Looks like McMurry’s good fortune continues. The #1 Bass Pro Shops Chevy Impala is sitting the pole for the Sunday’s Auto Club 500.
With his teammate  Juan Pablo Montoya in his #42 Target Chevrolet sitting in the outside front row.

“I’m a little bit shocked after winning the 500,” said McMurray in a fit of understatement.

McMurray’s qualifying lap was nearly half a second faster than his practice lap. “I think it says a lot about Earnhardt Ganassi Racing and the cars they’re building,” said McMurray, who earlier in the day visited the ACS infield care center for an antibiotic after his exhausting week of media appearances from coast to coast.

  

McMurry still riding high on emotions from his full week after winning the Daytona 500.

“It’s just unbelievable,” he said. “And I think something else that has been kind of an eye-opener is that I knew what it meant to win this race, but from the fans and from my peers in the garage, whether it’s like Tony Stewart coming up last night to dinner to congratulate me, it’s just unbelievable. I mean I’ve won a few races. And you see a few guys in the garage and they say, you know, ‘Good job.’ Everybody wants to come up and shake your hand and congratulate you. And that, honestly, is what if the most enjoyable part of it to me. As I walk through the garage, from both sides, I see people like staring at me waiting on me to get to them to shake my hand. And it’s just been wonderful.”

Clint Bowyer was the first car out of the 46 attempting to make the race, running a lap of 183.127 mph in his Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. That time stood up through the next 23 challengers, until McMurray hit the track. Bowyer ended the session third, an excellent effort.

Starting alongside Bowyer on Row 2 Sunday will be Kasey Kahne, who cranked off a lap of 182.913 mph in his Richard Petty Motorsports Ford Fusion. Completing the top five was Dave Blaney, fastest of the go-or-go-home cars at 182.908 mph.

The second five consisted of Kevin Harvick, four-time defending NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson, Sam Hornish Jr., Kyle Busch and Mark Martin.

Lets hope Jammie can keep this momentum going, I for one would like to see him do well this year.

Three drivers failed to qualify: Johnny Sauter, Casey Mears and Terry Cook.

RESULTS: Auto Club 500 Qualifying

Speed TV contributed to this report.

“I can’t believe it this thing drove like a Lexus tonight,” Peters said of his No. 17 Toyota Tundra. “We just won Daytona! I was just content where I was at, but the No. 23  Jason White came up and gave me a great run.

“I can’t believe it  I’m going to Disney World!”

Peters’ only previous win in the series came at .526-mile Martinsville Speedway.

“You’re a sitting duck leading,” Bodine said disappointingly . “I saw the replay when I was sitting down there in the mud”, spinning after the checkered flag flew . “Timmy did what he had to do.”

“We’re disappointed. There’s no doubt about it. But second’s nothing to sneeze at.”

Two separate crashes on the pace laps, before the race had started promised an action-filled evening, and, indeed, before the race was a lap old, Aric Almirola took the field three-wide in Turn 3. Austin Dillon, making his first superspeedway start, broke loose between trucks and ignited a nine-truck collision that damaged the trucks of Kyle Busch and Landon Cassill, among others.

“I really don’t know what was happening,” Dillon said after exiting the infield care center. “I was sucking up to Jason White and someone got under me. Just looked like they weren’t being very patient there to start. Just caught in the middle and got banged around there a few times and tried to save it — just nothing I could do there.”

Hornaday was the victim of a 10-truck wreck after a bump from Ricky Carmichael turned him into the outside wall at the end of the backstretch on Lap 32. The same wreck ruined the winning chances of front-row starter Elliott Sadler. Skinner’s race ended early after a tap from Peters launched him into the Turn 3 wall on Lap 62.

All you can day is what a exciting race  it was action packed from start to finish. Just would have like to see the outside lane be able to pull up in the draft at the end.

It was too bad for Austin Dillon in the Tracker Boats #3. It’s nice to see that famed #3 back on the track, in the hands of RCR.

Nascar .com contributed to this report.

RESULTS: NextEra Energy Resources 250

NCWTS DRIVER POINTS: NextEra Energy Resources 250

VIDEO:  TV  Peters Wins Daytona courtesy Speed

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• Timothy Peters Slays “Sitting Duck” Bodine for Second NCWTS Win (fullthrottle.cranialcavity.net)
• Peters edges Bodine to win Truck race at Daytona (cbssports.com)

I was over at Full Throttle website tonight looking through his  Daytona’s Top Ten Stock Cars articles and it got me thinking of Dale Jr’s Back In The Day show with Bud Linderman. So I started searching for old photos and videos from back in the earlier day of stock car racing. This video shows what I think that Nascar racing is all about. Grass roots, push them out of the way what ever it takes to win. The crash in this video is just amazing. I can’t believe that everyone lived throught it. So watch and enjoy and thanks Marc for putting  Daytona’s Top Ten Stock Cars on your site.

The speculation has been all but confirmed by Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo, with whom the 40-year-old German was with until 2006 and won five of his seven world championships.

The Italian told international reporters at a Christmas dinner on Friday that, during a conversation with Schumacher, who is an adviser at Ferrari, earlier this week, “he told me there is a very strong possibility” he will race a Mercedes next year.

Montezemolo joked that, after Schumacher renewed his consultancy contract for three additional years at Monza in mid September, the German set to be Nico Rosberg’s 2010 teammate is the Ferrari legend’s “twin”.

“There’s another one who looks like him, 40, 41 years old, German, same name and decided to do a new career,” he said.

Montezemolo confirms that some of Ferrari’s passionate Tifosi will not appreciate the news that
Schumacher will be wearing silver in 2010.

“They think Michael is a traitor. But I will explain to them it is not Michael but another one. The real Michael is still with Ferrari.”

According to Montezemolo, Schumacher’s return will be announced either shortly after Christmas, or at the beginning of January.

http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2009/12/10291.html

Renault have confirmed on Wednesday that they will continue to supply engines to Red Bull Racing in 2010, extending the successful partnership that has been in place since 2007. The agreement means Red Bull Racing will use the same engines as the Renault team throughout the 2010 season.

“2009 has been Red Bull Racing’s finest season to date,” said team principal, Christian Horner. “In one year, we’ve achieved six wins and four one-two finishes, none of which would have been possible without the excellent support and assistance we have received from our partners at Renault. We are extremely happy with the way they work with us and are looking forward to continuing our fruitful partnership with Renault in 2010.”

Renault team president, Bernard Rey, added: “The close relationship between Renault and Red Bull Racing has grown since 2007 – and this year it resulted in six victories and second place in the 2009 constructors’ championship. Together we believe that we can build on this success and contribute to Red Bull Racing’s future endeavours.”