What a battle that raged on the 2 1/2 mile track last night.  The last 5 laps, I couldn't sit still.  My legs were shaking, my heart pounding, my lungs ready to burst.   When Jr. crossed that finish line, what a yell I let loose....Hubby was not a happy camper.  He wanted Jeff to win.  But my driver won.  With a little help from Ryan, he was able to pass Jeff and take the win.  WAY TO GO JR.!!!!!!!!!!  But for the rest of the race, Jr. did it on his own.

I had a friend over yesterday, and she just couldn't figure out what all the fuss was about.  What was the big deal of grown men driving in circles fast and turning left.  By the time the race was over, she knew.  She is hooked.  She said she would be back for the 500.  She just busted a gut watching me in the last 5 laps.  But now she understands at least!

Ok, I'll get on with the stories!

Dale Earnhardt Jr. gave the new Monte Carlo a victory in its first event of Speedweeks.
Credit: Autostock

Dale Jr. outruns Gordon, wins Budweiser Shootout

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. powered past Jeff Gordon five laps from the end Saturday night and held off the four-time Winston Cup champion to win the Budweiser Shootout.

Earnhardt appeared able to wheel his red No. 8 Chevrolet to the front any time he wanted, staying at or near the lead throughout the 70-lap made-for-TV event at Daytona International Speedway.

Little E was already considered the favorite to win the Daytona 500 pole on Sunday and to win the big race on Feb. 16. His performance in the first Shootout under the lights didn't hurt that speculation.

With Gordon, a two-time Shootout winner, leading at the start of lap 66, Earnhardt, with some drafting help from Ryan Newman, took the outside line on the high-banked 2.5-mile oval and charged to the front.

Gordon pushed his Chevy hard the last five laps, trying to get back past Earnhardt, but he never quite caught the high-flying third-generation driver.

Asked about taking the lead, Junior said, "I can't remember, there was so much happening the last two laps," Earnhardt said when asked about his move to the lead. "But I stayed out front. That's a tough win."

It was only the second time Earnhardt has qualified for the non-points race featuring the previous year's Winston Cup pole winners and former Shootout champions. Last year, he finished second to Tony Stewart.

Earnhardt, who started last in the lineup determined by a blind draw, was hemmed in at the rear for a few laps, but finally broke free and began to move forward by diving to the bottom of the banking and making a three-wide pass.

He moved steadily forward and took the lead for the first time on the 16th of 70 laps, passing the Ford of Kurt Busch, who had led from lap five.

Under a new format, the 19 starters in the 25th Shootout raced for 20 laps, then took a 10-minute intermission, during which their crews were allowed to make any changes to the car they wanted.

After the break, Earnhardt found himself in a battle with Busch's teammate, Matt Kenseth. The pair exchanged the lead five times before Gordon, who started just ahead of Earnhardt at the rear of the field, raced to the front.

Gordon stayed in the lead until all the cars pitted on lap 51. With some teams putting in gas only, others taking two tires and Jimmie Johnson taking four tires, there was considerable shuffling.

Mark Martin and Ken Schrader came out of the pits on top, with Gordon fifth and Earnhardt sixth.

It took Gordon until lap 56 to get back out front, with Earnhardt biding his time after following Busch up to third on lap 59.

Earnhardt was actually fourth at the start of lap 66, but took the line at the top of the banking and shot past Rusty Wallace, Busch and Gordon to take the lead for good.

"I was looking good with five to go," Gordon said. "But Junior is so strong on these restrictor- plate tracks."

NASCAR uses the plates at Daytona and Talladega, it's two longest and fastest ovals, to sap horsepower and keep the cars under 200 mph in the interest of safety.

Earnhardt's late father, a seven-time Winston Cup champion, was a master of the plate tracks. The younger Earnhardt is probably the best on those tracks today.

He has won four of the last eight plate races at the two big tracks and finished second to Dale Earnhardt Inc. teammate Michael Waltrip in two others.

"This is a drivers' track sometimes, and you have to know what you are doing, especially when the tires get worn," Earnhardt said. "I love this track.

"This is like coming home to your mom from college or something.  It's great to be back here."

Earnhardt, who won $205,000, beat Gordon to the finish line by 0.180 seconds -- about four car-lengths. There were no caution flags and the winner averaged 180.827 mph.

Kenseth finished third, followed by Newman, 2002's top rookie; defending Daytona 500 champion Ward Burton, Schrader and Johnson -- who came from last after the break.

The only driver who didn't finish was Geoffrey Bodine, who started from the pole but came in after just three laps because of a broken suspension.

Stewart, who won the 2002 Winston Cup championship in a Pontiac, had a disappointing night in the debut of his Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet. He never challenged for the lead and wound up 15th.

There were 13 lead changes among seven drivers in a race that featured considerable two- and three-wide racing and passing in the pack on nearly ever lap.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. impressive in Budweiser Shootout win
By DAVID POOLE
The Charlotte Observer

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Much has changed since the end of the 2002 NASCAR season, but one thing hasn't.  When it comes to restrictor-plate racing, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has learned his lessons well.

Earnhardt Jr., who has followed in his late father's footsteps as the man to beat in events where Winston Cup cars use the horsepower-reducing carburetor plates, passed Jeff Gordon for the lead on Lap 66 of the 70-lap race and held on to win this special non-points event for the first time in his career.

"This is my first win here in February," said Earnhardt Jr., who did win the Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway in July of 2001 and has won the past three Cup events at Talladega, the other track where plates are used. "I've finished second two years in a row in this race. We finally figured it out."

Daytona, of course, is where Earnhardt Jr.'s father, seven-time Winston Cup champion Dale Earnhardt, is the all-time leader in victories.

It's also where Earnhardt was killed in a last-lap crash in the 2001 Daytona 500, but despite that tragedy Earnhardt Jr. continues the affection his father had for the place where Earnhardt often thrilled crowds by going from worst to first, just like his son did on this cool evening.

"I am really excited to be in victory lane at Daytona," said Earnhardt Jr., who started 19th in the 19-car field. "I love this place. This is like coming home to your mom from college or something. I look forward to coming back every year."

Earnhardt Jr. pulled out of line on Lap 64 to make his bid to go from third to first. Gordon had to choose which lane to defend, and he chose incorrectly.

"When you're the leader and they're two-by-two behind you it's tough," Gordon said. "You have to pick a lane. He got a shove and the inside lane kind of held up a little bit."

That shove came in the form of a bump draft from Ryan Newman's Dodge, which helped push Earnhardt Jr. by Gordon on the high side.

The winner then held off one late charge from Ken Schrader and beat Gordon and a rapidly closing Matt Kenseth to the checkered flag.

"There was so much happening in the last few laps I can't even remember how I got the lead," Earnhardt Jr. said. "There is so much going on in your mind. You're trying to watch who is running on the top and who is running on the bottom and you're trying to get help from those guys."

It's no wonder that others might be reluctant to give Earnhardt Jr. help on a plate track, however, since he's hardly seemed to need it. His performance Saturday night in the first time this event had been run under the lights, combined with a strong showing in practice earlier for Sunday's Daytona 500 qualifying in the other No. 8 Chevrolet his Dale Earnhardt Inc. team has built has him excited about his outlook for Speedweeks.

"We come down here and we test and we run real hard," Earnhardt Jr. said. "We normally don't qualify real well, but our car looks good for (Sunday). We never really do play with them. I've just always gone to the front. I want to be up front. I want to be the guy leading."

Despite starting last Saturday night, he was leading by Lap 18, two laps before a 10-minute break new to the event's format this year.

Earnhardt Jr. was seventh on Lap 53 after pit stops in the final 50-lap segment, trailing four cars that took fuel only and then Gordon and Kurt Busch. He was fifth by Lap 59 and then made a jump to third behind that latter pair.

It was Lap 64 when Earnhardt Jr. pulled out of line and went to the high side to make his bid for the lead. His momentum faltered at first, leading Gordon to believe the low line Gordon was leading was the right place to be.

"When they're two-by-two and you're the leader in a single car, you have to pick a lane," Gordon said. "It's kind of a crapshoot. You just go with the one you think is going to work out.

"I was looking good. I had Kurt Busch behind me and we were going along pretty good. Junior got stalled out in that top lane and when he did, Ryan Newman came up there and just drilled him. If a guy can actually get to your bumper and hit you, it sends you so far out there and you get so much momentum. That's something you can't guess on.

"I knew Junior was out there but I thought even if he got beside me I still thought between Kurt and myself and what I know about drafting here I could still work the draft and beat him back to the line. But it didn't work out that way."

Tony Stewart, who had finished first ahead of Earnhardt Jr. in the past two Shootouts, battled an overheating problem in the first segment but fought back into the lead pack in the second before fading to 15th as traffic shuffled madly on the final laps. Newman wound up fourth with Ward Burton picking his way through traffic at the end to round out the top five.

1   Dale Earnhardt Jr.
2   Jeff Gordon
3   Matt Kenseth
4   Ryan Newman
5   Ward Burton
6   Ken Schrader
7   Jimmie Johnson
8   Ricky Rudd
9   Kevin Harvick
10 Ricky Craven
11 Kurt Busch
12 Rusty Wallace
13 Todd Bodine
14 Terry Labonte
15 Tony Stewart
16 Bill Elliott
17 Mark Martin
18 Dale Jarrett
19 Geoffrey Bodine

Ok, today is qualifying.  We will know who will be on the pole for the 500 before the day is out.  Enjoy your day, I know I will!

Until the next time, I remain,

Your  Momma

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Subscribe:      KnowYourNascar-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Unsubscribe:  KnowYourNascar-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~