NASCAR
Nextel's New NASCAR
Just when you thought it was the same old thing year after year, NASCAR throws a curve ball. 2004 sees a new title sponsor, as Nextel replaces Winston after years of service, and also sees the most significant change in how the Championship will be run and won in years, in fact probably in the series history, while the withdrawal of Pontiac has seen some teams forced to switch marques (after some teams already had '04 Pontiacs being built).
There have been a few changes in the driver line-ups. Starting with Chevrolet and Hendrick, Brian Vickers has taken over as driver of the #25 car, running a few events towards the end of last season while clinching the 2003 Busch series title. DEI will scale back a bit this year, running two cars fulltime for Dale Earnhardt Jr and Michael Waltrip with a third car making occasional appearances. At Childress Johnny Sauter comes in as driver of the #30 car.
Moving on to Ford, Roush's driver line-up remains unchanged, though lack of a main sponsor for Jeff Burton, who finished twelfth in the points last year, means he is likely to run a limited schedule this season. After several engine problems last year Roush has decided to use Robert Yates engines this season. Speaking of Robert Yates, they continue as they were in 2003.
Finally to Dodge where at Evernham there has been change. Despite winning the second last event of 2003 (and coming within a lap of doing the same in the final event) Bill Elliott has decided to run a limited schedule this season, with Busch star Kasey Kahne taking over the #9 car. Penske will be a three car operation as Penske and Jasper combine to run Craftsman Truck Series driver Brendan Gaughan. Ganassi goes into 2004 unchanged.
But the most significant change for 2004 is the changes to the points standings. A winner will now score 180 points, up five points from before, while second through to 43rd remain unchanged. There will also be two extra qualifying places determined by time, up from 36 to 38. But the biggest change will be how the series champion is determined. Instead of every race counting equally for the title, as in previous years (and most other racing series), NASCAR has decided a "Chase for the Championship" over the last ten races is the way to go.
This works in the following way: after the first 26 races of the season, the top ten drivers in the points standings plus any other driver with 400 points of the leader will be eligible to become series champion. These drivers will then have their points score reset, with the points leader begin the 10 race chase with 5,050 points, second place 5,045 points, third 5,040 etc. five point gaps separating each of the drivers at the beginning of the chase. Then these ten (or more) drivers fight it out to become series champion.
There have also been a minor adjustment to the aero packages of the cars, with smaller rear spoilers, while Goodyear will be supplying softer tyres, which may mean faster speeds at the start of a run but slower speeds by the end of it.
With all this out the way, the drivers ran qualifying for the Daytona 500 earlier this week, with Greg Biffle clinching pole ahead of Elliott Sadler, a pair of Fords on the front row following on from Dale Jarrett's Bud Shootout victory. Later this week are the twin 125 mile qualifying races, which will set the rest of the field for the Daytona 500.
These two qualifying races are unique to the Daytona 500. The starting order for race one is the odd qualifying times ie. 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th etc., with the even number cars similarly in race two. Then the top 14 finishers in each race (not including either of the two drivers already guaranteed a front row start) fill the grid positions through to 30th, with the top 14 from race one starting on the inside of each row behind pole, with the top 14 from race two on their outside. The next eight places, 31st to 38th, are the eight fastest cars in qualifying who are not already in the field. The final five places are filled through provisionals, the first four based on the team's owner's points in 2003 with the final place taken either by a previous Winston Cup Champion or the next car based on owner's points.
Qualifying results:
Pos Driver Car
1. Greg Biffle Ford Taurus
2. Elliott Sadler Ford Taurus
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr Chevrolet Monte Carlo
4. Ricky Rudd Ford Taurus
5. Dale Jarrett Ford Taurus
6. Kevin Lepage Chevrolet Monte Carlo
7. Kasey Kahne Dodge Intrepid
8. Joe Nemechek Chevrolet Monte Carlo
9. Casey Mears Dodge Intrepid
10. Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Monte Carlo
11. Jamie McMurray Dodge Intrepid
12. Sterling Marlin Dodge Intrepid
13. Michael Waltrip Chevrolet Monte Carlo
14. Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Monte Carlo
15. Ward Burton Chevrolet Monte Carlo
16. Rusty Wallace Dodge Intrepid
17. Jeff Burton Ford Taurus
18. Jeremy Mayfield Dodge Intrepid
19. Brendan Gaughan Dodge Intrepid
20. Mark Martin Ford Taurus
21. John Andretti Chevrolet Monte Carlo
22. Robby Gordon Chevrolet Monte Carlo
23. Kurt Busch Ford Taurus
24. Kyle Petty Dodge Intrepid
25. Jeff Green Dodge Intrepid
26. Brian Vickers Chevrolet Monte Carlo
27. Johnny Sauter Chevrolet Monte Carlo
28. Matt Kenseth Ford Taurus
29. Scott Riggs Chevrolet Monte Carlo
30. Ken Schrader Dodge Intrepid
31. Terry Labonte Chevrolet Monte Carlo
32. Ricky Craven Chevrolet Monte Carlo
33. Dave Blaney Dodge Intrepid
34. Scott Wimmer Dodge Intrepid
35. Bobby Labonte Chevrolet Monte Carlo
36. Mike Skinner Chevrolet Monte Carlo
37. Tony Stewart Chevrolet Monte Carlo
38. Jimmy Spencer Dodge Intrepid
39. Jeff Gordon Chevrolet Monte Carlo
40. Johnny Benson Dodge Intrepid
41. Derrike Cope Dodge Intrepid
42. Ryan Newman Dodge Intrepid
43. Larry Foyt Dodge Intrepid
44. Kirk Shelmerdine Ford Taurus
45. Andy Hillenburg Ford Taurus |
