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PAGE 12B
BARROW NEWS-JOURNAL
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2017
My top moments in Daytona 500 history
As much as I loved Super
Bowl LI, and the drama and
suspense the game created,
even more suspense is get
ting ready to be
unleashed.
This Sunday,
instead of hearing
“hut” or “hike,”
another set of
words is what will
be heard, “Drivers
start your engines.”
Those four words
get a crowd to its
feet, as it will mine.
The 2017
NASCAR season
is coming over the hori
zon. and it all starts with the
“Great American Race,” the
59th Daytona 500.
NASCAR was and still
is my first love in terms of
sports. The personalities of
the drivers captivated me as
a kid. Dale Earnhardt Rusty
Wallace and Jeff Gordon,
those three drivers had only
one thing in common, they
wanted to win.
But. their interviews would
draw me in to watch. The
cool paint schemes on the
cars didn’t hurt either.
I knew back then that Feb
ruary meant the Daytona 500
was near.
Nothing, but some of the
drivers, has changed in my
20-plus years of NASCAR
fandom.
Chase Elliott, who’s rising
quickly on my list of favorite
drivers, is on the pole. Dale
Earnhardt Jr. starts second
this Sunday.
I’m glad Jr. is off to a good
start this season after missing
the second half of last season
with concussions.
He and Elliott are just two
of the many storylines head
ing into this weekend.
There’s Jimmie Johnson
preparing to chase his eighth
championship, a feat many
thought may never happen.
But. Johnson has the oppor
tunity to surpass Dale Earn
hardt and Richard Petty for
the most championships in
the sport’s history. What a
story that would be.
A new series sponsor is
also a big story. Monster
Energy makes its debut at
the Daytona 500 and bringing
with a youthful vibrance and
helping to make changes to
a sport that’s not always for
change, is a cool thing to see.
The other big storyline, the
Daytona 500 itself. The Super
Bowl of racing isn’t saved
until the end, it’s at the begin
ning of the racing season.
The Daytona 500 is on the
level as other major sport
ing events: the World Series,
NBA Finals and yes, even
the Super Bowl. Daytona has
races of all sorts happening
for a week lead
ing into the 500.
Not much different
than a Super Bowl
host city.
In honor of the
Daytona 500, I’m
going to give my
top-five Dayto
na 500 moments
since I was bom,
which means from
1989 until now.
Moment No.
5: The 2012 Daytona 500
yielded Matt Kenseth as the
winner. But, it was the cir
cumstances. not the race, that
makes it into the top-five fist.
The 2012 edition was the
first to be pushed back to
Monday due to rain. On top
of that, the race started in
primetime, 7 p.m. Talk about
crazy. NASCAR in prime-
time? Yes, it happened.
A jet dryer exploded and
nearly melted part of the track
in Turn 3 after Juan Pablo
Montoya wrecked into it.
And NASCAR was intro
duced into the social media
age as driver Brad Keselows-
ki tweeted a picture from his
car.
It was an event to remem
ber.
Moment No. 4: The 2011
race was truly a Cinderel
la story (insert Bill Murray
voice from Caddyshack).
Trevor Bayne, making only
his second-ever start in
NASCAR’s highest division,
the then-Sprint Cup Series,
became the youngest winner
ever of the Daytona 500 at 20
years old.
The kid drove like the vet
eran that day.
Moment No. 3: There can’t
be a top-five list without the
finish of the 2007 rendition
mentioned.
Mark Martin and Kevin
Harvick were side by side as
they came off Turn 4 when
calamity broke out behind
them. Cars were spinning,
smoke billowed into the
sky, but yet no caution was
thrown.
NASCAR let the two driv
ers race it back to the check
ered flag, which was insight
when the crash behind them
started. Harvick narrowly
edged Martin for his lone 500
win.
Moment No. 2: For this, I
will give a 2a and 2b. When
Dale Earnhardt won in 1998,
it was something to behold
as a sports fan. At the time,
I didn’t know what 20 years
really was, because I was
only nine at the time.
Every way to lose that
race, I believed it happened to
Earnhardt.
After breaking through for
his only victory in the sport’s
biggest race, crew mem
bers from every race team
and pretty much every driver
poured out Pit Road to con
gratulate the driver of that
famous No. 3 car.
To add with this, when
Earnhardt Jr. won his first of
two Daytona 500s in 2004,
watching him take his then-
No. 8 car for a spin through
the grass to celebrate brought
back memories of his dad in
1998.
I believe if you put them
next to each other in a still
photo, the only way to tell
them apart is the number and
paint scheme.
Moment No. 1: One of the
saddest days in the sport turns
in to my No. 1 spot. In 2001,
Dale Earnhardt died after hit
ting the Turn 4 wall.
But. why does it take the
top spot? Because it changed
NASCAR forever. I don’t
think people understood how
big the sport was until then.
When it’s leading on every
news channel, sports channel,
magazine covers, newspa
pers, it’s a big deal.
Earnhardt’s death
kick-started new safety mea
sures to keep drivers safe
including the installations of
SAFER (The Steel and Foam
Energy reduction) barriers
at every track. It was truly
a moment I could tell you
where I was and what I was
doing when I heard he had
died from the crash.
Prediction for the 2017
race: Elliott gets his first-ca
reer win this Sunday. Elliott
started on the pole for last
year’s Daytona 500, his rook
ie season. As fate would have
it. Jr. started second, just like
this Sunday’s.
It will be a spectacle to see
if both can correct the wrecks
they had last season.
Charles Phelps is a report
er for MainStreet Newspa
pers. He can be reached at
Charles @mainstreetnews.
com.
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Charles
phelps
Smith continued from 10B
know, the word doesn’t take
away from the meaning) as
he, the gnat, maneuvered
through the “how’s-the-
weather-up-there” gang to
make a layup, his 34.5 inch
vertical jump giving his
team sparkling and telling
advantage.
When he is hot. he
touches our inner soul. We
want Georgia basketball to
succeed. We love it with
J. J. being the centerpiece.
He is David slaying Goli
ath, his left handed arch
of a three point basket
among the most beautiful
individual performances I
have ever seen at Geor
gia — Herschel bolting for
70 yards, Belue to Scott
— J.J.’s non-pareil accom
plishments will remain
indelible in our minds. We
can’t let go. We shouldn’t.
J. J. Frazier is one of the
most artistic Bulldog stars
ever to sign an autograph,
“Go Dawgs!”
What about next year?
He doesn’t know but is
confident that he will be
playing somewhere.
The NBA scouts may not
flock his way, but one and
all would like to give J.J.’s
heart, if such were possi
ble, to their starting five.
You can’t turn back the
clock, but we can always
flash back. J.J.’s sprinting
three point shot of 27 feet
just as the half ended ver
sus Kentucky was worthy
of bronzing.
Ten years from now, we
will remember J.J.’s mas
terful evenings like Ken
tucky: 36. often acrobatic,
points, three assists, three
rebounds, 12 of 15 free
throws, and a blocked shot.
As we go, a little known
factoid. J. J. plays the
piano by ear. You name
that tune and sing along
with this versatile Georgia
hero. If he were to sing,
“You’re gonna miss me
when I’m gone,” it would
be apropos.
Modesty wouldn’t allow
him to do that, however.
Just another trait that
makes him a classic Bull-
dawg legend.
Loran Smith is a col
umnist for the Barrow
News-Journal. He is
co-host of the University
of Georgia football radio
pre-game show.
Barrow Regional Medical Center is now
Northeast Georgia Medical Center Barrow.
Barrow Regional Medical Center has joined the award winning team at
Northeast Georgia Medical Center to bring Northeast Georgia Health System's
expansive network of care closer to home. As a part of the health system, the
hospital now has a new name: Northeast Georgia Medical Center Barrow.
Learn more about Northeast Georgia Health System at www.nghs.com, and
connect with NGHS on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for the latest news
about this exciting change.
Northeast Georgia Medical Center
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