Battle of the Elements: Fire vs. Water. Daytona 500 Wrap-Up

Throughout the history of the Daytona 500, there has never been a race like this. The race weekend started off on Sunday with a long rain delay leading NASCAR to postpone the race until Monday at 12pm. Eventually NASCAR decided to push the race to “7:00pm in the afternoon” as Mike Helton stated. I could explain why that is not afternoon but I will spare my readers. The green flag finally dropped just after 7pm. Never in the history of NASCAR racing have we seen what happened last night. This is the first running of the Daytona 500 starting under the lights and the first time we have ever seen a bizarre accident as weird as the Montoya wreck.

The season started off horribly for the likes of Jimmie Johnson, Kurt Busch, Trevor Bayne, and Danica Patrick who were all swept up when Elliot Sadler became impatient on lap 2 and punted Johnson into the outside wall on the front stretch causing him to get t-boned by David Regan. Danica would continue on to finish the race over 60 laps down and Kurt Busch returned but Regan and Johnson were totaled and went home.

Throughout the race there were a few smaller incidents including Newman cutting a tire and spinning (and his tire fell off during a pit stop causing the #22 of Allmendinger to rear end the US Army Chevy damaging its front end. Also Jeff Gordon blew his motor is what seems to be a gauge failure and there were multiple fuel pressure issues during the race.

The most notable headline of the night is on lap 160 while the race was under caution for David Stremme’s engine blowing, Montoya entered the pits to fix a mechanical issue with his race car. Upon exiting, Montoya rushed around the track trying to reach the pack before the green flag dropped. While going down the backstretch, something failed on his car causing him to lose control and slide into one of the jet dryers on the track. At impact, the jet dryer and its 200 gallons of jet fuel ignited into a massive fireball that continued to burn for a few minutes damaging the track. Montoya and the truck driver are ok but the fire caused the race to be red flagged for over two hours with Dave Blaney holding the lead since he did not pit under caution. You can check out the accident and fire here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WC1L4n_4f0E

When the race finally resumed shortly after midnight, we witnessed a great 40 lap shootout to the finish that resulted in two major accidents taking out some of the big names like Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch, Jamie McMurray, and Carl Edwards among others. Although Edwards did continue on to an 8^th place finish and Stewart, the defending series champion finished 16^th.

The final laps saw a green-white-checker shootout between Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Neither Biffle nor Earnhardt Jr could catch the #17 of Matt Kenseth as he went on to win his second Daytona 500 (the first was in 2009). The race finally ended just before 1am on Tuesday morning in one of the longest speedweeks ever.

Your top ten is as follows:

1. Matt Kenseth #17 Ford

2. Dale Earnhardt Jr #88 Chevrolet

3. Greg Biffle #16 Ford

4. Denny Hamlin #11 Toyota

5. Jeff Burton #31 Chevrolet

6. Paul Menard #27 Chevrolet

7. Kevin Harvick #29 Chevrolet

8. Carl Edwards #99 Ford

9. Joey Logano #20 Toyota

10. Mark Martin #55 Toyota

Notables:

16. Tony Stewart #14 Chevrolet

29. Kasey Kahne #5 Chevrolet

32. Brad Keselowski #2 Dodge

35. Trevor Bayne #21 Ford

38. Danica Patrick #10 Chevrolet

39 Kurt Busch #51 Chevrolet

40. Jeff Gordon #24 Chevrolet

42. Jimmie Johnson #48 Chevrolet.

Recall Roundup Nissan and Infiniti

Two new recalls have been released on February 28 concerning Nissan and its luxury arm, Infiniti.

The recall is for 2011 and 2012 Nissan Juke's, Infiniti M and QX models over concerns of a faulty fuel pressure sensor that was not tightened properly and can lead to the sensor coming loose over time increasing the risk of fire from leaking fuel.

The recall begins on March 19th and Nissan will notify owners who can take their vehicles to the dealer for a free repair.

Danica Patrick's Wild Ride

So for those of you who missed the great dual races and the return of pack racing yesterday at Daytona, you missed an amazingly wicked wreck involving the new publicity focal point of the season, Danica Patrick.

The phrase “rubbin is racin” has officially returned to NASCAR in these dual races which is used to determine the starting line-up for the Daytona 500 this weekend (ofcourse the first two sports were determined during qualifying last Sunday and Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle will lead the field to the green). With only two corners remaining in the race, Patrick was running around 10^th place in a close field. On her outside, Jamie McMurray bumped Aric Almirola down into Patrick who was sent careening into the infield wall going about 200mph.

Amazingly, after this hard hit, Patrick emerged under her own power. Unfortunately her #10 GoDaddy.com car no longer had power and is a total loss leading Patrick into a backup car for the 500. Patrick did everything right including taking her hands off the wheel before impact to prevent injury. Despite the wreck, Patrick ran a solid race and gained respect from fellow drivers even with the massive yellow (rookie) stripes on her rear bumper.

Check out the wreck here: (jump to 1:40) http://www.nascar.com/video/post-race/final-laps/120223/cup-duel1-high-final/index.html

Two New Honda Recalls

In the growing portfolio of cars being recalled by Honda, you can not add the 2012 Pilot and its upscale brother, the 2012 Acura MDX. The NHTSA is saying that the vent shut float valve case in the fuel tank assembly of the vehicle does not meet proper design specifications and this increases fire risk.

In addition the Accord, Odyssey, Ridgeline, and Acura ZDX all share some of the underpinnings witht eh Pilot/MDX but are unaffected.

This is in addition to the previously released recall from Honda this week concerning the 2008-2009 Honda Odyssey minivan due to the lift-gate struts which have improper gas compression and can fail causing the tailgate to crash down. There are over 45,000 minivans in this recall and at least two reported injuries.

Concerned owners can contact Honda directly at 1-888-327-4236

Awkward Proportions Comparison

Segment defying cars are showing up all over these days. From every manufacture there is a car that you feel the need to ask “why would you buy one?” The collection of cars that I am comparing today is a small portion of this group. I have chosen to exclude such cars as the Nissan cube (it ranked outside my top 6 list) the Honda Element (because it doesn’t exist) and a few others. This comparison will feature six cars: The Mini Cooper hardtop, the Honda CRZ, the Fiat 500, the Honda Veloster, the Scion xD and the Kia Soul. I will rank them in order based on practicality, most bang for the buck, fuck economy, and drivability. Generally these cars all start under the $20,000 price range and I tested cars under that range. This means that for comparisons you will be looking at base engines and not many upgrades or packages. The purpose of this test is to help those recent or upcoming high school/college grads who are looking for a stand out car, a sporty ride, and are not interested in your basic Corolla/Civic/Elantra class sedan.

6^th Place: Fiat 500

This is an odd car to figure out. The 500 a car you want to hate but at the same time you cannot. It’s a fun little car but I just cannot justify a position higher than fifth for the little Fiat. Although the style is retro and modern at the same time and an attractive design, it really has no redeeming qualities in terms of power, reliability or value. Lets start with practicality. The trunk is smaller than a backpack and the rear seats would have issues accommodating anyone above 3’ tall. The practicality is none because you cannot carry anything and your limited to only one passenger in the car. Now you would think that because of the size of this little Italian car that it would handle as good or better than the Mini. Its short wheel base and narrow footprint provides a very bumpy ride leading towards an uncomfortable time on the highway and bumpy roads. The car also heavily under steers when your trying to accelerate through a turn. The sticker price of the car I tested was over $18,500 and it only achieved 29mpg in the automatic I drove. These numbers are less than a similarly priced Corolla and the 500 has a higher price. Overall this is a great little car… when it isn’t compared to anything else with a motor and four wheels.

5^th Place: Scion xD

The Scion was a bit revolutionary… back in 2008 when it debuted replacing the older xA that Scion originally offered upon its founding. The car is very well equipped but the xD’s aging design among a constantly growing competitive class. The car is relatively cheap with the model I drove clocking in at just above $16,000 with the automatic transmission. The xD, like all other Scions, is extremely customizable and comes with stock items such as a Pioneer audio system, cruise control, and a roomy rear seat and truck (for this class). The interior does feel cheap and the driving lacks all steering feel combined with an underpowered engine. Also, like most Toyota’s, people above 5’5” will find comfort does not come easily for the driver. For these reasons, the xD was only able to notch 5^th place.

4^th Place: Hyundai Veloster

Now the number of heads that were turned by my Veloster test vehicle in bright yellow could not be tracked in downtown Atlanta. However this is not an important factor for this competition. The reason this car finished so low is because it does not live up to the expectations of those who enter the drivers seat. The looks make it seem like an exciting place to be and displays a sporty look to the car. Then you turn the key. This is one of the most uncomfortable rides I have ever experience. It is harder than you typically sports suspension and you feel every bump like your driving off the Empire State Building and smacking into the pavement below. There is understeer and oversteer and the complete inability to his the apex going through a turn. In addition, the base engine is one of the worse I have ever seen producing only 138hp. This is a good amount of power for this class but the way it is delivered is painstakingly disappointing. There is really no acceleration (0-60 was 8.9 seconds) and this delivered worse than expected economy at 27mpg. The main reason for its fourth place finish is the exciting styling, roomy interior, low cost and its 10 year/100,000 mile warranty. I would wait for the 2.0 turbo which would help bring this car to second or third.

3^rd Place: Honda CRZ

The CRZ is a great little car if your looking for a small sporty hybrid. The problem with this car, first and foremost, is that in order to have any power, to say, climb a hill, you do not have that unless your in sport mode defeating the purpose of a hybrid. People are stepping into the CRZ expecting the sharp handling from a Civic Si only to be extremely disappointed. This car is gears towards a smooth ride not hitting the apex going around a road course. The transmission choices are good with an easy to shift manual and a sporty CVT transmission. The reason for third is the rather ugly styling and the uselessness of the hybrid engine going against the status quo of a sports car.

2^nd place: Mini Cooper

Those who know me know that I am not the biggest fan of the smallest (now second smallest with the new coupe) Mini. This car just does not justify for me and but my opinions have no effect on the way this car delivers. This car is extremely fun to drive even with the base 1.6L 121hp engine. While you may not be flying past people like you would in the turbo Cooper S, the base engine does provide a bit of fun and comfort as you go from A to B. The handling is thrilling and responsive but rather stiff and loud. The interior can take some getting use to with the pizza-sized speedo in the center of the car and the placement of some dials and switches. The main reason for its second place finish is not only the interior layout (either you like it or you hate it) but the base price of the car. As is typical with Mini (a subsidiary of BMW) relatively nothing is standard on this car. Everything is an option and before you know it the $20,200 base sticker can jump to over $30,000 with just a few boxes. This puts the Mini out of the reach of many buyers in this segment and almost drops in it into the 40+ age category.

1^st Place: Kia Soul

Some of my readers may be surprised on the finishing location of “the hamster car” but this car is really an excellent package for an extremely reasonable price. Starting at $13,900 the car is well equipped for the basic price and provides a decent amount of power and driving fun for an economy Kia. The car had a partial redesign for 2012 adding even more stock features and new offerings like revised transmissions and steering all the way up to available navigation systems. The base 1.6 engine producing 138hp and 123 lb-ft of torque is more than enough to power this car along and the transmission options bring the car up to 34 mpg highway. The trunk size is moderate for this class but with the seats down, you can easily fit a lot of stuff in the boot. The car is enjoyable to drive (even more so with the available 2.0L engine) with good responsiveness and firm breaking. With the minor 2012 tweaks the suspension provides a quality ride. The first place podium is well deserved for this car with its standard equipment, low cost sticker price/ownership and a 10 year/100,000 mile warranty.

2012 Budweiser Shootout - Daytona Wrap-Up

(Photo is property of Sports Illustrated)

(Photo is property of ESPN)

The yearly kickoff to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, the Budweiser Shootout, was this past weekend officially starting the 2012 season. This race saw the return of the big packs that everyone use to love because of the cars inability to cool down. This also led to the return of "The Big One".

The race started out as any Daytona Race should with the big pack rolling into turn 1. However, come lap 9, the lack of familiarity with pack driving was showing as David Regan nudged Paul Menard to start a nice car accident. A later wreck with two to go would find Jeff Gordon sliding on his drivers door for over 1000 feet before performing a few barrel roles and settling on the roof of the car. Luckily Gordon is okay mainly due to the new safer cars and safety enhancements around the track in addition to the HANS device. This was Gordon's first time on his roof and the accident happened as a result of pushing Kyle Busch in the back and checking up into Kurt Busch.

Kyle Busch performed amazingly in his first race with Mars. Inc. back on the car following his truck series shenanigans last season. He had two incredible saves to keep the car in one piece throughout the race and managed to beat Tony Stewart to the finish line by just inches. He referenced his wild ride in Victory Lane saying "I don't know how many times I spun out, but I didn't spin out, you know?" he smiled."

Hopefully the skill and tranquility displayed by both Busch brothers is not just a smoke and mirror show and will continue throughout the season.

On to the Daytona 500 this Sunday, February 26.