Photo Gallery: Behind The Scenes

Three cars already scheduled to start fairly deep in the field were dropped to the back during the pace lap.

Joe Nemecheck missed driver introductions, sending his No. 78 Chevy back. Dario Franchitti’s No. 40 Dodge and Jamie McMurray’s No. 26 Ford are backup cars.

The cars are on the track and the green flag is about to drop.

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Bucs wide receiver Joey Galloway was among the luminaries in the jam-packed drivers’ meeting earlier this afternoon. Here he’s pictured moments after the meeting let out, hanging around the end of the garage area. We asked him to give us a flex (this blog stuff will turn you into the paparazzi if you’re not careful), but he politely declined and smiled big, instead. Apparently, he’s a race fan.

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Team owner Chip Ganassi invited about two dozen media members to breakfast with him and driver Juan Pablo Montoya on Saturday and morning, and as you would expect, one of the first questions that came up was about the latest round of reunifcation/merger/takeover talks taking place between the Indy Racing Legaue and Champ Car.

Ganassi wouldn’t too much - he explained that he didn’t want to take attention away from the Daytona 500 - but he made it clear he’s hopeful a deal will finally get done.

“I don’t think there are five people on the planet that don’t want it to happen, so let’s hope it happens,” Ganassi said.

Ganassi, though one of the most prominent team owners in the IRL, said he has not been consulted to any great degree on what steps the IRL might take to create one story. It has been reported that if a deal is struck, IRL Tony George would see to it that every team from Champ Car wanting to race in the IRL would receive $1.2 million, one car and one engine for the 2008 season.

“The only consultation was I had a phone call one day, and they said if we get this thing back together, we might need a car,” Ganassi said, offering no other details. “I said no problem.”

Asked how long he thinks it would take for a single, stronger open-wheel series to start gaining some momentum, Ganassi wouldn’t speculate.

“Well certainly, if we were to get back together, that’s’ only when the work would begin,” he said. “It’s probably like the ‘94 baseball strike: The work really beganonce you get the problems behind you. It would be nice to get all the issues in one place and all the rulesmakers in one place and the promoters in one place and get everybody at one table instead of two. It would certainly end a lot of confusion in the marketplace.”

Ganassi has three cars in Sunday’s Daytona 500 - the No. 40 of Dario Franchitti, the 41 of Reed Sorenson and the No. 42 of Montoya. Sorenson’s car has been one of the strongest Dodges this week.

In April, Ganassi’s two IRL drivers - Dan Wheldon and Scott Dixon - will compete in the Honda Grand Prix of St. Pete.

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Who’s the favorite? According to Vegas Insider, in odds released on Friday, defending Sprint Cup champion and pole sitter Jimmie Johnson is a 4-1 favorite to win the 50th Daytona 500. That’s actually a drop for Johnson, who was a 3-1 favorite when the odds were released on Dec. 20.

Defending race champion Kevin Harvick (whose 2007 race-winning No. 29 car is shown sitting Sunday morning in front of a stage on the infield) is listed at 15-1, an improvement from his Dec. 20 odds of 18-1. Among the other favorites are three-time race winner Jeff Gordon (5-1), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (7-1, up from 12-1 on Dec. 20), Tony Stewart (10-1), Matt Kenseth (12-1), Martin Truex Jr. (12-1), Kurt Busch (15-1), Greg Biffle (18-1), Clint Bowyer (22-1), Carl Edwards (25-1) and Denny Hamlin (25-1).

Michael Waltrip, who’ll start on the front row outside of Johnson, was not even given his own set of odds back in December. Friday, he was listed at 75-1. MWR teammate David Reutimann of Zephyrhhills was 75-1 in December and was 50-1 on Friday.

Here’s one to keep an eye on: Hendrick driver Casey Mears. His more glamorous teammates are who they are and they’ve been fast this week, so naturally they’ve gotten the publicity. But at 35-1, Mears is a pretty good bet to make some noise today.

By the way, the surprise choice of Tampa Tribune motorsports writer Tony Fabrizio, Dave Blaney, is listed at 40-1.

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One of the quirky things about this race is that they’re allowing fans to come down out of the stands or in from their infield viewing spots to roam the track near the start-finish line. Shown here is the crowd of folks who are taking the opportunity to actually put their personal stamp on the race by signing the start-finish line. Some just signed their names. Others wrote messages to their favorite drivers. But think about this tradition, for a minute. What if they let folks come down out of the bleachers at the World Series and let them sign the outfield wall? What if fans at the Super Bowl were allowed to trample the perfectly manicured grass (or articifial turf)? What if they had a morning “fan” skate at the Stanley Cup Finals? This is the equivalent. How cool is it to watch a race, see the winning car come across the finish line, and know that he’s driving over your name? Especially for the 50th running of the Daytona 500. It’s not a bad memory, eh?

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Dave Blaney is going to win Sunday’s 50th Daytona 500.

Do I really think that? I think he could.

Blaney has been sneaky fast throghout testing and the last week’s events in Bill Davis Racing’s No. 22 Toyota. And it seems that Terry Elledge, who builds the Toyota motors for BDR in-house, may have found something a little extra. Blaney has never had a top-10 finish in a Cup-level points race at Daytona, and he has led only one lap in points races at the track, but he finished third last fall at Daytona’s sister track, Talladega. And his crew chief is Tommy Baldwin Jr., who won the Daytona 500 for BDR in 2002 with Ward Burton.

It’s more fun to pick Blaney than any of the obvious favorites - Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart or Jeff Gordon.

Earnhardt has looked like a favorite since the opening day of the second session of preseason testing at Daytona. At the end of the first practice, Jamie McMurray got out of his Ford and told Roush-Fenway Racing teammate Greg Biffle that Earnhardt’s No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevy was “ridiculously fast.” That spelled trouble for the competition, because Earnhardt is one of the most skilled and talented plate racers in history. He won the Daytona 500 in 2004, and with DEI off its game in recent years, he has still had some good runs with cars that were inferior to the Hendrick cars.

Johnson could be a bear Sunday, and he hasn’t had a chance yet to show what he has for the 500. He has to drive a backup car in the Bud Shootout - a car built for short tracks, no less - because he wrecked his primary car in practice. He still finished third. Driving his Daytona 500 car in Thursday’s qualifying race, Johnson didn’t want to take any chances and ran conservatively. In fact, in the closing laps, he dropped way back just in case there was a wreck.

Gordon has won the 500 three times and he has a knack for winning the highest-profile races. Today’s 500 fits that description.

Stewart has yet to win the 500, but he has won Daytona’s Pepsi 400, and today’s race could emulate the hot and slick track conditions that drivers face in the summer event.

And Stewart has at least part of the media corps pulling for him. After winning Saturday’s Camping World 300 Nationwide Series race, he promised to let reporters cut his long hair if he wins the 500.

Ford does not appear to have a serious contender. Matt Kenseth ran up front briefly in his qualifier, but his car’s handling fell off and he dropped back. None of the Fords have looked as strong as the Chevrolets or Toyotas. The best Dodge has been the No. 41 of Reed Sorenson, who finished second in a qualifier. Kurt Busch is good at Daytona, but he had problems in the Bud Shootout and his qualifier, so his Penske Dodge is something of an unknown quantity.

Figure on a Chevy or a Toyota winning the race, and keep an eye on the No. 22 Toyota of Dave Blaney.

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Kyle Busch, who finished second to teammate Tony Stewart in Saturday’s Camping World 300, didn’t like the fact that Martin Truex Jr. complained that he was blocking him.

“What else are you going to do, man? he said. “Shoot, he’s pushing me through the tri-oval, wanting to spin me out. I’m sorry I saved it and kept it in front of him. Grow up, bud. What do you want me to do, pull over?

“Next question.”

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Here’s what you want, a true behind-the-scenes look at the personality of a NASCAR driver. But then, the driver in question being Tony Stewart, you probably won’t be all that enlightened. His dry sense of humor and love-hate relationship with the reporters who cover the sport are well-documented. But it’s always interesting to see. Here he is schmoozing with reporters (right in front of The Tampa Tribune work station, actually) after his formal news conference following his victory in the Camping World 300. That’s how it ended. Here’s how it began, after NASCAR’s Herb Branham lobbed the obligatory news conference opener: “Congratulations, guys. Great race. Tony, Dave [Rogers, Stewart’s Nationwide crew chief], to start off, give us a quick idea about the race today, how it went.”
Said Stewart, with a hang-dog expression:
“It was terrible. Especially the outcome. We just hate this when we have to win races and stuff. Then you got to take pictures, all that. I hate taking a trophy home. It’s miserable. It’s just a lot easier if you get wrecked in the first 20 laps, beat the traffic back, get a shower, kick back and watch the end of the race on TV. It’s much more comfortable. Not near as hot. You don’t get sticky with all that stuff they pour on you in Victory Lane. Other than that, it’s pretty cool.”
He said it all with a smile.

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The Harley J. Earl Trophy, awarded annually to the winner of the Daytona 500, was just lifted onto the stage at the media center. Here we see Tampa Tribune motorsports writer Tony Fabrizio’s enthusiastic reception for the cherished hardware. Then again, it’s nothing he hasn’t seen before; Tony has covered every Daytona 500 since 1984 except the 1994 and 2002 races.

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Tony Stewart won the Camping World 300 from the pole, holding off teammate Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Martin Truex on the final lap. It was Stewart’s third victory in four years in the Nationwide Series season opener. It also was Joe Gibbs Racing’s first victory in a Toyota.
This was, in fact, a Toyota race almost from start to finish. Busch and Stewart traded the lead for most of the day, with Brian Vickers and Zephyrhills’ David Reutimann contending.
The race set a Nationwide track record for fewest caution laps (12).

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Here’s a look at the pace car for the 50th Daytona 500, a 2008 Corvette Z06, painted in “anniversary gold,” sitting in the garage area early Saturday afternoon. It will be driven on Sunday by 1960 Daytona 500 champion Junior Johnson. This is the fifth consecutive year the pace car is a Corvette.

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Nationwide Series officials confiscated the carburetor from David Reutimann’s No. 99 Nationwide Series Toyota, but the odd thing about it is they do so on Tuesday and it escaped media notice until Friday. The carburetor’s venturis (opening) were too large, meaning more air could pass through, possibly generating additional horsepower.

Reutimann was allowed to qualify and race in today’s Camping World 300 - he started 18th and finished 14th—but his team, along with several others whose cars failed inspection either before or after qualifying, faces sanctions next week.

I talked to Nationwide Series director Joe Balash on Friday night and tried to get a sense for whether Michael Waltrip Racing could have made an honest mistake with the carburetor violation, and all he would say is that infractions and possible penalties won’t be considered until early next week. Last year, Hall of Fame Racing got nabbed for bringing and illegal carburetor to the Daytona 500, and it turned out that somebody with Joe Gibbs Racing, which supplied the team’s engines, had pulled the wrong part off of a shelf when assembling the motor.

Lee White, general manager of Toyota Racing Development, said that NASCAR officials normally measure the carburetor openings from the top but decided to measure them this time from the bottom. Reutimann’s carburetor did not meet specifications.

Among the other teams that face penalties next week are Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s No. 5 Chevy team. NASCAR officials impounded the No. 5 car on Thursday night, then returned it Friday minus the rear deck lid and spoiler.

“We just got caught doing something everbody else is doing,” Earnhardt said after finishing third. “I don’t know, someting on the spoiler, deck lid, everything. ... We just put one from the backup car on there. We didn’t get the springs and stuff set in there right, so we had to cut the chain on the first caution pit stop.

“The car was about three-eighths of an inch high all day. That’s kind of why we were happy to kind of be third. We were kind of behind once we got caught cheating there.”

It’s possible Michael Waltrip Racing’s people, including crew chief Jerry Baxter, didn’t know there was anything wrong with the carburetor. MWR gets its Nationwide Series engines from Triad Racing Development, a partner company of Toyota Racing Development that’s owned by Bill Davis Racing.

Reutimann finished second in the Nationwide (formerly Busch) Series standings last year and is running the series full-time again. His main competitors for the championship are fellow full-time Sprint Cup drivers Carl Edwards (the defending champion), Clint Bowyer and David Ragan.

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OK, it’s a fact of life in NASCAR that everything that moves (and most things that don’t) have some kind of sponsorship connected. It was no more than expected Thursday that the first words out of Dale Jarrett’s mouth when he found out he qualified for the Daytona 500 after the second Gatorade Duel was a nod to UPS. In fact, he went so far as to say that if UPS had insisted, he probably would have retired before this season, rather than waiting for the first five races.

Anyway, it’s just an accepted part of the culture, and nobody seems to mind too much.
It’s cool to see a driver like Tony Stewart hawking for a hardware store (if you don’t know which one, you haven’t been paying attention) and what would the history of the sport be without the legendary connection between Richard Petty and STP?

But there has to be a limit.
Doesn’t there?
Apparently not.
Here at Daytona International Speedway, even the garbage cans scattered around the infield are fair game. As you can see here: the official garbage can of mayonnaise, the official garbage can of spaghetti sauce and the official garbage can of fire ant killer.

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Junior Johnson, winner of the second Daytona 500 in 1960, was an admitted (and notorious) moonshine runner before (and even during) his ground-breaking NASCAR career. Now, he owns a legitimate “moonshine” vendor, Junior Johnson’s Midnight Moon, and it’s sponsoring Jeremy Mayfield’s No. 70 car in Sunday’s race.

There’s even a booth on the infield (pictured) distributing samples and souvenirs of the libation. Johnson (pictured signing autographs) has come full circle.

“I’ve done a lot of things in my life, and my history in the moonshine business is no secret,” Johnson said in a statement released by Piedmont Distillers Inc. “We can do things legally that we couldn’t do back in the old days. I own part of a company that makes moonshine, and our Midnight Moon is sponsoring a car in the 500. I never would have believed this was possible.”

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Maybe because he’s more relaxed and feels more secure about his job status this year, Zephyrhills’ David Reutimann is starting to let his dry sense of humor come through.

A good example came after Thursday’s qualifying races when he was asked about getting penalized for jumping the start from next to pole-sitter Michael Waltrip.

“Michael told me before the race he was going to be a little soft on the original start,” Reutimann said. “I didn’t expect him to be in a coma when they dropped the green.

“My spotter says, ‘green, green, green.’ I took off. Michael was still sitting there.”

Reutimann had make a trip down down pit road for a stop-and-go penalty. He wound up 12th, which was also third among the eight drivers competing for two “transfer” spots into the Daytona 500. Because he was fourth fastest in Sunday’s time trials, though, Reutimann secured the 42nd starting spot in Sunday’s race.

Reutimann said that locking up a spot on Sunday made the week much less stressful than it was last year, when his status wasn’t determined until after the qualifying races.

“Yeah, I’ve actually managed to be down here for however long we’ve been here and haven’t thrown up once, so it’s been good,” he said.

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