Published: January 02, 2008 12:14 am            

DE LA BASTIDE: Daytona 500 best race of the year

Vogler sprint classic a close second

During 2007, there was plenty of good racing in central Indiana, but the best race of the year had to be the Daytona 500.

With Mark Martin headed to his first ever victory in the season opener for the Nextel Cup Series, Kevin Harvick was closing on the lead when a multi-car crash coming off the fourth corner brought out the caution flag.

The end result was Harvick nipped Martin at the finish line for the victory, depriving Martin of a win in his 24th Daytona 500 start.

The finish was disputed and discussed for a week because several years earlier NASCAR implemented a “no racing back to the stripe” rule. Although I believed the caution flag should have brought racing to an end giving Martin the win, the officials ruled differently.

I didn’t agree with the decision made by NASCAR officials, but the finish of the Daytona 500 was the best of the year.

The second best race of the year that I observed was the USAC sprint classic at Winchester Speedway. Marc Jessup posted the fastest time for the running of the Rich Vogler classic, but in the first heat race tangled with another car and flipped on the front straight.

The crew made the necessary repairs which allowed Jessup to win the last chance qualifying race. He then went on to record the victory in the Vogler Classic. Good open wheel racing with plenty of action.

My vote for the third best event of the year was the 59th running of the Pay Less Little 500 sprint car classic at Anderson Speedway.

Eric Gordon posted his eighth Little 500 victory in dominating fashion by leading 294 of the final 297 laps. A decision to take on two tires on the final pit stop allowed Gordon to hold off Muncie’s Aaron Pierce for the victory. Pierce said the team made a mistake by not taking on tires on the final stop.

Michigan driver John Van Doorn’s victory in the Champion Racing Association’s portion of the All American 400 at the Music City Motorplex in Nashville was the fourth best race of the year.

Van Doorn battled Jason Hogan for the lead over the final 30 laps and finally with seven circuits remaining tapped the back of Hogan’s Chevrolet, pushing him out of the groove exiting the fourth corner to take the lead and the win.

Hogan said he wasn’t upset about the bump at the end of the race and indicated he would probably have done the same thing if the positions had been reversed.

The 100-lap CRA event at Winchester Speedway on Labor Day holds down the fifth best race of the year. Ohio driver Jeff Fultz claimed the victory when Chris Gabehart and Tommy St. John got together while battling for the lead with 11 laps remaining. The two leaders spun and was sent to the tail of the field.

The Winchester 400 claims the sixth race of the year with Ryan Lawler holding off Van Doorn and David Stremme for the victory in the fall classic.

Stremme opted to pit for tires in the final stages of the race and despite climbing through the field couldn’t close on the two leaders. Right as the race came to a conclusion, loose lug nuts on Stremme’s car kept him from claiming the win.

Kevin Harvick’s victory in the Busch Grand National race at Chicagoland Speedway ranks next on the list. Harvick held off Matt Kenseth at the finish, but what made the race memorable was something that happened with 35 laps remaining.

Jeff Burton snookered leader Kyle Busch into pitting by starting down the pit road access lane and then veering back on the track before the commit line. Busch was the only lead lap car to pit and couldn’t recover.

Following the race Burton admitted trying to trick Busch into stopping. It was a move that worked to perfection.

Ken de la Bastide may be reached at (765) 454 -8580 or via e-mail at ken.delabastide@kokomotribune.com

        

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