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Well, folks, we are back around to Daytona, the third restrictor plate race of 2008. There have been a few that have done well in the first two restrictor plate races who should once again fair well.

I have diced up COT stats, similar track stats (Talladega + Daytona), recent Daytona averages, restrictor plate averages, top 25 of 2008, laps led stats, bonus point leaders and much more thrown together into one big pot brought to a boil, simmered and served. Enjoy!

My pick to win will have to be Dale Jr. He has done very well on restrictor plate race tracks this year. If you recall, he won the Bud Shootout and his Gatorade Duel at Daytona then he finished in the top 10 at Talladega and in the Daytona 500. Hendrick has some strong engines, and I look for Jr to ride to victory lane under the lights!

Back ups? Who needs stinkin’ back-ups? Well, if I have to pick, I would select Kyle Busch. Like him or not, he can get that car to the front when he needs to. Busch finished 4th at Daytona and won the race at Talladega. Don’t be quick to go against the Toyotas, for they were strong in both restrictor plate races.

Next I would have to pick Ryan Newman who won the Daytona 500 and finished 8th at Talladega. I don’t know what it is, but the Penske cars seem to get better each time they get on a restrictor plate track.

Rounding out my 4th and 5th top five would be the teammates of my winner. Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson. I look for them to run somewhere close to Dale Jr. since they are both familiar with restrictor plate racing. Don’t be shocked if Casey Mears puts on a show like Brian Vickers did after he announced that he was leaving Hendrick Motorsports. Somehow it seems to bring out the best in a driver sometimes knowing that your performance could land you a new job.

Lifetime breakdown:
Races 67
Total Laps 11,954
Total Cars 2806
Total Leaders 653
Total DNF 853
% DNF 2.39%
Stats since: Feb 16, 1975

Driver Averages at C O T Races(Top 10)
Driver Avg Finish Races Wins Top5’s Top10’s Top20’s Laps Led Bonus Pts Poles Avg Start High Finish Low Finish DNF NASCAR Points
1 Jeff Gordon 9.85 33 3 17 22 30 948 115 6 11.3 1 43 3 4753
2 Jimmie Johnson 10.45 33 6 14 19 28 1,188 125 3 9.6 1 39 1 4726
3 Kyle Busch 10.85 33 6 16 22 28 1,114 120 2 15.6 1 43 2 4692
4 Jeff Burton 12.21 33 1 6 17 30 113 40 0 22.0 1 43 3 4320
5 Carl Edwards 12.64 33 5 10 17 29 839 90 1 13.0 1 42 3 4415
6 Denny Hamlin 12.73 33 2 13 20 26 1,394 110 2 13.9 1 43 2 4421
7 Tony Stewart 13.33 33 1 11 20 26 1,051 110 0 16.3 1 43 4 4327
8 Clint Bowyer 14.00 33 2 7 16 24 395 50 2 19.8 1 39 0 4167
9 Mark Martin 14.39 18 0 3 7 13 93 20 0 16.5 3 31 0 2213
10 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 14.76 33 1 11 17 24 831 110 1 12.9 1 43 4 4162

Top 25 Driver Stats for 2008:

Driver NASCAR Points Avg Finish Races Wins Top 5’s Top 10’s Laps Led
1 Kyle Busch 2496 10.5 17 5 10 11 869
2 Jeff Burton 2432 8.7 17 1 4 10 62
3 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 2352 11.4 17 1 7 11 570
4 Carl Edwards 2262 11.5 17 3 6 12 395
5 Jimmie Johnson 2220 13.8 17 1 4 8 600
6 Jeff Gordon 2171 13.9 17 0 7 8 211
7 Denny Hamlin 2150 14.7 17 1 5 9 664
8 Greg Biffle 2119 14.8 17 0 5 7 283
9 Tony Stewart 2042 16.5 17 0 5 8 520
10 Kasey Kahne 2031 16.9 17 2 3 8 144
11 Clint Bowyer 2021 16.4 17 1 4 8 150
12 Kevin Harvick 2016 15.8 17 0 2 5 88
13 Matt Kenseth 2001 16.9 17 0 3 10 191
14 Martin Truex Jr. 1945 17.1 17 0 2 5 15
15 Ryan Newman 1905 18.0 17 1 2 6 60
16 Brian Vickers 1903 18.1 17 0 3 4 128
17 David Ragan 1888 18.1 17 0 2 4 10
18 Kurt Busch 1794 20.4 17 1 2 3 84
19 Travis Kvapil 1731 20.7 17 0 0 3 2
20 Juan Pablo Montoya 1705 21.4 17 0 1 2 1
21 Bobby Labonte 1705 21.1 17 0 0 1 4
22 David Gilliland 1692 21.6 17 0 1 2 3
23 Casey Mears 1657 22.4 17 0 1 4 54
24 Jamie McMurray 1656 22.4 17 0 0 3 7
25 Elliott Sadler 1621 23.2 17 0 1 4 12

2008 Lap Leaders:

Driver Laps
Kyle Busch 869
Denny Hamlin 664
Jimmie Johnson 600
Dale Earnhardt Jr. 570
Tony Stewart 520
Carl Edwards 395
Greg Biffle 283
Jeff Gordon 211
Matt Kenseth 191
Clint Bowyer 150
Kasey Kahne 144
Brian Vickers 128

2008 Bonus Points:

Driver Pts
Kyle Busch 80
Jimmie Johnson 75
Dale Earnhardt Jr. 70
Tony Stewart 55
Denny Hamlin 50
Carl Edwards 50
Matt Kenseth 45
Greg Biffle 45
Kasey Kahne 45
Jeff Gordon 40
Jeff Burton 35
Ryan Newman 30

Speedway leaders:

Rank Driver Starts Best Fin Worst Fin Avg Start Avg Fin
1 Dale Earnhardt Jr 34 1 42 14.6 14.0
2 Jeff Gordon 46 1 42 11.4 15.0
3 Kevin Harvick 29 1 36 19.3 15.2
4 Jimmie Johnson 26 1 39 8.4 15.3
5 David Gilliland 7 4 28 19.3 15.4
6 Kurt Busch 30 2 41 22.7 15.6
7 Tony Stewart 38 1 43 13.1 15.8
8 Jeff Burton 46 1 43 22.7 17.4
9 Ryan Newman 26 1 43 17.0 18.2
10 Mark Martin 43 1 43 16.2 18.8
11 Matt Kenseth 34 3 42 23.5 18.9
12 David Ragan 6 4 42 21.8 19.0
13 Bobby Labonte 46 1 43 17.6 19.1
14 Ward Burton 32 1 42 18.4 19.4
15 Kasey Kahne 18 2 41 26.8 19.4
16 Bill Elliott 31 3 39 16.5 19.5
17 Clint Bowyer 10 6 40 27.2 19.5
18 Robby Gordon 30 5 41 23.6 19.8
19 Brian Vickers 16 1 39 23.8 19.9
20 Denny Hamlin 10 3 43 10.8 20.6
21 Travis Kvapil 9 6 30 22.1 20.9
22 Jacques Villeneuve 1 21 21 6.0 21.0
23 Elliott Sadler 37 2 40 22.1 21.0
24 Jamie McMurray 23 1 37 19.0 21.3
25 Casey Mears 22 2 43 22.6 21.6

Similar tracks (Talladega & Daytona):

Rank Driver Daytona Talladega Start Avg 2008
1 Tony Stewart 7.0 6.0 38 6.5 20.5
2 Dale Earnhardt Jr 8.0 8.0 34 8.0 9.5
3 Jeff Gordon 12.0 7.0 46 9.5 29.0
4 Kurt Busch 16.0 7.0 30 11.5 20.5
5 Jimmie Johnson 8.0 15.0 26 11.5 20.0
6 Ryan Newman 14.0 11.0 26 12.5 4.5
7 Jeff Burton 13.0 12.0 46 12.5 12.5
8 Kevin Harvick 14.0 12.0 29 13.0 19.0
9 David Gilliland 11.0 15.0 7 13.0 21.5
10 David Ragan 12.0 17.0 6 14.5 23.0
11 Robby Gordon 17.0 14.0 30 15.5 9.5
12 Bobby Labonte 21.0 12.0 46 16.5 22.5
13 Matt Kenseth 20.0 14.0 34 17.0 38.5
14 Mark Martin 17.0 19.0 43 18.0 15.5
15 Brian Vickers 19.5 16.5 16 18.0 8.5
16 Bill Elliott 18.0 19.0 31 18.5 DNQ
17 Kasey Kahne 16.0 23.0 18 19.5 15.0
18 Casey Mears 20.0 20.0 22 20.0 21.0
19 Sterling Marlin 19.5 23.0 43 21.3 11.0
20 Travis Kvapil 27.0 17.0 9 22.0 18.0
21 JJ Yeley 25.0 19.0 10 22.0 12.5
22 Scott Riggs 27.5 17.5 16 22.5 18.5
23 Clint Bowyer 10.0 35.0 10 22.5 16.5
24 Carl Edwards 23.0 23.0 15 23.0 29.5
25 Elliott Sadler 18.0 28.5 37 23.3 17.5

Past Pole Winners:

Year Polesitter
2008 Jimmie Johnson
2007 None - weather
2007 David Gilliland
2006 Boris Said
2006 Jeff Burton
2005 Tony Stewart
2005 Dale Jarrett
2004 Jeff Gordon
2004 Greg Biffle
2003 Steve Park
2003 Jeff Green
2002 Kevin Harvick
2002 Jimmie Johnson
2001 Sterling Marlin
2001 Bill Elliott
2000 Dale Jarrett
2000 Dale Jarrett
1999 Joe Nemechek
1999 Jeff Gordon
1998 Bobby Labonte
1998 Bobby Labonte
1997 Mike Skinner
1997 Mike Skinner
1996 Jeff Gordon
1996 Dale Earnhardt
1995 Dale Earnhardt
1995 Dale Jarrett
1994 Dale Earnhardt
1994 Loy Allen Jr.
1993 Ernie Irvan
1993 Kyle Petty
1992 Sterling Marlin
1992 Sterling Marlin
1991 Sterling Marlin
1991 Davey Allison
1990 Greg Sacks
1990 Ken Schrader
1989 Mark Martin
1989 Ken Schrader
1988 Darrell Waltrip
1988 Ken Schrader
1987 Davey Allison
1987 Bill Elliott
1986 Cale Yarborough
1986 Bill Elliott
1985 Bill Elliott
1985 Bill Elliott
1984 Cale Yarborough
1984 Cale Yarborough
1983 Cale Yarborough
1983 Ricky Rudd
1982 Geoffrey Bodine
1982 Benny Parsons
1981 Cale Yarborough
1981 Bobby Allison
1980 Cale Yarborough
1980 Buddy Baker
1979 Buddy Baker
1979 Buddy Baker
1978 Cale Yarborough
1978 Cale Yarborough
1977 Neil Bonnett
1977 Donnie Allison
1976 A.J. Foyt
1976 Ramo Stott
1975 Donnie Allison
1975 Donnie Allison
1974 David Pearson
1974 David Pearson
1973 Bobby Allison
1973 Buddy Baker
1972 Bobby Isaac
1972 Bobby Isaac
1971 Donnie Allison
1971 A.J. Foyt
1970 Cale Yarborough
1970 Cale Yarborough
1969 Cale Yarborough
1969 Buddy Baker
1968 Charlie Glotzbach
1968 Cale Yarborough
1967 Darel Dieringer
1967 Curtis Turner
1966 LeeRoy Yarbrough
1966 Richard Petty
1965 Marvin Panch
1965 Darel Dieringer
1964 Darel Dieringer
1964 Paul Goldsmith
1963 Junior Johnson
1963 Fireball Roberts
1962 Banjo Matthews
1962 Fireball Roberts
1961 Fireball Roberts
1961 Fireball Roberts
1960 Jack Smith
1960 Cotton Owens
1959 Fireball Roberts
1959 Bob Welborn

Past winners:

Year Winner Make
2008 Ryan Newman Dodge
2007 Jamie McMurray Ford
2007 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet
2006 Tony Stewart Chevrolet
2006 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet
2005 Tony Stewart Chevrolet
2005 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet
2004 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet
2004 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Chevrolet
2003 Greg Biffle Ford
2003 Michael Waltrip Chevrolet
2002 Michael Waltrip Chevrolet
2002 Ward Burton Dodge
2001 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet
2001 Michael Waltrip Chevrolet
2000 Jeff Burton Ford
2000 Dale Jarrett Ford
1999 Dale Jarrett Ford
1999 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet
1998 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet
1998 Dale Earnhardt Chevrolet
1997 John Andretti Ford
1997 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet
1996 Sterling Marlin Chevrolet
1996 Dale Jarrett Ford
1995 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet
1995 Sterling Marlin Chevrolet
1994 Jimmy Spencer Ford
1994 Sterling Marlin Chevrolet
1993 Dale Earnhardt Chevrolet
1993 Dale Jarrett Chevrolet
1992 Ernie Irvan Chevrolet
1992 Davey Allison Ford
1991 Bill Elliott Ford
1991 Ernie Irvan Chevrolet
1990 Dale Earnhardt Chevrolet
1990 Derrike Cope Chevrolet
1989 Davey Allison Ford
1989 Darrell Waltrip Chevrolet
1988 Bill Elliott Ford
1988 Bobby Allison Buick
1987 Bobby Allison Buick
1987 Bill Elliott Ford
1986 Tim Richmond Chevrolet
1986 Geoff Bodine Chevrolet
1985 Greg Sacks Chevrolet
1985 Bill Elliott Ford
1984 Richard Petty Pontiac
1984 Cale Yarborough Chevrolet
1983 Buddy Baker Ford
1983 Cale Yarborough Pontiac
1982 Bobby Allison Buick
1982 Bobby Allison Buick
1981 Cale Yarborough Buick
1981 Richard Petty Buick
1980 Bobby Allison Mercury
1980 Buddy Baker Oldsmobile
1979 Neil Bonnett Mercury
1979 Richard Petty Oldsmobile
1978 David Pearson Mercury
1978 Bobby Allison Ford
1977 Richard Petty Dodge
1977 Cale Yarborough Chevrolet
1976 Cale Yarborough Chevrolet
1976 David Pearson Mercury
1975 Richard Petty Dodge
1975 Benny Parsons Chevrolet
1974 David Pearson Mercury
1974 Richard Petty Dodge
1973 David Pearson Mercury
1973 Richard Petty Dodge
1972 David Pearson Mercury
1972 A.J. Foyt Mercury
1971 Bobby Isaac Dodge
1971 Richard Petty Plymouth
1970 Davey Allison Ford
1970 Pete Hamilton Plymouth
1969 LeeRoy Yarbrough Ford
1969 LeeRoy Yarbrough Ford
1968 Cale Yarborough Mercury
1968 Cale Yarborough Mercury
1967 Cale Yarborough Ford
1967 Mario Andretti Ford
1966 Sam McQuagg Dodge
1966 Richard Petty Plymouth
1965 A.J. Foyt Ford
1965 Fred Lorenzen Ford
1964 A.J. Foyt Dodge
1964 Richard Petty Plymouth
1963 Fireball Roberts Ford
1963 Tiny Lund Ford
1962 Fireball Roberts Pontiac
1962 Fireball Roberts Pontiac
1961 David Pearson Pontiac
1961 Marvin Panch Pontiac
1960 Jack Smith Pontiac
1960 Junior Johnson Chevrolet
1959 Fireball Roberts Pontiac
1959 Lee Petty Oldsmobile

Starting positions of Daytona winners:

Year Winner Position
2008 Ryan Newman 7th
2007 Jamie McMurray 15th
2007 Kevin Harvick 34th
2006 Tony Stewart 2nd
2006 Jimmie Johnson 9th
2005 Tony Stewart 1st
2005 Jeff Gordon 15th
2004 Jeff Gordon 1st
2004 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. 3rd
2003 Greg Biffle 30th
2003 Michael Waltrip 4th
2002 Michael Waltrip 7th
2002 Ward Burton 19th
2001 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 13th
2001 Michael Waltrip 19th
2000 Jeff Burton 9th
2000 Dale Jarrett 1st
1999 Dale Jarrett 12th
1999 Jeff Gordon 1st
1998 Jeff Gordon 8th
1998 Dale Earnhardt 4th
1997 John Andretti 3rd
1997 Jeff Gordon 6th
1996 Sterling Marlin 2nd
1996 Dale Jarrett 7th
1995 Jeff Gordon 3rd
1995 Sterling Marlin 3rd
1994 Jimmy Spencer 3rd
1994 Sterling Marlin 4th
1993 Dale Earnhardt 5th
1993 Dale Jarrett 2nd
1992 Ernie Irvan 6th
1992 Davey Allison 6th
1991 Bill Elliott 10th
1991 Ernie Irvan 2nd
1990 Dale Earnhardt 3rd
1990 Derrike Cope 12th
1989 Davey Allison 8th
1989 Darrell Waltrip 2nd
1988 Bill Elliott 38th
1988 Bobby Allison 3rd
1987 Bobby Allison 11th
1987 Bill Elliott 1st
1986 Tim Richmond 9th
1986 Geoff Bodine 2nd
1985 Greg Sacks 9th
1985 Bill Elliott 1st
1984 Richard Petty 6th
1984 Cale Yarborough 1st
1983 Buddy Baker 8th
1983 Cale Yarborough 8th
1982 Bobby Allison 9th
1982 Bobby Allison 7th
1981 Cale Yarborough 1nst
1981 Richard Petty 8th
1980 Bobby Allison 14th
1980 Buddy Baker 1st
1979 Neil Bonnett 2nd
1979 Richard Petty 13th
1978 David Pearson 3rd
1978 Bobby Allison 33rd
1977 Richard Petty 5th
1977 Cale Yarborough 4th
1976 Cale Yarborough 2nd
1976 David Pearson 7th
1975 Richard Petty 13th
1975 Benny Parsons 32nd
1974 David Pearson 1st
1974 Richard Petty 2nd
1973 David Pearson 6th
1973 Richard Petty 7th
1972 David Pearson 2nd
1972 A.J. Foyt 2nd
1971 Bobby Isaac 21st
1971 Richard Petty 5th
1970 Davey Allison 15th
1970 Pete Hamilton 9th
1969 LeeRoy Yarbrough 9th
1969 LeeRoy Yarbrough 19th
1968 Cale Yarborough 4th
1968 Cale Yarborough 1st
1967 Cale Yarborough 2nd
1967 Mario Andretti 12th
1966 Sam McQuagg 4th
1966 Richard Petty 1st
1965 A.J. Foyt 11th
1965 Fred Lorenzen 4th
1964 A.J. Foyt 19th
1964 Richard Petty 2nd
1963 Fireball Roberts 3rd
1963 Tiny Lund 12th
1962 Fireball Roberts 4th
1962 Fireball Roberts 1st
1961 David Pearson 2nd
1961 Marvin Panch 4th
1960 Jack Smith 1st
1960 Junior Johnson 9th
1959 Fireball Roberts 1st
1959 Lee Petty 15th

Summary
Races won from Pos. No 1………23
Races won from Pos. No 2………19
Races won from Pos. No 3………11
Races won from Pos. No 4………11
Races won from Pos. No 5……….3
Races won from Pos. No 6……….7
Races won from Pos. No 7……….7
Races won from Pos. No 8……….6
Races won from Pos. No 9……….9
Races won from Pos. No 10……..1
Races won from Pos. No 11……..2
Races won from Pos. No 12……..4
Races won from Pos. No 13……..3
Races won from Pos. No 14……..1
Races won from Pos. No 15……..5
Races won from Pos. No 19……..4
Races won from Pos. No 21……..1
Races won from Pos. No 30……..1
Races won from Pos. No 32……..1
Races won from Pos. No 33……..1
Races won from Pos. No 34……..1
Races won from Pos. No 38……..1

Non-stop racing action:

Top Sponsors Fuel the Return of TNT’s ‘Wide Open Coverage’: TNT announced its full lineup of sponsors for this year’s highly-touted Wide Open Coverage race telecast, which will air once again during the primetime Coke Zero 400 race from Daytona International Speedway on Sat., July 5th. The ten national sponsors, which matches last year’s sponsorship commitment, featured in this year’s innovative telecast include Coke Zero, Coors Light, HP, Papa John’s, Sprint, Subway, Toyota, US Army, Viagra and Warner Bros. TNT’s exclusive Wide Open Coverage telecast is a groundbreaking television presentation format that provides continuous race coverage free of national commercial breaks and features 22% more unobstructed race action than that of a standard telecast by using a letterbox widescreen format. In place of the national ads, the telecast features a variety of animated sponsor messages, unique branded content and distinct on-screen graphic elements. Wide Open Coverage debuted on TNT during the 2007 Daytona 400 race and showcased extended non-stop green flag racing, missing only three laps of green flag racing. The network’s race coverage begins at 6:30pm/et with the NASCAR Live pre-race show hosted by Marc Fein with analysts Kyle Petty and Larry McReynolds, followed by the Allstate Countdown to Green at 7:30pm/et with Bill Weber, Wally Dallenbach and Petty with reports from pit reporters Marty Snider, Matt Yocum, Ralph Sheheen and Lindsay Czarniak. The race will begin at 8:00pm/et with a brief Wide Open Coverage introduction by Sprint Cup Series drivers Tony Stewart, Jamie McMurray and Greg Biffle.

Final thoughts:

Tony Stewart looked good last week until Mother Nature stepped in. Look for Stewart to do well at Daytona. He holds 2 wins at Daytona, one pole, 6 top fives and ten top 10’s. Stewart has also led 531 laps in the 19 races he has raced here, more than any other active driver. Jeff Gordon trails behind him with 511. Denny Hamlin, Greg Biffle and Clint Bowyer each have 0 DNF’s at Daytona. They are the only ones in the top 12 to do this. Ryan Newman has had 3 top 10’s at Daytona including one win out of 13 starts. Dale Jr. has finished in the top 5 six times at Daytona. He has also won twice with the first coming in 2001. Jeff Gordon has more wins than any other active driver with six. Gordon also has 11 top fives and 17 top 10’s here. Kurt Busch has 7 top top five finishes at Daytona. Jeff Burton has 8 top 10 finishes, 1 pole and 1 win at Daytona. Richard Petty leads all drivers with 10 wins at Daytona. Cale Yarborough leads all driver with the most poles at 13. There have been 52 different drivers to win at Daytona. 24 of those drivers have won more than once. Show me the money honey! The posted awards for Saturday’s Coke Zero 400 will be $6,284,969.

I hope I have given you some food for thought. If you have taken too many helpings, get up from the table and come back later for a late night snack. It was a lot to put on ones plate.