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Yes, I'm doing this for the second year in a row. If you're following this, refresh a lot. Also, I reread my intro to last year's liveblog for the duels and it's pretty well still spot on, so I'll just cut-n-paste it below...
So I've decided to liveblog the Gatorade Duels from Daytona for everybody who has to sit at work all day. I'd like to be able to break down all of the various qualifying scenarios for the GOGH cars, but WOW is it super-complicated. I understand the history of the Twin 125s/Duels (did you know they used to count as points races?) and why they would want to keep having them, but the top-35 rule has really messed them up.
It used to be pretty easy - the top-15 in each qualifying race take the top-30 spots, with the rest of the field determined by speed. Why couldn't they just do that again, but put make it so the top-15 qualify, THEN the top-35 cars get in, THEN the GOGH cars that were fast enough to qualify, rank those last thirteen cars by speed an off we go. It's not really fair that you could have a scenario where eight GOGH cars are in one Duel and ten are in the other, just because they qualified that way in odd/even-spots, right?
If you made that slight change, at least it would be easier to figure out who was in and out during the races. Not it is so convoluted - if this guy finishes in the top-two then that guy gets in...we'll see how the FOX guys handle it during the Duels.
See? Everything is pretty well still as it was last year. Right now I'm watching a nice montage of past moments including Jimmie Johnson calling for Kevin Harvick's firing after a wreck in a 2003 Duel, and an appearance by Jeff Gordon's mustache, plus some ENORMOUS wrecks.
11:00 am: We kick off the Duels telecast with a quick intro from Krista Voda and then head right to the invocation and anthem. Second year in a row the anthem is sung my someone nobody would know. On the plus side, at least her mic is working properly.
11:02 am: Before we get going, I should just admit now that during the prerace they cut to Michael Waltrip and a guy in a Bud drivers suit who was wearing sunglasses and my immediate thought was "hey, Mikey and Junior". Um, nooooooooo. It's going to be a long day getting used to all of the new driver/sponsor combos.
11:04 am: Jimmie Johnson co-stars in a Gatorade commercial that is a 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail" knockoff. JJ, as always, dripping with charisma. You'll see what I mean probably 200 times Sunday.
11:07 am: To the desk, where the wind is playing havoc with all of the papers on the desk and Krista Voda's hair, but NOT Jeff Hammond's hair.
11:08 am: "Gentlemen, start your engines." Also, they show Joey Logano getting strapped in. Hopefully that's not the high point of his day.
11:10 am: That new Tony Stewart "Old Spice Swagger" commercial is already in the top-five of all-time Tony commercials.
11:11 am: Comcast ad reminds me to thank them for NOT having the temerity to have SPEED in HD. Jerks.
11:15 am: As they run the grid I notice JJ and Jeff Gordon right behind pole-sitter Martin Truex Jr. wonder how long it will take for them to get to the front. One lap?
11:16 am: FOX/Speed oh-for-two on having their mic'd up drivers work as they can't speak to Truex on the parade lap.
11:17 am: Thanks to Yates for painting the 38 the same exact color as the 98. That's helpful.
11:18 am: The 07, 26, and the 55 to the back, but Mikey's in the pits due to the scoring transmitter not working. Will NASCAR start the race without him?
11:19 am: Mikey's good-to-go and he's OK to join the field.
11:20 am: Off goes the pace car and here's the green!
11:21 am: Truex makes a great start and he leads lap 1 with the field double-sided behind.
11:22 am: Bill Elliott goes low and snatches the lead on the backstretch, Truex retakes the lead at the line.
11:23 am: Kurt Busch goes sliding into the infield, bringing out the yellow. Robby Gordon ran right up on his tail but didn't appear to touch him. Kurt blew an engine last year and finished second in the 500, so maybe he's trying to junk the Duel again.
11:26 am: You know what - that was the 98 the entire time. There is no 38 right now. I'm an idiot.
11:29 am: No pit stops under the yellow. The green flies again on lap 7.
11:30 am: Truex leads the field up top, while Elliott tries to pull Paul Menard on the inside.
11:31 am: JJ goes low and takes the lead.
11:32 am: Fords looking good with Elliott, Menard, and Greg Biffle in the top five and Jamie McMurray moving from the back to 12th in six green laps.
11:33 am: Scott Riggs is one spot behind Tony Stewart for the second transfer spot on lap 12, as Truex retakes the lead with a push from Jeff Gordon.
11:34 am: Stewart ad Riggs move to third and fourth as McMurray moves up to sixth.
11:36 am: Joey thinks about going for the middle as DW and I hold our breath.
11:37 am: The top four have a bit of a breakaway going.
11:39 am: Back from a break the top four are still out from, but David Ragan is fifth, McMurray sixth, and Matt Kenseth eighth, so we'll see if the Roush Fords can hook up.
11:41 am: JJ's not interested in finding out about these Roush Fords so he passes McMurray for sixth and makes it a six-car breakaway, then passes Ragan for fifth.
11:43 am: Mike Skinner's #23 appears to have a problem as he pits on lap 24.
11:46 am: We're back under caution and what the hell just happened?
11:47 am: Everyone pits, but what's the deal with the 21?
11:48 am: They highlight a couple of makeshift pit crews - will they be a factor later on? Riggs loses a spot to Ragan on pit road.
11:49 am: The diagnosis on Elliott - locked-up transmission shot him into the wall. Elliott's day is done but he is in the field on speed.
11:50 am: Somehow Riggs is eighth in line, but he's still in the second transfer spot.
11:54 am: They moved Riggs back up to fifth, but the ticker isn't in sync with reality right now.
11:55 am: Green falls to start lap 31.
11:56 am: Riggs jumps out of line and starts falling back on the outside, but the next guy is Nemechek in 16th so he's still OK.
11:57 am: Tony TOTALLY cuts off Kenseth's run up top as Jimmie goes low to pick up Riggs and Ragan.
11:59 am: The top six breakaway a bit with Riggs in seventh desperately trying to hold on to the tail of their draft.
12:01 pm: Jeff Gordon goes low, everyone follows, and Truex is third.
12:03 pm: McMurray and Ragan go low and put their teammate Kenseth in the middle. Thanks, guys!
12:04 pm: 20 to go as we go to break with the 24 and 14 leading the way.
12:05 pm: I GET COMMENTS...I had to laugh at you about the new numbers/sponsors esp b/c your example is over a year old already! You are WAY behind my friend. Yeah. I was feeling quite sheepish at the realization.
12:06 pm: Back from break, single-file on lap 44: 24, 14, 1, 48, 26, 6, 36, 9, 2, 77 (!) are the top ten.
12:08 pm: Laps are ticking off with the drivers in single file file and WHOA Biffle gets WAY loose but he gathers it up without hitting anything or anyone.
12:10 pm: Truex is falling back and he spins with a flat! He doesn't hit anything (what a save by Ragan not to run him over) but he spins to the infield. Will EGR just park the 1 to keep the car safe? I would rather than send him to the back of the field, fresh tires or not.
12:12 pm: We're going to have a nine lap or so sprint after pit stops. Will everyone come in and get tires? Yup, except for McMurray they are all on pit road.
12:13 pm: Riggs' pit crew really lets him down. Aric Almirola and Paul Menard take two tires. Brad Keselowski in the 09, Terry Labonte in the 66, and Kirk Shelmerdine in the 27 all stay out in cars that need to transfer via the Duels.
12:14 pm: Labonte drops out of line and to the back as the green falls on lap 51.
12:15 pm: With fresh tires Gordon and JJ go through the middle as BK starts to fall back and an almost-Big One happens.
12:16 pm: Upon review Kenseth goes up the middle when they are already three-wide, pushing Hornish and John Andretti in the 34 up into each other and the wall. Casey Mears getts hit in the rear by Joey Logano, but most everyone seems mostly OK. Somehow Ragan ended up in the infield. BK still is in a transfer spot for now with Stewart right behind.
12:21 pm: We come back with five to go and the green waving as the Hendrick cars pass McMurray for the lead.
12:22 pm: Riggs passes BK and gets to fifth with Nemechek in ninth.
12:23 pm: Three to go, Nemechek at the back of the lead draft, about five cars behind Riggs.
12:24 pm: Stewart and Almirola go low and pass Gordon for the lead, and now Logano is in SECOND behind Gordon.
12:25 pm: Now it's 24, 14, and 20 headed to the white flag. Nemechek is right behind Riggs.
12:26 pm: Gordon wins! Stewart second! I think Logano came in third - him Almirola, and JJ were three-wide at the line. Scott Riggs gets into the field for Tommy Baldwin. Regan Smith also gets a spot due to Tony qualifying via the Duel. Nemecheck still has an outside chance to get in based on the second Duel.
12:30 pm: Johnson third, Logano fourth, Almirola fifth. Also, so much for the notion that you can't stay out front on the last lap.
12:33 pm: Kurt Busch finished sixth, btw.
12:34 pm: Joe Nemechek is now "the biggest Travis Kvapil and Regan Smith fan in Daytona". That and the only one.
12:35 pm: They just showed a replay of Gordon's pass, and Joey deserves mad props for making it through 60 laps and getting to the front.
12:41 pm: So far, Joey Logano makes Jimmie Johnson look like George Clooney. That Home Depot commercial is kind of brutal.
12:45 pm: Duel 2 has some pretty heavy hitters: Mark Martin, Junior, Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Ryan Newman, and three RCR cars. Should be some good stuff coming up.
12:51 pm: Seeing "Age: 34" and "11th year in Sprint Cup" beside Dale Jr.'s name makes me feel quite old, thank you.
12:56 pm: The drivers are getting in their cars for Duel 2. Can't they speed this up a bit?
1:01 pm: DeLana Harvick is sure cute in her Shell firesuit.
1:07 pm: Again, WHY don't they put the drivers that go to the back, you know, IN THE BACK, on the grid? Ryan Newman's got to go to the back, but there he is on row 1 of the grid.
1:09 pm: I'll be honest - I REALLY hope A.J. Allmendinger gets in out of this one.
1:11 pm: Harvick and Newman, the last two 500 winners, are going to be in the back of this grid. I'll be interested to see how quickly they clear the riff-raff in the back.
1:13 pm: Mark Martin takes the green to start the second Duel.
1:14 pm: Junior and Kyle Busch dispatch of Kvapil and Junior leads lap 1.
1:16 pm: Mark and Juan Pablo Montoya go high to challenge Junior for the lead, and they are side-by-side after four laps.
1:17 pm: JPM bumpdrafts Mark in the trioval and damn near runs him over. Meanwhile, Carl Edwards gets all squirrelly thanks to Jeff Burton's bumper. Everyone's still going OK, though, as it's a Hendrick 1-2 at the front with Junior leading Martin.
1:19 pm: Boris Said has passed Smith for the second transfer spot with Allmendinger right behind them.
1:20 pm: Junior, Martin, JPM, Kyle, and Denny Hamlin have made a bit of a breakaway at the front.
1:24 pm: Mike Wallace has moved into a transfer spot and Boris Said scraped the wall during the break.
1:25 pm: Newman pitting for tires. He's sure to go a lap down but he's surely get the Lucky Dog.
1:26 pm: Caution is out as Boris hits the wall again and collects Scott Speed, but the 82 looks scuffed but OK.
1:27 pm: Boris can now only make the field if Kvapil and Smith take the two transfer spots.
1:28 pm: Everyone hits pit road. Mark Martin and Kyle Busch win the race off pit road. Junior overshoots his pit, costing himself about seven spots. He does better than JPM, who misses his pit box entirely.
1:32 pm: Green on lap 19.
1:33 pm: At the green the transfer guys are Mike Wallace (got to think he makes it right now) and A.J.
1:34 pm: Top four are Martin, Kyle, Denny, and Bobby Labonte, as Regan Smith passes Allmendinger for the second transfer spot.
1:35 pm: Junior, Harvick, and Newman are all hooked up with Junior in seventh right now. I suspect these guys may make their way toward the front.
1:38 pm: Mike Wallace is in the second transfer spot with Elliott Sadler (who is locked-in), Regan Smith, and Allmendinger on his tail.
1:39 pm: JPM gives Allmendinger a huge push and now Smith and A.J. are side-by-side for the second transfer spot.
1:41 pm: Meanwhile, up front zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...
1:42 pm: At half-way, it's Mark Martin followed by a bunch of Camrys.
1:44 pm: A.J. has passes Kvapil for the FIRST transfer spot on lap 33, while Jeremy Mayfield grabs the second spot from Kvapil. I successfully jinxed Mike Wallace as he's lost the draft, and Mayfield gets past A.J.
1:46 pm: At the front, the top five are Mark, Kyle, Denny, David Reutimann, and Brian Vickers, with a gap back to Junior in sixth, who has Newman and Edwards in tow.
1:48 pm: Now, business might pick up as Junior passes Vickers for fifth.
1:49 pm: Junior and Newman look high and try to make the pass on Reutimann for fourth.
1:50 pm: Transfer update: A.J. and Mayfield are 14th and 15th. 20 laps to go. A.J.'s got his RPM teammate Reed Sorenson just in front.
1:53 pm: I've seen it five times and I still don't get that commercial with Mikey and the guy from Ally McBeal.
1:54 pm: Junior pits under green thinking he has a tire problem, losing a lap. He's only got five more laps to get the Lucky Dog, too.
1:55 pm: Mark Martin and Brian Vickers also pit with possible tire problems. Hmmmmmmm.
1:56 pm: Up front it is now Denny, Kyle, and Newman.
1:57 pm: Ryan Newman turns hard right and head-ons the wall. Since Martin and Vickers were on the tail end of the lead lap Junior gets the Lucky Dog.
1:58 pm: Reutimann got into the back of Newman and chucked Ryan into the wall. Bummer.
1:59 pm: Newman gives a passing-by Reutimann a "WTF?" shrug before he gets into the ambulance.
2:00 pm: The Budweiser pit crew gets the 44 out into the first transfer spots among guys who pitted. Eleven laps to go.
2:02 pm: Mayfield took two tires and now sits third. A.J. is eighth. Travis Kvapil is next among the GOGH cars in 13th. Mark Martin will lead them to the green.
2:04 pm: Round 1 of the rookie battle goes to Joey Logano as Scott Speed is 25th, two laps down.
2:05 pm: Eight to go, here's the green.
2:06 pm: Kyle and Denny go high to displace Vickers from second.
2:07 pm: A.J. has his teammate Sadler between himself and Mike Wallace for the last transfer spot, and together they move up to ninth, four cars clear of Wallace.
2:08 pm: Junior's moving up from the tail of the field, already to 13th. Meanwhile Denny pushes Kyle to the lead with 4 to go.
2:09 pm: Leaders: 18, 11, 5, 83, 41, 29, 42, 96, then the 44.
2:10 pm: Two to go and it's all the same up front. Mayfield and A.J. are in the transfer spots.
2:11 pm: White flag.
2:11 pm: Mark to the inside of Denny, they touch and Vickers pushes Mark past Denny, but Kyle holds them off to win! Vickers second, then Mark. Mayfield and A.J. make the show, and I'm OUT.
Liveblogging the Gatorade Duels from Daytona
Thursday, February 12, 2009, 11:19 AM EST
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