Tony Stewart won the Drive4COPD 300 at Daytona, but not without the consequence of a bad wreck. The wreck ended up injuring twenty-eight people in the stands and tearing a hole in the catchfence. None the less, Tony Stewart went from the back in the latter laps to secure victory. Even with the infamous wreck, the race was filled with good moments that left you hanging on the edge of your seat.
Trevor Bayne started on the pole for the race. At the drop of the green flag, Parker Kligerman was able to push Bayne out to a large lead. Bayne was able to lead the first three laps and was passed by Tony Stewart. The lead shuffled around and the first caution of the day came out on lap 9. Scott Lagasse Jr. tried to cross in front of Trevor Bayne on the frontstretch, but he was unable to and spun across the grass. No drivers received the lucky dog. The race went back green and stayed green until the second caution came out on lap 32. Elliott Sadler went up into Regan Smith in turn 4 and Smith spun down the track, but was able to save it. Juan Carlos Blum, a rookie in the Nationwide Series, got loose trying to avoid Regan and slid down the track into the inside wall. Jeremy Clements received the lucky dog. Something else happened during this caution that had more impact on the race.
Danica Patrick had been sliding back in the field and she did not know why. But she found out during the caution. While she was riding around on the caution, she lost power. She had to pull into the garage and was out of the race with engine problems. Her hopes of winning were dashed and now she has only the 500 to win at Daytona this weekend. The race went back green and the longest green flag run of the day ended with the third caution on lap 65. Mike Wallace went down on Michael Annett in turn 4 and Kurt Busch went up on Annett. This caused Wallace and Busch to spin into the trioval. Reed Sorenson and Joe Nemechek got loose as well and spun into the trioval. No drivers received the lucky dog. The race went green and continued green until the fourth caution waved on lap 86. Trevor Bayne had problems with his drivetrain in turn 1 and had to go to the garage. He would eventually return to the race and finish 31st. Justin Allgaier received the lucky dog. The race went green and went until the fifth caution came out on lap 101. Kyle Busch, one of the favorites to win the race, blew his engine on the backstretch. Reed Sorenson received the lucky dog, but his engine blew up as well. At this point, the race was entering the later stages and the action began to pick up.
For 14 laps after the green flag, the cars sliced and diced their way around the track. Every second it seemed like one car would move wrong and the big one would commence. On lap 115, this happened and the sixth caution came out. Michael Annett, who had been involved in a previous incident, went up the track in turn 1 and spun Austin Dillon. The pack behind them could not avoid the wreck and drivers like Kasey Kahne, Jamie Dick, Hal Martin, Johanna Long, Mike Bliss, Jason White, Jeffrey Earnhardt, Danny Efland, and Matt Kenseth piled in and received a lot of damage. Michael was taken to the local hospital for abdominal pains, but he should be alright. The red flag waved so the track could be cleaned. The drivers sat in their cars and the yellow was once again waved. The drivers got ready for a green-white-checkered finish at Daytona.
The green flag waved and Regan Smith got out front with a push from Brad Keselowski. They went around and got the white flag. Brad was waiting in the wings and made his move coming out of turn 4. Regan went up to block and it all slid down hill from there. Brad put Regan in the wall and the pack could not avoid. Drivers like Dale Earnhardt Jr., Brian Scott, Justin Allgaier, Kyle Larson, Eric McClure, Alex Bowman, Sam Hornish Jr., Robert Richardson Jr., Travis Pastrana, Nelson Piquet Jr., Mike Wallace, Elliott Sadler, and Parker Kligerman piled in and total carnage ensued. The worst part was with Kyle Larson. His car left the racetrack and flew up into the catchfence. His car hit in the prefect, well imperfect, spot and part and pieces flew into the stands. In total, 28 people were injured with 14 treated on site and 14 taken to a local hospital. In the end, the only driver to make it through the wreck was Tony Stewart. He went across the finish line, but it was not a good moment for him. In victory lane, he did not celebrate and kept his thoughts on the people hurt in the grandstands.
The race will, in the end, turn out to be one of the most infamous races in the past few years. It hurts because this was, in my opinion, one of the most exciting races I have watched in years. Now, it will forever be remembered by the incident at the end and the question of safety will once again be brought. Nonetheless, we will have to move this event out of our heads for one day for the running of the 2013 Daytona 500. Hopefully, it will be exciting and not end like this race.
(More Stats Down Below!)
Cautions:
1st Caution: Lap 9- Scott Lagasse Jr. spun across the frontstretch grass.
2nd Caution: Lap 32- Regan Smith spun in turn 4, but was able to save his car. Juan Carlos Blum got loose and spun into the inside wall.
3rd Caution: Lap 65- Mike Wallace, Kurt Busch, Reed Sorenson, and Joe Nemechek spun on the frontstretch.
4th Caution: Lap 86- Trevor Bayne had problems with his drivetrain in turn 1.
5th Caution: Lap 101- Kyle Busch blew his engine on the backstretch.
6th Caution: Lap 115- Michael Annett spun Austin Dillon in turn 1. The pack piled in and Kasey Kahne, Jamie Dick, Hal Martin, Johanna Long, Mike Bliss, Jason White, Jeffrey Earnhardt, Danny Efland, and Matt Kenseth were involved.
Lucky Dogs:
1st Caution: None
2nd Caution: Jeremy Clements
3rd Caution: None
4th Caution: Justin Allgaier
5th Caution: Reed Sorenson
6th Caution: Mike Harmon
Top 5 Finishers:
1st: Tony Stewart
2nd: Sam Hornish Jr.
3rd: Alex Bowman
4th: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
5th: Parker Kligerman
Notables Not in Top 5:
10th: Travis Pastrana
12th: Brad Keselowski
16th: Matt Kenseth
20th: Kasey Kahne
32nd: Kyle Busch
36th: Danica Patrick
Credits:
-Statistics:
http://www.nascar.com/en_us/nationwide-series/leaderboard/leaderboard-live.html
http://racing-reference.info/race/2013_DRIVE4COPD_300/B
-Videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nG_eOJ0PdrM (Finish/Wreck)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hu3sP2N97rY (The Big One)
-Image:
https://twitter.com/NASCAR_NNS
