Sofa Sideline – The Non-Twin 125s

Jeff Gordon showed us why he was smiling after last weekend’s
Budweiser Shootout, when he easily reeled in the win during the Gatorade 125
qualifying race for the Daytona 500. Gordon took the lead on the first lap and
never looked back, leading all 50 laps of the first event and earning the third
starting position for Sunday’s race.

"My car was handling real good," said Gordon after
the victory.

Rounding out the top five were; Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kenny
Schrader, Ricky Rudd, with Terry Labonte finishing fifth. An early five car
breakaway made it next to impossible for the rest of the pack to catch up, with
only the two leaders of the second group, Rudd and Marlin, catching the front
pack during the final laps of the race. Sterling Marlin finished sixth.

The race ran caution free, but the black flag was thrown
twice for violations of the NASCAR rule that prevents drivers from going below
the yellow line on the inside of the track. During lap one, Geoffrey Bodine was
black-flagged, and lap eight saw pole-sitter, Jimmie Johnson get the black flag.
Both drivers had to come in for a stop-and-go penalty, and it nearly cost Bodine
a starting position for the 500.

Kyle Petty started the race with a decent run, but wound up
finishing 17th, just shy of a guaranteed starting spot. It was a tough couple of
hours, but the good news is that Kyle made the race based on his qualifying time
and will be starting in 34th position. It would have been a sad occasion had he
not made it, and hopefully, provides the impetus to get this team headed in the
right direction once again.

Michael Waltrip – winner of the second Gatorade 125!

Michael Waltrip took the lead on lap 7, spending most of the
rest of the time battling Tony Stewart for the lead. On lap 39 Stewart got
caught in the draft and was shuffled back several positions. Waltrip was able to
hold of the rest of the field to gain the win, and Stewart was able to march his
way back to the front to take second place. Finishing second was Jerry Nadeau,
followed by Kevin Harvick, with Bobby Labonte taking the fifth spot.

What a difference between the first and second 125. The
second race saw a lot of side-by-side racing, with much more jockeying for
position going on. There were also two cautions; the first on lap ten when an
ignition box problem for Mike Skinner caused him to loose speed, causing
Buckshot Jones to slam on the brakes, causing Mike Wallace to run into Jones,
who clipped the left rear of Rusty Wallace, as well as sending Jimmy Spencer
spinning into the infield. Shawna Robinson was also caught up in it. When all
was said and done there were eight cars involved in the mishap.

Skinner and Spencer were both able to make it back into the
race, but had to start from the end of the lead lap after being penalized for
pitting too early. Spencer had made it back to the "transfer"
position, but on lap 29, blew the right front tire and slammed into the turn 2
wall, causing him to be eliminated from the Daytona 500. Skinner managed to wind
up with a tenth place finish and will be starting twentieth on Sunday.

Other Notes:

On the last lap Mayfield was trying to get past Stewart to
take over second place. In an effort to block that from happening, Stewart drove
Mayfield way down on the apron, causing both cars to go below the yellow line.
Neither car was black-flagged. I’m not sure how this was different from the
two incidents that occurred during the first 125?

Dave Marcis’ seventh place finish in today’s race,
garnered him a starting position for the Daytona 500 in what is to be his final
race. It was good to see him make the race, and hope he does well during the
race!

Tony Stewart took a verbal "swipe" at Bobby Labonte
for not drafting with him to help push him to the front. He seems to have a
short-memory in not recalling how he hung Bobby out in Talladega last fall and,
as a consequence, what was the result.

What I really thing is going on here, is that, although
Stewart is the odds on favorite to win the championship, Labonte is just as
hungry, and wants a second title. The race is on, and in my opinion, the three
top contenders are Gordon, Labonte and Stewart. The name of the game is
"every man for himself."

After being sidelined in the 125, Shawna Robinson didn’t
think she made the race. Apparently, she didn’t believe it until she heard
congratulations come her way from Dale Jarrett. She is only the second woman to
start the 500. Let’s hope there are many more to come!

Congratulations go out to "Front Row Joe" Nemechek
for capturing the pole position for Saturday’s Busch series season opener in
Daytona.

Looking forward to a great race on Sunday – sticking with
the prediction that Jeff Gordon will be the winner.

That’s it for now.