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THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
-ON-THE TUBE
All times Eastern
Nextel Cup
Auto Club 500,
2 p.m., Sunday
Busch Series
Stater Bros. 300,
5:30 p.m.. Saturday
Truck Series
American Racing
Wheels 200,
9 p.m.. Fnday
I|IV*VIPI"»I "■' 1
[•BURNING iSSUES^J
► The Daytona 500 was dramatic
and exciting, and, all in all, it
was the best Speedweeks in
many years. Jeff Gordon’s third
victory in NASCAR's biggest race
was a fitting cap to an exquisite
festival of speed.
► Once again, Tony Stewart fell
short in the 500 and. once
again, he went down fighting.
But his remarkable victory in the
Busch Series race was one for
the ages.
► The new Dodge Charger's de
but was inauspicious. Sterling
Marlin, Kevin Lepage and Rusty
Wallace all finished in the top
10, but they were eighth, ninth
and 10th.
► Gordon has now won three of
the past four restrictor-plate
races, and his career total of
nine victories in "plate races" is
second only to the late Dale
Earnhardt.
► Dale Earnhardt Jr. served no
tice. once again, that qualifying
speeds mean little at Daytona.
It's all about handling character
istics in traffic, and that's where
Earnhardt Jr.'s Chevy still excels.
Third place in the 500 isn't bad
for a driver who was 39th
fastest on qualifying day.
► The last two positions, 42nd
and 43rd, went to former cham
pions. Matt Kenseth and Bobby
Labonte both suffered engine
failure.
► Kurt Busch served notice that
his Nextel Cup championship
was no fluke. His Ford was
swimming alone in a sea of
Chevys. yet he finished second.
► Pole winner Dale Jarrett was
never a factor. He didn't even
lead the first lap and limped
across the line in 15th place.
► Despite all the crashes, only
five drivers Mike Skinner,
John Andretti, Jamie McMurray,
Scott Wimmer and Jason Leffler
had their cars so damaged
that they couldn't return to the
race.
► The day's Cinderella story was
second-year driver Scott Riggs,
who showed patience and verve
in bringing his Chevrolet home
fourth.
.~TOR-a.-Q-<N"f a OtNTS<]
Nextel Cup
1. Jeff Gordon 185
2. Kurt Busch -15
Dale Earnhardt Jr. -15
4. Scott Riggs -25
Jimmie Johnson - 25
6. Tony Stewart -29
7. Mark Martin -35
8. Sterling Marlin -43
9. Kevin Lepage -47
10. Rusty Wallace - 51
Busch Series
1. Tony Stewart 190
2. Kevin Harvick -20
Dale Earnhardt Jr. - 20
4. Martin Truex Jr. -30
5. Kasey Kahne -35
6. Robby Gordon -40
7. Greg Biffle -_43
8. Michael Waltrip -44
9. Carl Edwards -51
10. Reed Sorenson • 52
Craftsman Truck Series
1. Bobby Hamilton 185
2. Jimmy Spencer -10
Todd Bodine -10
4. Ricky Craven -20
5. Ted Musgrave -30
6. Brad Keselowski -34
7. Ken Weaver -35
>. David Starr -43
9. Johnny Benson -46
10, Wayne Edwards -47
WE GO THE EXTRA MILE
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Race: Auto Club 500
Where: California Speedway,
Fontana (2.0 miles), 250
laps/500 miles.
When: Sunday, Feb. 27
Last year's winner Jeff Gor
don
Qualifying record Ryan New
man, Ford. 187.432 mph,
April 26, 2002.
Race record: Jeff Gordon,
Chevrolet. 155.012 mph,
June 22. 1997.
Last week: Jeff Gordon won
the Daytona 500 for the third
time, roaring past Dale Earn
hardt Jr., the defending cham
pion. on the 198th of 203
laps in a race extended by
the "green white-checkered”
UP NEXT
JEFF Gordon Nextel Cup Series, No. 24 DuPont Chevy
Photos by John Clark/NASCAR This Week
Jeff Gordon roasts his tires after a dramatic victory in Sunday’s Daytona 500. It was the 70th victory of Gordon’s illustrious career.
By Monte Dutton
NASCAR This Week
Jeff Gordon’s third Daytona 500 vic
tory was also his 70 th career win. Can
a fifth Cup championship be far be
hind?
After all, the last driver to go on to
the championship after beginning the
season with a Daytona victory was
Gordon in 1997.
Gordon who won championships
in 1995, 1997, 1998 and 2001 was
quick to point out that even though the
Daytona 500 is NASCAR’s most presti
gious race, it isn’t much of a predictor
of a championship season.
“There are some different rules
that we have this year that really
don’t have anything to do with Day
tona,” he said. “I think you’re going to
see more lead changes, but I don’t
know if you’re going to see as much
side-by-side racing. What you see here
at Daytona isn’t what exists anywhere
other than here and Talladega.”
Those two tracks, of course, are the
ones where carburetor-restrictor
plates are used to limit horsepower
and hold down speeds.
What isn’t in question is the fact
that Gordon has become a master of
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► If you have a question or a comment, write: NASCAR This Week, c/o The Gaston Gazette, PO. Box 1893, Gastonia, NC 28053
EL CUP SERIES
Still the man
Gordon second only to Earnhardt in restrictor-plate victories
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rule. Nextel Cup champion
Kurt Busch finished second,
with Earnhardt third and sec
ond-year driver Scott Riggs
fourth. Tony Stewart led 107
of the 203 laps but had to
settle for seventh. Four of
the top five finishers drove
Chevrolets, giving the Monte
Carlo seven victories in the
past nine Daytona races. The
race had 22 lead changes
and was slowed 11 times by
caution flags, the most since
1968. All in all, it was one of
the more exciting Daytona
500 s in recent memory.
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Gordon in victory lane at Daytona
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SPORTS
USCB^ERIES
Race: Stater Brothers 300
Where: California Speedway,
Fontana (2.0 miles). 150
laps/300 miles.
When: Saturday. Feb. 26
Last year's winner: Greg Bis
fie
Qualifying record: Kevin Har
vick, Chevrolet, 183.941
mph, April 26, 2003.
Race record: Hank Parker
Jr., Chevrolet. 155.957 mph,
April 28, 2001.
Last race: Tony Stewart, in a
Chevrolet, won the Hershey's
Take 5 300 at Daytona, his
first-ever victory in the Busch
Series.
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1
ICK
Race: American Racing
Wheels 200
Where: California Speedway,
Fontana (2.0 miles), 100
laps/200 miles.
When: Friday. Feb. 25
Last year's winner: Todd Bo
dine
Qualifying record: Travis Kva
pil, Toyota. 178.669 mph,
Oct. 24, 2004.
Race record: Ted Musgrave,
Dodge, 145.926 mph. Sept.
20, 2003.
Last race: Bobby Hamilton,
in a Dodge, won the Florida
Dodge Dealers 250 at Day
tona.
“plate racing.” It was his ninth re
strictor-plate victory, ranking him
second only to the late Dale Earn
hardt, who won 11.
Gordon is a proponent of the cur
rent rules package governing the
races at Daytona and Talladega.
“You know, you watch those truck
(series) guys, you watch those Busch
(Series) cars, and it’s pretty hairy,” he
said. “I think we’ve got a package
right now that allows for great racing,
allows for passing, but keeps us, you
know, able to control the cars, as
well.”
Gordon held on to first place
through a “green-white-checkered”
finish that extended the race by three
laps. He took the lead away from de
fending champion Dale Earnhardt Jr.
on the 198 th of 203 laps.
Gordon previously won the Daytona
500 in 1997 and 1999.
“You know,” he said, “this is a big
event. It’s a tough one to win. I think I
look more at how proud I am to have
won three more so than how long it’s
been since I won the last one.”
Contact Monte Dutton
at hmduttonso@aol.com
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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2005 ♦
-CALtFORNIA-OATA
m Auto Club 500 California 500
Feb. 27 Sept 4
[ I
Distance: 2.0 mile oval
Length of frontstretch: 2,500 ft.
Length of backstretch: 3,100 ft
Miles/Laps: 500 mi. - 250 laps
7*
Banktng in
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Tony
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T *
■■ jF|
Jimmie
Johnson
V
E
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s
u
s
Jimmie Johnson
vs. Tony Stewart
The two stars raced each other
aggressively in the final lap of the
Daytona 500, with Johnson finishing
fifth and Stewart seventh. In fact, it
looked at as if Stewart was trying to
shove Johnson into the wall. After
ward, the two Chevy drivers again
bumped each other on the cool-down
lap. But in the trailers after the race
and after a private meeting with
NASCAR officials the two said
there were no hard feelings.
NASCAR This Week's Monte
Dutton gives his take: "This little
scrape was predictable, given the fre
netic nature of a 'green-white-check
ered' finish at Daytona. There proba
bly won't be any lingering effects.
Both are highly competitive, but nei
ther holds grudges."
sEGCNPS~ANP»fcORI
‘The Rock’ will be sorely
missed by longtime fans
North Carolina Speedway,
dropped from the schedule this year,
will be sorely missed by competitors
and fans alike. The Rockingham track
used to offer “a normal race" after all
the glitter and hype of Daytona. That
won’t be the case in Fontana, where
California Speedway now occupies
the slot traditionally held by “the
Rock." The first race ever held at
Rockingham, in 1965, marked the fi
nal major victory of the late, great
Curtis Turner.
FAN
Waltrip calling on guys to
help his charitable cause
For the third year in a row,
Michael Waltrip is calling on men
across the country to help him raise
funds for charity. This year, it’s for
Kyle and Pattie Petty's Victory Junc
tion Gang Camp, which creates mem
orable camping ex
periences for chil
dren with chronic or
life-threatening ill
nesses. To help,
men just have to
log on to www.just
formen.com and
enter the Just For
Men Haircolor "Hit
Your Target" Sweep
stakes. By enter-
Waltrip
ing, men will be eligible to win an all
expenses-paid trip to the 2005 Ford
400 race at the Homestead-Miami
Speedway, and for every entry, $1 will
go to the Victory Junction Gang
Camp. To enter via mail and receive
the appropriate entry fo ( rm, send a
self-addressed stamped envelope
(Vermont and Washington residents
may omit return postage) to: Just For
Men Haircolor "Hit Your Target"
Sweepstakes; PO. Box 3667; Pitts
burgh, PA 15230.
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