(Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
It was hot and humid all weekend long. Heat was playing a factor for the drivers. It was typical Daytona racing, and the action was as hot as the temperature.
So check out this week’s winners and losers.
Winners
Tony Stewart
Well, you know, this shouldn’t be a surprise at this point. Tony Stewart had the best car all night long. He was up front and never lost the race of pit road.
His guys were on top of it all night long, going seven for seven winning the race off of pit road. Stewart ran up front all night long and never needed to adjust on the car.
On the final laps, Kyle Busch had the lead and attempted to block Stewart, but ended up going sideways and slamming hard into the outside wall.
Stewart seemed to beat himself up, but when he looks at the replay, he will realize he did nothing wrong. Busch tried to block but lost control, Stewart didn’t really do anything wrong.
Stewart is a lock for the chase, and with two wins he is setting himself up for Loudon.
Points: First
Marcos Ambrose
I am going to be honest—this one is more impressive than Stewart winning.
Why? Because Marcos Ambrose is a single-car organization, he had no teammates to help him, and he's not all that experienced at plate tracks.
Ambrose ran well within the top 15 all day long and patiently made his way through the field. He avoided the multiple wrecks, and the team had great pit stops all night long.
I think the fact that they finished in sixth proves that this team is for real. I, for one, thought for sure that he would have some good finishes on road courses and the short tracks, but he has shown he is able to handle the larger tracks.
Ambrose will not make the chase, but this one car organization is running better than Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr.
Points: 18th
Regan Smith
So, we know Regan Smith is good at restrictor plate races. Smith, who is running a part-time schedule in 2009, is on a streak of now 51 consecutive races of running at the end.
That means in every race he has run since his rookie year, Smith has finished.
Smith ran a good race today. He and his crew were able to avoid major wrecks. They had stellar pit stops, and were able to work the draft to their advantage. In the end, their 12th place finished was a well-earned finish.
Smith knows how to drive, and given the right equipment, he would run in the top 15 most weeks.
The economy hit rock bottom, and there went any oppurtunities he had.
Points: 38th
Denny Hamlin
Denny Hamlin did, and said, all the right things tonight. He led some laps, and was able to hold his own up front. When it counted, Hamlin lined up behind his teammate and helped push him to the lead. Unfortunately for Hamlin and Busch. neither saw victory lane.
Hamlin had a good car all night long. He was up front, and his team had solid stops. They ran into a bit of trouble on pit road, but were able to rebound.
Hamlin is always just a little bit short. He leads a lot of laps at plate races but can never seal the deal.
He finished third tonight.
One of these days, Hamlin will not be the one giving the final push to the win, he will be the one winning the race.
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