The Big 6: Questions Answered After the 2009 Daytona 500
The most recent Daytona 500 champion to win the Sprint Cup was Jimmie Johnson in 2006, the only driver in the last 10 years to accomplish that.
The most recent Daytona 500 champion to win the Sprint Cup was Jimmie Johnson in 2006, the only driver in the last 10 years to accomplish that.
With Daytona’s convoluted qualifying procedures, it’s easy to overlook things while just trying to figure out how the heck they set the field this year. What is with setting the Duels by owner points and then qualifying speed, anyway? Was it actually necessary? But there is one insidious little thing that has been happening in …
This was definitely the strangest offseason for me and a lot of my racecar driver friends. I’ve talked to a lot of great racecar drivers – I’ve talked to Jeff Burton, I’ve talked to Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. – and we all agree that this was the strangest offseason we’ve ever had. Usually by …
Who… gets my shoutout of the race? New readers, don’t expect to see the race winner here – he already gets a trophy and a check for his effort! Instead, this weekly shoutout goes to a driver who didn’t win, but impresses me all the way through with his effort from beginning to end. This …
Sometimes being in a position where it’s my job to scrutinize all things NASCAR under a microscope with a fine-toothed comb can skew the reality. Sometimes looking at every angle, every minute piece and part somehow takes away from the whole. And it’s that whole that I find myself desperately wanting to grasp again as …
With Daytona around the corner, the racing world is picking up speed, and with that comes a whole slew of questions – but not too many answers. So after a long and eventful offseason, it’s time to dust off the things that made it notable for me. First up, I have an issue with the …
After a year in the former No. 25, Casey Mears took over the driver’s seat in the No. 5 car for HMS, replacing Kyle Busch.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. started strong, but couldn’t close the deal. He was Hendrick’s best driver all spring; but once summer heated up, the No. 88 began to tail off.
Crew chief Chad Knaus said Jimmie Johnson’s team would be five months behind to start the season, and he was dead on – the first five months went by with hardly a whimper from the defending champions, save for a win at Phoenix.
Excuses, excuses. Everyone loves a good excuse, and this week, in the wake of Jimmie Johnson’s record-tying third straight Sprint Cup championship, I think I’ve heard them all. There are excuses why Johnson’s accomplishment isn’t as valid as Cale Yarborough’s was when he took three titles in a row in 1976-1978, compared to reasons why …
Editor’s Note: This diary is part of a wrap-up series detailing the end of the season for Frontstretch‘s four driver diary participants. With Thanksgiving right around the corner, I really want to look at the things I have to be thankful for. Two weeks before the Daytona 500, I didn’t have a ride. We pretty …
Who… gets my shoutout of the race? It’s not every day you get this prestigious honor for finishing 15th, but Jimmie Johnson earns it by way of becoming the second driver in history to win three consecutive Cup championships, tying the mark set three decades ago by his boyhood hero, Cale Yarborough. The title is also …
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