Some shots from the 2009 Daytona 500 race.
As I am sitting here running up high heating bills to stay warm, digging my self out of snow, and standing at the mail box daily for the tickets to Daytona that I ordered yesterday, I relish the thought of a warm sunny day basking in an over crowded stadium full of 100,000 plus fanatical fans wanting to see the greatest spectacle of sports which is NASCAR.
Yes it has been a long ,cold , bitter winter. What better way to shake off the doldrums of winter by basking in the sounds of 43 high octane fueled hot rods that only resemble a street car by the manufacture logo on the front hood racing by you at 200 MPH. What better way to welcome in warmer weather saturated with the smell of high octane fuel exhaust and burning rubber as the cars whizz past you down the front stretch at Daytona driven by the likes of Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, Mark Martin, Joey Logano, the Busch Brothers, Kevin Harvick, Jeff Gordon, Denny Hamlin, Dale Jr. , and the rest of a 43 car field.
Of course we always get a preview of what is in store as an appetizer with the Bud Shoot Out before the Daytona 500 race where all bets are off and the drivers bump and bang to get the coveted million dollar prize for winning the Bud Shoot Out if they are not involved in the "Big One".
NASCAR has added new twist to this years race by changing the rear spoiler and allowing a larger restrictor plate on the super speedway races. This might be a positive sign but it remains to be seen if it is a safe one. Another news flash is NASCAR is easing up on the drivers code of conduct on the track. Bump drafting is encouraged now? Does this mean that NASCAR is putting in a boxing ring in the infield to let the drivers vent their anger after the race?
Certainly an exciting prospect for the first two races in the 2010 season wouldn't you think?
There is nothing new under the sun.lol
ReplyDeleteI LOVE it, Photo! Great pics, and your writing had me jonesing for the sights, sounds, and smells of Daytona.
ReplyDeleteI may have to try to make it to one of the preliminary events down there.
Hey Photo!
ReplyDeleteI am finally excited to see some racing...looking forward to the duels on Thurs even!
Did you see the rules changes re: pit road. Those make some sense for once! Might mean more cars being a lap down though...
Athens:
ReplyDeleteYes there is. A new presidential candidate is putting his hat in the ring for 2012.
Gene:
ReplyDeleteI have been smelling high octane fuel, burning rubber, and hearing loud exaust all week now. My biological alarm clock just woke me up for the new season.
Klvalus:
ReplyDeleteHaven't yet on the pit road. Glad to see they did something though. What was it?
From Scene Daily :
ReplyDeleteNASCAR has changed two pit-road rules, one to keep drivers from being penalized when they are not at fault and another to keep drivers from exploiting the rules.
The changes, which apply to the Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck series, were revealed by NASCAR officials Thursday during a session to go over pit-road rules with select media.
A driver can no longer speed down pit road to avoid being lapped. In the past, if a driver needed repairs to his car on pit road, the team would work as long as possible and then the driver would speed down pit road to remain on the lead lap. The penalty would send him to the tail end of the longest line – where the driver would be anyway because the time spent on pit road would put him at the back of the field.
Now a driver caught speeding down pit road in an attempt to beat the caution car would either be held at the end of pit road or be forced to stop on the track and give the lap back.
The other change involves a situation in which a driver crosses the pit-road commitment line under green but then the yellow flag comes out before the driver hits the pit-road entrance line where the green/red light is located. Now, instead of being penalized, the driver can continue down pit road – even though the pits are technically closed – as long as the driver does not pit. The driver would be put back in line where the car was when it entered pit road.
In the past, drivers were penalized – either for coming back on the track after crossing the commitment line or for entering pit road when the pits were closed.
Thanks I think. They still have the 55 MPH limit on pit road so if a driver was speeding, they would be penalized any way.
ReplyDeleteWe will have to see how this pans out at Daytona.
Right but now if they speed to beat the pace car instead of going to the end of the line which was the penalty they will be held a lap AND be at the back of the field...
ReplyDeleteMakes sense. It will be interesting to see what happens.
ReplyDelete