A hole in the oil filter. That's what caused Kevin Harvick's car to slam into the turn one wall at Auto Club Speedway on Sunday (video can be seen here). With that impact, his streak of 81 races without a Did Not Finish (DNF) was over. 81 is now the longest streak ever in NASCAR's modern era [1972-current]. Harvick was only three races away from the all-time streak of 84 races held by Herman Beam from April 30, 1961 thru March 10, 1963.
This streak is one of the most impressive records in all of motorsports. Think about this, Harvick's last DNF before Sunday was in the Dover 400 on September 24, 2006. The streak covered parts of 4 seasons. In those 81 races, he ran a total of 8 races at Daytona and Talladega, home of restrictor place racing and "The Big One". He took his number 29 to the wreckfest at Bristol Motor Speedway 4 times. He visited the bullring at Martinsville 5 times. And he even competed in the 600 miler at Lowes Motor Speedway, a race historically tough on engines, twice.
But this is Kevin's style. When he passed the previous streak holder, he passed his own streak of 58 races that lasted from 10/3/2002 to 8/1/2004. During his 9 year Winston/Nextel/Sprint Cup career, a span of 288 races, he has only failed to complete a total of 14 races. He knows how to take care of his equipment, and this is also a testiment to his ability to drive a race car. Only a driver with good car control can keep himself in that many races. Even though the record is held by the driver, it unbelievable that Richard Childress Racing can build equipment that durable year after year. As impressive as Harvick's feat is, there is another driver who can eclipse his mark of 81 races and soon; his RCR teammate Clint Bowyer.
Clint Bowyer started his streak during his rookie season in November 2006, not long after Harvick started his. Bowyer's streak stands at 75 races without a DNF. During his Cup career, Bowyer has only recorded a DNF 4 times out of 110 races entered, which is only 3.6%. Impressive when you consider defending Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson has a total of 6 DNF's during his 3 championship winning seasons, 1 each in 2006 and 2008, and a 4 DNF season in 2007. In his 257 starts, Johnson has failed to complete 25 of them, almost 10% of all races. It's clear to see that even though having a DNF streak as long as Harvick and Bowyer, it doesnt equal a championship.
Bowyer is on pace to catch Harvick's 81 at Phoenix in April. Where will he pass Harvick and reach 82 straight? Talladega. He will catch Herman Beam's all time streak of 84 at Darlington, probably the most historical track on the circuit. But if Bowyer is successful in passing Beam, where will he become the all time record holder? Lowes Motor Speedway, following the Coca-Cola 600. One thing is for sure, if Bowyer does it, nobody will be able to say he wasn't tested getting there.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
The Daytona 380?
Ninety-One Days. Three Months. 13 Weeks. 2184 Hours. 131,040 Minutes, 7,862,400 Seconds. That's how long NASCAR fans waited to see a points-paying race since the 2008 Sprint Cup season ended at Homestead on November 16th. The first race is not just opening day for the 2009 season. This is the Super Bowl. This is Game 7. This is the National Championship Game. For NASCAR fans, and fans of motorsports across the nation, this is as big as it gets. The Daytona 500, or at least what is billed as the Daytona 500. Of all the major sporting championships in the world, auto racing is one of the very few that will allow their premier events to be terminated early because of weather coniditions. Why is this?
Keep in mind, NASCAR is not exclusive in this. This occures in almost all major forms of motorsport. The Indianapolis 500 has been shortened by rain seven times, and as recently as 2007. I personally believe these two events, The Daytona 500 and the Indianapolis 500, should run at least the full 500 miles (green-white-checkered could make it a bit longer). We owe it to the fans, the advertisers, and the teams that are in the event. Both events are run on holiday weekends. The Daytona 500 runs on Presidents Day weekend, and the Indy 500 on Memorial Day weekend. This provides a built in make-up day for a large part of the fans who spend their hard earned money to come to Daytona and watch the race. Many fans, in fact, plan to have Monday off in case the race gets pushed back a day. I heard the argument that the teams need to get back to the shops to prepare for the long trip out to California for next weeks race. Re-align the schedule so there is an off week between Daytona and the second race of the season. That way, there is no rush, and you have a built-in rain weekend if the race gets totally wiped out on Sunday. Once again, why do they allow these races to end early?
I have been listening to Sirius NASCAR Radio on satellite a lot this week, taking in what some of the "experts" and fans had to say about the topic. I have heard everything from, "that's the way it is and always was", and "it doesn't make sense to make the Daytona 500 different from every other race". These points hold no validity with me. Up until 2004, the NASCAR Cup championship was awarded to the driver with the most points over the entire season. Now, it's the 10 race Chase for the Cup format that was added to create excitement. NASCAR can make changes to improve the series. Every starting lineup for every race is set by time trials. One or two laps of qualifying, with the fastest lap earning the pole, going back to 35th, EXCEPT the Daytona 500, which has the Gatorade Duels qualifying races to help set the field. That's different then every other race. Once again, why do we allow the Daytona 500 to end early?
Don't get me wrong, Matt Kenseth is the Daytona 500 champion. He deserves the money, the trophy, and the points. The way the race ended does not take anything away from his victory, but in my opinion, it does take away from the race itself. I am sure I will never see this rule change in my lifetime, but it's something that should be addressed. The Daytona 500 should always be the Daytona 500, not the Daytona 250, 350, or 380.
Keep in mind, NASCAR is not exclusive in this. This occures in almost all major forms of motorsport. The Indianapolis 500 has been shortened by rain seven times, and as recently as 2007. I personally believe these two events, The Daytona 500 and the Indianapolis 500, should run at least the full 500 miles (green-white-checkered could make it a bit longer). We owe it to the fans, the advertisers, and the teams that are in the event. Both events are run on holiday weekends. The Daytona 500 runs on Presidents Day weekend, and the Indy 500 on Memorial Day weekend. This provides a built in make-up day for a large part of the fans who spend their hard earned money to come to Daytona and watch the race. Many fans, in fact, plan to have Monday off in case the race gets pushed back a day. I heard the argument that the teams need to get back to the shops to prepare for the long trip out to California for next weeks race. Re-align the schedule so there is an off week between Daytona and the second race of the season. That way, there is no rush, and you have a built-in rain weekend if the race gets totally wiped out on Sunday. Once again, why do they allow these races to end early?
I have been listening to Sirius NASCAR Radio on satellite a lot this week, taking in what some of the "experts" and fans had to say about the topic. I have heard everything from, "that's the way it is and always was", and "it doesn't make sense to make the Daytona 500 different from every other race". These points hold no validity with me. Up until 2004, the NASCAR Cup championship was awarded to the driver with the most points over the entire season. Now, it's the 10 race Chase for the Cup format that was added to create excitement. NASCAR can make changes to improve the series. Every starting lineup for every race is set by time trials. One or two laps of qualifying, with the fastest lap earning the pole, going back to 35th, EXCEPT the Daytona 500, which has the Gatorade Duels qualifying races to help set the field. That's different then every other race. Once again, why do we allow the Daytona 500 to end early?
Don't get me wrong, Matt Kenseth is the Daytona 500 champion. He deserves the money, the trophy, and the points. The way the race ended does not take anything away from his victory, but in my opinion, it does take away from the race itself. I am sure I will never see this rule change in my lifetime, but it's something that should be addressed. The Daytona 500 should always be the Daytona 500, not the Daytona 250, 350, or 380.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
