Daytona 500 Preview

Before I begin with the NASCAR stuff, I'd like to take the time to officially, officially wrap the NFL season up. I silenced all my critics with a correct pick in the only game that matters all season, the Pro Bowl. Yes, the NFC won 30-21. Take that Ruel!!!

I kid. I kid. Seriously though, the Bud Shootout was spectacular. I mean, I wasn't too fond of the first wreck with David Ragan and the rookies. But the rest of that race was insane! I kind of liked the Paul Menard/Bobby Labonte wreck. But not the Menard and Labonte part, just the part when the blue and white #88 went sliding all over the place.

Again, I kid.

Not really.

As you probably know by now, Kevin Harvick won. However, there was no finish, because NASCAR jumped the gun on throwing the caution flag(it's kinda their thing). That was disappointing. Hopefully, the Daytona 500 doesn't end the same way(I mean, with the yellow flag thing, not the Harvick thing).

That brings me to the Daytona 500. Now, for anybody who did not watch the Gatorade Duels this afternoon, Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch came away victorious(congrats Grandpa), while Scott Riggs, Jeremy Mayfield, and AJ Allmendinger raced their way in(much to my pleasure). The winning teams from the Duels resemble that of last year's, when Dale Earnhardt Jr.(Gordon's teammate) and Denny Hamlin(Busch's teammate) found Victory Lane. Wanna know what else happened last year? A Dodge won the 500.


Ironically, almost every car/driver that made headlines this afternoon had something to do with Ray Evernham at some point. Jeff Gordon(winner of Duel #1), had Evernham as his crew chief during the 1990s. Jeremy Mayfield and Scott Riggs(raced their way into the 500) were former drivers for Evernham Motorsports. Their owners(Tommy Baldwin and Jeremy Mayfield) were either a crew chief(Baldwin) or a driver(Mayfield) for Evernham. AJ Allmendinger(raced his way into the 500) is currently a driver for Evernham's old team, which he has sold majority ownership of to George Gillett and Richard Petty.

Couple that with the fact that I picked Kasey Kahne to win the Daytona 500 on www.playerpress.com and you get this top 5 prediction:

5.Tony Stewart
4.Brian Vickers
3.Scott Riggs
2.AJ Allmendinger
1.Kasey Kahne

While it's true that I only(and I use that term lightly) correctly picked 2 top 5 finishers last week, they happened to be Stewart and Allmendinger. So, they were rewarded with a return visit. Another prediction is that there will be a 15-car wreck. Last week, I predicted at least a 5-car wreck, and got a 6-car wreck. A win for me. However, it was not caused by Earnhardt Jr. and Busch like I said it would be, but this one might be. Also, if Kahne doesn't make it to Victory Lane, then another Dodge will. That's all for this week. Have a Happy Sunday.