NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt lost his life fifteen years ago today in a wreck at the Daytona International Speedway.
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Kenseth, who had earned the outside front row starting spot for the 500, is one of those drivers that will have to drop to the rear of Sunday’s field in a back-up. He was killed on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500.Its another win at Daytona for the Earnhardts, adding to the legacy, Earnhardt said in victory lane. “The Intimidator” crashed hard into the outside wall of Turn 4 during the final lap of the Daytona 500, rocking the racing world and forcing NASCAR to take an immediate and aggressive stance on better protecting drivers. Among those who wrecked strong race cars were Johnson, Matt Kenseth and Martin Truex Jr., who will all have to go to backup cars for the Daytona 500.
The 32-year-old Smith had raced the last three seasons in the Xfinity Series behind the wheel of the No. 7 vehicle for JR Motorsports, owned by NASCAR’s most popular driver, Earnhardt. I’ve told all you guys how much I like people to remember dad, talk about dad. “I’m guilty of daydreaming a little bit about winning this race tonight because of the day”. “I had stalled out right when I got to the 18 vehicle (Kyle Busch), and I didn’t think the “48” had much of a run either. I was glad that nothing bad happened and we didn’t tear our vehicle up because that would have been embarrassing on a day like this”.
The accident started when second-place Jamie McMurray cut off Jimmie Johnson as he attempted to block the preferred high line. Kurt Busch finished third, followed by Carl Edwards and Ty Dillon. He has two top-10 finishes in 10 career races, and has an average finish of 22.2.
The sequence that spiced up an otherwise mundane qualifier used to set the 500 grid became more volatile when Casey Mears ran out of fuel while running second with two laps left. There was a time where we felt like we were going to be in a tough spot, you know, that we weren’t sure if we were going to be able to compete this year at all, whether an open auto or charter vehicle. Richardson manages hay production as his full-time job at a ranch in Pilot Point, Texas. I try not to make too big a deal.
Four drivers failed to make the starting field – Reed Sorenson, David Gilliland, Cole Whitt and Josh Wise.
Earnhardt dominated the 150-mile race and easily darted around leader Denny Hamlin with six laps remaining to cruise to the victory.
The two-time Daytona 500 victor from Cambridge, Wis., had qualified second-fastest to Chase Elliott in time trials, giving him the outside of the front row for the main event Sunday. Still, his Wood Brothers Racing team got him back on the lead lap and he was in position to work with Logano to make a late run at Earnhardt.
“The idea of driving a racecar, at every other racetrack we go to, you’re single-minded, you’re selfish and you’re a jerk”.
The question now is whether that step forward will continue through Sunday for BK. Its other new hire, Ragan, has a victory here in the July race and quietly raced well in the draft through Thursday’s Duel. He also aims to duplicate his feat in 2004 where in he won the Can-Am Duel and the Daytona 500 on the same year.
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For most of the night, the second Cam-Am Duel race was snooze city. He did it by leading 43 of 60 laps to triumph by 0.183 seconds over a charging Joey Logano.
