By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

(February 19, 2011)

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.—With a shove from Landon Cassill, Tony Stewart surged past Clint Bowyer at the finish line to win Saturday’s season-opening Drive4COPD 300, his fourth straight NASCAR Nationwide Series victory at Daytona International Speedway.

Bowyer ran second .007 seconds behind Stewart. Cassill came home third, followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr., who had pushed Bowyer for six laps after a restart on Lap 115 of the 120-lap race. The margin of victory was the third-closest in series history and the closest ever for a NASCAR Nationwide finish at Daytona.

Danica Patrick finished 14th, one lap down, her best result in 14 NASCAR Nationwide starts.

Cassill also was involved in another pivotal moment of the race.

With the field bunched after a restart on Lap 104, Cassill moved down on drafting partner Brad Keselowski, knocking Keselowski’s No. 22 Dodge into the infield grass. Keselowski, the defending NASCAR Nationwide Series champion, turned back across the track and sandwiched the No. 39 Ford of Josh Wise against the outside wall in the tri-oval, then bounced off the wall himself.

The crash ended Keselowski’s streak of 102 straight races without a DNF (did not finish).

It was restrictor-plate racing like no one had ever seen before. By Lap 55 of 120, a paired-up four-car breakaway involving the tandems of Keselowski-Trevor Bayne and Kyle Busch-Joey Logano had opened a 17-second lead over Stewart and Bowyer, who were running fifth and sixth at the time.

By the time NASCAR called a debris caution on Lap 100, there were only 12 cars on the lead lap—unheard of in modern-day restrictor plate racing, which typically features large packs of cars racing in close quarters within a few seconds of each other.

Note: Pit road at Daytona has been a veritable briar patch for Earnhardt, and Saturday was no exception. Stopping under caution on Lap 17, Earnhardt drove past his No. 5 pit stall and headed for the No. 88, his NASCAR Sprint Cup number. The crew remedied that by holding out a No. 88 pit sign for Earnhardt on the next stop, meaning that both Earnhardt and JR Motorsports teammate Aric Almirola had No. 88 signs.

By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

(February 18, 2010)

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.—Ten years to the day from his first victory in the Daytona 500, Michael Waltrip made a slingshot pass of Elliott Sadler at the end of a green-white-checkered-flag finish Friday night to win the NextEra Energy Resources 250 Camping World Truck Series race at Daytona International Speedway.

The victory in the season opener, which went three laps past its scheduled distance of 100 laps, was Waltrip’s first in the truck series.

It also was the 10th anniversary of the death of Dale Earnhardt Sr., who owned the car Waltrip drove to his 2001 Daytona 500 victory. Waltrip is racing in all three of NASCAR’s top three touring series this weekend, and he decaled his truck and cars to honor Earnhardt.

“I came here to celebrate his life with my black truck and my No. 15 car,” an emotional Waltrip said after the race. “I didn’t come here to celebrate a win.”

Sadler crossed the line in second place, followed by Clay Rogers, Miguel Paludo and Kyle Busch.

“I went to victory lane to congratulate him,” Sadler said, “and I said to Michael, ‘If anyone deserves to win a race today, you do.’ ”

Jennifer Jo Cobb finished sixth, the highest finish in the truck series for a woman. Cobb, 37, also became the first woman to finish in the top 10 in any of the top three divisions at Daytona.

Sadler held the lead for a restart on Lap 89 and surged ahead with help from Waltrip. Busch made his move in the closing laps, pushing Chris Fontaine toward the front. But contact between Brad Sweet and Parker Kligerman on Lap 96 started a chaotic wreck that took out most of the cars that were still running, after a 14-car pileup on Lap 75 trimmed the field.

James Buescher led the first 55 laps, which included a cycle of green-flag pit stops, before the bed cover of No. 07 Chevrolet of Donnie Neuenberger’s truck flew off in Turn 4 to cause the second caution of the race.

Timothy Peters, the winner of last year’s season opener at Daytona, took the lead after a fuel-only pit stop under caution on Lap 56. Ricky Carmichael was second off pit road, with Buescher third for a restart on Lap 58.

Those three drivers remained 1-2-3 until the hood of Justin Marks’ Chevy came loose on Lap 66, flew up and covered the windshield. Unable to see the track ahead of him, Marks slammed into the Turn 1 wall to bring out caution No. 3.

Carmichael won the race off pit road after fuel stops on Lap 67, as the trucks reached a pit window that would allow them to complete the race without another stop. Rogers, who remained on the track during the caution, led the field to the green flag on Lap 70, but Sadler quickly surged into the lead from the outside line, bringing Buescher with him.

Sadler stayed on point until a wild 14-truck wreck on Lap 75, ignited when Travis Kvapil blew a tire, collected a number of trucks that figure to be championship contenders this season, including those of defending champ Todd Bodine, Ron Hornaday Jr. and Matt Crafton.

1 33 Clint Bowyer(i) Rheem Heating, Cooling Chevrolet
2 1 Landon Cassill Phoenix Construction Chevrolet
3 5 Dale Earnhardt Jr.(i) Hellmann’s Chevrolet
4 7 Danica Patrick GoDaddy.com Chevrolet
5 31 Justin Allgaier Brandt Chevrolet
6 20 Joey Logano(i) GameStop Toyota
7 16 Trevor Bayne Ford Drive One Ford
8 18 Kyle Busch(i) Z-Line Toyota
9 60 Carl Edwards(i) Fastenal Ford
10 6 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Blackwell Angus Ford
11 11 Brian Scott Shore Lodge Toyota
12 22 Brad Keselowski(i) Discount Tire Dodge
13 62 Michael Annett Pilot Travel Centers/Flying J Toyota
14 4 Tony Stewart(i) Oreo/Ritz Chevrolet
15 88 Aric Almirola GT Vodka/Hard Rock Chevrolet
16 32 Reed Sorenson Dollar General Chevrolet
17 12 Sam Hornish Jr. 392 Dodge Challenger Dodge
18 87 Joe Nemechek D.A.B. Constructors, Inc. Toyota
19 2 Elliott Sadler OneMain Financial Chevrolet
20 38 Kasey Kahne(i) Great Clips Chevrolet
21 66 Steve Wallace 5 Hour Energy Toyota
22 30 Jason Leffler AccuDoc Chevrolet
23 52 Bobby Santos Target Your Market Promotions Chevrolet
24 70 Shelby Howard Foretravel Chevrolet
25 09 Kenny Wallace UNOH Toyota
26 99 Michael Waltrip(i) Pastrana Waltrip Racing Toyota
27 01 Mike Wallace G&K Services Chevrolet
28 44 Jeff Green TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet
29 51 Jeremy Clements RaceDaySponsor.com Chevrolet
30 19 Mike Bliss TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet
31 39 Josh Wise Cajun USA Ford
32 25 Kelly Bires RaceDaySponsor.com Ford
33 81 Donnie Neuenberger Eagle Convenience Stores Dodge
34 14 Eric McClure Hefty Black Out Chevrolet
35 41 Patrick Sheltra Fuel Doctor Ford
36 15 Todd Bodine(i) Tire Kingdom/Valvoline Toyota
37 24 Kevin Lepage RaceDaySponsor.com Ford
38 23 Robert Richardson Jr. Wildlife Conservation Society Dodge
39 89 Morgan Shepherd Salvation Army Chevrolet
40 27 JR Fitzpatrick Schick Hydro/Energizer Ford
41 28 Derrike Cope ThePreventionPlan.com Chevrolet
42 40 Scott Wimmer Key Motorsports Chevrolet
43 05 David Starr(i) 31-W Insulation Chevrolet

1 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet
2 24 Jeff Gordon Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet
3 22 Kurt Busch Shell/Pennzoil Dodge
4 31 Jeff Burton Caterpillar Chevrolet
5 78 Regan Smith Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet
6 33 Clint Bowyer Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet
7 29 Kevin Harvick Budweiser Chevrolet
8 15 * Michael Waltrip NAPA Auto Parts Toyota
9 17 Matt Kenseth Crown Royal Black Ford
10 18 Kyle Busch M&M’s Toyota
11 4 Kasey Kahne Red Bull Toyota
12 92 * Brian Keselowski # K-Automotive Dodge
13 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Target Chevrolet
14 1 Jamie McMurray Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet
15 43 A J Allmendinger Best Buy Ford
16 2 Brad Keselowski Miller Lite Dodge
17 5 Mark Martin GoDaddy.com Chevrolet
18 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Express Toyota
19 27 Paul Menard Menards/Peak Chevrolet
20 56 Martin Truex Jr. NAPA Toyota
21 39 Ryan Newman U.S.Army Chevrolet
22 99 Carl Edwards Aflac Ford
23 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s/KOBALT Tools Chevrolet
24 00 David Reutimann Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota
25 14 Tony Stewart Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet
26 16 Greg Biffle 3M Ford
27 83 Brian Vickers Red Bull Toyota
28 37 Robert Richardson Jr.(i) North Texas Pipe Ford
29 09 * Bill Elliott Phoenix Construction Chevrolet
30 7 Robby Gordon SPEED Energy Dodge
31 47 Bobby Labonte Kroger/USO Toyota
32 21 Trevor Bayne(i) Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford
33 46 * J J Yeley Red Line Oil Chevrolet
34 6 David Ragan UPS Ford
35 9 Marcos Ambrose Stanley Ford
36 77 Steve Wallace(i) 5-hour Energy Toyota
37 71 Andy Lally # Super Eco-Fuel Saver Chevrolet
38 20 Joey Logano Home Depot Toyota
39 34 David Gilliland Taco Bell Ford
40 38 * Travis Kvapil(i) Long John Silver’s Ford
41 87 * Joe Nemechek(i) AM FM Energy Toyota
42 36 * Dave Blaney Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet
43 32 * Terry Labonte U.S. Chrome Ford

Did Not Qualify: #64 Derrike Cope; #97 Kevin Conway(i); #60 Todd Bodine(i); #66 Michael McDowell; #13 Casey Mears.

Duel #2

5 Brian Keselowski
4 Kyle Busch
3 Michael Waltrip
2 Clint Bowyer

VICTORY LANE

Jeff Burton takes home the win with help from his two car drafting partner Clint Bowyer

OTHER STORIES IN THIS RACE

-Casey Mears blew yet another engine on his #13 machine

-Joey Logano received a mangled #20 car hitting the inside wall

-Brad Keselowski went spinning in turn 3

-Denny Hamlin went for a wild ride on the backstretch, no damage

-Todd Bodine crashed out of his shot at getting into the 500 with just a handful of laps to go. He collected Steve Wallace.

-A wreck coming to the checkered flag involving a loose Jeff Gordon, his drafting partner Trevor Bayne and David Ragan

-Brian Keselowski and Michael Waltrip races their way into the 500