TONY STEWART WINS FIRST DAYTONA 500It took until lap 182 of the Daytona 500 for the Roush domination of Speedweeks to be broken once and for all, as Tony Stewart used the lapped car of Steve Park as a pick to take the lead for the final time from Jeff Burton. Burton, who had led 120 of 200 laps, settled back in behind the 2002 Cup champ, but would be delayed further by more lapped cars a handful of laps later. He would never again be able to challenge the #20 car, eventually finishing 3rd, 1.2 seconds behind, after being pipped to the line by Dave Blaney, in an impressive debut for Chip Ganassi Racing. Ricky Rudd and Jacques Villeneuve rounded out the top 5, with Greg Biffle, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Green, Michael Waltrip, and Derrike Cope rounding out the top 10.
A major development in the race occured early, as the first caution was brought out on lap 42 for a crash in turn 3 involving Paul Tracy and Jeremy Mayfield. Sarah Fisher also suffered some damage in the incident, but the big problem came afterwards. A number of cars, including Matt Kenseth, Jamie McMurray, Bill Elliott, German Quiroga, Terry Labonte, Kevin Harvick, Brendan Gaughan, and perhaps most confusingly, the damaged car of Paul Tracy, elected to stay out under caution. This proceeded to string out the field quite a bit, as many of these cars ran out just after taking the restart. It also had the effect of enabling Jeff Burton to dominate the next portion of the race, as he was able to link up with his teammate Matt Kenseth, after Kenseth pitted, as well as a few other lapped cars, and worked together to keep the chasing pack at bay.
This status quo continued until lap 75, when, as he was beginning to close down on Burton, Sterling Marlin encountered the damaged Paul Tracy. The two made contact entering turn 1, triggering an accident which also involved Carl Edwards and Bill Elliott. On the restart, Jeff Burton was again able to break away with a small group, but this time, Jeff Green, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Tony Stewart were able to maintain contact with the dominant #99 car. It was during this stint that Stewart established himself as the main contender to beat Burton, as after 116 laps of racing, he was the first car to pass Burton for the lead, having used a lapped car as a pick to do it. Stewart led until green flag pitstops a few laps later, when Jeff Green managed to used pit strategy to elevate himself into a position where he could receive drafting help to maintain a comfortable cushion over the others.
Eventually, though, Burton retook the lead on lap 132 - just before the 3rd caution was triggered by a pair of spins. One involved the lapped cars of Christian Fittipaldi and Jeff Gordon, while the other involved top 10 cars Kenny Wallace and Mark Martin. A number of other cars, including the fairytale story car of Steve Park, who was running well in the top 10 all day to that point, were also involved. Burton, Green, Stewart, Earnhardt Jr., and Ricky Rudd were able to break away on the restart, with Green retaking the lead on lap 139. Stewart retook the lead a few laps later, and from there the race was largely a duel between himself and Jeff Burton.
Worthy commendations go to Jacques Villeneuve, who acquitted himself extremely well in his first oval race - the former F1 World Champion showed a great ability for staying out of trouble and proved he had a knack for manipulating the draft as well. He will surely be a top contender for Rookie of the Year. The Wood Brothers deserve a mention for showing a strong competitive package throughout Speedweeks; one hopes this is the sign of revived form longtime fans have been hoping for for years. Finally, Front Row Motorsports deserve a pat on the back - the newcomer part-time effort have shown strong pace throughout Speedweeks and picked up a well-deserved top 10 for their efforts.
Full race resultsFull championship standings
