New faces, new sponsors begin new year at Daytona

By NASCAR.COM
February 19, 2008
12:17 PM EST

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A recap of the season-opening weekend at Daytona:

Figuratively speaking

• 123 -- Laps completed in the Daytona 500 before FOX showed actress Ashley Judd, wife of driver Dario Franchitti. He started 40th and finished 33rd, one lap down.

Sprint Cup Series

Pit Crew of the Week

No 48. Chevrolet: Who else? Crew chief Chad Knaus called for a two-tire stop and air-pressure adjustment on Lap 200 and the 48 car was first out of the pits, marking a 12-spot improvement. Jimmie Johnson led his first laps of the race and from there coasted to the title.

Tip of the Week

Radiators are often ignored. Yet keeping engines cool and running in the right temperature range is critical to taking the heat off your engine.

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Race
Lineup | Results | Standings | Central

• The Penske Dodges ganged up on Tony Stewart during a three-lap run to the finish Sunday, propelling Ryan Newman to victory in the 50th Daytona 500.
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Qualifying
• Jimmie Johnson affirmed the dominance of Hendrick Motorsports -- as if it needed affirmation -- by capturing the pole for the Sprint Cup season opener. Michael Waltrip backed up the improvement Toyota has shown during preseason testing by grabbing the other front-row starting spot.
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• With a push from Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin won the second Gatorade Duel 150 qualifying race for the Daytona 500 in a green-white-checkered-flag finish. In the first Duel 150, Dale Earnhardt Jr. passed Ryan Newman for the lead on Lap 51 of 60 and held on for the win.
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Also check out ...
• Relive 50 years of the Great American Race

Nationwide Series

Race
Lineup | Results | Standings | Central

• Polesitter Tony Stewart repelled a strong challenge from teammate Kyle Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr. on Saturday to win the first race of the season.
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Qualifying
• Nationwide Insurance began 2008 as the new title sponsor of NASCAR's No. 2 series -- and the Camping World 300 featured eight former series champions.
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Craftsman Truck Series

Race
Lineup | Results | Standings | Central

• Todd Bodine, the 2006 series champion, held off Kyle Busch and Johnny Benson during a nine-lap run to the finish on Friday night to win the season-opening race.
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Qualifying
• Erik Darnell, the only driver to surpass 176 mph in qualifying, started on the pole for the Chevy Silverado 250.
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Survey says ...

Leading into the Daytona 500, NASCAR.COM asked:
Which non-Hendrick driver starting the top 10 has the best chance to win?

Driver	Votes	Pct.

Tony Stewart	81,825	61%
Michael Waltrip	18,637	14%
Ryan Newman	11,455	9%
Denny Hamlin	9,771	7%
Kasey Kahne	8,632	6%
Reed Sorenson	3,141	2%
Total	13,3461

Off the Marx

Bill Marx of the Sporting News Wire Service weighs in with his top 10:

Pos.	Driver	Need to know ...

1	Kyle Busch	Yes, Ryan Newman won the race, but Busch was the dominant driver Sunday. In fact he was the dominant driver all weekend adding second-place finishes in the Craftsman and Nationwide races.
2	Ryan Newman	What a great way to snap a long (81 races) winless drought.
3	Tony Stewart	Strong all day. A factor until the end.
4	Kurt Busch	Started 43rd and finished second. Newman doesn't win without help from his teammate. Be honest: How many of you asked this question: Would the previous driver of the No. 2 been there for Newman?
5	Denny Hamlin	Teammate Kyle Busch led the most laps, 86. Hamlin was next at 32 (and Stewart gave Joe Gibbs Racing a sweep of the top three in laps led with his 16). His 17th-place finish did not reflect his strength.
6	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Junior ran among the leaders the entire race and led 12 laps en route to a ninth-place finish. You wonder, though, how much better his night would have been had he pitted during one of those final cautions.
7	Reed Sorenson	His fifth-place finish was no fluke -- nor was his start from inside of the third row. He's in line for a win in 2008.
8	Greg Biffle	There were times when Biffle looked awesome. He led seven laps and finished 10th.
9	Jeff Burton	Kids, what happened to Burton is a textbook example of getting "shuffled back." Burton had the point with three laps to go on the last restart; he finished 13th. He was left all alone in the middle as trains formed high and low.
10	Dodge	Six of the top eight cars were Dodges. When is the last time that happened? (That's a rhetorical question.) The Dodge boys: 1. Ryan Newman; 2. Kurt Busch; 5. Reed Sorenson; 6. Elliott Sadler; 7. Kasey Kahne; 8. Robby Gordon.