Daytona: Love It Or Hate It

The Daytona 500, what a crazy race. Than again, what part of the weekend
wasn’t crazy? The Winston Cup guys gave us a rookie on the pole, an 18 car
pile-up, another six car wreck, a red flag, an illegal car repair, and somehow
Ward Burton found himself in victory lane at Daytona. That’s what you call luck.
Restrictor plate racing, love it or hate it, it always leaves us with something
to talk about.

Something else that left everyone talking was Saturday’s EAS/GNC Live Well
300 when the No. 3 returned to victory lane. One year after Dale Earnhardt’s
death, we sat back and watched as Dale Jr. piloted the No. 3 Richard
Childress-owned Chevy to the checkered flag.

The field was packed with Winston Cup regulars; Dale Earnhardt Jr., Michael
Waltrip, Matt Kenseth, Kenny Wallace, Jimmy Spencer, and pole sitter Joe
Nemechek. Although, some Busch Series regulars almost pulled out an upset. After
running in the top 10 most of the day, second year Busch Series driver Jamie
McMurray left many wowed by his performance . Still looking for his first career
top five finish, McMurray appeared to be on the right path. That was until lap
101 when McMurray was forced to pit after contact caused right side fender
damage to his car. Also involved were Greg Biffle, David Green and Randy LaJoie.
After making repairs in the pits, McMurray returned to the track and after
restarting in 19th, worked the car through the field for an 11th place finish.

McMurray’s new Brewco Motorsports teammate in 2002, Jeff Purvis, had a strong
run going in his first appearance in the Timberwolf car. Purvis was in 5th place
with just two laps to go when his right front tire went flat and Raybestos
rookie contender Scott Riggs sent him spinning through the infield. Purvis ended
the race two laps down in the 21st position.

Also grabbing headlines in the EAS/GNC Live Well 300, a wreck that collected
eight cars. Including the rides of Christian Elder, Ashton Lewis, and Hank
Parker Jr., to name a few.

Ahh, Daytona. Love it or hate it, it always leaves us with something to talk
about. And how could we forget, it also leaves us with a bunch of wrecked race
cars.