Yahoo! Qualification Story – Atlanta

With rapidly cooling conditions, drivers chased the weather and the track on a venue where qualification is very important. Who prevailed? Find out in this week's Yahoo! qualification story (.pdf).

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Almirola, Mears and Cook go home from Atlanta

Three drivers failed to make the Coca-Cola 600: Aric Almirola, Casey Mears and Terry Cook failed to find enough speed to qualify.

Our View Neither Mears nor Cook have made a single race this year.

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Earnhardt win Atlanta pole

Slowly but surely, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is turning his season around. He gave his fans something to cheer about this week by winning the pole for the Kobalt Tools 500.

Our View His top speed of 192.761 is the fastest pole ever recorded for the Car of Tomorrow (COT) and Earnhardt's second at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

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Martin fastest in Atlanta practice 1

Mark Martin posted the fastest single lap in the first practice session with a 189.409 mph.

Our View Martin only took nine laps total, but he made the most of them. Last year, Martin tried to take the nickname "Rocketman" away from Ryan Newman and he should be considered a threat for the Kobalt Tools 500 pole.

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Yahoo! Atlanta Preview

Two "cookie-cutter" races in a row will present fantasy owners with some predictable options, but it would be difficult for this race to be as similar as between Auto Club Speedway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Check out this week's Yahoo! Preview (.pdf).

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Johnson wins two in a row

Jimmie Johnson took four tires while Jeff Gordon took only two on the final pit stop and that made the difference at the end. Johnson won his second race in a row in the Shelby American. In fact, for the second consecutive race, he finished just ahead of Kevin Harvick as that driver also slipped past Gordon.

Our View Johnson has officially regained his title as the "Cookie-cutter" king after struggling at Vegas during the last two races.

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N'Wide: Harvick wins at Vegas

Kevin Harvick was happy with the result of the Sam's Town 300, but he was not happy with the crew's performance. Using a long green flag segment to finish the race, he scooted out to a 1.3 second lead over Denny Hamlin.

Our View Mistakes in the pit could have cost him the race, but Harvick's talent in the car made up the difference.

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Martin wins Vegas Happy Hour

Mark Martin posted the quickest average speed in Las Vegas Happy Hour with a speed of 181.356 mph during 26 laps and with the third-fastest speed of 183.299 mph, he had the best mix of speed and durability.

Our View Martin blew an engine in this race last year, but it's impossible to overlook him as one of the favorites to win the Shelby American.

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Bowyer fastest in Vegas Happy Hour

Clint Bowyer posted the fastest single lap in Happy Hour for the Shelby American with a speed of 183.530 mph. The session was shortened a little by rain.

Our View RCR has the greatest momentum of all teams and with a decent qualification run in the top 15, Bowyer is liable to be the best of that group.

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Earnhardt spins in Vegas Happy Hour

"Twenty-nine, seventy-four, that's your fastest lap so far," Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s spotter called just before he spun five minutes into Happy Hour. Guess he found the limit.

Our View Fortunately, Earnhardt did not make any contact with the wall or another car—and the engine did not appear to over-rev while he was spinning. Four fresh tires should be all the No. 88 needs before continuing practice.

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Ky Busch wins first Sat. Vegas practice

Kyle Busch posted the fastest single lap of practice in the first Saturday session with a speed of 184.037 mph. His brother Kurt was not far behind: the No. 2 posted a lap of 183.486 mph, which was third best.

In fact, Kyle won practice overall; he also posted the quickest average speed of 181.725 mph during 30 laps.

Our View Of the two, Kyle has a much greater chance of finishing up front. He's finished 11th or better at Vegas in all but one of his starts.

Kurt's average speed of 180.499 was only 14th quick, which is about where you can expect to find him at the end of a typical Vegas race.

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N'Wide: Keselowski on Vegas pole

Brad Keselowski carried his momentum from last week's third-place finish in the Stater Bros. 300 at Auto Club Speedway into this week's Las Vegas Motor Speedway race and that was enough to give him the pole for Saturday's contest.

Our View Unfortunately, he's suffered crash damage in his last two Nationwide attempts on this track and he's blown an engine one other time. In four Nationwide starts at Vegas, his best result is only 23rd.

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Yahoo! Qualification Story – Las Vegas

One hometown hero won the pole for the Shelby American, but another is much more likely to win the race. Find out which is which in this week's Yahoo! qualification story (.pdf).

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Ku Busch wins pole at hometown LVMS

Cool temperatures helped Kurt Busch and a myriad of other drivers break the old track record. When the dust finally settled, he raised the mark to 188.719 mph.

Our View Until the final cars went out on track, however, Dale Earnhardt Jr. seemed unassailable with his speed of 188.173. He was the second driver to take time and settled into fourth on the grid. By comparison, the first driver was Jimmie Johnson and he eventually qualified 20th.

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Montoya fastest in Vegas practice 1

Juan Montoya posted the fastest single lap in the first practice session that is usually devoted to qualification setups. His top speed of 186.168 mph was set early in the session.

Our View Montoya has been solid on the unrestricted, intermediate speedways during the last two years, but last week's struggle at Auto Club Speedway and last year's trouble at Vegas make him a risky proposition.

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Some chassis choices for Vegas

@DustinLong has identified some of the cars that will be used this week:

Among RCR, Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton will have new cars this weekend; Clint Bowyer using same car he drove at Indy (21st) & Kansas (18th) last yearr.

Kurt Busch using same car @ Vegas that he won with at Texas last year and should have won with at Homestead.

Denny Hamlin will use this weekend @ Vegas has won in both its starts, winning at both Pocono and Martinsville last year.

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Yahoo! Las Vegas Preview

This week is the first of back-to-back "cookie-cutter" races. Who will get off on the right foot? Our best guesses can be found in this week's Yahoo! Preview (.pdf).

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Johnson wins fifth Auto Club race

He won in his first start at this track in 2002 and now Jimmie Johnson has five Auto Club Speedway victories after holding off a furious charge by Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton.

Our View That is his sixth top-three finish on this track in his last seven starts. During that span, he has an average finish of 2.57, which makes him as much of a must-have as you will find.

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N'Wide: Logano dominates, Busch wins Stater Bros. 300

Joey Logano dominated the race but he was roughed up by Greg Biffle on the final restart. Kyle Busch exacted revenge, however, and passed Biffle in the run to the checkers.

Our View The best car doesn't always win and today, they finished fifth after getting knocked around by Biffle and Brad Keselowski—who must have thought Denny Hamlin was in the No. 20 this week.

Keselowski dumped Logano only a few yards from the finish line.

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Johnson wins Auto Club Happy Hour

After posting the single fastest lap in the first Saturday practice session at Auto Club Speedway, Jimmie Johnson logged the quickest average speed in Happy Hour at 177.507 mph during 39 laps.

Our View Johnson has been as close to perfect in the last three years at Auto Club as is possible. He remains a must-have.

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Martin fastest in Auto Club Happy Hour

Mark Martin backed up his second fastest lap and second quickest time in the first practice session of Saturday with the fastest single lap (181.726 mph) and the fifth quickest average speed in Happy Hour.

Our View Martin was hit-and-miss on the two-mile tracks last year, but it appears this is going to be a great weekend for the veteran.

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Montoya wins Auto Club practice 2

Juan Montoya posted the quickest average speed during the Saturday morning session with a 178.917 during 12 laps.

Our View His fastest lap of 180.429 wasn't bad either; that placed him sixth on the speed chart and the No. 42 could be one of the best values in the game.

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Johnson posts fastest lap in Auto Club practice 2

Jimmie Johnson posted the fastest single lap of practice in the first Saturday session, with a speed of 182.537 mph.

Our View His average speed during 25 laps was third best at 178.253 mph, which gives him one of the best balances of speed and sustainability.

Both drivers ahead of him on the average speed chart posted fewer laps.

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N'Wide: Patrick's learning curve continues

Danica Patrick will race on Saturday afternoon, but not because of the time she laid down in qualification. She'll roll of the grid 36th, but was actually slower than two of the "go-or-go-home" drivers (Morgan Shepherd and Danny O'Quinn) who failed to make the show.

Our View She was tentative on her qualification lap in part because she knew that with top-30 owners' points, she would be guaranteed a starting position. She'll improve during the race, but a top-20 is probably the outside mark fantasy owners should expect.

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N'Wide: Logano on Auto Club pole

Joey Logano was the second driver to hit the track in qualification for the Stater Bros. 300, and despite slick track conditions, he logged the fastest time and will lead the field to green in a few hours.

Our View The track may have been slick, but Logano benefited from cool conditions so the net effect was positive. He should have a car capable of staying in the top five all day.

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Yahoo! Qualification Story – Auto Club

Jamie McMurray carried his substantial momentum from the Daytona 500, but will it be enough to recommend him at Auto Club Speedway? And who is the driver most likely to star in a Hollywood horror story?

Find out in this week's Yahoo! qualification story (.pdf).

IRL: Sato coming to IndyCar

Former F1 driver Takuma Sato will race for KV Racing Technologies as a teammate to Hideki Mutoh, according to ESPN.com.

Our View It's kind of nice to see an open wheel guy stay with open wheel after the sudden influx of F1 drivers into NASCAR. Expect Sato to run better on road courses than ovals as he starts his learning curve in this type of racing.

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Martin wins Auto Club practice 1

Mark Martin set the pace early in the first practice session at Auto Club Speedway with a speed of 182.924 mph and he maintained his top spot until the end of Friday's 1.5-hour practice.

Our View This practice is typically used to work on qualification setups and while Martin was fast nearly everywhere, he struggled a bit at Auto Club with an 18th-place time trial run in this race and a ninth in the fall. As one of only three drivers to break the 182 mph mark, he should better that this week.

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Yahoo! Auto Club Preview

As unpredictable as Daytona International Speedway can be, Auto Club Speedway is much easier to predict. Here are the best bets to dominate this week's lineup (.pdf).

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Nationwide Inspection cleared

According to @bobpockrass: Inspection for the #NASCAR Nationwide Series is complete and there were no issues.

Smoke 'em: Stewart wins Daytona Nationwide race

Tony Stewart survived a wild Drive4COPD.com 300 to beat the field to the checkers and win in dominant fashion.

Our View "Survived" is the operative word as a 10-car crash erupted immediately behind him in the final quarter of the race. Stewart's odds for the Daytona 500 are improved after this run.

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Allmendinger to change engine

A.J. Allmendinger will change engines before for the start of the Daytona 500, according to a tweet from @DustinLong.

Our View The engine was spewing a lot of steam during practice, so this is likely a precaution. Teams are allowed one engine change during the 500 weekend, but this should be his second and will force him to the back of the pack. That shouldn't really matter on a restrictor-plate superspeedway track, however.

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Lucas Oil Chili Bowl on SPEED Moved to February 14

TULSA, Okla. (February 13, 2010) – Reset that DVR, as the 24th Annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals broadcast scheduled for Saturday night, February 13, on SPEED has been reset to Sunday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. EST due to the rain-induced shuffling of this week’s Daytona Speedweeks events.

So, cuddle up with that special Valentine or just get the whole gang together to catch the highlights of the 24th Annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals and Saturday’s stellar 50-lap Rockstar championship feature event, an event already being touted as ranking among the most spectacular in event history.

A total of 256 competitors from throughout the nation and beyond converged upon the QuikTrip Center’s Tulsa Expo Raceway for the January 12-16 event that culminated with Saturday night’s 50-lap Rockstar Energy Drink championship feature event.
That championship finale, along with other highlights throughout the week, will be included in the February 14 airing on SPEED.

Bowyer quickest in Daytona 500 Happy Hour

Teammate Jeff Burton may have been the fastest driver in Happy Hour practice for the Daytona 500, but Clint Bowyer had the distinction of being the quickest in terms of average speeds with a 191.050 during 11 laps.

Our View His times were skewed somewhat by the relative few laps he ran, but that speed is confirmed by Kevin Harvick, who was second quick with a 191.003 during 16 laps.

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Burton fastest in Daytona 500 Happy Hour

Jeff Burton posted the fastest single lap of Happy Hour practice for the Daytona 500 with a speed of 195.194 mph.

Our View His biggest concern was about comfort, however, and he logged 60 laps of practice, which was the most among all drivers. That was only good enough for 19th on the average speed chart.

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All Clear from Gatorade 150s

According to @dustinlong: Post-race inspection for qualifying races is done. No issues. #NASCAR

Yahoo! Qualification Story – Daytona

With the unique format for setting the lineup for the Daytona 500, it takes a while to get the field set, but barring any unforeseen accidents in Friday's practice that will cause drivers to roll out a backup, everyone should be set for Sunday.

Here is this week's Yahoo! qualification story.

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Bliss, Speed race into Daytona 500 and lock in Waltrip

Mike Bliss and Scott Speed were the two highest finishing drivers from outside the top 35 in points and they transfer into the Daytona 500. Since Speed will not need to fall back on his time, that also locks in Michael Waltrip—who had the fifth fastest time in qualification.

Our View Speed and Waltrip should be considered solid dark horses for the 500.

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Kahne wins second Duel in Daytona

In a mirror image of the first Duel in Daytona, Kasey Kahne beat Tony Stewart to the line by inches.

Our View The combined margin of victory of the two races was less than a tenth of a second. It just doesn't get any closer than that.

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McDowell, Papis transfer

Michael McDowell and Max Papis were the two highest finishing drivers from those outside the top 35 in points, which means they will race in the Daytona 500.

Our View McDowell finished 14th and Papis finished 15th, but all that matters is they have qualified for NASCAR's Super Bowl.

Most impressively, Papis held onto a transfer position by staying out on old tires. That could make him one of this season's favorite dark horses.

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Johnson wins first Duel in Daytona

Jimmie Johnson spent most of his Gatorade 150 Duel in Daytona back in the pack, but with the checkers in sight, he stayed out on old tires and beat Kevin Harvick to the line by fractions of an inch.

Our View Johnson needs to hang on for 500 miles on Sunday, however, and he is not one of the best restrictor-plate superspeedway racers. Start him at your own risk.

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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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