NASCAR Nationwide Daytona: Stewart Wins-Danica Crashes

The NASCAR Nationwide Series kicked off it's 2010 season with a popular new face and 15 NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers performing double duty. Danica Patrick's much anticipated NASCAR Nationwide Series debut was cut short after she was caught up in the biggest crash of the Daytona COPD 300. Meanwhile the race was decided just as Tony Stewart would say earlier in his in-race report, "It's up to me how we finish this race."

Stewart pulled away from NASCAR Nationwide full time driver, Justin Allgaier, to win his second Daytona NASCAR Nationwide race, for owners Delana and Kevin Harvick. It was Stewart's third NASCAR Nationwide Daytona race in a row and fifth total. In his interview, Tony Stewart praised the owners in his post race interview, "This is more about Kevin Harvick Inc giving me great equipment, than about me driving it. They gave me a great speedway car."

Danica is eliminated in a multi car crash on lap 68.
Danica Patrick was avoiding trouble until the halway point, when trouble found her. As Danica Patrick was coming down through the tri-oval, cars began wrecking 200 yards in front of her. As Danica approached the accident, the track was littered with cars crashing and sliding across the entire front stretch. With nowhere to go, Danica's car sustained damage to the right side of the car, then veered straight to the outside wall. View Danica's crash on ESPN here.

Danica's debut was going relatively well, as she avoided an accident on lap 7 and gained experience at one of the toughest tracks in NASCAR. Danica also gained experience making pit stops under green flag conditions and yellow flag conditions. Danica's first green flag pit stop didn't go perfectly, as she stalled exiting the pits and compounded the problem by over revving the engine.

During the race, Danica's car owner,Dale Earnhardt Jr, coached Danica during the yellow flag periods. Dale Jr coached Danica on everything from bump drafting to adjusting to the car throughout a green flag run. Dale Jr was up front most of the race and didn't work with Danica in the draft early in the race but it appeared the plan was to draft with Danica later in the race.

In her interview Danica said, "The disappointing thing about crashing, was the car was finally getting better and my confidence was getting stronger. I wish I could have finished the last 40 laps to get more experience, but I see what everyone was saying about the super speedways, not being able to see and it is hard to avoid trouble.
Terrible to ruin a perfectly good race car when it's not your fault."

Crash at halfway sets up potential final pit stops.
The big crash on the front stretch brought out a yellow at the perfect time for the leaders. All the leaders made their potential final pit stop, fueled up and slapped on four new tires to prepare for the end run. On the pit stops Tony Stewart came into the pits first and exited seventh after a bad pit stop in which the right tire changer struggled getting the tire on. Carl Edwards took advantage of the Stewart teams misfortune and came out of the pits in first.

With 36 laps to go another caution came out for debris, just after Dale Earnhardt Jr took over the lead. With 30 laps to go it was all NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers in the the top 10 as Dale Earnhardt Jr was clobbered and thrown upside down in front of the entire field as they headed down the back stretch.

Dale Earnhardt Jr flips down the back stretch with 29 laps to go.
Carl Edwards bumped Brad Keslowski on the right front, forcing Keslowski into the right rear quarter panel of Dale Jr. The result was Dale Jr getting turned sideways in front of the entire field of NASCAR Nationwide cars with no where to go. Dale Jr was then flipped upside down and smashed head-on into the wall destroying his #88 Hellman's Chevy. View the crash on ESPN's video page here.

Dale Jr said in an interview later,"You don't turn one over often, so you might as well make it look spectacular." The accident knocked out almost half of the NASCAR Cup drivers including Kevin Harvick, Greg Biffle, Kyle Busch among others. Tony Stewart was out front when the accident occurred and in Dale Jr's interview he made Stewart the favorite. When asked who can win Dale Jr laughed. " I don't know who was in the wreck. Tony Stewart looks good out there though, he can win."

Steven Wallace doesn't pit and leads the field to green on lap 25.
After the accident all the drivers came in for tires and topped off fuel as Stewart came into the pits first and exited the pits first on this round of pit stops. Although Steven Wallace didn't pit and led the NASCAR Sprint Cup regulars to the green flag on lap 25.

Stewart quickly blasted by Steven Wallace to gain the lead and during his in-race reporting interview for ESPN Stewart said "It's up to me how we finish this race." Stewart driving the Kevin and Delana Harvick owned #4 Oreo Chevy was the best of the rest after the big crash.

Justin Allgaier does well against the NASCAR Sprint Cup regulars.
Missed in all the excitement was a tremendous performance by Justin Allgaier, Penske Racing protege, who has been mentioned to replace Sam Hornish Jr, if Hornish can't live up to expectations in 2010. Allgaier, the only NASCAR Nationwide driver in th top ten at the end of the race, stayed tucked in behind Stewart the last 25 laps and his team told him, "Stay right where you are snug to Stewart's bumper."

Kyle Bush with a crippled car from the Dale Jr wreck, made his move to the front with seven laps to go. Moving up to the top five with the help of Kevin Harvick. Busch ran out of luck in the final lap as he got loose and collected Keseloski at the end of the back stretch.

sources:
ESPN TV
www.espn.go.com