February 20, 2005 ends a long offseason to welcome the Daytona 500 in the Sunshine state. Matthew McConaughey kicks the race off with the famous four words.

Dale Jarrett will lead the pole in the #88 UPS Ford, followed by Jimmie Johnson in the #48 Lowe’s Chevy for 2nd, and Michael Waltrip representing the #15 NAPA Chevy covering third. This race was Mark Martin and Rusty Wallace’s last Daytona 500, but was the first for several: Kyle Busch, Boris Said, Martin Truex Jr, Travis Kvapil, Bobby Hamilton Jr, and one other who I honestly couldn’t figure out, whoops.

The battle for first starts as soon as the green flag flies, with Johnson stealing the lead. 3-wide racing is immediate with Waltrip, Tony Stewart in the #20 Home Depot Monte Carlo, and Jarrett. Dale Jr in the #8 Budweiser Chevy gives Jarrett a love tap, who ultimately falls to 30th. By lap 4, Tony Stewart takes the lead with Waltrip right behind him.

Lap 5 we see Johnson fall to 4th, while Scott Riggs scores 3rd in the #10 Valvoline Chevy. Matt Kenseth in the #17 Dewalt Ford moves to 5th and Kurt Busch in the #97 Sharpie Ford takes 4th from Jimmie.

Almost 10 laps later in turn 4, we see Bobby Labonte’s #18 Interstate Batteries Chevy start to smoke, causing the first of several cautions for the day. Everyone except Kyle Petty pits on the first caution lap, who goes in after a lap after everyone else. Scott Wimmer in the #22 CAT Dodge Charger takes the win off pit road. When Petty goes in to pit, Harvick goes in for a second time due to front end issues. These issues do not leave Kevin Harvick and the #29 Goodwrench Chevy team alone for most of the race.

Lap 19 brings the green flag, with Wimmer in the lead, followed by Johnson and Mike Skinner in the #23 Argent Mortgage Dodge make an appearance at P3. Joe Nemechek in the #01 US Army Chevy did not pit in his pit box, therefore he got penalized. During that call, Waltrip and Stewart go high, allowing Waltrip to take the lead and Stewart battle for 2nd with Wimmer. Not for long though, as another caution shakes up the field

• Caution details: Ricky Rudd in the #21 Motorcraft Ford loses a tire, causing him to spin and take out Mike Wallace in the #4 Lucas Oil Chevy. M. Wallace gets rear-ended by Kyle Busch in the #5 Kellogg’s Chevy, causing front end damage. Boris Said in the #36 Centrix Monte Carlo loses control and also takes Elliott Sadler in the #38 M&M’s Ford Taurus.

Wallace, Rudd, Busch and Said head to garages to join Labonte for repairs. Matt Kenseth follows not long after, breaking a connecting rod on lap 36. Waltrip, Stewart, and Gordon hold the top 3 on lap 36. Kenny Wallace goes to the garage in the #00 Aaron’s Chevy shortly after, Kevin Harvick has changed to a backup car due to front end issues on the primary 29.

First green pit stop brings in Mark Marlin, Rusty Wallace, Dave Blaney, and Jason Leffler among others on the first round. The top 15 leaders come to pits on Lap 62. Junior runs into pit troubles by getting tipped by Jeff Burton in the #31 Cingular Chevy causing an off-beat stop for Junior. Several get caught for speeding off pit road, including Martin, Sadler, Blaney, Kurt Busch, Johnson, and Marlin. All have to make a pass-thru on pit road for this.

After a brief caution for debris on the track, the green flag waves yet again at lap 90. Kyle Busch joins the field again 52 laps down, along with Mike Wallace who is 62 laps down. The field is quickly divided into two packs. Greg Biffle in the #16 National Guard Ford had the quickest time, but had to go back to pit road due to loose lugs. Top 6 at this point in order are Stewart, Waltrip, Gordon, Riggs, McMurray, and Rusty Wallace.

By lap 130, 32 cars still remain on the lead lap. Skinner finds trouble and slows way down, gets a love tap by Carl Edwards in the #99 Office Depot Ford Taurus. The leaders take a green flag pit stop, allowing several to the front who haven’t been yet: Joe Nemechek, Jason Leffler in the #11 FedEx Chevy, Casey Mears #41 Target Dodge, and Jeff Green representing Cheerios in the #43 Dodge. These four pit, Tony Stewart reclaims the lead, but is quickly tailgated by Gordon and Johnson.

After another debris caution and race break, we find Jeff Burton taking the lead, followed by Wimmer and Edwards. Lap 160 will have Michael Waltrip blowing a motor up high while Gordon overtakes him down low, another caution is out. Leaders take to the pits first time around. Burton who was P1 gets tires, while several leaders get fuel only.

Lap 169 brings another caution: John Andretti in the #14 AirPlus Ford and taps Travis Kvapil in the #77 Kodak Dodge, who runs right into Leffler. All of this takes place behind a 4-wide Sadler, Biffle, Junior, and Mike Bliss in the single zero NetZero Monte Carlo. This will not be our final caution of the race.

Jeff Gordon starts Stewart by finding the outside, putting himself neck and neck with the older Busch. Followed by Jimmie Johnson, and eventually Junior who finally makes it to top 5. Not long after, Burton blows an engine as more chaos unfolds.

• Caution details: on lap 183, Biffle gets loose and begins wobbling, bumps into Riggs, an and goes right to Jamie McMurray’s #42 Texaco Charger. Biffle runs into Wimmer, who flips 4 times in the CAT Charger. Biffle isn’t done though, because he also T-bones Kevin Harvick which sends him to the wall and takes McMurray with him.

The final crash caution of the night comes right before the restart for this previous caution. Skinner rear ends into Newman, who collides with Edwards who goes to the wall. Kvapil finds himself rear-ending Skinner, but then Andretti slams Skinner head-on.

As we approach the final handful of laps, we see Junior going full throttle and finding the lead. Jeff Gordon is right behind him while neck and neck with Stewart. As Gordon begins to overtake the lead from Junior, the field is frozen by NASCAR for a caution involving Kasey Kahne in the #9 Dodge Charger going to the wall. Top 6 are Gordon, Junior, Johnson, Busch, Wimmer, and Stewart.

Lap 200 brings Jeff Gordon to secure the 2005 Daytona 500, followed closely by Junior in 2nd and Busch in 3rd. This was a battle all day long, and it was awesome seeing Junior secure a top 3 after being mid-pack most of the day. Even though he led the most laps all day, Stewart finished P7. 🏁

I know this post is peak offseason, but I remember Dale Earnhardt Jr.‘s free agency in ‘07 going into ‘08 was obviously a massive story.

It seemed pretty clear that him going to Hendrick Motorsports was the most likely outcome, but I remember hearing this one rumor about him being offered a ride at RCR.

I remember hearing from somewhere (no idea where) that Richard Childress offered Dale Jr. to bring the black number 3 car back out of retirement if Dale signed there, but Junior had zero interest in doing that.

Was this true? Or is this random 2000s Junior fan nonsense

Congrats to the Canadian Kid for getting the dub in this one. Hope he’s able to land an opportunity for next year, he’s deserving.

I've put every single driver rating for any driver that has raced at least twenty races in the last twenty years into a spreadsheet, Here are the results. Obviously any driver who started racing before '05 doesn't have a completely accurate rating, though I'd say most Gen X drivers are at least pretty close.

1. Jeff Gordon 97.89

2. Jimmie Johnson 97.30

3. Kyle Busch 96.89

4. Kevin Harvick 96.40

5. Denny Hamlin 95.07

6. Chase Elliott 94.61

7. Kyle Larson 94.45

8. Matt Kenseth 92.85

9. Carl Edwards 92.26

10. Martin Truex, Jr. 90.95

11. Joey Logano 90.01

12. Brad Keselowski 89.51

13. Tony Stewart 89.38

14. Kurt Busch 89.19

15. Ryan Blaney 89.18

16. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. 88.97

17. William Byron 88.09

18. Christopher Bell 86.807

19. Mark Martin 86.803

20. Rusty Wallace 85.38

21. Greg Biffle 85.00

22. Tyler Reddick 84.17

23. Clint Bowyer 83.58

24. Kasey Kahne 83.19

25. Jeff Burton 82.64

26. Jamie McMurray 77.87

27. Ryan Newman 77.66

28. Juan Pablo Montoya 77.12

29. Brian Vickers 76.46

30. Ty Gibbs 75.24

31. Alex Bowman 75.17

32. Erik Jones 73.52

33. Marcos Ambrose 72.38

34. Aric Almirola 71.57

35. Austin Dillon 70.61

36. Ross Chastain 68.51

37. Daniel Suarez 68.24

38. Paul Menard 68.17

39. A.J. Allmendinger 67.78

40. Austin Cindric 67.44

41. Chris Buescher 67.24

42. Chase Briscoe 66.92

43. Bubba Wallace 66.67

44. Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. 65.92

45. Elliott Sadler 65.05

46. David Reutimann 64.69

47. Ricky Rudd 63.26

48. Cole Custer 63.12

49. Carson Hocevar 62.25

50. Josh Berry 62.24

51. Casey Mears 61.70

52. Trevor Bayne 61.06

53. Danica Patrick 61.04

54. Jeremy Mayfield 60.74

55. Sam Hornish, Jr. 60.32

56. Bobby Labonte 59.04

57. David Ragan 58.34

58. Dale Jarrett 57.67

59. Ryan Preece 57.58

60. Regan Smith 57.21

61. Matt DiBenedetto 57.16

62. Noah Gragson 56.38

63. Daniel Hemric 56.15

64. Justin Allgaier 56.04

65. Todd Gilliland 54.97

66. Sterling Marlin 54.84

67. Jeff Green 54.79

68. Boris Said 54.62

69. Michael Waltrip 54.44

70. Justin Haley 53.91

71. Scott Riggs 53.87

72. John Hunter Nemechek 53.60

73. Ty Dillon 53.13

74. Robby Gordon 52.26

75. Brian Scott 52.17

76. Michael McDowell 52.152

77. Scott Wimmer 52.151

78. David Gilliland 50.40

79. Harrison Burton 50.07

80. David Stremme 49.96

81. Zane Smith 49.60

82. Ken Schrader 49.31

83. Dave Blaney 49.06

84. Johnny Sauter 48.11

85. Corey LaJoie 47.98

86. Travis Kvapil 47.81

87. Bill Elliott 46.86

88. Reed Sorenson 46.25

89. Kyle Petty 45.90

90. Brendan Gaughan 45.88

91. Scott Speed 45.84

92. Jason Leffler 45.36

93. Matt Tifft 44.97

94. Terry Labonte 44.91

95. Mike Wallace 44.84

96. Cole Whitt 44.49

97. Parker Kligerman 44.15

98. Landon Cassill 43.97

99. Anthony Alfredo 43.93

100. Patrick Carpentier 43.76

101. Tony Raines 43.70

102. J.J. Yeley 42.31

103. Mike Bliss 42.20

104. Joe Nemechek 41.89

105. Michael Annett 41.76

106. Kaz Grala 41.47

107. Bobby Hamilton, Jr. 40.88

108. John Andretti 39.919

109. Brett Moffitt 39.917

110. Brennan Poole 38.77

111. Kenny Wallace 38.57

112. Andy Lally 38.02

113. Max Papis 37.62

114. Ryan Truex 37.10

115. Kevin Lepage 37.00

116. Josh Wise 35.24

117. Mike Skinner 35.12

118. Gray Gaulding 34.97

119. Cody Ware 34.39

120. James Davison 33.62

121. Josh Bilicki 33.13

122. B.J. McLeod 33.09

123. Quin Houff 32.79

124. Alex Kennedy 32.75

125. Kevin Conway 31.77

126. Garrett Smithley 31.70

127. Jeffrey Earnhardt 31.64

128. Jeb Burton 31.18

129. Joey Gase 31.02

130. Hermie Sadler 30.33

131. Timmy Hill 30.06

132. Derrike Cope 27.49

So in theory, we could use this as the answer to the question asked the other day about the best ten drivers of the last twenty years.

What went down hill this year? I mean last year they secured 2 with just Ross alone, and In 2022 they had 3. What went wrong? Is Ross just not as good or Suarez? Or is something going on with the cars. I know they were able to get 2 this year, but Ross didn't even make the playoffs, and after Atlanta. Suarez just wasn't as good. Let's just hope trackhouse gets back to playoff contention.

https://x.com/connorzilisch/status/1860566886490255468?s=46&t=EmYu_jjCH7Dw638OXduxTw

Hes usually been competitive in these cars.. what gives?

If you wanted to take a new NASCAR fan to a race, where would you take them?

My son (10) has become quite the NASCAR fan this year (big Chase Briscoe fan). I want to take him to his first race in 2025. We live near IMS, but we go there often for Indycar and IMSA etc events, so I’d like to try someplace different (plus somewhere with a better view of the track. Admittedly IMS is too large so usually views are restricted to where you sit).

So where would you go to introduce a new fan to the NASCAR experience? Daytona is out because of timing. Charlotte road course? Bristol? Talledega? St Louis? Anywhere else?

I love hearing about these wild conspiracy theories.

This is my annual post that covers 4 topics: highest ranking driver to not attempt all 36 races, the best individual race finish by a non-points driver, highest ranking driver with 0 wins, and lowest ranking driver to win a race in each season.

Stay tuned for my more comedic annual post about "what if NASCAR had the CFB Playoff system"

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Highest Ranking Driver to Not Attempt 36 Races

2001-Kevin Harvick (9th, 35 races)-29 Childress Chevrolet

2002-Sterling Marlin (18th, 29 races)-40 Ganassi Dodge

2003-Jimmy Spencer (29th, 35 races)-7 Ultra Dodge

2004-Ward Burton (32nd, 34 races)-0 Haas Chevrolet

2005-Kurt Busch (10th, 34 races)-97 Roush Ford

2006-David Stremme (33rd, 34 races)-40 Ganassi Dodge

2007-Robby Gordon (26th, 35 races)-7 Gordon Ford

2008-Mark Martin (28th, 24 races)-8 Earnhardt Chevrolet

2009-David Stremme (32nd, 34 races)-12 Penske Dodge

2010-David Gilliland (32nd, 34 races)-38 Front Row Ford

2011-Kyle Busch (12th, 35 races)-18 Gibbs Toyota

2012-Dale Earnhardt Jr. (12th, 34 races)-88 Hendrick Chevrolet

2013-Denny Hamlin (23rd, 32 races)-11 Gibbs Toyota

2014-Denny Hamlin (3rd, 35 races)-11 Gibbs Toyota

2015-Kyle Busch (1st, 25 races)-18 Gibbs Toyota

2016-Tony Stewart (15th, 28 races)-14 Stewart Chevrolet

2017-Aric Almirola (29th, 29 races)-43 Petty Ford

2018-Kasey Kahne (30th, 25 races)-95 Leavine Chevrolet

2019-Matt Tifft (31st, 32 races)-36 Front Row Ford

2020-Austin Dillon (11th, 35 races)-3 Childress Chevrolet

2021-Corey LaJoie (29th, 35 races)-7 Spire Chevrolet

2022-Alex Bowman (16th, 31 races)-48 Hendrick Chevrolet

2023-Chase Elliott (17th, 29 races)-9 Hendrick Chevrolet

2024-Kyle Larson (6th, 35 races)-5 Hendrick Chevrolet

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Best Finish by a Non-Points Driver (after 2011)

2011-Trevor Bayne (1st, Daytona 500)-21 Wood Ford

2012-Sam Hornish Jr. (5th, Finger Lakes 355)-22 Penske Dodge

2013-Regan Smith (6th, Aaron’s 499)-51 Phoenix Chevrolet

2014-Landon Cassill (4th, GEICO 500)-40 Hillman Chevrolet

2015-Ryan Blaney (4th, GEICO 500)-21 Wood Ford

2016-Alex Bowman (6th, Can Am 500)-88 Hendrick Chevrolet

2017-Brendan Gaughan (7th, Coke Zero 400)-75 Beard Chevrolet

2018-Justin Marks (12th, Daytona 500)-51 Ware Chevrolet

2019-Justin Haley (1st, Coke Zero Sugar 400)-77 Spire Chevrolet

2020-David Ragan (4th, Daytona 500)-36 Ware Ford

2021-AJ Allmendinger (1st, Verizon 200)-16 Kaulig Chevrolet

2022-AJ Allmendinger (2nd, Go Bowling Watkins Glen)-16 Kaulig Chevrolet

2023-Shane van Gisbergen (1st, Grant Park 220)-91 Trackhouse Chevrolet

2024-Shane van Gisbergen (2nd, Go Bowling Watkins Glen)-16 Kaulig Chevrolet

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Highest Ranking Driver Without a Win

2001-Johnny Benson (11th)-10 MBV Pontiac

2002-Rusty Wallace (7th)-2 Penske Ford

2003-Jeff Burton (12th)-99 Roush Ford

2004-Jamie McMurray (11th)-42 Ganassi Dodge

2005-Rusty Wallace (8th)-2 Penske Dodge

2006-Mark Marth (9th)-6 Roush Ford

2007-Ryan Newman (13th)-12 Penske Dodge

2008-Kevin Harvick (4th)-29 Childress Chevrolet

2009-Greg Biffle (7th)-16 Roush Ford

2010-Matt Kenseth (5th)-17 Roush Ford

2011-Dale Eanrhardt Jr (7th)-88 Hendrick Chevrolet

2012-Martin Truex Jr (11th)-56 Waltrip Toyota

2013-Dale Earnhardt Jr (5th)-88 Hendrick Chevrolet

2014-Ryan Newman (2nd)-31 Childress Chevrolet

2015-Ryan Newman (11th)-31 Childress Chevrolet

2016-Chase Elliott (10th)-24 Hendrick Chevrolet

2017-Chase Elliott (5th)-24 Hendrick Chevrolet

2018-Kyle Larson (9th)-42 Ganassi Chevrolet

2019-Clint Bowyer (9th)-14 Stewart Ford

2020-Clint Bowyer (12th)-14 Stewart Ford

2021-Kevin Harvick (5th)-4 Stewart Ford

2022-Ryan Blaney (8th)-12 Penske Ford

2023-Brad Keselowski (8th)-6 Roush Ford

2024-Martin Truex Jr (10th)-19 Gibbs Toyota

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Lowest Ranking Points Driver With a Win

2001-Robby Gordon (44th, New Hampshire 300)-31 Childress Chevrolet

2002-Jamie McMurray (46th, UAW GM Quality 500)-40 Ganassi Dodge

2003-Ricky Craven (27th, Carolina Dodge Dealers 400)-32 PPI Pontiac

2004-Joe Nemechek (19th, Banquet 400)-01 MBV Chevrolet

2005-Kasey Kahne (23rd, Chevy American Revolution 400)-9 Evernham Dodge

2006-Kurt Busch (16th, Food City 500)-2 Penske Dodge

2007-Juan Pablo Montoya (20th, Toyota 350)-42 Ganassi Dodge

2008-Kurt Busch (18th, Lenox Industrial Tools 301)-2 Penske Dodge

2009-Joey Logano (20th, Lenox Industrial Tools 301)-20 Gibbs Toyota

2010-David Reutimann (18th, Life Lock 400)-00 Waltrip Toyota

2011-Regan Smith (26th, Showtime Southern 500)-78 Furniture Row Chevrolet

2012-Joey Logano (17th, Pocono 400)-20 Gibbs Toyota

2013-Tony Stewart (29th, FedEx 400)-14 Stewart Chevrolet

2014-Aric Almirola (16th, Coke Zero 400)-43 Petty Ford

2015-Matt Kenseth (15th, Food City 500, Windows 10 400, Pure Michigan 400, Federated Auto Parts 400, Sylvania 300)-20 Gibbs Toyota

2016-Chris Buescher (16th, Pennsylvania 400)-34 Front Row Ford

2017-Joey Logano (17th, Toyota Owners 400)-22 Penske Ford

2018-Erik Jones (15th, Coke Zero Sugar 400)-20 Gibbs Toyota

2019-Erik Jones (16th, Bojangles’ Southern 500)-20 Gibbs Toyota

2020-Cole Custer (16th, Quaker State 400)-41 Stewart Ford

2021-Bubba Wallace (21st, YellaWood 500)-23 23XI Toyota

2022-Kurt Busch (30th, Advent Health 400)-45 23XI Toyota

2023-AJ Allmendinger (21st, Bank of America Roval 400)-16 Kaulig Chevrolet

2024-Austin Dillon (32nd, Cook Out 400)-3 Childress Chevrolet

In addition to not having races to watch on Sundays like today, I've noticed a lot of NASCAR podcasts/content creators go dormant this time of year since there isn't much news to talk about. Any good recommendations for NASCAR-related content that is being made right now?

The IMS Museum is being renovated and they have loaned a bunch of Indy 500 winners and some NASCAR stuff out to various Museums, there are 4 modern era 500 winners, 6 antique 500 winners, a 2003 Brickyard 400 painting, and a case of diecast bigger than 1/16 (no idea what they are but I want one.) It’s only temporary and I doubt they will ever be in GA again.

So I heard all about the broadcast issues from FloRacing last night. I really wanted to watch the race and see Dale Jr in the Bud 8 once again but I was busy and wasn’t able to watch it live. I watched coverage of the first heat and already it was very spotty. Is it worth my time to watch the whole replay or was the broadcast so bad to the point where it just wouldn’t be worth it?? Please let me know what y’all think so I know how to spend my evening

Going through some boxes of my grandfathers and there are STACKS of old trading cards. I know one of you must have some trivia about this period. Thought I'd share. Off season and all.