Harvick wins Daytona by a nose!

Wow! What a finish it was at the Daytona 500 with Kevin Harvick winning literally by a nose!

Mark Martin was the unfortunate soul to finish second after leading during laps 176 through 201. After 23 previous fruitless attempts, he came so close to finally taking the Daytona 500 only to be disappointed again. Martin was in the lead by mere inches, until a multi-car crash erupted behind him and Harvick. Harvick won by .02 seconds, less than a yard. It almost appeared as if Martin slowed down expecting a caution flag, but one never came.

The other hightlights of the race were the crashes. Obviously the one at the end was the best. This incident involved Clint bowyer, a second-year driver, crossing the finish line skidding on his hood and erupting in flames.

Other notable crashes involved Tony Stewart (the Daytona 500's favorite to win) and Kurt Busch. Stewart had just reclaimed the lead, after paying a penalty for speed, and was in good position to deliver a win for Joe Gibbs when he bobled slightly and got tapped by Busch. This caused Stewart's car to go sideways and then Busch slammed into Stewart's car. Both cars were totalled. Stewart finished last.

Jimmie Johnson then triggered another crash involving five cars after he lost control of his vehicle. Jamie McMurray, Dale Earnhardt Jr and Ricky Rudd got slammed just before the final dash.

Your top five winners were:

1.) Kevin Harvick $1,510,469

2.) Mark Martin $1,102,258

3.) Jeff Burton $819,216

4.) Mike Wallace $615,658

5.) David Ragan $529,350

I would not feel sorry the guys who finished last as they still made over a 1/4 million dollars.

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Earnhardt Switching Teams?

Talks of Dale Earnhardt Jr., leaving the Dale Earnhardt Inc race team heats up. Earnhardt's father, Dale Earnhardt Sr., passed away a few years ago, which left his wife Teresa Earnhardt in charge of the company. Earnhardt Jr. wants his step-mother to give him majority ownership which has caused obvious strains.

Earnhardt's contract with DEI expires at the end of the year. His step-mother has questioned his commitment last December during an interview. Earnhardt states his position has nothing to do with money, simply ownership rights.

If Earnhardt is not able to position himself as the majority owner, he will more than likely leave the DEI team. Since he is one of the most recognizable faces in NASCAR, it will not be hard for him to find a new team. One of the most obvious teams would be the Richard Childress Racing team which Dale Earnhardt Sr. was a part of. Dale Sr. won six of his seven Cup titles for this team.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. described the relationship with his step-mother Teresa as, "It's not a bed of roses...The relationship we have today is the same relationship we had when I was 6 years old and moved into that house with Dad and her ".

Should Earnhardt Jr. leave, or stay with his father's company?

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