PHOTO: Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne in Victory Lane

Photo by www.DaveFranksPhotos.com

VIDEO: J.J. Yeley after qualifying for the Daytona 500

On Thursday afternoon, J.J. Yeley qualified for Sunday's Daytona 500. Following the post-qualifying press conference in the infield media centre, I asked Yeley about his Ohsweken Speedway firesuit....

PHOTO GALLERY: Daytona 500 (2/14/2010) by DaveFranksPhotos.com

This is a photo gallery from Daytona International Speedway on Sunday, February 14, 2010. It features the Daytona 500 and race winner Jamie McMurray. Thanks to Dave Franks for sharing his work. You can see Dave's website here.

Daytona 500: Post-race quotes - Jamie McMurray, Dale Earnhardt Jr. etc.

JAMIE MCMURRAY, NO. 1 BASS PRO SHOPS/TRACKER BOATS IMPALA: WINNER

FROM JAMIE MCMURRAY: "Unbelievable. Unbelievable. I told my wife today, she was like if you win tonight....oh I am going to cry...it is so unreal. I thought if I made it without seeing my Dad or my wife, I'd be ok. (IN TEARS) It is unbelievable really. I can't explain it. It is a dream. I mean it really it is.

"Where I was last year...and for Johnny Morris (Bass Pro Shops) and Chip (Ganassi) and Felix (Sabates), Bass Pro Shops to take a chance on me and let me come back, it means a lot to me. What a way to pay them back. Happy Valentines Day to my wife. My Dad is here, it is just very emotional.

"After we won Talladega, we went to McDonalds. I think tonight we will have a Big Mac."

TALK US THROUGH THE LAST LAP: "Biffle helped me out. I spun the tires on the restart. It is just a gamble on which line to get the biggest run. Greg gave me an unbelievable push down the backstretch. Then when I saw the No. 88 (Dale Earnhardt, Jr.) behind me, I thought 'Oh no'. He had a good car and Earnhardt at Daytona is just, I mean they win all the time it seems like. So you never know what to expect.

"I certainly thank the fans that stuck around. That was tough having to get in and out of the car but they stuck with us and it was cool to here the applause when I got back in car. Sprint for everything they do. I went to one of their parties the other night and Dan Hesson is just a great guy and it means a lot. Not only Sprint, but everybody that is a part of our sport. With the economy the way it is, we couldn't be here to put this show without all these sponsors. I want to get with my team."

KEVIN "BONO" MANION, CREW CHIEF, NO. 1 BASS PRO SHOPS/TRACKER BOATS IMPALA - Winner

"I guess this means I'm going to Disneyland! That was awesome. Chip, Felix, and Teresa give us everything we need. Brian Pattie, you couldn't ask for a better teammate and brother. You'd better watch out for this Earnhardt Ganassi Team this year. Thanks to everyone who helped push. I don't know; I closed my eyes for the last lap."

DALE EARNHARDT, JR., NO. 88 AMP ENERGY/NATIONAL GUARD IMPALA, FINISHED 2ND: "I am just disappointed to come that close and not win it but, I'll tell you. We did the right thing by coming down and getting two tires. The AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet was pretty good all day. Just working on some handling issues. I don't know if got them fixed or not. When it gets cold, everybody's car handles good. I want to thank my team for working really hard. The engine shop did an awesome job. The car worked really good. I'm happy for Jamie and his crew chief Bono who helped me when I was younger."

Jamie McMurray wins the Daytona 500

Jamie McMurray wins the Daytona 500. Dale Earnhardt Jr. came out of nowhere to take 2nd.

Daytona 500... closed for repairs

With 78 laps to go in the Daytona 500, the race has been red flagged so that a hole in the asphalt (near the bottom of turn 2) can be repaired.

With the cars parked on pit road, Clint Bowyer leads David Ragan, Kasey Kahne, Carl Edwards and Elliott Sadler.

So far in the race, Bowyer, Greg Biffle, Kevin Harvick, Mark Martin, AJ Allmendinger and Kurt Busch have all led a significant number of laps.

UPDATE: Engines re-fired at 5:01 p.m. after a 1 hour and 40 minute delay to repair holes in the track surface. The party line is that heavy rain and cold temps are to blame. That or a track that hasn't been re-paved since 1978. Dale Jr. had some timely comments on the issue two days before this race.

UPDATE 2: Another red flag, at lap 161. Report from Kevin Harvick (leader) that the original patch is now totally gone. Does anyone have a big wad of gum?

PHOTO GALLERY: Gatorade Duels (Feb. 11, '10) and Danica Patrick Press Conference

This is a photo gallery from Daytona International Speedway on Thursday, February 11, 2010. It features action from the Gatorade Duel qualifying races to set the field for the Daytona 500, as well as a press conference with Danica Patrick. Thanks to Dave Franks for sharing his work. You can see Dave's website here.

NASCAR Makes Rule Changes For 2010 Daytona 500

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Race fans have been delivering a strong message, and now in response, NASCAR has delivered a new rules package that will heighten the racing excitement for the prestigious 52nd annual Daytona 500 on Sunday, Feb. 14 at Daytona International Speedway.

The changes, which were announced on Thursday afternoon, include:

· Permitting bump drafting around the entire 2.5-mile tri-oval shaped track

· A larger restrictor plate that will provide the drivers with more horsepower

“We applaud NASCAR for listening to the race fans,” Daytona International Speedway President Robin Braig said. “The racing at Daytona has been exceptional year in and year out and these changes will give the drivers even more flexibility on the race track to provide the thrilling action that race fans come to expect at the Daytona 500.”

The new rules will be in effect for all of the Hershey’s Milk & Milkshakes Speedweeks 2010 events.

Fans will witness the new rules in action for the first time in the Budweiser Shootout, the 75-lap, non-points event that is part of racing tripleheader on Saturday, Feb. 6 with Daytona 500 Qualifying By Kroger and the Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200.

The new rules will also be in effect for the Gatorade Duel At Daytona, the no-holds barred 150-mile qualifying races which finalize the 43-car field for “The Great American Race.”

Tickets for all of Hershey’s Milk & Milkshakes Speedweeks events, including the Daytona 500, are available on your web-enabled phone at mobile.daytonainternationalspeedway.com, online at www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com or by calling 1-800-PITSHOP.

Fans can stay connected with Daytona International Speedway on Twitter (www.twitter.com/disupdates) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/DaytonaInternationalSpeedway).

And from Turn 3, you can see Cuba....

"Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin will be a VIP guest at next month's Daytona 500."

See the full piece at CBSsports.com

NASCAR Sprint Cup: Ford Fontana Friday Advance - Matt Kenseth transcript

Matt Kenseth, driver of the No. 17 Carhartt Ford Fusion, heads into this weekend’s race atop the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings following last Sunday’s victory in the Daytona 500. Kenseth won Auto Club Speedway in 2006 and ’07.

MATT KENSETH – No. 17 Carhartt Ford Fusion –

YOU’VE BEEN FROM THE EAST COAST TO THE WEST COAST THIS WEEK. HOW DID IT GO? “The week was really fun, actually. It was probably more fun than I expected it to be. I had a really good time, and it was a long week and kind of a tiring week. It was a lot of fun, got to see a lot of people, lot of places, and I probably enjoyed it more than I expected to and probably saw more people than I expected to in different areas as well. The whole week was fun. I’m glad to be back at the race track.”

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE STORIES FROM THIS WEEK THAT WILL PROBABLY STAY WITH YOU FOR A LONG TIME? “There’s a lot of them. Letterman was probably one of the coolest things. Once we started racing and running better, for some reason, I’ve always been like, ‘If I could go on one show, it would be to go on David Letterman and actually be on the couch and talk to him.’ I’ve been able to do the top 10 list a couple of times, the top 12 last year, and that was fun and everything, but you don’t even really even meet him, really. They kind of lock the doors and lock you in there; when he runs through he doesn’t want to see anybody. So, it’s kind of different than I expected. But, to be on there and actually be a guest on Letterman was probably a highlight for me, second to going to Victory Lane and seeing the guys and all of the looks on all of the faces and all of that, was the best part. But that was one of the cool things. The whole week was really good, mostly. Going to San Francisco – that’s one place you go that you never expect, at least I don’t, to see very many race fans. You don’t really think of it as a racing city and all that, and we actually saw fans all over the place. It really, really surprised me and that was really fun. Got to do a lot of cool things there and take a little time and see some stuff.”

NOW THAT YOU’RE THE DAYTONA 500 CHAMPION HOW MUCH BUSIER DO YOU EXPECT TO BE THIS YEAR? “I don’t know the answer to that question, to be honest with you. It’s been a crazy week, really; a fun week. I’ve probably enjoyed it and appreciated a lot more since it’s been a year since we’ve won a race, and to win the biggest race was pretty cool. So, I probably enjoyed it a little more because of that. It’s easy when things start going well to maybe not let it sink in or not appreciate it when you win or do good as much as if there’s a little space in between there. I did enjoy it all a lot. I do look forward to getting on the track here and concentrating on racing again. Have got to be a little bit careful not to enjoy it too much longer; you have to start thinking about the rest of the season and focus on this week, and the tracks are going to be really important to having a successful season. Just winning that race doesn’t make you have successful season, so we really need to move on from that. It’s a lot different from winning the championship. You had two months to enjoy it and celebrate do all of this crazy stuff, and here you’ve got a week and you better be pretty tuned in to what you’ve got going this week and the next 34 after that.”

ON LETTERMAN, YOU JOKED ABOUT HIM BEING TOUGH ON DALE EARNHARDT, JR. ARE DRIVERS GOING TO BE HESITANT TO BE CRITICAL OF HIM? AND, WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT GETTING THROUGH THAT ACCIDENT AT THE DAYTONA 500? “I don’t know. I was joking, trying to be funny. I don’t have anything to gain by pointing out who I think is wrong or who made a mistake or who caused a wreck or what you have, so if you don’t really have anything to gain by it to criticize somebody else for their driving or something is not really something that I need to do. I know that I’ve made my share of mistakes and my share of controversial stuff, and, you know, your peers are ripping on you because they think you did something wrong. It’s not a good feeling, so I don’t want to be on that side of that, either. Everybody’s going to create their own opinion. I’m glad we made it through the wreck. You always hope there’s no wrecks, but just like last year at Talladega, things are going to happen every now and then, and when you’re all racing hard, everybody knew that rain was coming, everybody was racing hard to get position in the lead, and those two were racing to get position for the Lucky Dog so they could get back in that thing because they were running out of time.”

YOU WON THE DAYTONA 500, BUT WERE NOT PART OF THE POST-RACE CONTROVERSY. IN THIS SPORT, THE WINNER IS OFTEN PART OF THE CONTROVERSY. SO, THAT WORKED OUT WELL FOR YOU. “Yeah. Obviously, if you could script it, you’d probably want to take the white and pass the leader on the last lap and take the checkered and do all of those things. I’ve been asked a lot about the rain all week, like I said a million times, everybody knew it was going, it wasn’t a surprise. It’s not like they just stopped the race. Everybody foresaw the rain. In a way, it actually made our job harder, I think. We took the green flag in 43rd and had to get by all of those guys. The race fan part of me likes controversy, but I don’t like to be a part of it. Controversy, if I’m not involved, then it’s fun to watch, fun to listen you guys talk about it, but when you’re one of the people in it, it’s not as much fun.”

THIS HAS BEEN A VERY HECTIC WEEK FOR YOU. HAS THERE BEEN ANYTHING YOU’VE BEEN ABLE TO DO TO GET PREPARED FOR THIS WEEKEND’S RACE? “Just sleep. Just try to eat good and sleep. Actually, I didn’t get that great of sleep last night, but I’ve been getting caught up a little bit. I was fairly tired on Monday and I got a lot of sleep, actually Monday night, and was more tired Tuesday, and then got not that much sleep Tuesday night, a lot Wednesday night, a lot Thursday night and feel like I’m almost back to normal. Probably getting in the car today and getting back to the normal weekend schedule like we do every weekend, besides Daytona, with normal three-day weekends, getting on the track and doing all of that will probably get me more prepared for it than anything else.”

WHAT WAS THE REACTION OF YOUR FATHER AND SON TO YOUR WIN? “They were pretty fired up. I talked to my dad a little bit – he actually talked to me more than I talked to him; he was pretty fired up. Ross was pretty excited, too, obviously. They both wished they would’ve been there; I wish they would’ve been there to celebrate and be part of the moment. But it’s been such a busy , crazy week I haven’t really gotten a chance to talk to them. I talked to my dad and I talked to Ross, they were the first two people I talked to, for a little while – a lot of emails and text back and forth. I’ve either been traveling the whole time or on shows the whole time or doing radio shows the whole time, and when I did have a little time to call somebody, I’m in a car full of people, and that’s not – it drives me crazy when people are on their cell phones and the car’s full of people, so I don’t want to be that guy. It’s honestly been pretty busy, and then with the time change out here, I haven’t gotten to talk to a whole bunch of people. They were very excited, along with a lot of other people I got messages from.”

DID YOU RECEIVE MORE TEXTS, EMAILS OR PHONE CALLS AFTER THE WIN? WHICH WAS THE COOLEST? “More texts and emails – I don’t know which one was the most – but a lot more of them than phone calls. I guess that’s the way it is today. My Sprint Blackberry was vibrating for about 20 minutes straight when I turned it on after the race, so that was pretty cool. I don’t have a coolest one. Every one was special in their own way. Whenever someone thinks of you, it’s pretty neat. I had lot of them that surprised me, I had a few of them that I kind of expected to hear from, which was cool, but every one, honestly, is special. Whenever anybody congratulates you or thinks about you long enough to send you a message, it always means a lot.”

YOUR SPOTTER, MIKE CALINOFF, IS IN THE GARAGE DISPLAYING HIS DAYTONA 500 CHAMPION TATTOO THAT IS ON HIS LEG. HE SAID YOU CHALLENGED HIM TO GET IT. AND, ARE THERE ANY THOUGHTS OF YOURSELF GETTING ONE? “No. I’m not a tattoo guy. I was kind of teasing Mike because I always tease him, but I was really teasing him because the week before we won the championship in ’03, which we were able to win a week early, actually, he went and got the championship tattoo put on his leg, and we were in Victory Lane celebrating the championship and he showed us he already had the tattoo, so I asked him Monday if he got the tattoo put on yet, before we won the race – if he really was a psychic. But, I was just giving him a hard time about it, but it didn’t surprise me that he did it.”

DOES THE FACT THAT YOU’VE HAD SUCH A GOOD RECORD HERE MAKE IT EASIER TO GO RACING THIS WEEKEND AFTER ALL YOU’VE BEEN THROUGH THIS WEEK? “For sure, it makes me a little more comfortable, and I feel a little better about it than if we were going to one of our more difficult ones, like Martinsville or something like that. You still never know what’s going to happen. You can’t take it for granted and not work as hard or do any of that and think you’re going to coast through it. But, I always have a lot of confidence coming out here. For some reason, our team, typically, maybe not last year, but most every year if you look at our numbers, it seems like we get started off fairly quick and that’s kind of been part of the reason that we’ve had some success. And we were able to do that, obviously, at Daytona, but hopefully we can keep that up. Usually the first part of the season is one of our stronger suits, it seems like. So, hopefully, we can keep that going and get a good finish here this weekend and keep some momentum up.”

From Jim Brumfield for Ford

Daytona 500: Matt Kenseth video clip from post-race press conference

PHOTO GALLERY: Daytona 500 (2/15/2009)... by Dave Franks

This is a 145-photo gallery from the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday, February 15, 2009. Matt Kenseth led the final green flag lap before the race was ended by rain to win his first Daytona 500. Thanks to Dave Franks for all of his work this week! You can see Dave's website here.

Daytona 500: Post race quotes... Kevin Harvick, AJ Allmendinger & Elliott Sadler

Daytona 500 (February 15, 2009)

POST-RACE Transcribed interview with: KEVIN HARVICK, AJ ALLMENDINGER, ELLIOTT SADLER

KERRY THARP: We'll go ahead and get started here with our post race interviews for the 51st running of the Daytona 500. Up on the podium we have our runner up in today's race. That is Kevin Harvick. We have our third place finisher, AJ Allmendinger. We have our fifth place finisher, who led a lot of laps out there today, Elliott Sadler. I'm going to ask them each to make some opening comments and then we'll open it up for questions. Kevin, your thoughts about today's race?

KEVIN HARVICK: Seems to be typical of how we race. To be honest with you, we were off a little bit. Started in the back. Were off a little bit. Made some huge adjustments the second or third pit stop and got ourselves in the back again. Were able to make the car where it drove really good. Once I got myself in the middle of the pack the car was easy to drive. Didn't have the speed like it needed to. Once we were in the middle of it we were able to maneuver ourselves really good. In the end, it was a good day. Worked out okay.

KERRY THARP: AJ, you raced your way into this Daytona 500. You come away with a third place finish. Your thoughts?

AJ ALLMENDINGER: The Valvoline Dodge, the car was really fast today. Could run up front all day. Was really consistent. Felt really good to be there and be able to run consistent up front with everybody. Everybody at Richard Petty Motorsports building great cars. I was hoping it was going to rain when Elliott was leading and Reed was second and I was fourth. That would have been a really great result for the team. I was trying to push Reed and Elliott as much as I could. They are the ones that got me into the race. It was my turn to return the favor and try to get them the win. Kevin had a great run and got under me. That kind of shuffled Reed out. I had to kind of dive down with him because I was going to get really shuffled out if I didn't get back in line. It's a great result. I kind of wish we could have been able to finish. I think the car was fast. Would have loved to have had a chance to win the race. To be top three with everything we went through in the off season, hopefully get some more sponsors on the racecar, keep this thing going after race eight.

KERRY THARP: Elliott, you led some laps out there at the end. Tough luck there at the conclusion of the race before the rain came. Your thoughts?

ELLIOTT SADLER: Yeah, if you'd have told me at the beginning of the day if I would take a fifth place finish and lead some laps for the Daytona 500, I probably would have took it. It's a great way to get a good start to the season. But to be a half a lap short from being the champion of the Daytona 500 is very emotional to me. Had a chance to win it. Just made one mistake off of turn four. I didn't drag the brake enough. Kevin and Matt had a really good run. I thought maybe if I blocked to the outside somebody might come with me. But they had such a good head of steam. Really wanted to go to Victory Lane with my guys. I needed this after the off season that I've had. Really would have been cool. Didn't work out, but happy for my guys. Great mentality all night long. Had ourselves in position to win. We'll go to California and try to ride some of this momentum.

KERRY THARP: We'll take questions for Kevin, Elliott or AJ.

Q. Kevin, emotionally how do you go away from this? Are you thankful it ended where you were? Disappointed in the way you ran? Did you wish it would have gone back to green?

KEVIN HARVICK: Well, I wasn't happy with the way we started the day, but I was proud of the way that we came back and made the car handle really good. We knew where we were speed wise. We said, All right, let's make the thing handle. That really paid off for us in the end. I'm kind of like Elliott. Another lap, you never know what would have happened if that doesn't shake out like it did. I mean, you always want to win the race. Knowing what it's like to win the Daytona 500, it's a lot of fun to win and neat to be in Victory Lane. But, you know, it's also kind of bittersweet, I guess you could say, for the fact that Matt is the one that pushed me to my Daytona 500 win. In the end, it's kind of weird how that stuff works out.


Q. Elliott, I don't want to rub salt in the wound, but they said on the radio you said this is your luck. It's raining on the radar and not raining on the racetrack. What do you do?

ELLIOTT SADLER: It's funny. My crew chief told me for the last 45 minutes of the race that it's raining on the radar. You know, this is his first race with me as a crew chief. I said, Welcome to Elliott Sadler's world. It's probably raining all around the racetrack. When I need it, in the lap where I get passed, it starts raining in turn three. It's the way it is. If I would have made a better and smarter move, I'd be in Victory Lane right now. Really wanted it. I put my heart and soul to come in here to Daytona, Speedweeks, try to compete at the top of my game, 'cause I knew I had a lot of eyes on me to run good. It was cool running up front. It was great having Reed and AJ behind me pushing. It would have been cool to finish like that, but just wasn't meant to be. Very hard to swallow. Very emotional. We'll try to get 'em next week.


Q. Kevin, I know a lot of split second decisions made there. You have to do what you have to do. Describe what you did when you did and what you thought the result was. I mean, to help Matt. And then did you think you were going to be able to get around?

KEVIN HARVICK: Well, when we went up, I was thinking, Man, we got a good push here. I had the 44 behind me. I don't really know I had the 33 behind me at that time on the restart. They were still in front of us. We had a good head of steam going down the back. My car wasn't very good on the bottom, so we went to the top. Clint said he was committed to go wherever we went. We got a good run there. Things started to shake up. I got into the back of the 43 a little bit down the backstretch. He kind of got shot up high there. We wound up behind Matt going into three and coming off of four. Everybody was racing hard, knowing that the rain was really close. It's time to go when they think it's going to rain a lot and you know you need to make something happen. Luckily, you know, it all worked out okay.

Q. Elliott, when the 17 gets under you there, what is going through your head? Do you feel like it's lost at that moment? Did you feel sick to your stomach?

ELLIOTT SADLER: Yeah, I was a little sick to my stomach. I choose to go high because my car wasn't really good on the bottom the whole day. When my spotter told me the 29 was pushing the 17, I could see him coming. Had a really good run. I had to either make a choice, let him go to the outside of me or under me. I decided to let him go under me and hopefully try to side draft a little bit. They had such a good head of steam. You know, I can play that pass back in my head a million times between now and when I leave to go to California, but it's not really going to change the outcome. I needed to do a better job leading the race and put my car in a position to make it wider for them to pass. I can sit here and try to be a Monday morning quarterback, but it's not going to work. We'll take it as a loss and need to do a better job next time, worry about when we come back here in July.

Q. Elliott, for this to be a Cinderella story you would have had to have won. It's still quite a story when not too long ago you lose your ride, then you go into court, and then you're restored to the ride. First time out you have a better finish than you had all last year. The old term, The Lord works in mysterious ways. You've had quite a mystery over the last few months.

ELLIOTT SADLER: I'm going to be honest with you. I'm not going to lie to you. I was getting pretty emotional under the caution when it was raining a little bit in turn one and two. I thought it was going to be called a little bit earlier than it was. I was getting emotional in the car thinking, Wouldn't this be the coolest story? I came down here as a fan the first time in 1979 and finished second to Ward Burton, and now to have a chance to win the race. Seen guys like Harvick and Newman and them celebrate the last couple years on last lap passes, and how fun it looks like to me in Victory Lane. I had a lot of that cool stuff going through my head. But, you know, just wasn't meant to be. You know, it's tough. It's hard to swallow. But I'm proud of my guys. New team. New pit stops. They all worked out great tonight. To look in their faces when the rain was coming down when I got out of the car, man, that was hard, because I felt like I let them down.

Q. Kevin, you touched on that you were happy for Matt because he helped you two years ago. Matt is not usually the guy that grabs for the spotlight or glamour. I think there's a sense he's well respected. Do you think this will be a popular victory, Matt Kenseth, a guy who shuns the spotlight?

KEVIN HARVICK: I think in the garage it will definitely be a popular win. I think Matt's obviously a pretty stand up person and a great racecar driver, accomplished a lot in this sport. I think a lot of us can relate to Matt for kind of going out of the spotlight. I think he's one of those guys that he can win seven or eight races in a year and never receive any credit. He's a really good racecar driver. He's a champion, Daytona 500 champion. I think a lot of times some of those things are overlooked.

Q. AJ and Elliott, last year GEM and Petty Enterprises are struggling teams. The first race out, three guys in the top nine. How much do you think this means to this new team?

AJ ALLMENDINGER: I think it's a big deal. It was a tough off season for everybody. It was a long off season. There's a lot of stuff that went on throughout the team with the merger. We came here, and I think it shows how strong the team is now. Elliott and Reed were a big factor of why I got into this race. That was a lot of teamwork that was involved to get that to happen. Like I said, I wish it would have rained a little bit earlier so we could have had a Cinderella story, had Elliott and all of us in the top five. But overall the team's done a lot of work in the off season. Brand new racecars. Everybody's putting a hundred percent effort into it. You can see when you go to the shop and at the racetrack just everybody's attitude even from the five races that I was there last year everybody's pumped up to be here and excited. You got the King walking around saying hi to everybody, making sure everybody's good. It's a lot of fun at the racetrack right now. I look forward to going to California and just carrying this on.

Q. Kevin, to make sure, the decision to call the race as quickly as they made it, are you okay with that? Do you think we should still be waiting?

KEVIN HARVICK: I've learned a long time ago that I just kind of do my own thing and the rest of it is all up to them. You know, fortunately we've sat on the other side of the fence. Knowing how our day started, what we accomplished today, I'm happy with where we are. Obviously, I know how exciting it is to be in Victory Lane. But it's easy to second guess something until you have to sit up there and make those decisions.

Q. AJ, you had a tough year last year. You were in kind of a spot. You showed good at the end of the year. You had some strength at the end of the year. You still lost a ride. Do you feel any kind of vindication now? Would you credit your results to car or personal improvement or both?
AJ ALLMENDINGER: I mean, I think you quickly learn in this sport that it doesn't owe you anything. I mean, you got to earn everything that you get. You can sit back and feel bad about yourself or whine about everything that's going on. But there's a lot of people in this world that are a lot less fortunate than I am right now, even everything I went through. For me, it ultimately comes down to two decisions. You can quit or work harder and make something happen. I'm never going to quit. I'm going to keep working harder. That's my attitude. I know if I can go out there and do everything that I can on and off the racetrack, I can go home, and whether I have a ride, run well, don't run well, and just go home and feel good about myself and not second guess anything. That's all you can control. As for results, I mean, I credit most of the team. I don't have a lot of restrictor plate racing and had to learn a lot and have great teammates that are great on these racetracks to help me learn. I had to learn quick. But overall, you know, they brought great racecars. There were times we struggled in these two weeks. There were times we were great. Today I just got to give a lot of credit, you know, all the credit, to Sammy Johns and Mike Wolf, my crew chief, my engineer, the whole race team. The pit stops were great. My pit crew has only had two or three weeks to work together. They had tryouts to put together for this team, and they had great stops all day. I give all the credit in the world to them.

KEVIN HARVICK: How many years have you driven a stock car?

AJ ALLMENDINGER: I don't know, two and a half now. Take all the races I missed, I'm still half a year (laughter).

KEVIN HARVICK: I think everybody forgets how many people have been run out of this sport from the open wheel side that hadn't had any success whatsoever. He's been pretty successful in a short amount of time.

Q. I'm not sure where each of you were at the time, but what was your view of the big wreck with Earnhardt and Vickers? What did you see of that? What did you make of all that?

ELLIOTT SADLER: I didn't see any of it. K

EVIN HARVICK: I saw a lot of smoke, stuff flying. That was about it.

AJ ALLMENDINGER: For me, I don't know exactly where everybody was running, but I was pretty far up. I saw Vickers get dropped to the bottom. Earnhardt was down there. From there, after that, it was pretty much a big commotion. My spotter did a good job to get me through. At that point it's not a lot of driving skill; you pray you pick the right line and go through it.

ELLIOTT SADLER: I was in front of it so I didn't see it.

Q. It seemed during the Bud Shootout, during the Gatorade Duels, that the cars were pretty much on the edge. They were about to spin out. During this race, that happened a little bit, but not as much. Does it seem the COT, the teams have made enough improvements on it, or... ?

KEVIN HARVICK: I thought the race was pretty tame, from the Bud Shootout, everything that happened. It seemed like with the heat not being on the racetrack, it seems like the cars were a lot more manageable. My car drove as good as it did all weekend.

ELLIOTT SADLER: Good answer, Kevin.

AJ ALLMENDINGER: I'll stick with that.

KERRY THARP: Guys, thank you very much. We'll see you at California. Thanks for your time and putting on a good show today.

Transcribed by ASAP Sports

Daytona 500 party at The Dizzy

Calling all race fans, come out and support a great cause. I have raised $400 to date for http://www.projecttrackchampion.com;our goal is to raise $1000.

Everyone who walks in the door will get something to take home, from custom hoodies to ball caps to die cast cars and a Budweiser bar and stool set. I will be putting out wings (best in Toronto) and mini burgers (fresh ground N.Y Striploin) for free, all we are asking for is a $5 donation.

Did I mention I have 9 HDTV's with full surrond sound? I would like to thank John Edgar of http://www.cayugamotorsports.ca/ for his generous donation.

Cheers,

Scott / The Dizzy Gastro Sports Pub / www.thedizzy.ca

PHOTO GALLERY: NASCAR Pre-Season Thunder Day 1 at Daytona Int'l Speedway

Photos by Getty Images for NASCAR.

10 Things You Probably Didn't Know About The Daytona 500

10 Things You Probably Didn't Know About the Daytona 500

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Everyone knows the Daytona 500 is NASCAR's biggest, richest and most prestigious race. And everyone knows that the upcoming historic 50th running of 'the Great American Race' is the most anticipated event in motorsports history. But, here are 10 things you probably didn't know about the Daytona 500:

1. In 1959, the inaugural Daytona 500 was run caution-free.
2 The 1967 Daytona 500 was the only NASCAR win for racing superstar Mario Andretti.
3. Tiny Lund won the 1963 Daytona 500 on one set of tires. His pit crew, the famous Wood Brothers known for their lightning-fast pit stops, did not have to change a single tire all day.
4. Paul Bass drove an Edsel convertible in the inaugural Daytona 500. It was the only appearance of an Edsel in NASCAR competition.
5. The 1974 Daytona 500 was actually the 'Daytona 450'. NASCAR cut the distance of their races by 10% in the early part of the season due to America's energy crisis.
6. In 1989 Darrell Waltrip finally won the Daytona 500 in his 17th attempt. He drove car number 17 that day and pitted in pit stall number 17.
7. Upon seeing the mammoth Daytona International Speedway for the first time, in preparation for the first Daytona 500, driver Jimmy Thompson said, "There have been other tracks that separated the men from the boy. This is the track that will separate the brave from the weak after the boys are gone."
8. Curtis Turner's 1967 Daytona 500 pole speed of 180.831 mph was the first time a NASCAR stock car had qualified at over 180 mph.
9. Loy Allen Jr. and Mike Skinner both won the pole for the Daytona 500 in their rookie seasons.
10. A total of six drivers have scored their first NASCAR Sprint Cup win in the Daytona 500. They are Tiny Lund (1963), Mario Andretti (1967), Pete Hamilton (1970), Derrike Cope (1990), Sterling Marlin (1994) and Michael Waltrip (2001).

- From DIS PR