February 10, 2010

NASCAR.com Daytona Preview

Daytona 500 Preview: One week after the NFL played their Superbowl to end the season, NASCAR starts the year with its biggest race.

Who's hot and who's not at Daytona: Here are my picks for NASCAR.com of favorites, dark horses and some long shot underdogs.

Ambrose wins 150s Practice 2

Marcos Ambrose posted the fastest single lap of the second practice session for the Gatorade 150s at 193.403 mph. He also posted the quickest average speed of 190.339 during a brief stint of six laps.

Our View Ambrose has been one of our top dark horses all week based on some strong restrictor-plate superspeedway runs last year. Watch him closely in the qualification race.

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Bliss crashes and takes out contenders in 150s Practice 2

At the 15 minute mark of the second practice for the Gatorade 150s, Mike Bliss spun by himself at the exit of turn four and collected Joey Logano. In the aftermath, Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin also sustained some damage.

Our View Bliss and Logano will certainly have to go to backups. Johnson—who ran into the back of Hamlin in the stack up—will probably be able to make repairs. Hamlin's damage is also minimal.

Kyle Busch was nearly involved, but he made a masterful move around Logano and Bliss.

Update: Apparently the damage was greater than we thought: Johnson will have to go to a backup.

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Harvick quickest in 150s Practice 1

Matt Kenseth may have been the fastest in practice, but NASCAR races are won over the long haul. Kevin Harvick posted the quickest average speed of 190.038 during 18 laps.

Our View After winning the Bud Shootout, Harvick has to be on a lot of fantasy owners' radar screens and he's proving that is a wise choice.

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Kenseth fastest in 150s Practice 1

Matt Kenseth posted the fastest single lap of practice in the first session for the Gatorade 150 qualifiers with a speed of 194.254 mph.

Our View That speed was set early in the session in one of the fastest drafts of the day. He's not exactly known as the Pied Piper of Daytona, however, so look for him to tuck into the draft on Thursday.

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Bowyer triggers three-car incident

At the one hour mark of the first practice session for the Gatorade 150s, Clint Bowyer apparently cut a tire and slammed the wall. In the slowdown, he collected David Reutimann and a late entering Derrike Cope.

Our View All three drivers sustained significant damage, but there is no word yet on who will roll out a backup car. Bowyer and Reutimann are locked into the Daytona 500, but this could effectively end Cope's chances of making the show.

Update: Bowyer will have to roll out a backup car.
Update: Reutimann will also roll out a backup car.

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Ky Busch scrapes wall in 150s Practice 1

With most of practice in the books, there were no major incidents, but Kyle Busch came the closest. He scrapped the wall in the first practice session for the Gatorade 150 Duels and did light damage.

Our View Busch found the limit, which should make him fast. At the time, he had the second fastest time in the draft with a speed of 194.221 mph.

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