Kevin Harvick passed Mark Martin as all heck was breaking loose behind them tonight and took the Daytona 505 by all of .02 seconds at the line. It was Harvick’s first plate win and the 11th of his Nextel Cup career (he’s now tied with Greg Biffle for 50th place on the all-time win list). You just knew when they went G/W/C that a bunch of ’em weren’t gonna come back in one piece, and one driver (Clint Boywer) slid across the finish line on his roof! Harvick made an amazing move on the outside going into turn three for the final time, and came from the lowest starting spot of any 500 winner in history….34th. Kevin was 7th when we got the final green, btw. This was win #82 [actually #84] for Richard Childress Racing. Six years to the day since we lost Dale Earnhardt….and that was his car in Victory Lane. Oh, maybe the number and the color was different, but we know better. Mark Martin (2nd) had his best finish since he was runner-up at Atlanta last March. Mike Wallace (4th) had his best finish since he was the bridesmaid at Phoenix in October of 2001! David Ragan (5th) had his career-best finish today. His previous best was 25th at Martinsville last October. Elliott Sadler (6th) has his best finish since he was 6th at Loudon last September. David Gilliland (8th) had his career-best finish today. His previous best was 15th twice last season…..at Talladega in October and Atlanta the same month. David Stremme (11th) equalled his career-best finish today. He was 11th twice last season….at Loudon in July and the Homestead finale. J. J. Yeley (12th) had his best finish since he was 8th at Loudon in September. Reed Sorenson (13th) had his best finish since he was 11th at Dover in September. Johnny Sauter (16th) had his best finish since he was 16th at Lowes in October of 2005 (only three races). STREAKIN….Jeff Gordon has 5 Top-10’s in the last 6 races. Kevin Harvick has 4 Top-5’s in the last 5 races. The Rookie Report: David Ragan (5th) is the top-finishing freshman in a short field today. He was followed by Juan Pablo Montoya (19th) and David Reutimann (40th). Paul Menard, Brandon Whitt, and A. J. Allmendinger were dnq’s this week. This Week’s Elevator….UP: The Operator of the Week is Kevin Harvick (+33), followed by Jeff Gordon (+32), David Ragan (+30), Johnny Sauter (+25), Mark Martin (+24), Elliott Sadler (+24), Robby Gordon (+24), Kasey Kahne (+21), Sterling Marlin (+21), Dale Jarrett (+21), and Reed Sorenson (+20). DOWN: The Big Dropper was Tony Stewart (-40), followed by Kurt Busch (-27), Dale Earnhardt Jr (-27), Ricky Rudd (-24), and Ryan Newman (-22). For you new subscribers this is the differential between starting position and finishing position.(Stock Car Fans)(2-18-2007)
