that's Kent Burton, she's her husband's biggest cheerleader, she's always on top of the pit box and she's always emotionally tied up as this race comes to a close and her husband is in scorn.

There isn't a more intense individual pit road than Kimber what Circle was going to do was the pace car and show them the lights are off at the top of the pace car which means when they go around they get the flag green or eight laps to go and who can win we have 33 cars in the lead lap Burton Chevy biffle's Ford Newman's dodge bushes Toyota then Casey Mears Tony Stewart Kurt Busch Dale Earnhardt jr. Kasey Kahne and Reed Sorenson are in the top ten and won't have to deal with cars back. This is what we call a bloody finger reset. laps 20 miles to decide the Daytona 500, yeah, start playing some serious, pure defensive guys up front, they're going to go after you and Jeff Burton, the man in the front, Richard Peddie, has often said that the best thing you can do is put yourself in a position to win circumstances dictate the outcome here let's be good restart at st. earl bush is relaxed there a little bit guys watching out of turn two here now im going to have a big run around the back ares cons he comes casey mears not close enough to push bush much but they got it pretty good with that starch there pretty good job by Burton County messed it up just a little bit Casey Mears has Tony Stewart with him and Tony got a big push if you can believe this from Kurt Busch in car 2 going through one and two and a big race to the back right away and we've been talking about Kurt Busch so he said I had a bad week he got bit by the snake here he's in seventh and he has a chance to win this in a rear view mirror full of Dale Earnhardt jr.

Seven to go Roger Penske has won 14,500 Indianapolis, never the Daytona 500, but he has two cars in the top 10 right now, he's beaten Kurt Busch and Riley this season. he fought. the guy enters turn one, runs, down, down first to a second turn, takes the lead and Mike, you've been saying it all week, the Pete Hamilton, possibly of this race, how about that Casey Mears over there Up in that five car? It's about the only shot Hendrick has with the exception of Dale Earnhardt jr. in '88, yeah, don't count it right, Stewart on the high side, he's looking for that orange car up there, he gets to that orange car, look, that's his friend Tony, Dewey jr. and stewart now nose to tail let's fish for enough pot here come jeff burton what he can do is guard the bottom of the race track oh work hard wall is the five car casey mears took a little bump coming in in one on the wall caution come for the third time in ten laps caution waves and we had two cautions in the first one hundred and sixty laps now we've had five in the last 25 laps right sides down on the young driver from Bakersfield California whose uncle Rick won the Indy 500 four times whose father Roger raced Indian was a huge off-road star that's a shame let's see what happens here I know the 88 in 220 we're going fast here it's from the Goodyear blimp there's a 20 up on the outside of the car orange and has Dale jr.

Right behind him they run into the start/finish line, hit him here for one and this is where our troubles begin. Casey tried to move to block Tony Gotti and it's almost like Kasey is looking at the 18 car. The 18 car started doing that. move in case he says hey I'm going with him one of the things guys are saying about this new car is that it's hard to lock because the lock rate is so fast Ramirez had plenty of time to get there but they were sold out, it's hard fast, he waited too long, he should have jumped there when he knew they were coming, he should have jumped now, that's not to say it's okay to mangle, but he should have moved faster and that way it wouldn't be a jeff burton trick. camera on board and now from Dale jr.

Francophonie you go low low one in one in keep digging keep digging Tony Stewart absolutely nothing wrong it's just over in the blink of an eye that's how fast you can go from chance to win to taking down the wall and in the garage there's no free pass 'cause we are ten laps to go and we will have a restart with a couple of laps to go this race is scheduled for 200 laps if we are under caution then we will go into overdrive a white green checkered flag will end unless the caution comes out, in which case the race is over and what mike is talking about overdrive is that over time we will be doing extra laps a white green token no matter where we are the last three Daytona 500s have been decided with a green and white checkered finish I think this it's an exciting tune up next week when NASCAR goes dreaming California on Friday it's all about speed Spri Cup practice nt wraps up front qualifying and Sprint Cup qualifying on Saturday the Craftsman Truck Series is on Fox and there will be more Sprint Cup practice next Sunday.

NASCAR race day at the speed and Victory Lane Auto Club 500 news driven right here on Fox. Got a chance to do the truck race next week with Rick Allen Phil Parsons looking forward to that. should be a lot of fun or they had a ferocious crash here to open their season PJ Jones going off well but a couple of bad accidents in that, yeah, another thrilling ending - you saw our starter, the flag bearer, with Donna holding a finger down, that's what we. talked about restarting finger down there's the owner of that 31 car Richard Childress he's been to Victory Lane twice in the Daytona 500 but Dale Earnhardt senior 10 years ago Kevin Harvick Darrell the misfortune of all in this case, Casey Mears is someone's good fortune. rest for jeff burton or is he now a pushover on this restart the closer the 18 18 on the rear bumper is to him now and his teammate 20 right there with him plus a writing partner in dale jr.

I'd say he's an easy target. Bush's crew chief, Steve Addington, is looking for his first win as a Sprint Cup crew chief. Kyle Busch has led 86 of the 196 laps today, more than twice as many as any other driver. This is Jeff Burton's 15th Daytona 500. he was runner-up in 2000 and finished third last year trying to win it for the first time. Can you imagine the excitement of any of these drivers taking victory in the 50th race of the Daytona 500, is that one we will never forget? and how about the second place toyota a foreign make has only won once in the entire history of what is now the sprint cup series now it's back at nineteen back home ready hey DW no one sitting here checking on you things shake him this is what i think is going to happen 31 takes off 18 goes inside he thinks his teammate Tony Stewart is going to come with him Tony fakes and goes outside brings the 12 and 88 goes to the lead and then we're we're going to have ourselves Donnybrook a Until the end you know I could say you were right Jeff except I like the way Tony Stewart was talking to Kurt there or to Kyle a minute ago when they were very calm and had a plan and I think they'll stick to it yeah I want to see that plan at the end every man for himself Tony Stewart Denny Hamlin Kyle Busch told me earlier this week they'll work together until there's one lap to go Corey Stewart trying to time the start there Kyle pushed to all those Forks with that line out of bounds, that yellow line is out of bounds, we'll see what happens here, Jeff Burton is in the middle with no help and Dale jr. connects with the man who has been fastest here all day Kyle Busch Stewart got hurt got help from Ryan Newman and what about Kurt Busch that two cars?

Roger Penske never had a one-two in a Sprint Cup race and never wanted Daytona in the desert I guess we're clean in 18 I was a little worried about that pass he tried to make right it gave him back all those positions Darrell all he could have cattle has been backed out and returned so now it's good for these two laps to go and then what about these suspects at the front of the field right here? No surprise to Tony Stewart but watch ride them and Kurt Busch and how about Reed Sorenson in the 41 car two laps to go but it ain't over so come on oh yo yeah don't write a check yet this is Tony Stewart's 10th Daytona 500 and already people are lining up to say: are you ever going to win?

Say tonight will be the night. What is going to be interesting? What is Highline? Remember here go Kevin Harvick on the high side w Look at that guy from the High Line no one wants to go with 18 right here they would be working against him too but if he can ever get there watch out for that little push from Newman and the Next cover, Kyle Busch to Stewart boom dodges two. Toyota's downwind, strap on this big TV, she's going for a ride, here we go, white flag, bail, turn one to go, Stewart's got the job, Stuart's got a great car, there's no mistaking That's just a killer market if Kurt can get a little help. and i'm jumping to the high side tony stewart blocks 'i'm here comes kyle busch on the bottom oh toyota drag race out the back toyota drag race teammates newman was trying to get help from the other blue dodge now he's got it toyota in the inside lane dodge in outside lane who's going to win is going to go as far as here going to turn three teammates working together 20 18 to 12 12 going to win this race i don't think they can catch you back in line for Penske 5 00 road way to go God way to go Roger better be first restrictor-plate winning first to finish and he did it with style man one two hey Newman gotta give you man give me credit for that's the 125th try for Penske Racing sad but Great job winning a restrictor plate race, they've done it, you know how, you know what I really like and that tells me how good this race car is. they tried but didn't crash this pool haven't been to Victory Lane since 2005 away from Bobby Labonte as she shed tears of joy over it and his wife Chrissy man I love it oh my god and you know who I'm happy they put Lord Macaulay here with Ryan Newman, the guy was Kurt Busch's crew chief last year, his wife Amy cooks sick with cancer, she's absent here, she's got the winning total deck 500 now, man, it's going to be tough if I can.

Heard today that he's a sweet guy from the final reboot, what the hell is inside hello? s car had mr. Average smoky boardroom I've seen exhaustion I said I've never seen one like this last year Daytona 500 winner was sixth with half a lap to go here's the restart Newman is ahead without editorial help Kurt Busch his two cars behind him the Toyotas go this way and Kyle Busch has to drop back to avoid taking a yellow line penalty that puts him out of play so now it's Stewart's Toyota trying to stop the two dodgy and Junior fell to go with what happened in her with Colony he could go because he had to back up so Kurt Busch crashes into teammate Ryan Newman's bumper andhere they come.

This is the movement. I was surprised. I thought those two Toyotas would be on. I did not think. he would outrun them, but those guys flew right. They had to get away, turn to the air hit and help Reed. The sword looks a bit like Reed in the top five for him. Larry, what did we say about the dodgers all week? they had a good race car well i want you to look at the top Deena six from the top a first second five six seven and eight Dale Earnhardt jr. he finished 9th and Jeff Burton was kicked out to 13th for Roger Penske Walt Czarnecki Don Miller and all the folks at Penske Racing South Elio Castroneves his IndyCar racing teammate the suite next door this is a great night you will have to deal with dancing Newman now the number 12 Penske is the fourth Dodge to visit Victory Lane in the Daytona 500 and Dick Berggren is there to greet the 32nd different winner of the great American race, it's been over two years since you've been in Victory Lane and here you are in victory lane of the biggest race of the year, how did you do with Kurt Busch and Penske Racing?

I mean, without Kurt there was no way. Gotta thank you he couldn't get to three wide and there was the best teammate ever there and thank you our Auto Dodge was awesome we need to think about the rolling code Got all the sponsors seated before I forget , but this is a great effort that my dad is looking for me, my grandfather up, you know there are so many great people here my grandmother is here today these guys on the team deserve it for sure and Roger Penske the organization where they are celebrating the customs of the backyard you know you've had several minutes since the checkered flag dropped to think things over what has gone through your mind in those several minutes what is daddy daddy tears chrissy i was crying for a moment yeah that's amazing my wife chrissy my dad is here and all the great people i mean we are family and getting this hotel dajin victory lane was amazing and look again leave it without kurt busch tony blocked me with strength luckily he thought he had Kyle to help him push him and Kurt pushed me man we just stuck together and it was just amazing congrats what a race to win let's go to Krista. voda Tony Stewart had a great car, it was a great finish, but I have to believe that the disappointment of being so close trumps everything else at the moment, that's right, that's probably a pretty good grip, feels Kri sta I mean, I don't think many people are going to take the white flag and finish third, but proud of their guys.

I mean, we just tried to win a Daytona 500, so that's all I can say. the second duel in the Nationwide race and then a dramatic finish this was amazing you know we kept our heads down we had a car that was capable of making the top ten but it was going to be hard to break through and win and at least we finished second and pushed my teammate to a win I was excited to cross the start/finish line in a Penske one - to see Newman break his drought and get to Victory Lane I'm excited about that I'm excited about the small part of helping he won and for us to finish second, don't worry, they know we didn't have a car.

I didn't think about winning so the Alltel team did great, our Miller Lite Dodge team did great to come back from 43rd a couple of times and this was a great Daytona 500 for Penske Racing now when it backs it up a bit later at night and you see him back in your motorhome i work at home and you see the final lap and a half can you give us your perspective and what it was like in the cockpit watching the whole chess game unfold you know i had all nine behind us to 41 Behind us the elusives were up the 19th was there too and if Newman stayed down to go with the 20 I think the elusive Miller Lite could have won that race if he dropped back which he did he was going to pass his rear.

Bumper and push him into the wind Unbelievable at the end You fight for 490 miles to position yourself and we had four new tires We had track position and had a big heart today and it was emotional to cross to the start/finish line to push towards him and I felt very well a one-two for captain Roger Penske what a way to start 2008 well Kyle you had a fabulous race car talk about what happened at the last restart those guys like to come back and you know that's not normally allowed so I don't know what's the protocol on t that stuff but i tried to get back there a little bit more to get back to them and they just had a steam head and i went down to go around 31 and luckily i didn't get busted for going down. the yellow line so I had power there and cut my foot, you know, Casey came with me there and helped me out and powered us up to fourth place that we got, you know, and there on the last lap Stewart had a chance to go high to block the 12 and 2, but they had such a great run.

I think he knew it wasn't going to be a waste of time, but you know you're staying down there with us trying to get us to do it. we got together to push up there but you know I didn't have a big enough help from behind with Casey to get to the work complex and one driver that's here mostly all smiles is Reed Sorenson you had a really great car all week of the speed to finish fifth in the daytona 500 the 50th race how it feels feels pretty good not quite a win but it feels pretty close everyone on the target team including the guys in the shop has done a great work preparing these new cars and it's been good the last few weeks we ran good in the shootout good in the duels and they ran good tonight and our strategy was to take it easy at the beginning and keep going at the end and that's what we did and luckily we got a few pushes from some of the Dodge guys who helped us out and I'm really proud of everyone on the team and definitely excited and hopefully May this have gained momentum to continue the rest of the season.

He started fifth, finished fifth and made quite a statement for 2008. Ryan Newman's father, Greg, has helped him throughout his career. from the start daddy has been there just was a goal all the time yes he was for all the needs what does this mean to you? what he said he was going to be a race car driver II when he was eight and a half years old has now become the race car driver he said he wanted to I know you did a good job with him and Krissie Newman, the wife. You've been on top of the war chariot through all these races and now here you are in victory lane at the Daytona 500.

What are your emotions? I am very proud of Ryan and this team. They really worked hard and I'm excited for these guys. There have been many tears. Tears of joy in this pit. Motorsports in general, good speed weeks talk tonight, yeah obviously we didn't have enough car there most today, but we did get a lot of racing. I'm very proud of my team, very proud of the effort we put in this week and I have to thank them because it's been great for me I've really enjoyed this and the team deserves a lot of credit the engine guys the manufacturers we had a bit of difficulty today just trying to get better and better but we did pretty good near the end of the race i made a lot of bad decisions and where to take my runs and what to do with them no one really wanted to help anyone and neither did i you know you have runs you go, so it's just congratulations to Ryan and Penske Ryan is a tough racer who surely deserves what his friend has tonight and we're pretty proud that we're going to build on this it's a great finish for us to start the season and I think we're off have a lot of fun this year let's see California next week yes sir as a team owner Roger Penske won the Indianapolis 500 14 times he he had never won the Daytona 500, what does he do?

She put on a Hendrick cap. I spoke to record it, have you been in the winner's circle so many times? If we win, will you give me your head? He was the first down here so I thanked him and what a great day for our teams and to see the Dodge hotel. Come by and Newman, we've been working here for many years and certainly Kirk, the teamwork was just amazing, but it's a great day in our life for our entire team, congratulations, Roger saw Sam Hornish in this shot. new teammates what a great team effort we've been saying all week at Daytona that this year more than any other year teamwork would be the key and at the end of the day we said you know the fastest car doesn't always win Daytona 500 and here we are good and it turned out I mean you look at Ryan and Kurt and then you look at Abraham's cars that were, I don't know, gathered together, the three of them are together and then that's what happened to Dale jr.

He lost his companions. You know Jimmy had problems. Jeff had problems and suddenly he was left alone and Tony worked with his teammate. your teammate Larry, great race where many of you know twists and turns to get over 500 miles, very clean race for the first half and then as Darrell likes to say, warnings, warnings and that's the way it always works. if it was going to be 500 miles, you wouldn't win this race in the first three or 400 miles, but when it came to the end you knew we wanted to see exactly what we saw. You talked about Sam Hornish.

Great run for him. finished 15th and just his second start in Sprint Cup and I'm going to call Robby Gordon made that manufacturer change about three weeks ago and Robby is coming in as a pair and because of what we saw with this car I can't wait to get the Fontana now and another guy to ask what it's like to win the Daytona 500 a new member of the paternity car will be in California in a week but first we have some more information on Daytona International Speedway and the 50th race of the Daytona 500 that is going to Ryan Newman of Indiana foxsports welcomes back to the Daytona 500 the 50th race and a tender moment the father of Ryan Newman the winner here Greg Norman who started his own auto business back in 1980 and was successful enough to keep the family and his son and the races and an emotional moment as he said his son made the same promise that he told him at the age of 8 that he would be a top level racer and won the Daytona 500 with Jeff Hammond Chris Myers as we watch the unofficial final results and maybe Kurt Busch got the last laugh helping dodge teammate shoves passed Tony Stewart at Victory Lane oh definitely we saw a lot of muscle right there right now for those elusive right there at the end of that race but we also saw what teammates mean to each other and you know their Penske you know doing what they had to do together with Gibbs you know Tony had a chance if he could help a little more again everyone the elusive ones were there you have to believe everyone working together that was the difference of them finishing and winning this race and such a historic Daytona 500 is a long shot of 30 to one if you're looking at the odds in Las Vegas and that's something that We know Jeff as much as we love discovering the power of Hendrick Motorsports with Dale Earnhardt jr.

Tony Stewart Joe Gibbs Toyota in the end it was Dodges who at least going into this race not a lot of people said they would be in the lead pack they hadn't shown much strength through all the testing I mean basically they had been behind and Here at the end I want say they started off slow but sure, you know, sneaking up on us Reed Sorenson was a factor in the Budweiser Shootout I mean everyone's been like gamers but a very quiet player so when you look at the grand scheme of things you say ok god, how did it work?

Can they bring down Toyota? How can you top Hendrick? Well I think they pretty much showed you how you do it, you do teamwork, you keep working on your race car and you. I have to have someone who loves him enough to go up there when necessary and put him on the line and that's what Ryan and basically his teammate Kurt Busch did. old man from South Bend Indiana with the help of his crew chief WH or he was waiting with our dick Berggren doing it and that crew chief is Roy McAuley how much of a team effort this win was well it was really a team effort with you you know you both helped to the Alltel Dodge Ryan Newman the 12th team overall you I know I can't say enough about Penske Racing as a whole.

I didn't want to say a couple of things, though you know, dick. I have known here for a few years and have always said when I have the big one. I'm going to take your hat off, but first I want to say a couple things, I just want to say a little, my wife at home could have done this without her, the team could have done this without her, my mom, my dad and Ryan Newman, thank you. thank you so much now asshole I'm going to take your hat congratulations Ryan McCauley I'll take yours thank you asshole and congratulations to Roy 42 leadership changes 16 different leaders and from the start Kurt Busch must have heard him talk about being pushedto the rear of the pack that pushed him into the grass had to fight his way back to the front Jeff Ward who came back to finish the race, suspension issues took him out of the race with about 55 laps to go and then Roush Fenway Ford it's gathering yeah those teammates there david ragan's car six gets loose he slides differently picks up matt kenseth's car 17. again it's not good sometimes when teammates get together like that jimmie Johnson involved here the former winner of back-to-back Daytona 500 championships again finishing on the lead lap what Boyer, who last year ended up upside down on fire spinning in a $5 sweep over the last 50 laps and a crash here too Casey Mears causing a warning yeah right there you see last year's winner Kevin Harvick get on the back of Dave Blaney basically do a reaction on every ena, many boys get into one. another the 22 car Dave Blaney didn't finish here here's one of the wildest races here all night long all five cars Casey Mears tries to stop in front of Tony Stewart's 20 car Tony gets into the back ham stalks from the outside wall ends his night and ends the longest streak of his career 81 races without a win you see the help of Kurt Busch a couple of elusive blues and Ryan Newman in the 12 car with his father Greg spying on his grandparents here pulling into Victory Lane for his first Daytona 500 and the celebration continues let's go back up and Mike joy thanks Chris Brian Newman and the team in victory lane in what is a bittersweet 50th Daytona 500 for the sporting family that ruled France last year Lisa France Husband Kennedy, Bruce, lost in a plane crash and last June Bill France Junior, who succeeded his father, the tall man.

Bill senior as director of NASCAR passed away while we were broadcasting a race at Dover, but Bill Senior's dream of a great super track was designed to be here for generations and this and this. sport endures in the world of auto racing teamwork is the key to success and the same is true off the track which is why Fox Sports is proud to partner with Autism Speaks to make a difference in life of children with autism autism is a complex brain disorder that now affects 1 in 150 children, but with your help we can change the future for all those battling this heartbreaking disorder.

Visit autismspeaks.org for more information on autism. with your help we can help Foxsports establish a long-term charitable initiative dedicated to raising awareness, financial assistance and volunteerism for select health-related charities and for more information on autism how you can help visit Autism Speaks org on our antenna coverage throughout the 50th race of the Daytona 500 presented by Goodyear the official tire of NASCAR helping NASCAR drivers get to the finish line for over 50 years 9th time we achieved a finish in the Daytona 500 settled by a last lap pass and Ryan Newman etching his name into history, he's definitely done it right there, he gets the chance to put his footprints and his signature on concrete for the El Paseo de Fame, but probably most importantly, the record books, the history that was made here tonight, can never be replaced or duplicated because There will only be one 50th eighth race in the 500 and next week we have two Californias at California Speedway. available and I think this gives us a sign Jeff all the anticipation of the sprint weeks and going into this race we don't really know what to expect for sure I know but I'm telling you this right now so we talked about the momentum and you better watch this team of 12 going to that race track next week it's going to be a great season NASCAR on Fox when we got a chance to remember names like penny Yarborough and Allison we moved forward with names like Gordon Earnhardt and Stewart as final was Ryan Newman at Victory Lane in the 50th race of the Daytona 500 Promotional considerations provided by a child