CALIFORNIA AND NASCAR GO WAY BACK

NASCAR Sprint Cup, Etc.

• California and NASCAR go way back, to the sport’s beginnings. Early on, NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. recognized the popularity of motorsports in the Golden State, while envisioning the long-term potential of that popularity. Go back to the 1951 schedule for what is now known as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, which had five races in California. That was the start of what you could label a Big Bill mission statement. (One of many missions, it should benoted.)

  He called it “sea to shining sea.” Not exactly original, but he made his point. “As soon as he realized the organization NASCAR was actually going to come together in 1947, he immediately started thinking about racing in California,” said former NASCAR West Series Director Ken Clapp.

  In ‘51, those five races were divided between three California dirt tracks: Carrell Speedway in Gardena, Marchbanks Speedway in Hanford and a super-fast track at Oakland Stadium.

  From 1970-81, the NASCAR Sprint Cup season opened not with “The Great American Race, ” the Daytona 500, but rather in Riverside, Calif, at the old Riverside International Raceway road course. From 1981-86, Riverside hosted the season finale.

  From 1974-80, Ontario Motor Speedway hosted the finale and in ‘79, Richard Petty clinched the last of his seven NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championships at Ontario, by finishing fifth in the L.A. Times 500.

  Today, with three NASCAR Sprint Cup events held in California along with the nation’s top short-track event, the Toyota Showdown at Irwindale, Big Bill’s original hopes for a NASCAR presence in the state have been realized. ...

• Big-time encouragement at the Daytona 500 for popular 2000 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Bobby Labonte, in the form of a 21st-place finish. Labonte and the No. 71 TaxSlayer.com Chevrolet team had the best results among single-car entries. The run certainly boosted the confidence of team owner Kevin Buckler. “We’re here to be a contender and have now begun to clearly distance ourselves from the other new teams in the sport,” Buckler said. ...

• When AJ Allmendinger (No. 43 Best Buy Ford) led Laps 45-47 of the Daytona 500, it was the first time the famed No. 43 had led the “Great American Race” since 2002. …

• Scott Speed (No. 82 Red Bull Toyota) surprised a lot of people by taking the lead on Lap 165 of the Daytona 500. Speed then kept surprising, ending up 19th. That result was huge for a team expected to be battling to stay among the top 35 teams in owner points and earn automatic starting spots each week. …

• Kurt Busch (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge) will stop by the Varsity, a legend in downtown Atlanta and known as the “World’s Largest Drive-In Restaurant,” for lunch on Wednesday (Feb. 17).

  A select group of NASCAR fans will be invited to join him. Fans are welcomed for the event and they’re asked to wear Busch, NASCAR or AMS gear. Speedway staff will choose 20 “mostappropriately” dressed fans to have lunch with Busch, who is the defending champion of the Kobalt Tools 500, set for March 7 at AMS. In addition to the lunch, Busch also will serve as an impromptu waiter, serving food to unsuspecting patrons while Busch’s No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge will be on display outside of the restaurant’s parking deck.

• Last year, Matt Kenseth (No. 17 Crown Royal Ford) followed up his Daytona 500 triumph by winning the Auto Club 500. Kenseth, the 2003 series champion, hasn’t won since. But if ever the stage was set for ending a drought, this is it: Kenseth has won three of the last four February races at Auto Club Speedway. Kenseth finished eighth in the Daytona 500. “We got lucky,” he said.

• It was a pretty weird Daytona 500 for Martin Truex Jr. (No. 56 NAPA Toyota). He had to watch his old car, the No. 1, win the race. But at the same time, he had his best finish in the event, sixth, in his debut driving for Michael Waltrip Racing. He had an excellent shot to win the race.

  “I’m extremely proud and excited about coming out of Daytona with the results we had,” Truex said.

  “I really wasn’t sure what to expect. From the first test, working together with [crew chief] Pat Tryson, I knew we were going to be good. He is a pleasure to work with. He really takes his job seriously, and yet, he likes to have fun. I think the guys on the NAPA team really look up to him because of his experience and knowledge. He is respected and it goes a long way with everyone. “For me, I just try and do the best job I can. As far as the communication and getting along with Pat and all that other stuff that goes along with the relationship, it came really easy. Hopefully, we can continue on what we started and win some races.”

• David Reutimann (No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota) finished fifth in the Daytona 500, an immediate reminder that his solid effort in 2009 — he finished 16th in the series points and almost qualified for the Chase for the NASCARSprint Cup — was no fluke. Reutimann, Truex’s teammate at MWR, comes into this weekend sixth in points. “It was an up and down day,” Reutimann said. “We weren’t the best we didn’t feel like at various times, but all in all the car drove good and the guys made good pit stops. We just kind of got up there when it counted.”

  All in all, a good opening week for Michael Waltrip Racing. Along with the runs of Reutimann and Truex, Waltrip made the race via his qualifying speed and finished a respectable 18th.

• Guaranteed starting positions for the first five races of this season go to the top 35 teams based on last season’s final car owner points — for only this year’s first five races. That means coming out of the March 21 race at Bristol Motor Speedway, this season’s points will be the determining factor.

  Two drivers to watch in this “extra-curricular” competition are Scott Speed and driver-owner Robby Gordon (No. 7 Warner Music Nashville Toyota). In the Daytona 500, both helped their chances of staying in the top 35 post-Bristol; Speed was 19th, Gordon 28th. Two others thought to be headed toward solid seasons are already in trouble, regarding staying in the top 35: Sam Hornish Jr. (No. 77 AAA Dodge) and Marcos Ambrose (No. 47 Armor All Toyota). Hornish finished 37th in the 500, Ambrose 41st.