Duel at Daytona

8:02pm
From the palatial Race Guy mansion, we're watching the Gatorade Duels tonight, being rebroadcast from a few hours ago. The big problem here is that we're not actually watching racecars. We're actually watching the end of truck qualifying for the Friday night race. :sleeping_2: Wake me when it's over.

8:04pm
Some guy named Wayne Edwards made the field for the truck race. No, I don't know who he is, either. All I know is that he was the last truck out and we're done. Some guy named Eric Darnell made the pole and I don't know who he is, either. I think the reason I don't care for the truck series is that they're racing trucks. 2 years ago, Mark Martin was going to run a truck schedule, but it didn't take long for him to abandon that idea. Clearly, the challenge wasn't there either because a) the drivers weren't as good (obviously), or b) the trucks weren't as fun as he thought they would, or c) both. My vote is for both. I've tried to get into following the series and all, but I can't. It's just not exciting to me in any way.

Michael Waltrip just said that the Car of Tomorrow is a truck and my wife said that he's been taking in too much carbon monoxide.

8:11pm
My wife really wants to know what Tony Stewart uses on his hair. She says he's got the kind of hair that many women dream of having.

The guy giving the invocation just prayed for "traveling grace" for the drivers and I wanted to laugh out loud. Because going around in circles totally means they're going somewhere. Maybe this guy thinks he's a part of The Cannonball Run or something. Just in case you're wondering about the wisdom of laughing when somebody prays for something, I want you to know that I just dodged a lightning bolt.

They just did a flyover for the qualifying races. I think doing a flyover for the qualifying races cheapens the flyover more than it adds to the races.

My wife thinks Junior's driving suit is ugly.

8:17pm
I wish they would stop calling it the Car of Tomorrow. Tomorrow is here. I like what Mike Joy said last year when he said we should just call it the new car.

8:18pm
Here's Krista Voda overselling the excitement and drama of the races. Easy, Krista. It's the qualifying races. No need to go overboard here.

8:19pm
Mike Joy and Larry Mac are wearing some unfortunate grey shirts. My wife called them the ugliest shirts ever seen on television and she's right. The shirts show off their pooch of a belly and Mike Joy has no shoulders.

8:21pm
Somebody wondered where DW was and my wife said, "Just open yours ears. You'll find him." :laugh: She's in great form tonight.

8:24pm
I surprised my wife by taking her flowers today. I also caused a stir among the men there who obviously had done nothing for their wives. I'm only telling you this so that I can pat myself on the back and you'll think I'm a swell guy.

Krista Voda just needs to dial back the hyperbole a few notches. She just said that there has been a year's worth of headlines from this year's Speedweeks. Easy, girl.

My wife: "Can she just go back to being pretty and shutup?"

8:26pm
Krista Voda finds it amazing that Dale Jr and Tony Jr are laughing and joking on pit road after the trouble they had with the engine, having to change it this morning. And I don't get what's amazing about that. Are they supposed to be wringing their hands and freaking out or something? They're doing what I would do in their position.

8:29pm
DW got the race started in fine fashion, if you like "Boogity Boogity Boogity" that is. I'm totally ehhhh about it.

8:30pm
I always love the shot of the cars going through turn 3. And who wouldn't want to be where DW is in the flagstand when the field blows by. That would totally awesome. Totally awesome? What am I, 16?

My wife: "DW just wet himself."

8:33pm
Home Depot commercial. Home Depot sucks. I have nothing good to say about Home Depot.

8:36pm
They just reported that Brian Vickers' crew chief, Kevin Hamlin, couldn't find the button on the radio to talk to his driver. This is a bad sign. That's one of the last things I would ever want to hear from my crew chief. BTW, Hamlin was Dale Earnhardt's crew chief the last half of '98 through the '01 500. This includes Earnhardt's scintillating victories at Atlanta and Talladega in 2000.

8:37pm
They just said that Dale Jarrett would be rooting for Kurt Busch. The mind boggles at any sentence that includes the phrase "... rooting for Kurt Busch"

8:39pm
They talked about a couple of cars, and I missed the drivers, that are based in Denver, CO. How do you even hope to have a viable Nascar race team based in Denver when 95% of the teams are based in Charlotte? I have questions about the commitment to Nascar from a team based in Denver.

8:40pm
The 88 went from last to 4th in about 10 laps. That car is strong. I think Hendrick has the strongest lineup of drivers he's ever had.

8:50pm
No brainer prediction of the night. Tires and tire management are going to be huge in the 500.

8:54pm
Every once in a while, you get some decent analysis from these guys. DW just remarked that, although Junior's car is loose now, as the fuel burns off, the nose will get heavier and the car will tighten up.

9:29pm
I spent the last half hour or so asleep. I don't know if it's because a) I'm tired, b) the race was dull or c) both. I woke up in time to see Junior talk about how these cars are harder to drive than the old cars.

9:48pm
Krista Voda channels Benny Parsons when she says, "... shot out of a canyon."

9:54pm
Krista Voda has been attending the Bill Webber School of Overusing the Theme of the Day as she's been overusing the Valentine's Day theme in everything she just said.

9:56pm
Did you guys know the All-Star race will be on Speed in May? Yep, in May. Speed is advertising their All-Star race coverage for a race in May. Seems a bit early to do that, but what do I know?

10:03pm
Krista Voda has moved into the lead for Most Annoying Sports Broadcaster for 2008. On a 10 point scale, she gets a 12 and will be a serious challenger for Bill Webber. Mike, Larry, DW and their ugly grey shirts make a return.

10:18pm
Mike Joy thinks Dave Blaney is the most underrated driver out there. Near as I can tell, he's the only one who thinks that.

10:49pm
Steve Byrnes just compared the 24 pit box to a condo. In addition, Steve, Rick Hendrick and Steve Letarte were all on top of it at the same time. How big is that thing anyway?

10:54pm
Mike Joy just said that Hamlin, Busch and Stewart want to prove everyone wrong. Who's everyone? Are there people who honestly believe that those guys won't win this year?

11:02pm
Speaking of Valentine's Day, does anybody know what happened on this day 15 years ago? I'll probably talk about that race on Sunday. Even though my driver lost, the '93 Daytona 500 is still one of my favorite races.

11:10pm
I hope DJ can hang on and get into the field. He was never one of my favorites, and he wasn't the most talented guy out there, but he got as much out of his talent as anybody else got out of theirs. For all the great drivers that Robert Yates has had, DJ was the one to get him a championship in 1999.

11:15pm
An open-wheel driver just crashed and it looks like those guys are having problems adjusting to these heavier, over-powered and under-tired cars.

11:28pm
I'm sure somebody is annoyed with various drivers saying they'll do whatever they can to help DJ get into the race, but I have no issues with it. That kind of respect is earned and DJ has definitely earned it.

11:30pm
Jeff Gordon just hung Tony Stewart out and you could almost see him grin as he did it.

11:32pm
Toyota just got their first win. I'm sure this will be seen by millions of fans as a continuation of the end of Nascar.

If you were giving a rating for the races this year, I think you have to give the Shootout a 9 or 10. These 2 races would get a 4 or 5. Nothing very exciting because the drivers aren't about to risk their cars in this race when the 500 is a mere 3 days away.

Once again, there's still time for you to join us in a fantasy racing league. Just send me a PM.