So 2007 Daytona 500 qualifying wrapped up and we got some surprises, some disappointments, and another chapter to add to Tom Jensen's book Cheating, or as Bill Gazaway would put it, Fudging, or as Richard Petty once put it, Just Tryin' To Get An Edge. First up was Michael Waltrip's manifold swallowing oil, which got the manifold impounded, though that wasn't all as the whole #55 Toyota got seized as well. Next up was unapproved aerodynamic work on Matt Kenseth's Ford and Kasey Kahne's Dodge, which got their times disallowed and which puts Ray Evernham in the dubious position of being "this week's ass" again.
And when it was all said and done, Robert Yates had the Daytona 500 front row. In the recent past that would be cause for snoring as Yates' cars haven't run consistently well the last couple of years aside from Dale Jarrett's stunning Talladega triumph in 2005. Indeed, the last few times Yates Fords won poles at plate tracks they impressed the field with their slowness in race trim. But after David Gilliland's strong effort to second in the Shootout you may want to get a row of stamps and mail in that recent boilerplate.
Looking at some other teams after they time-trialed:
GANASSI/SABCO DODGES - The surprise is not Juan Montoya, it's David Stremme, who showed no killer instinct worthy of the name last year or any year for that matter but who timed third on pole day. Montoya we all know about, with his technology savvy boosting the Ganassi team's Texaco racecar twenty years after the company debuted as a NASCAR sponsor. Decidedly underwhelming was Reed Sorenson.
ROUSH FORDS - David Ragan and Boris Said lead this fleet on pole day but are of dubious moxie in race trim, especially Ragan after getting an earful about his driving late last year. Matt Kenseth will have to race hard to gain back what he lost in postrace, while Jamie McMurray and Greg Biffle had decidedly mediocre times and Carl Edwards is looking more and more like a one-season wonder.
HENDRICK CHEVROLETS - The prohibitive favorites for the 500 all timed in the top thirteen - that's all you need to know right now.
ROBERT GINN CHEVROLETS - Hendrick's satellite effort put Sterling Marlin into the field with a superb time trial. Other than that it wasn't much to jump for joy over, as Mark Martin was decidedly slow and Joe Nemechek was almost a zip code behind.
GENE HAAS CHEVROLETS - Johnny Sauter debuted Gene Haas' second car with a sensational time trial, but we've seen Robert Barker cars do this before and then disappear in race trim. Jeff Green wasn't inspiring in qualifying but has picked up in race trim on the plate tracks lately.
JOE GIBBS CHEVROLETS - Tony Stewart did what mattered - he got fast in race trim en route to the Shootout win. It didn't hurt, though, that all three JGR cars made the top-19 on pole day.
MICHAEL WALTRIP TOYOTAS - David Reutimann made some noise by timing 15th but that was the highlight of a frustrating effort by Mikey's bunch. Mikey timed 25th and waits to see whether any axe will fall after his inspection hassles. Dale Jarrett, meanwhile, looks like he was chose for his champion's provisional and nothing else, as he's spent the first weekend of Speedweeks sleepwalking on the speedway en route to an embarassingly poor showing in both the Shootout and pole day.
BILL DAVIS TOYOTAS - Bill Davis is the prohibitive favorite for at least best in class for the Toyota fleet, as Jeremy Mayfield and Mike Skinner timed in the top-18, a respectable effort but a contrast to Dave Blaney's meidocre time in BDR's flagship #22.
RAY EVERNHAM DODGES - Elliott Sadler right now is the class of this field, as he ran strong in the Shootout and timed okay on pole day. It's been a forgettable Speedweeks so far, though, after Kasey Kahne got zapped in the inspection line, Scott Riggs laid a big egg on pole day, and Erin Crocker continued to prove herself an embarassment to racing in the ARCA 200.
DEI CHEVROLETS - Martin Truex and Dale Junior timed together on pole day while Paul Menard was less impressive. It nonetheless prepares them for what may be a pivotal season in the history of this team.
PETTY ENTERPRISES DODGES - Nothing to get excited about here, as Bobby Labonte timed okay while Kyle Petty was disappointing in his time.
PENSKE RACING DODGES - Yes that was Kurt Busch looking like one of the best cars in the draft in the Shootout; he'll need that drafting prowess after a mediocre time. Ryan Newman meanwhile keeps sliding downward and downward after breaking in the Shootout and posting a very mediocre time.
RCR CHEVROLETS - They better hope that one-season performance bounce they got from hiring Cosworth engine men hasn't run out, but right now RCR is a puzzle with a dismal qualifying effort and some shaky performance in the Shootout by Harvick and Jeff Burton.
MORGAN-McCLURE CHEVROLET - Hopelessly behind in all areas, this team right now looks like it just wants to survive. Ward Burton may wind up wishing he'd stayed retired.
AIKMAN-STAUBACH CHEVROLET - A high-priced also-ran last year and right now it doesn't look any better.
ROBBY GORDON FORD - They switched to Ford to move up in the engineering totem pole. Guess what - they went nowhere on that front.
RED BULL RACING TOYOTAS - Two sure DNQs here, unless Brian Vickers can come up with a lot of drafting speed and fast.
WOOD BROTHERS FORD - When will the Ken Schrader experiment mercifully end?
With pole day wrapped up the next practice sessions beckon before the 150s, while Trucks and BGN also tackle the worn-out surface for their qualifying and practices before their races. And so Speedweeks speeds on.
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