Daytona 500: The Tremendous Bowl Of Racing

There may be actually been rather more controversy in every week of pre-race mumbo jumbo than in an full BALCO investigation, it seems. Matt Kenseth and Kasey Kahne obtained docked 50 particulars within the Nextel Cup standings, although Elliott Sadler and Scott Riggs obtained docked 25 factors and Michael Waltrip acquired docked 100 particulars, all for unlawful modifications to automobiles all by means of previous Sunday’s qualifying runs. To position issues in standpoint, Tony Stewart skipped final 12 months’s Chase for the Championship by 18 elements. So yeah, it may possibly make any distinction. To extend private damage to, er, harm, every particular person of those 5 motorists will not have his common crew predominant on the helm this weekend or subsequent, and each equally Kenseth and Kahne should go a full 4 races with no Robbie Reiser and Kenny Francis, respectively, although Waltrip has very significantly fired David Hyder, as a result of Hyder might maybe or might properly not have overseen the inclusion of jet gasoline in Waltrip’s consumption manifold. Jet gasoline!

I counsel, assured, metaphorically speaking, in all probability Barry Bonds place “jet gasoline” in his biceps to hit all these homers. However we’re chatting exact jet gasoline!

Anyway, to the predictions. Allow us to begin 2007 off applicable.

Last 12 months: For the time, we ended up with a useful 22.86 fashions on 53.5 fashions wagered, for a return of 42.9%, which is quite dang nice by any measure. We obtained you money in 24 out of 35 weeks, a 68.6% worthwhile share, and in 11 weeks final yr, we excess of doubled your income in a given week’s wagering.

Purchase Tony Stewart (+415), 1/sixth unit. Stewart gained earlier weekend’s Bud Shootout and he gained his heat of the Twin 150 races Thursday afternoon. The unfavorable information is that nobody explicit has at any time finished folks two points after which gone on to accumulate the Daytona 500. The wonderful info is that if anybody on the Smokeless Set is not going to care a couple of stat like that, it is Smoke. He has flip into, in shorter get, the best restrictor-plate driver near. His 4-yr super-speedway ending regular is 8.3, finest within the earth, and his two-year ending widespread at Daytona (4 conditions) is 3.5, which is nuts. He’s gained every particular person of the ultimate two summer time months occasions proper right here (that are “solely” 400 miles), however he is by no means gained the five hundred. That alterations this week.

Get Dale Earnhardt Jr. (+612), 1/sixth machine. Smoke’s drafting affiliate towards race’s cease might be to be Junior, and Small E’s the particular person from whom Stewart took the label of best plate-observe driver throughout. Junior is superior at Talladega than he’s at Daytona, however he is a fantastic driver on this article, a lot too. Must have proof? Throughout his Twin 150 on Thursday, Little E’s earlier teammate, Michael Waltrip (+1656 as aspect of Space), slammed up into Junior’s auto, virtually wrecking him. Earnhardt Jr. went a lap down correcting the harm, waited patiently, obtained his lap again once more, and accomplished the race 2nd, on the rear of Stewart. He is stout. His lone disadvantage recently has been each particular person fears him so a fantastic deal at these tremendous-speedways that he tends to find treasured little drafting assist.

Purchase Kurt Busch (+2111). 1/sixth machine. Busch is a vastly underrated plate-observe driver. He’s solely acquired two finishes exterior the main 10 in his earlier 10 tremendous-speedway gatherings, and in a single explicit of these he was in 2nd place when Jamie McMurray (+5050) wrecked him. Busch the Elder was fairly sturdy within the subsequent warmth Thursday, offering up the earn to Jeff Gordon (+713) on the final lap after charging from approach powering late. It could not shock me to see Busch put all of it collectively and final however not least get this factor, and that may make for a very humorous (and unpopular) Victory Lane celebration.