Updates
February 24, 2013:
- 4:39 pm -- Jimmy Johnson wins; in last half lap, Danica fell back; finishes 8th; spectacular race; great race; great job;
- 4:39 pm -- last lap:
- 4:38 pm -- 1.5 to go: here they come
- 4:38 pm -- 2 to go: have to make something happen; Patrick 3rd;
- 4:37 pm -- 3 to go: green, white, checker, almost....
- 4:37 pm -- 4 to go: same;
- 4:36 pm -- 5 to go: Patrick, 3rd; Brad falls back; Dale pushing Danica;
- 4:34 pm -- 6 to go: Patrick, 6th; Jimmy Johnson leads;
- 4:29 pm -- 10 to go: caution; debris in turn 2; everyone catching their breath; new position based on scoring loop position, Patrick 6th
- 4:28 pm -- 12 to go: looks like everyone is positioning themselves to try to break out; two wide up front; three wide further back; Patrick a solid 4th; Brad K 1st
- 4:27 pm -- 12 to go: after the commercial break, side-by-side; Danica is in the pack, outside lane, 6th place
- 4:24 pm -- 16 to go: Danica in 3rd; took a small bump from behind; okay
- 4:10 pm -- 27 to go: gas only for Danica Patrick; comes out fifth or sixth; might lose another spot; in 8th;
- 3:32 pm -- lap 138: caution for wreck near the back; #21 (Trevor Bayne) out; #2 (Brad K) first, but seems to have missed any serious problem; 5th serious crash in 30 days involving Carl Edwards, he's out; Danica still up near the front, running 9th, I believe;
- 3:26 -- 3:25 pm -- 71 to go: Danica leading this lap, and several previous; others coming in for gas; Danica stayed out; Danica going in now for gas
- 2:55 pm -- 90th lap (official): Danica takes the lead; another first; first time a woman has ever taken the lead in a NASCAR Sprint cup race under green; truly incredible; regardless of how this plays out, Danica deserves a lot of credit; she doesn't have a teammate to help draft/push her;
- 2:40 pm -- 2:35 pm -- 71st lap: pit stop on caution; four tires for Danica; comes out in 23rd but that will change; Danica in 8th;
- 2:23 pm -- 57th lap: commentators giving Danica Patrick kudos; I agree; she is running third;
- 2:07 pm -- 37th lap: back to racing; Patrick up to 3rd; outside line;
- 2:00 pm -- 33rd lap: crash involving #5 (Kasey Kahne); first car in race to go sideways; Montoya, Harvick in subsequent, Brad K with damage; Tony Stewart with damage; #18 (Kyle Busch) may have tapped #5 to start things off; #13 with damage; Tony Stewart will wait for wrecker; Danica was ahead of the wreck; #5 was on outside line, about fourth back;
- 1:59 -- 1:53 pm: during "debris on the track" caution, Jeff pulls up behind pace car; turbulence blows debris off; all go into pit row; after the pit stop, Danica drops back to 9th and is surrounded by drivers; race dynamics changed significantly
- 1:48 pm: lap 23; that debris on the grill/air intake causing water temp problems for Jeff Gordon; moving up/down; #2 Danica and #3 Harvick have to follow; Fox did not go side-by-side with commercial break; irritating; Gordon has led all 23 laps; pit stop to remove debris, at least 15 more laps
- 1:34 -- 1:32 pm: Danica gets through the first curve, first lap, but doesn't lead the first lap; Jeff Gordon took the lead fairly early in the first lap; wow, all the attention to Danica Patrick, nestled between Gordon and Harvick
Original Post
The question: was the policy decision to kill Keystone XL the singular most important factor accounting for the soaring price of gasoline?
- Yes: 28%
- No: 72%
Now, for the new poll.
It's a simple question today: Will Danica Patrick finish the Daytona 500 tomorrow?
No. Will be out before lap 100.
ReplyDeleteIt will be interesting to see what lap the poll will be over..... (if that makes sense)...
DeleteIf I'm not mistaken , she has crashed in this race every time she qualified before. Sooooo
ReplyDeleteAfter today's very unfortunate incident, it will be interesting to see if there's any effect on the race tomorrow...I understand 28 fans were injured, some critically, including a child.
Delete500 miles is a long race and that means many variables and unknowns. Can she finish the race? Sure she can if she stays away from and out of trouble. I don't expect to see a strong top 10 finish but a respectable finish is possible. Daytona is noted for the unexpected. Restrict-er plate racing keeps the field bunched up so the unknown factor increases a lot.
ReplyDeleteTwo years ago Bayne came out of nowhere and won the Daytona 500 so anything is possible. He stayed clean and out of trouble and in the end won it.
One thing we know for sure is there will be one winner out of 43 drivers and the big one is likely to happen taking out a lot of cars. Hopeful the big one isn't as bad as today's Nationwide race.
I do believe that NASCAR can expect just about the largest television viewing audience in a long, long time -- after today's event, and then with Danica at the pole. This is going to be huge.
DeleteCRC answered a different question. Yes, a driver can drive with the goal of finishing (to do this, stay away from and out of trouble ). Usually this means getting shuffled to the middle or back of the field.
ReplyDeleteVery unlikely to win the race if your strategy is to stay out of trouble. Something tells me Danica is driving to not just finish but driving to win. Will be big tv ratings until she crashes.
I agree: the ratings should be huge going into that first turn...
Deletehttp://theoilandservicesconference.com/webcasts.html
ReplyDeleteInteresting stuff about the future improvements in fracing, etc. Acorn
Dickinson housing, etc. Triangle
Far North borderlands. Magnum Hunter.
Lots more. Generally small companies.
anon 1
Something to do during the race....
DeleteIronDog is over. 20 of 40 finished. No one died in the race itself. They start planning for next year.
ReplyDeleteanon 1
That's probably what we will see in the Daytona today: either about 20 of 43 still in the race at the end (or 20 of 43 on the lead lap).
DeleteI was wrong. I didn't expect Patrick to finish in the top 10 so coming in 8th I have to say I'm impressed.
ReplyDeleteWith the new Gen 6 car it caused a strange race. Lining up parade style and going around lap after lap was quite boring. The lack of experience with the new car and restrictor plate racing on a super raceway were most like the reason. The race got mostly compacted down to crunch time at the end of the race. Everyone seem afraid to go down and start a second line out of fear of being shuffled to the back because of not having enough drafting.
Hopefully they figure something out before Telladega otherwise it will be a single file parade route race also.
Phoenix next week will be different. It is the first non restrictor plate race of the season.
I didn't know all the particulars -- new cars, restrictor plate racing, etc. I love NASCAR but I'm a novice at racing, just like my understanding of the Bakken: I know just enough about it, to get myself in trouble.
DeleteBut I said the same thing to my brother-in-law: a very uneventful race. To the avid race fan, it must have been boring. But the history was incredible: it was one of the few races I watched every lap; not leaving once -- I really wanted to see Danica Patrick finish the race. I don't care for her, personally, one way or the other. I don't care for all the attention she gets, but I understand it.
But there had to have been an incredible amount of pressure for her and her team to perform. No screw-ups in pit lane, for example. So, I was on the edge of my sofa each lap hoping that she would not get caught up in a mishap. And I was very, very impressed. [I thought her post-race interview left a bit to be desired but that's another story.]
Near the end, when she was actually back in third place, it was quite remarkable, though she quickly slipped back to eighth in the last couple of laps as the inside lane moved by quickly. I appreciated the help Junior gave her. Real style.
So, yes, I agree: a boring or uneventful race, but at the end of the day, the record books will have quite a bit to note. I'm glad I was able to watch it.
One last thought: the race was so boring/uneventful, one wonders if the serious accident yesterday tempered some of the potential bumping and shoving that might have otherwise occurred in the last lap or two?
I think yesterday did have some bearing on the 500 today. I'm sure during the driver meeting before the race they were told to race but please think about the fans before trying something too risky. Especially going through the tri-oval on the front stretch.
ReplyDeleteIt seems something like yesterday puts the lid on competition for awhile. That happened with the death of Dale Earnhardt. Fortunately yesterday was nothing like that but it was enough to cause some serious reflection.
Well said; thank you.
DeleteAnd with that, I'm off to bed. A lot of wells come off the confidential list tomorrow. Mondays are always busy.