Gatorade Duel at Daytona

Duel #1
5 Kasey Kahne
4 Matt Kenseth
3 Kevin Harvick
2 Regan Smith

VICTORY LANE

Kurt Busch takes home another win at Daytona making it two for two now after his Bud Shooout victory

OTHER STORIES IN THIS RACE

-Ryan Newman spun early on

-Two by two racing was again the theme
–Partners include Matt Kenseth/Kevin Harvick, Juan Montoya/Kasey Kahne, Kurt Busch/Regan Smith

-Transferring his way into the 500 is JJ Yeley

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Fresh off her rousing opening performance at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards, Country music star Martina McBride will sing the National Anthem for the 53rd running of the Daytona 500 on Sunday, February 20, NASCAR biggest and most prestigious race of the season.

“We’re looking forward to having one of the most popular and recognized voices in country music perform the National Anthem for the Daytona 500,” Daytona International Speedway President Joie Chitwood III said. “With hundreds of thousands of race fans in attendance and the tens of millions more watching live on FOX, we look forward to hearing Martina’s rendition of the National Anthem.”

“Singing our National Anthem is always a great honor for me,” McBride said. “I’ve had the pleasure of singing it at so many prestigious events and now I get to add the historic Daytona 500 to that list. You can’t get any more all-American than NASCAR and country music so I’m looking forward to seeing so many of our mutual fans at this impressive event.”

McBride is a four-time Country Music Association Female Vocalist of the Year, three-time American Country Music Female Vocalist of the Year and a Grammy winning recording artist with more than 18 million in album sales and 24 top-10 singles, including six that reached No. 1.

McBride, whose hits include “Independence Day,” “Wild Angels,” “A Broken Wing,” “Blessed,” “Concrete Angel” and “This One’s for the Girls,” recently signed with Big Machine Label Group’s Republic Nashville and is currently in the studio recording her 11th studio album that will be released later this year.

FYI WIRZ is the swift presentation of pertinent motorsports topics by Dwight Drum @ Racetake.com

It’s a gigantic question: How does a young Late Model driver in training make a path to big-time racing when so many hurdles persist?

NASCAR driver Clint Bowyer has come a long way from the short track racing he still enjoys when he gets time. Bowyer had words for aspiring young drivers wanting to break through to the top, but he also points out limitations.

“Keep digging, win races,” Bowyer said. “Jamie McMurray, Carl Edwards, myself, all three Midwestern guys that are here because of the stepping stones from NASCAR.
They went to trucks. I got my break in the ARCA series, then the Nationwide Series, then the Cup Series.

“There are stepping stones to get you to this level. They’re all a lot harder to reach right now because of the funding. A guy racing around at a local level with no marketing background, nobody helping him, it’s almost virtually impossible. That’s what tough.

“A lot of doors open because of the opportunities you have along the way, taking advantage of those. But those advantages are few and far between right now.”

One fortunate prospect, Cody Coughlin, is the son of John and one of four brothers who own and operate JEGS Mail Order. Just 15 years old, Coughlin is part of a team stepping out of familiar drag racing turf to go circle racing.

Just having the Coughlin name creates a legacy and a responsibility to keep the popular JEGS banner in front of as many eyes as possible. Cody understands his role.

Cody Coughlin gets advice from crew chief Rich Lushes In NHRA drag racing, Team JEGS serves a dual purpose of branding and racing. With a third generation JEGS racer seeking alternate forms of racing, an advertising role takes shape also.

“It’s for the business,” Coughlin said. “That’s not the reason I chose circle tracks, but it also helps.”

Cody’s top try has top resources. For JEGS, the additional exposure is business as usual. Stock car fans and Late Model racers are a customer base that JEGS marketing seeks. It’s outside their iconic establishment in the National Hot Rod Association, but it’s not outside their future.

“I’m really excited about it,” Coughlin said. “We got the new CRA JEGS all-stars tour. We’re going to have a crate engine in it. We got a lot of good people on our team. We got Gary and Rich who just came on board. We got a lot of good people.”

Crew chief Rich Lushes has recently joined Team JEGS and is confident in Cody and the organization.

“I worked with bunch of young kids like him,” Lushes said. “I worked with Landon (Cassill). I worked with Michael Annette. I’ve worked with so many young kids at that age so I’ve got a little bit of a background of how to deal with them.

“It’s definitely a top notch organization with resources. At this level, this is definitely a top notch team, well funded, well organized. We’re looking at definite bright future here. The possibilities are endless.”

Landon Cassill and Rich Lushes in the New Smyrna Speedway infield While the Team JEGS Late Model effort was racing in February at New Smyrna Speedway, NASCAR announced that it has lowered the age limit for drivers competing in its regional touring series from 16 to 15. That change applies to drivers in the K&N Pro Series East and West, Whelen Modified Tour, Whelen Southern Modified Tour and Canadian Tire Series.

That could be good news for this team down the road, but for now it’s all about learning.
A young but experienced NASCAR driver Landon Cassill, 19, has been mentoring the younger Coughlin last year and again this year at New Smyrna.

“For Cody right now, the toughest thing that he’s going to battle is harnessing the speed. For him keeping the car in one piece and under control—through doing that he’ll learn all the fundamentals that he needs to know. It’s just keeping him focused on keeping the car in one piece.

“There’s times that you going to worry about winning and times that you’re not worried about winning. You’re worried about just keeping it together.”

Coughlin has met with many NASCAR stars in person and on the phone where good advice flows naturally. He also has two-time ASA champion Gary St. Amant as coach to steer his skills properly.

Coughlin sees himself like Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart making it all the way to NASCAR.

“I’m very optimistic about it,” Coughlin said. “I think that we’ll get there. I just got to take it one series at a time. You can’t get to NASCAR without doing this stuff and this is a lot of fun.”

Jack Roush, owner Roush-Fenway Racing, got his start in drag racing then moved over to NASCAR and knows much about racing and sponsorships.

“JEGS is a great automotive-based company, more in line with the way at the dawn of the NASCAR half-century. To start with sponsors were companies that sold cars, sold gas, sold tires, sold oil and other automotive products. To have a warehouse known for drag racing to jump in, I think shows the commercial value and the marketing appeal of NASCAR. At the same time it shows that JEGS is a heads-up company.”

Whether Cody Coughlin becomes a NASCAR driver is in the future, but he has the resources and the drive to get there. Perhaps in the commercial world and in the youthful racing world more matchups like JEGS with Cody are possible going forward.

Until then for Cody and others his age, it’s best to follow Bowyer’s words: “Keep digging, win races.”

FYI WIRZ is the swift presentation of pertinent motorsports topics by Dwight Drum @ Racetake.com

The opinions expressed in this articles are solely those of the author and not this website.

SHOW #145 – Toby Christie guest hosts, and Jamie Allison from FORD joins us as we recap the Bud Shootout, Daytona 500 Qualifying, and preview the Great American Race. Hosted by Kerry Murphey and Paul Northrop

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CREDITS:
Hosts: Kerry Murphey & Paul Northrop
Production: Kerry Murphey
Music: Radium Sound
Voice Over: Thomas Moog

NEWS BITES: Is a new feature of The Final Lap designed for you to get some quick NASCAR News, and go about your life faster.
Smoke Screen
Tony Stewart’s only scheduled NASCAR Nationwide Series race this year is one he’ll be favored to win. And why not? The two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion has won five of the last six NASCAR Nationwide Series season-openers, including the last three. Dale Earnhardt holds the series record with five consecutive victories at Daytona to open the year. This will, however, be Stewart’s first race in the NASCAR Nationwide Series new car.

Stewart will be joined by seven other NASCAR Sprint Cup regulars in this race, including Dale Earnhardt Jr. and 2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series champion Brad Keselowski.

Danica’s Back At Daytona
After running in 13 NASCAR Nationwide Series races last year – her first competition in a stock car – open-wheel star Danica Patrick is back for more this year. She’ll run 12 races in 2011 for JR Motorsports, starting with the first four of the season.

Patrick made strides last year, particularly at season’s end when she was able to compete in the last five races. She had arguably her best run in the fall race at Auto Club Speedway before getting caught up in an accident. At Homestead-Miami Speedway, she started fifth and finished 19th – both her career bests in NASCAR national series competition.

For The ‘Record’: Budweiser Shootout A Sign Of Things To Come?
Last Saturday night’s Budweiser Shootout ratcheted up anticipation for Sunday’s Daytona 500, big time. There were a race-record 28 lead changes in the 75-lap event. The overall record for lead changes at Daytona is 60 lead changes, a number that could conceivably be reached if the Shootout’s trend continues.