NASCAR 2005 Nextel Cup Series Mock Season Presented by TPG

DAYTONA 500-Race 1 of 36

Well, turns out NR2003 did not save the whole replay,(stupid finicky old program)so here is another wordy comment instead.

The race was pretty close up until around lap 25, when Jeff Green ended up clipping Kevin Harvick and tumbling violently. A round of pitstops later, and Kasey Kahne would slam on the breaks, Killing Elliott Sadler, Ken Schrader, damaging Brian Vickers and others. From there on out, it was slow and damaged cars breaking up the packs, until a second caution happened in the last 3rd of the race. Brian Vickers, off the lead lap, got into Mike Wallace, spun out Truex, then merged into his own teammate! Luckily only Johnson was badly damaged. In the end, Kurt Busch would win the 2005 Daytona 500, holding off a charging Joe Nemechek, using a lap car to slow up the chasing pack. The race almost came down to fuel mileage, with pitstops happening in the last 10 laps, due to an early pitstop for the first caution.

Jason Leffler fell of the pack due to damage, and made a right nuisance of himself, Robby Gordon also fell off the pace, and eventually retired, as did Morgan Shepherd.

Here is the starting order

#11 Jason Leffler
#2 Rusty Wallace
#25 Brian Vickers
#07 Dave Blaney
#97 Kurt Busch
#20 Tony Stewart
#21 Ricky Rudd
#18 Bobby Labonte
#38 Elliott Sadler
#22 Scott Wimmer
#49 Ken Schrader
#4 Mike Wallace
#9 Kasey Kahne
#5 Kyle Busch
#0 Mike Bliss
#48 Jimmie Johnson
#31 Jeff Burton
#7 Robby Gordon
#19 Jeremy Mayfiled
#10 Scott Riggs
#41 Casey Mears
#40 Sterling Marlin
#89 Morgan Shepherd
#12 Ryan Newman
#29 Kevin Harvick
#01 Joe Nemechek
#33 Kerry Earnhardt
#6 Mark Martin
#32 Bobby Hamilton Jr.
#77 Travis Kvapil
#8 Dale Earnhardt Jr
#99 Carl Edwards
#17 Matt Krnseth
#43 Jeff Green
#15 Michael Waltrip
#42 Jamie McMurray
#24 Jeff Gordon
#45 Kyle Petty
#88 Dale Jarrett
#16 Greg Biffle
#1 Martin Truex Jr
#36 Boris Said

and the finishing one
1 5 97 K Busch 179.418 200 27 180 Running
2 27 01 J Nemechek -0.03 200 18 175 Running
3 4 07 D Blaney -0.13 200 0 165 Running
4 25 12 R Newman -0.14 200 0 160 Running
5 42 36 B Said -0.21 200 3 160 Running
6 36 15 M Waltrip -0.22 200 11 155 Running
7 15 5 K Busch2 -0.29 200 6 151 Running
8 7 21 R Rudd -1.49 200 2 147 Running
9 38 88 D Jarrett -1.95 200 9 143 Running
10 33 99 C Edwards -2.29 200 35* 144 Running
11 30 32 B Hamilton, Jr. -3.64 200 1 135 Running
12 34 17 M Kenseth -3.84 200 14 132 Running
13 32 8 D Earnhardt Jr. -3.92 200 11 129 Running
14 29 6 M Martin -4.05 200 11 126 Running
15 21 10 S Riggs -4.06 200 0 118 Running
16 41 1 M Truex Jr. -4.26 200 14 120 Running
17 40 45 K Petty -8.72 200 4 117 Running
18 28 33 K Earnhardt -8.83 200 0 109 Running
19 39 24 J Gordon -20.26 200 0 106 Running
20 31 77 T Kvapil -33.64 200 0 103 Running
21 23 40 S Marlin -33.90 200 3 105 Running
22 2 2 R Wallace -1L 199 0 97 Running
23 6 20 T Stewart -1L 199 0 94 Running
24 16 0 M Bliss -1L 199 0 91 Running
25 22 41 C Mears -1L 199 0 88 Running
26 8 18 B Labonte -1L 199 1 90 Running
27 18 31 J Burton -1L 199 0 82 Running
28 20 19 J Mayfield -1L 199 2 84 Running
29 17 48 J Johnson -1L 199 21 81 Running
30 10 22 S Wimmer -1L 199 0 73 Running
31 13 4 M Wallace -2L 198 0 70 Running
32 11 16 G Biffle -2L 198 3 72 Running
33 14 9 K Kahne -2L 198 1 69 Running
34 37 42 J McMurray -3L 197 1 66 Running
35 1 11 J Leffler -6L 194 2 63 Running
36 26 29 K Harvick -7L 193 0 55 Running
37 3 25 B Vickers -11L 189 0 52 Running
38 19 7 R Gordon -69L 131 0 49 Clutch
39 24 89 M Shepherd -123L 77 0 46 Camshaft
40 9 38 E Sadler -175L 25 0 43 Retired
41 12 49 K Schrader -175L 25 0 40 Retired
42 35 43 J Green -178L 22 0 37 Accident

In terms of individual teams, it was a great day for MB2 Motorsports, with all their drivers in the top 15, and Nemechek leading many laps.
Dale Earnhardt Incorperated also had a good day, with Truex just barely missing a top 15, and all cars leading laps.
On the contrary, Hendrick had a day to forget, with only 1 car in the top 15, while Gibbs came up short with no top 20's, and Evernham didn't even have a car on the lead lap.

I'll have to try a few Daytona's and Dega's before the next plate race, in hopes of better racing.

DAYTONA 500- RACE 1 of 36

Well, turns out NR2003 did not save the whole replay,(stupid finicky old program)so here is another wordy comment instead.

The race was pretty close up until around lap 25, when Jeff Green ended up clipping Kevin Harvick and tumbling violently. A round of pitstops later, and Kasey Kahne would slam on the breaks, Killing Elliott Sadler, Ken Schrader, damaging Brian Vickers and others. From there on out, it was slow and damaged cars breaking up the packs, until a second caution happened in the last 3rd of the race. Brian Vickers, off the lead lap, got into Mike Wallace, spun out Truex, then merged into his own teammate! Luckily only Johnson was badly damaged. In the end, Kurt Busch would win the 2005 Daytona 500, holding off a charging Joe Nemechek, using a lap car to slow up the chasing pack. The race almost came down to fuel mileage, with pitstops happening in the last 10 laps, due to an early pitstop for the first caution.

Jason Leffler fell of the pack due to damage, and made a right nuisance of himself, Robby Gordon also fell off the pace, and eventually retired, as did Morgan Shepherd.

Here is the starting order

#11 Jason Leffler
#2 Rusty Wallace
#25 Brian Vickers
#07 Dave Blaney
#97 Kurt Busch
#20 Tony Stewart
#21 Ricky Rudd
#18 Bobby Labonte
#38 Elliott Sadler
#22 Scott Wimmer
#49 Ken Schrader
#4 Mike Wallace
#9 Kasey Kahne
#5 Kyle Busch
#0 Mike Bliss
#48 Jimmie Johnson
#31 Jeff Burton
#7 Robby Gordon
#19 Jeremy Mayfield
#10 Scott Riggs
#41 Casey Mears
#40 Sterling Marlin
#89 Morgan Shepherd
#12 Ryan Newman
#29 Kevin Harvick
#01 Joe Nemechek
#33 Kerry Earnhardt
#6 Mark Martin
#32 Bobby Hamilton Jr.
#77 Travis Kvapil
#8 Dale Earnhardt Jr
#99 Carl Edwards
#17 Matt Kenseth
#43 Jeff Green
#15 Michael Waltrip
#42 Jamie McMurray
#24 Jeff Gordon
#45 Kyle Petty
#88 Dale Jarrett
#16 Greg Biffle
#1 Martin Truex Jr
#36 Boris Said

and the finishing one
1 5 97 K Busch 179.418 200 27 180 Running
2 27 01 J Nemechek -0.03 200 18 175 Running
3 4 07 D Blaney -0.13 200 0 165 Running
4 25 12 R Newman -0.14 200 0 160 Running
5 42 36 B Said -0.21 200 3 160 Running
6 36 15 M Waltrip -0.22 200 11 155 Running
7 15 5 K Busch2 -0.29 200 6 151 Running
8 7 21 R Rudd -1.49 200 2 147 Running
9 38 88 D Jarrett -1.95 200 9 143 Running
10 33 99 C Edwards -2.29 200 35* 144 Running
11 30 32 B Hamilton, Jr. -3.64 200 1 135 Running
12 34 17 M Kenseth -3.84 200 14 132 Running
13 32 8 D Earnhardt Jr. -3.92 200 11 129 Running
14 29 6 M Martin -4.05 200 11 126 Running
15 21 10 S Riggs -4.06 200 0 118 Running
16 41 1 M Truex Jr. -4.26 200 14 120 Running
17 40 45 K Petty -8.72 200 4 117 Running
18 28 33 K Earnhardt -8.83 200 0 109 Running
19 39 24 J Gordon -20.26 200 0 106 Running
20 31 77 T Kvapil -33.64 200 0 103 Running
21 23 40 S Marlin -33.90 200 3 105 Running
22 2 2 R Wallace -1L 199 0 97 Running
23 6 20 T Stewart -1L 199 0 94 Running
24 16 0 M Bliss -1L 199 0 91 Running
25 22 41 C Mears -1L 199 0 88 Running
26 8 18 B Labonte -1L 199 1 90 Running
27 18 31 J Burton -1L 199 0 82 Running
28 20 19 J Mayfield -1L 199 2 84 Running
29 17 48 J Johnson -1L 199 21 81 Running
30 10 22 S Wimmer -1L 199 0 73 Running
31 13 4 M Wallace -2L 198 0 70 Running
32 11 16 G Biffle -2L 198 3 72 Running
33 14 9 K Kahne -2L 198 1 69 Running
34 37 42 J McMurray -3L 197 1 66 Running
35 1 11 J Leffler -6L 194 2 63 Running
36 26 29 K Harvick -7L 193 0 55 Running
37 3 25 B Vickers -11L 189 0 52 Running
38 19 7 R Gordon -69L 131 0 49 Clutch
39 24 89 M Shepherd -123L 77 0 46 Camshaft
40 9 38 E Sadler -175L 25 0 43 Retired
41 12 49 K Schrader -175L 25 0 40 Retired
42 35 43 J Green -178L 22 0 37 Accident

In terms of individual teams, it was a great day for MB2 Motorsports, with all their drivers in the top 15, and Nemechek leading many laps.
Dale Earnhardt Incorporated also had a good day, with Truex just barely missing a top 15, and all cars leading laps.
On the contrary, Hendrick had a day to forget, with only 1 car in the top 15, while Gibbs came up short with no top 20's, and Evernham didn't even have a car on the lead lap.

I'll have to try a few Daytona's and Dega's before the next plate race, in hopes of better racing.

Qualifying has finished for the 2005 Stater Brothers 300! Last years champ Martin Truex Jr starts on the front row, alongside Clint Bowyer. Michel Jourdain Jr, Eric Jones, and Dale Jarrett qualify for this race, as did JJ Yeley who is trying to make up for lost time. Stacy Compton, absent last week at Daytona due to a hauler crash, hopes to claw back some points. Randy Lajoie, last weeks winner takes yet another provisional, and finds himself in a familiar spot, the 42nd position.

1 8 M Truex, Jr. 38.496
2 2 C Bowyer 38.518
3 21 K Harvick 38.571
4 41 R Sorenson 38.577
5 9 M Martin 38.606
6 5 K Busch 38.622
7 17 M Kenseth 38.627
8 22 K Wallace 38.64
9 35 J Keller 38.64
10 11 P Menard 38.649
11 14 D Stremme 38.652
12 99 M Waltrip 38.671
13 40 S Marlin 38.671
14 18 J Yeley 38.678
15 1 J Sauter 38.697
16 66 G Biffle 38.713
17 58 B Sherman 38.739
18 32 S Hmiel 38.745
19 27 D Green 38.749
20 25 A Lewis, Jr. 38.754
21 60 C Edwards 38.781
22 20 D Hamlin 38.796
23 33 T Stewart 38.8
24 59 S Compton 38.811
25 44 J Labonte 38.812
26 87 J Nemechek 38.832
27 64 J McMurray 38.863
28 38 T Walker 38.897
29 12 T Fedewa 38.906
30 73 E Jones 38.949
31 4 R Hemphill 38.958
32 90 D Jarrett 38.968
33 49 S Grissom 38.968
34 43 A Fike 38.974
35 7 J Fuller 38.977
36 10 M Jourdain Jr. 38.983
37 6 P Wolfe 39.004
38 03 K Conway 39.014
39 47 J Wood 39.017
40 23 S Robinson 39.024
41 36 S Barrett 39.048
42 0 K Davis 39.053
43 52 S Hall 39.07
44 16 J Hayden 39.072
45 72 E Norris 39.106
46 28 D Cope 39.158
47 24 K Crosby 39.193
48 34 R Lajoie 39.199

News update: Ryan Hemphill has been cleared to race with only minor injuries, while Eric Norris was diagnosed with a concussion, and broken ribcage from the impact. Donnie Neuenberger will run the #72 car during his 5 week recovery period.


Also, qualifying for the Auto Club 500 has wrapped up, Michael Waltrip gets the pole, with Texas Terry Labonte alongside.

Here is the qualifying results

1 15 M Waltrip 38.02

2 44 T Labonte 38.091

3 17 M Kenseth 38.12

4 88 D Jarrett 38.127

5 19 J Mayfield 38.148

6 48 J Johnson 38.156

7 24 J Gordon 38.19

8 97 Ku Busch 38.198

9 25 B Vickers 38.214

10 42 J McMurray 38.234

11 8 D Earnhardt Jr. 38.249

12 99 C Edwards 38.249

13 16 G Biffle 38.258

14 12 R Newman 38.26

15 10 S Riggs 38.26

16 5 Ky Busch 38.261

17 11 J Leffler 38.275

18 01 J Nemechek 38.279

19 6 M Martin 38.286

20 9 K Kahne 38.294

21 20 T Stewart 38.324

22 40 S Marlin 38.328

23 18 B Labonte 38.332

24 07 D Blaney 38.365

25 2 R Wallace 38.367

26 29 K Harvick 38.369

27 91 B Elliott 38.386

28 0 M Bliss 38.43

29 92 S Barrett 38.454

30 21 R Rudd 38.456

31 22 S Wimmer 38.476

32 41 C Mears 38.476

33 77 T Kvapil 38.488

34 49 K Schrader 38.5

35 7 R Gordon 38.515

36 43 J Green 38.515

37 45 K Petty 38.538

38 4 M Wallace 38.545

39 37 K Lepage 38.564

40 14 J Andretti 38.565

41 66 H Sadler 38.596

42 89 M Shepherd 38.613

43 31 J Burton 38.622

44 55 D Cope 38.667

45 79 S Boyd 38.712

46 32 B Hamilton, Jr. 38.738

47 73 E McClure 38.756

48 34 R Lajoie 38.774

49 93 G Bodine 38.802

50 27 K Shelmerdine 38.939


Notable performances are Terry Labonte's outside pole, John Andretti, Kevin Lepage, and Stanton Barrett making their first races.