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closeCan the Dodges do it again?
RACE DAY AT DAYTONA
DAVID POOLE
The Charlotte Observer
Saturday, Jul. 05, 2008
A little more to ponder while waiting for Saturday night's green flag at Daytona:
THREE THINGS TO WATCH
1. Teams got only one practice in the afternoon heat on Thursday before racing cars the way they were for qualifying. Adjustments made as Saturday night's race goes along will be vital to success in the Coke Zero 400.
2. Six of the top-eight finishers in the Daytona 500 in February were Dodges, led by Penske Racing teammates Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch. Will the Dodge boys again be the ones to catch on a hotter, slicker race track in July?
3. Can the car leading the race when it takes the white flag hold on to win? That has not happened in the past three races held at Daytona, leading to some of the most memorable finishes in the track-s 50 seasons of racing.
OBSERVATIONS
• Mark Martin said he saw a story comparing his return to full-time competition to former Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre's supposed flirtation with returning from "retirement." Martin said he knows next to nothing about football. "All I know is that Matt Kenseth thinks (Favre) is the greatest thing since sliced bread," Martin said. "Evidently he's (Favre) good at what he does. …People would still like to see him come back."
• Martin said he and Rick Hendrick did about 50 percent of their deal via text messaging. Maybe it began with an exchange like this. "U wanna drive 4 me?" "OMG! 4 sure!"
• Jimmie Johnson will speak at the National Press Club's luncheon in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday. His topic will be "The Co-Efficient of Drag - Our Great National Heartache." (No, not really.)
JUST THE FACTS
What: Coke Zero 400
Where: Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Fla.
Track type: 2.5-mile trioval with 31 degrees of banking in the turns.
Race distance: 160 laps (400 miles).
When: 8 p.m. Saturday.
Weather: Mid-80s and humid, 30 percent chance of showers.
TV: TNT.
Radio: Motor Racing Network.
OBSERVER PICKS
DAVID POOLE
Funny, but Tony Stewart just can't seem to keep his name out of the news these days. A victory puts the focus back on the now instead of on what his racing future might hold.
Winner: Tony Stewart.
JIM UTTER
For three weeks Ford Martin has been telling me to pick Clint Bowyer for this race. Ford, the 12-year-old son of Bowyer's crew chief, Gil Martin, is the national correspondent for "Tony Stewart Live" on Sirius. I'm not going to argue.
Winner: Clint Bowyer.
