In 1997, the staff at Daytona International Speedway decided to take a risk and install lights the entire way around the track. How would the fans react to such an undertaking, and what would the drivers say? Dale Earnhardt, who was such a huge part of Daytona’s history, was the first car to take a lap on the track after the lights were turned on.
First words out of his mouth were “I can’t wait to race around here at night.”
Saturday night would be the 13th installment of the night race at Daytona, marking the end of the first half of the NASCAR Sprint Cup season. The lights were on and the fireworks were set to go off in the Coke Zero 400.
The race was delayed by over two hours to start the night as rain made it’s way to Daytona in the late afternoon and was steady for part of the evening. However, track drying efforts did not let up and shortly before 9:30 p.m. the track was race ready.
With qualifying rained out, Kevin Harvick would start on the pole and would lead for a strong part of the first 10 laps. But, as is common with restrictor plate tracks, the lead would swap early and often. Kyle Busch held the lead on lap 17 when NASCAR threw a competition caution due to the rain. Pit stops shook up the field a bit as teams went with two tires while others went with four.
It was Harvick getting the lead back as the field went back to green. The lead would be bounced around by many drivers that would normally be at the front at Daytona, but also some that have not been at the front very often. Guys like Sam Hornish Jr, Elliott Sadler and Brad Keselowski led at different points as the race went through two cautions up to lap 70. One was for debris, while the other was for A.J. Allmendinger spinning in the trioval and backing his No. 43 into the wall.
Afterward, Allmendinger and owner Richard Petty had an exchange of words, and it was Allmendinger who would walk away aggravated. His run at Daytona was pretty well over.
On the track, the action was just as intense as the field went through a round of green-flag pit stops, but immediately after the action on track hit a boiling point for one driver. As Busch was coming on the track, he was passing Juan Pablo Montoya, but suddenly his car darted high, as if he believed he was clear, and the two cars got together. Busch met the outside wall, destroying the front of his Interstate Batteries Toyota. Not one to waste time, after the car came to a stop on track, Busch climbed out and stormed away.
Montoya came down, Busch came up, either way the car being towed away was the No. 18. One of the big favorites was now out of the running, meaning the race was still wide open.
The first major accident came on lap 118 when David Ragan got loose in turn 3, and the ensuing spin collected Jamie McMurray and Martin Truex Jr. There was no room to get away, and both cars found themselves in the garage.
The field was wide open when the race went back to green and out front the top cars seemed to be the Richard Childress Racing bunch of Harvick, Clint Bowyer and Jeff burton. Each at one point was looking for the lead, and by lap 130, all three drivers led at least one lap. However, at this point the race became rather interesting.
With about 15 laps to go, Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth and Sadler had a small wreck in the third turn, bringing out the seventh caution of the race. This would set forth another spectacular finish at Daytona.
The field went back to green on lap 146 with Clint Bowyer looking to hold of his teammates. But, three laps later the entire race took on an entirely different look. Behind Bowyer, Burton and Kurt Busch were going at it for the third spot, when the two got together. Burton slid up, but back down into Busch, who then went sliding into the grass in the third turn. The field behind them tried to slow up, but some couldn’t get there in time.
With just over 10 laps left, the “big one” had occurred. The smoke was so thick, not one driver could see. Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. were just able to squeeze their way through, however teammates Martin and Jimmie Johnson weren’t as lucky. Martin made it to pit road, however he did so on fire.
Johnson’s crew pulled him from the car, and he was safe and unhurt. In all, a total of 19 cars were involved, destroying nearly half the field and bringing the race to a grinding halt.
The race would be red-flagged for nearly 20 minutes, but there was still time to determine a winner. By that time, it was the wee hours in the morning, but no fan was ready to call it a night. When the race went back to green, Bowyer once again found himself in the top spot. However, the challenge from behind came from Gordon. He would get the lead with a power move into the third turn with three laps left.
But, Bowyer wasn’t looking to run second to the No. 24 and took the lead back as the field approached the white flag. But, they were met with another yellow as Busch, Sadler and Hornish Jr. wrecked in turn 3. Because the leader didn’t take the white flag, much like February, it would be a green-white-checkered finish to end the night.
Bowyer held the lead as the field went to green on lap 165, but the inside line got the jump with Harvick at the front. Bowyer didn’t get going right away, which allowed Gordon to pass on the outside and challenge for the top spot coming to the white flag. Harvick pulled out to a strong advantage but Bowyer was left hanging and fell back. Now it was Kasey Kahne going for the win, with Gordon in tow.
It would not be enough as the checkered flag fell on the No. 29 car and Kevin Harvick, giving him the win in the Coke Zero 400. It would be the second win for him this season, and the second consecutive restictor plate win for Harvick. It would also be a weekend sweep for owner Richard Childress as he was the owner of the No. 3 Wrangler Chevrolet that Dale Earnhardt Jr. drove to victory on Friday.
A spectacular weekend for an incredible owner.
Next weekend the series heads north to the Windy City of Chicago. Awaiting them is the 1.5-mile trioval of Chicagoland Speedway. The LifeLock.com 400 will be the last race of TNT’s “Summer Series” with the race going green Saturday, July 10, at 7:30 p.m. ET.
RESULTS: 1-Harvick 2-Kahne 3-Gordon 4-Earnhardt Jr. 5-Burton 6-Edwards 7-Kurt Busch 8-Sorenson 9-Bliss 10-Speed
NOTABLE FINISHES: 15-Kenseth 20-Biffle 24-Hamlin 25-Stewart 28-Martin 31-Johnson 40-Kyle Busch
CAUTIONS: 9 for 37 Laps. Lap 17-19 (Competition), 60-63 (Debris), 67-69 (No. 18, 43 accident-trioval), 105-110 (No. 18, 42 accident-BS), 118-121 (No. 1, 6, 9, 56 accident-T4), 137-141 (No. 26, 37 accident-T3), 143-145 (No. 5, 17, 19 accident-T3), 149-152 (No. 2, 42, 5, 77, 39, 09, 98, 82, 83, 9, 31, 20, 38, 7, 12, 47, 14, 48, 78 accident-T3 [Red Flag-Lap 149, 19:34]), 160-164 (No. 2, 19, 77 accident-T3).
LEAD CHANGES: 47 among 18 drivers. Harvick POLE, Johnson 1, Harvick 2-9, J. Gordon 10, Harvick 11-13, Biffle 14, Kyle Busch 15-17, Harvick 18-24, Sadler 25-26, Kyle Busch 27, Sadler 28, Kurt Busch 29-30, Harvick 31, Kurt Busch 32-39, Sadler 40-41, Hornish Jr. 42, Sadler 43-48, Hornish Jr. 49-55, Montoya 56-63, J. Gordon 64-69, Keselowski 70, Gordon 71-73, Montoya 74, Hamlin 75-78, Hornish Jr. 79-84, Kyle Busch 85-103, Burton 104-105, R. Gordon 106, Martin 107-111, Montoya 112-113, J. Gordon 114, Burton 115-117, Stremme 118, Park 119, Stewart 120-125, Burton 126-127, Stewart 128, Bowyer 129, Harvick 130, Bowyer 131, Harvick 132-133, Burton 134-137, Kurt Busch 138-141, Harvick 142-145, Bowyer 146-156, J. Gordon 157-158, Bowyer 159-164, Harvick 165-166.
TIME OF RACE: 3 Hrs, 3 Mins, 18 Secs.
AVERAGE SPEED: 135.719 MPH
MARGIN OF VICTORY: 0.092 Seconds
POINT STANDINGS (Eight Races before the Chase): 1-Harvick, 2684 points; 2-J. Gordon, -212; 3-Johnson, -225; 4-Kurt Busch, -245; 5-Hamlin, -284; 6-Kyle Busch, -308; 7-Kenseth, -362; 8-Burton, -365; 9-Stewart, -433; 10-Biffle, -450; 11-Earnhardt Jr, -508; 12-Edwards, -514