heck yeah

[duane_koda]

that was an awesome race. i was really biting my nails. too bad sterling got penalized but it was AWESOME to see Ward take the win.

[Kenneth B. Hollman]

Awesome race is right. If Sterling had been a little more patient, I believe the Dodges would have gone 1 & 2. Bill France jr. probably had a baby.

[jelsr]

Whodathunkit? That was a very expensive yank on that fender! Sterling seemed to have them covered after Gordon spun himself out. Good part is Mopar still got the "W".

[caveman]

Its about time,,the phones ringing off the wall.Ward had a good car all day.Too bad streling had a tire rub ,It could have been 1+2,,He made a good move and got 8Th though

[mopartodd]

Bored with Ford, buy a MoPar.

[mopardave]

I'm glad a Mopar won, but I'm sorry.......restrictor plate racing is just plain boring.

[pwdart]

Havent jumped that high since high school! Now when I wear my Ward Burton t-shirt Im sure Ill be accused of jumping on the bandwagon. Too bad I got it last year. He the man! Jeff who?

[caveman]

kickme.to/captcaveman
Nuff said

[TL]

Not boreing. Think of it as a chess game. Or even as baseball. Strategy, posisioning, and don't let off because you can't get it back.

[jleilich]

wow ! that was great.. the last time dodge won daytona was 2 years before i was born , so this is the first time i got to see this.
(im 25 for you old guys who are wondering and i just made feel really old..)

[PINK71T/A]

Yeah awesome race although i had a Gut feeling that a Dodge
would win today. Sorry about Sterling's luck But that's what i like about the Guy a good old fashioned racer Get out and fix your car on the spot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was laughing after i saw that! But at least Ward got the win Good to see Dodge is back for good!!!!!

[84GreyRam]

That was funny to see the track official jump out of the pacecar when Sterling tried to pull his fender out!

Too bad he got penalized, Sterling and Ward probably would got a run on Jeff and made it Mopar 1-2 punch!!! Oh well, maybe next time!!!

[GS -]

I bought Wards hat last year because he showed so much promise, now I'll have an excuse to wear it everywhere. Also found out that owner Bill Davis is from Arkansas woohoo! Great day for Dodge lovers!

[69CORONET440]

Damn that was fun! What a way to start the season off!! woo hoo congrats to Ward/Cat team gr8 race! Sterling & Bill right in there too, now if the prostock boys can get it together...... METL

[BillyBob]

Wore my #40 hat to the race this weekend, oh well.

[hemivaliant]

I stayed glued to the TV during the whole race. A big thumbs up for everyone running a Dodge today.

I don't blame S. Marlin for trying to pull out his fender during the red. If he hadn't who's knows if he would have ever made it to the pits to get it changed.

Did everyone see how many times Bill E. drove thru some of those multi-car crashes? I counted three of them. Great driving skill or just plain luck?

This may be the start of something big, maybe they will start dominating like the trucks are? It's going to be an interesting season.


HV

[GaryS]

Sorry guys...I'm with Mopardave on this one. That was not racing. Yes, it was exciting, but so is watching a tornado. Yes, it was satisfying to see a Dodge in the lead at the end, but Ward didn't "win" the race. Luck merely had him in front at the right time, and no one can pass in a restrictor plate race.

Restrictor plate racing is akin to being in an artillery attack. When it's over, there will be survivors in the carnage, but it won't be because of skill.

[Nightri1]

There wasn't any luck there! That was the stupidist thing I've seen any WC driver do in a long time. Let's see, the race is red flagged, all the cars are lined up behind the pace car, every TV camera in the area is focused on Sterling. He knew it too, remember how he looked embarrassed when asked about it? Ward is a plenty good driver and deserved to win.
Yes I think plate racing sucks but it's part of the whole schedule.

[GS -]

Nightri1, I'm with you....Was that a 13 million dollar fender or what.... The "BIG GOOFBALL". DOH!

Originally posted by Nightri1
There wasn't any luck there! That was the stupidist thing I've seen any WC driver do in a long time. Let's see, the race is red flagged, all the cars are lined up behind the pace car, every TV camera in the area is focused on Sterling. He knew it too, remember how he looked embarrassed when asked about it? Ward is a plenty good driver and deserved to win.
Yes I think plate racing sucks but it's part of the whole schedule.

[moparots]

This was definetly one of the best endings of a race Ive ever seen. The last few laps crash, then the leader getting spun, and the best was ole Sterlin getting out and pullin on that fender, and then saying to the official "whut?"
Yes they need to get rid of those restrictor plates, years ago they put them on to slow things down for saftey, but now they have done so many things to inprove the saftey of the cars, I feel they could get rid of them now.
Great to see ole Dodge back at the winners circle at Daytona. I love listening to ole Ward Burton talk, It takes him 5 min. just to say "Uh Id liak tu thank mu crew"

92 Dakota V8
68 Dart 360
73 Charger all painted waiting for a new front suspension

[road chicken]

That was the first time I sat and watched a NASCAR D500 all the way thru- what sort of timing is that?!?- Although it was restrictor plate racing-you still have to play the game. Sure luck is involved to not get caught in the accidents or debris,( hee hee poor D jr ) but the fact is you still gotta be the first one across the line- GO WARD. I'm not sure how you could be surprised. Marlin and Burton were lurking in the 10-3 spots for what I saw,( not too much) last year. This was due - hell OVERDUE by 27 years !!! Too cool- especially Sterling, Mr I'm just lookin- Marlin. I got a good laugh at that- I think he knew he wasn't gonna make it- if ya gotta go to the back of the pack anyway- go down trying. Besides- if he'd a blown that tire at speed he might have taken Ward with him. Either way that's a "W" in Dodges books, and I just might take up watching on a regular basis

[QCHemi]

Restrictor Plate racing or not, DODGE still won...come on. They won the Daytona 500! I'll take any win. period.

[GS -]

AMEN!

Originally posted by QCHemi
Restrictor Plate racing or not, DODGE still won...come on. They won the Daytona 500! I'll take any win. period.

[cudacarl]

Looks Like Sterling's team has finally figured out the bad restarts. Hopefully it will get him some wins and the end of races on restarts.

[David D]

It may have been luck for Ward but a Dodge did lead the most laps, so the outcome was still fitting, a Dodge won, just not the one that led all those laps!

[c_95mopar360R/T]

Yes, I would liked to see Marlin come in first and Ward second, or the other way around, Marlin is my 1st fav. Dodge driver, and Ward is my second, the part that got me pumped when both Ward and Marlin was in a neck and neck drag race to the line, I was cheering for both of them. And yes that was kinda stupid on Marlin's part getting out of his car during the red, but look at it this way NASCAR would have put him in the back anyway for 1. He went below the yellow line to advance... 2. He had a part in spinning "one of" NASCAR's FAVORITE drivers J. Gordon, yes I know Gordon spun himself pulling a block. But they would have put him in the back anyway for one or the other.. so that means Marlin was put behind Gordon. Marlin maybe a GOOFBALL, but the reason hes my 1st cause hes a hell of a driver..Dont forget he still finished in front of Gordon...

[viperstripeddakota]

I don't think that Wards win was luck,he ran good all day and missed the wrecks[some of that was luck] but the last few laps he really came on strong.I think it was good driving and a really good DODGE race car that got him to victory circle. Hope the Mopar guys can win some more races this year.

[sanborn]

1. I am not a Sterling Marlin fan(although he lives about 40 miles from my house).
2. Sterling may talk like some guy raised on a farm (which he was in rural Tennessee).
3. He is far from being dumb. He knew exactly what he was doing.
4. He (and I am sure his crew chief talked on radio before getting out of car) had already planned on what he was going to do.
5. He had nothing to lose by yanking on the fender. If he didn't give it a yank, he would have to come in the pits anyway. If he did give it a yank and the fender popped out, then he could take his chances with Nascar(remember he is a dumb country boy who didn't know better).
6. The shame of it is if he had hit anybody other than Gordon(or Little E) he might have gotten away with it.

[Nightri1]

Do you really believe that Sanborn? You think that Sterling and his crewchief are that brazen? NASCAR doesn't buy that dumb country boy crap anymore! You wouldn't be racing in NASCAR if you were.

[SBDUDE]

You could hear Sterling & his crewchief talking as he pulled the fender out, he knew he would not get far with the fender into the tire, so they took a chance.Better than running it as is and into the wall when it blew. Good call...GO DODGE! SBD