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The Daytona 500!!
Here it goes, in no particular order:
Bethann:
Awww Man, Do I have to pick just one? If so my prediction is ....drum
roll please:
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Reason: Yes, he is the sentimental favorite and yes I am a DEI, RCR
fan but I have other reasons for this pick. For one thing,
he's the winner of the last two plate races, the storybook
win in July at the Pepsi 400 and at Talladega in October.
Also, remember that he was a close 2nd in last years
Daytona 500. Dale Earnhardt Inc. and their superspeedway
program is one of the strongest on the circuit, AND last
but not least he wants it...he wants to win this race bad.
Therefore, thats my reasoning, and thats my pick and
I'm sticking to it!
Who will be his closest competition for the win?:
Well if you take a look at the Shootout Results, you have
to go with Tony Stewart(Pontiac).. He can certainly make his way
around the track and probably would have been a threat
last year if not for the wreck that sent him flying through the air.
Also, as much as I hate to say it Jeff Gordon (Chevy).
Jeff made his way through 22 cars to finish a CLOSE second to Jr.
in the shootout and is always a threat to win. From the
Ford Camp: hmmm....Rusty Wallace. He wants to win at Daytona
bad, maybe this could be the year. And from the Dodge
Camp, Sterling Marlin, the most successful of all the dodges last
year could also be a factor. So, There it is!
As always, lets hope for a safe and competitive race.
Danny Z:
As I told Don last week, Sunday afternoon will be the time to break out an
ice cold silver bullet and celebrate. Only three men have won back to back
Daytona 500s and as much as I like Mikey, he won't be the fourth. If you know
who the last one was you know my pick for this year. The Coors Light #40 of
Sterling Marlin. This is a great team with a great Dodge Intrepid driven by a
Super speedway genius.
This year's race will resemble those of the glory days
of the #4 Kodak car in that the cars will string out nose to tail, passing
will be challenging to say the least, and the patience and observance of
seasoned veteran Marlin will win out over the top five finishers, Dale Jr.,
Dale Jarrett, Crowd favorite and most lap leader Rusty Wallace, and this years
rookie of the year Ryan Newman.
Remember, this preview comes from the guy who
finished third in the local fantasy cup last year behind the girl who tends
bar at the gin mill and Timmy, who considers Tony Stewart a seasoned veteran.
So listen up!
Suzy says Tony Stewrat [she says I have to spell it Stewart], Harvick, Bobby
Labonte, Junior, And Ricky Rudd
Lisa:
I'm sure everyone has their own way of analyzing, researching and agonizing to pick race winners. My friend Toni & I has a fantasy team for 3 years, and we've been all through that. Judging by our decreased checkbook balances, it doesn't work, for us anyway. So I am doing the "if the number shows up, pick it" method of predicting race outcomes. I may not get very many, but I will try to amuse everyone while I'm doing it. That is my only goal.
That said, for the Daytona 500, these are my picks. My husband's birthday is in February, so I will pick #2, Rusty Wallace. My birthday is in August, so that gives me #8, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Now the next was a little tough. My son's birthday is in March, so I'm gonna pick Dale Earnhardt Jr in the Busch race. To give him a chance at Daytona, I asked him his favorite number. He said #4. HMMMM, can you believe I actually had to go look that one up; I'm sorry but I just couldn't remember who that was. I guess I'm not over Silly Season yet.
Then, I had to search my conscience. Can I really pick Mike Skinner to win? Nope, can't do it. I wouldn't mind a bit if he did though. It's just that, well, if it was for money and not fame, I wouldn't do it, so I'm not gonna. I'm gonna take starting position four, Michael Waltrip. And that's it. If you want it in order, I'll go by age (in my family, not the drivers) and say Dale Earnhardt Jr, Rusty Wallace, Michael Waltrip, First Second and Third.
Charlotte:
I think we'll be seeing a bit of the shootout on Sunday. Tony Stewart and
Dale Earnhardt Jr have formed a bond on this one. I do believe that Jimmie
Johnson will be a force to be reckoned with. His qualifying and testing times
are the biggest indication of this. The old timers most definitely will
have their work cut out for them. Who's going to win? Thats a toughy.
I'll give ya my die hard prediction on Monday.
Don:
In my "2002 Fearless Predictions and Prognostications" I predicted a DEI sweep with Kenny Wallace first, Dale, Jr. second and Mikey third. After watching the twin 125's I will slightly alter that prediction and place Mikey first, Kenny second and Junior third. An outside possibility will be if Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson get hooked up but I don't feel Jimmie has enough experience to hang in there with the big dogs.
The first 125 was so-so but the second one was an indication that we could have some good racing. I will reserve my final view on this dependent on whether NA$CAR ups the restrictor plate by 1/16th of an inch as has been hinted.
While there is very little chance it could happen, how awesome it would be if Dave Marcis got hooked up and won the Daytona 500 with the help of one or more of his Childress semi-team-mates. Talk about a Cinderella story. One can only dream but if there would be a victory to equal that of Dale Earnhardts only 500 win, this would be it in so far as being a popular win. Were I fortunate enough to be there in present I would fear the grandstands collapsing from the exuberance of the fans. Congrats to Dave on a fine seventh place finish in a wild race.
Rob:
Fortunately for me, I get to read everyone else's predictions first and then form my own, after the fact. Although, I have pretty much kept the same theory in mind for quite a while. You can not count out the RAD cars when it comes to Plate Racing. Childress, Petree and DEI have put together and incredible program, as has Hendrick and they will be tough to beat.
I did see a few things in the Shootout and the Twin 125's that have helped form my opinion. Add to that the fact that I am a plethora of useless Nascar info and follow the sport 24/7 and my prediction should be absolutely perfect. Here it goes:
I truly believe that Mikey Waltrip will repeat. He showed today that he could get to the front and he stayed there. He held off Tony Stewart which is not an easy thing. I say that the top 5 will be Mikey, Tony, JR, Marlin and Gordon.
Bobby Labonte might be a sleeper and I am not sure what the heat is between him and Tony, but Tony eluded that there was a problem. I still can't figure out how the Fords are that slow and can't get to the front. We are running the same aero package from 2000 when they dominated, and they actually have a smaller spoiler than they did then. This really does not make sense. Let's hope for a safe race, an exciting race, and let's just be happy that the season is finally here!!
Summary:
It appears that the general opinion of the ITPB staff is that Jr, Mikey, Stewart, Marlin and Rusty will be at the front. Don has Kenny Wallace and Marcis in there; Danny throws in Jarrett and Newman; Charlotte adds Jimmie Johnson; I threw in Gordon (which goes against everything sacred); and Lisa and Bethann were right on with Jr, Mikey and Rusty.
It isn't too late to get your predictions in. Send an e-mail to "My Prediction" . Put the winning driver prediction in the subject and put your prediction for 2nd place in the body of the e-mail. You may be on our expert panel for the next race.
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