Tractors Kenseth captures Daytona 500

aginfo

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. ? Well, NASCAR certainly knows how to make a prime-time impression.

Rain, fire and Tide laundry detergent all factored into a Daytona 500 that will go down as the most bizarre in NASCAR history.

And Brad Keselowski tweeted most of it live. From his race car. Then he provided another update minutes after crashing at 190 mph.

And oh, yeah, Matt Kenseth picked up his second Daytona 500 title.

``You would think after 65 years and running all the races that NASCAR has run ... that you've seen about everything,'' NASCAR President Mike Helton said. ``You do think about, 'Oh, my gosh, if that can happen, what else can happen?'''

The first Daytona 500 to be postponed took more than 36 hours to complete after rain pushed it from its scheduled Sunday afternoon start to Monday at lunch, and ultimately turned it into the first ever NASCAR race run in prime-time television.

Then Juan Pablo Montoya crashed under caution into a safety truck filled with about 200 gallons of jet fuel, and the collision caused a massive fireball that scorched the track and will be the most indelible image of the 54th running of the ``Great American Race.''

What did they use to clean it up? Tide laundry detergent, of course.

More at http://thechronicleherald.ca/sports/68085-kenseth-captures-daytona-500
 

frank

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Juan Pablo Montoya Crashes Into Jet Dryer During 2012 Daytona 500

[video=youtube;S12iw5YTrQY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=S12iw5YTrQY[/video]
 

frank

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Juam Pablo Montoya Crash

[video=youtube;J9-6SyC1IoQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=J9-6SyC1IoQ[/video]
 

aginfo

Junior Member
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692
(DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.) ? Matt Kenseth won a Daytona 500 ? his second ? that will go down as the most bizarre in NASCAR history.

"You would think after 65 years and running all the races that NASCAR has run ... that you've seen about everything," NASCAR President Mike Helton said. "You do think about, 'Oh, my gosh, if that can happen, what else can happen?'"

The first Daytona 500 to be postponed took more than 36 hours to complete after rain pushed it from its scheduled Sunday afternoon start to Monday at lunch, and ultimately turned it into the first ever NASCAR race run in prime-time television.
(MORE: NASCAR Driver Crashes Into Track Dryer, Creating Fiery Daytona Delay)

Then Juan Pablo Montoya crashed under caution into a safety truck filled with about 200 gallons of jet fuel, and the collision caused a massive fireball that scorched the track and will be the most indelible image of the 54th running of the "Great American Race."

What did they use to clean it up? Tide laundry detergent, of course.

Seriously.

And Brad Keselowski tweeted most of it live. From his race car. Then he provided another update minutes after crashing at 190 mph.

The two-plus hour stoppage turned into a tweet-up of sorts, as the drivers climbed from their cars and crowded around Keselowski, who had pulled out his phone to provide real-time updates to his fans by posting photos and answering questions. His number of followers ballooned from about 65,000 at the start of the race to almost 200,000 by the time the fire was extinguished and racing could resume. "I thought it was pretty funny," said Dale Earnhardt Jr., who had his losing streak hit 130 races when he came up short in his bid to chase down Kenseth in a two-lap overtime sprint. "That was kind of fun actually, standing around on the back straightaway. We did take the phone and put it to some use and looked up the weather."

When the 500 finally ended in the early morning hours Tuesday, the two-week SpeedWeeks odyssey wasn't over: Fog closed the North Carolina airports, stranding drivers and teams at Daytona for yet another night. "Now believe it or not I can't go home," fourth-place finisher Denny Hamlin posted on Twitter. "Fogged in. Yet another night in Daytona."

The endurance race will be long over by the time the television ratings come in later Tuesday. No one was sure what to expect as Fox made the unprecedented decision to show the race in prime time ? the best case scenario once rain washed it out on Sunday. NASCAR originally rescheduled for Monday afternoon but scrapped those plans in the morning based on more rain.



Read more: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2107823,00.html#ixzz1nhtyjBVW
 

chattymatty

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Daytona 500 victory cements Kenseth's status

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- Maybe it's his consistent approach on the track, or his low-key demeanor off it.

Whatever the reason, Matt Kenseth's name usually isn't the first to come up when people talk about current Sprint Cup Series drivers who might rank among the sport's all-time greats.

But with Kenseth's Daytona 500 victory on Monday, his racing resume is hard to ignore. When Kenseth's career is over, a case can be made that he'll be worthy of consideration for NASCAR's Hall of Fame.

Kenseth said he hasn't put much thought into his place in the sport's history. He's just happy he got a chance.

"We've done a lot of things beyond my wildest dreams," Kenseth said. "I never thought I'd get a chance to run in this series and run a Daytona 500, much less win one -- or two. Certainly, I appreciate and enjoy the success I've had so far."

Kenseth has won two Daytona 500s, a Cup Series championship in 2003, and has 22 career Cup race victories. He also has 26 career wins in NASCAR's second-tier series, now known as Nationwide.

His defining characteristic as a driver always has been his consistency; in 437 career Cup starts, Kenseth has 210 top-10 finishes.

Given Kenseth's career accomplishments -- and his obvious ability to run up front as he nears his 40th birthday on March 10 -- it seems odd that his Roush Fenway Racing team has not yet been able to find a full season's worth of sponsorship for his No. 17 car.

Read more at http://www.pal-item.com/article/20120301/SPORTS/203010310
 
 
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