Earnhardt Jr. wins pole for Daytona 500

NASCAR’s most popular driver will lead the field down to the green for the 53rd Daytona 500. Dale Earnhardt Jr., who ran a lap of 48.364 seconds—an average of 186.089 mph—will lead the field of 43 cars next week.

“The main thing [the pole] does for me is take the pressure off Thursday’s race,” said Earnhardt. “I can go out and have fun and not worry about where I finish or getting a good starting spot for the Daytona 500.”

For the last two years Mark Martin has been on the front row at Daytona. Not this year. However, his crew chief still is.

Jeff Gordon and new crew chief Alan Gustafson will start beside their Hendrick Motorsports teammate. Gordon turned a lap of 48.396 seconds to claim the second starting spot in next week’s race.

The 52-year-old Martin, who will make his 795th Sprint Cup start in one week, timed in eighth, at 48.651 seconds.

Only Gordon and Earnhardt Jr. will start where they qualified this week. The rest of the Daytona 500 field will be set on Thursday by two qualifying races.

Bill Elliott, Joe Nemechek and Travis Kvapil also timed their way into the field, and Terry Labonte will be locked in due to his past champion’s provisional.

Why I love NASCAR (and NASCAR drivers)

As a young kid growing up in Cincinnati I often had to answer the question, “How did you become a NASCAR fan?” Even though today I rarely have to answer the question how, I still find myself justifying why I became a NASCAR fan, and even more, why I continue to be a NASCAR fan today.

NASCAR fans are the best fans in America. I’ll stand by that statement until someone proves me otherwise. It’s not just that NASCAR fans are passionate about their driver, or drivers, but they’re also some of the friendliest people you’ll ever meet.

Need a match to light your grill with before the race? Ask your neighbor, they’ll likely have one you can use. And if they don’t have one, they’ll be glad to assist you in walking around the camping areas to help you find someone who does.

(That’s actually taken from a true story. That happened at last year’s Brickyard 400. My dad and I found a few nice guys from the Cincinnati area parked near us who actually gave us an entire box of matches to use. Along the way we chatted about NASCAR and much more)

But it’s not just the fans that make everything worthwhile in the sport: It’s the drivers too.

Drivers are everyday heroes in NASCAR. They stop to sign autographs and pose for photos with fans both young and old. Numerous examples of drivers just being normal, nice guys dotted media outlets last year. So, today, just one day closer to the drop of the green flag in NASCAR’s most prestigious race, the Daytona 500, I delve further into why NASCAR fans and drivers are by far the best fans and athletes in all of American sports.

Yahoo! Sports analyst Jay Hart posted this comment from a reader in November of last year. David from Denton, Texas wrote to Hart, “This past week at Texas my son and I were waiting for Clint Bowyer. He signed a piece of sheet metal for me, then he was about to take off and out of the corner of his eye saw my 3-year-old son standing beside me. He stopped, turned around, put his hand on his head, and rubbed his hair and said. ‘Hey Man, can I get a high-five.’

My son was so happy. Clint didn’t have to do it, in fact he had already done what we asked, but he went above and beyond even though we were not at an official signing or anything like that.”

Clint Bowyer’s enthusiasm probably sealed David’s 3-year-old son as a Clint Bowyer fan for life. How many times have you been at a baseball game or a football game and your favorite player is signing autographs, only to walk away as he nears you without so much as a, “Sorry folks, gotta go.”? Clint Bowyer’s ordinary move—giving the young guy a high five—was going the extra distance to create not just a Clint Bowyer fan for life, but in all likelihood, a NASCAR fan for life.

Bowyer may not be the most popular driver but he now has one more fan after high fiving a youngster in Texas

The high-five also reminds me a little of the Hamburger Helper commercial where Bowyer is driving around the track, eating spoonfuls of the sponsor’s product. Bowyer looks at the Hamburger Helper mascot and says, “High five little hand dude!” So, maybe Bowyer was catering to his sponsor a little, but either way, his willingness to go the extra mile just confirms my statement that NASCAR drivers are awesome guys. (Watch the commericial with Bowyer and the “little hand dude” here- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7ktgWKJwbc)

Hart’s family also was the recipient of a gracious move by NASCAR star Jeff Gordon at Texas in November. Hart wrote, “My sister and her family took in the race Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway. A few hours before it started, we were standing in the media center when Jeff Gordon walked in. My 4-year-old nephew, holding a diecast replica of Gordon’s No. 24, thrust the car out and said, “Can you sign this please?” Gordon took the car, penned his autograph across the front hood, then without anyone asking said, “Let’s get a picture.” With that, he knelt down, huddled up my niece and two nephews, waited while my sister got her camera out of her purse, and now they have a keepsake they’ll never forget.”

Gordon knows what it takes to be fan friendly, even if fans aren't friendly to him

Gordon too understands that taking a few extra seconds to do something seemingly ordinary will always make people think that he’s an extraordinary guy. Like him or not—and Gordon is a polarizing figure in NASCAR—every NASCAR fan that reads that story understands that even though they may not like Gordon as a driver, they have to respect his actions as a man. A man that made dreams come true for a few youngsters last year.

Denny Hamlin also made an extra effort to show fans his gratitude for rooting for him after he won at Martinsville last October. A group of fans sat in the darkness watching Hamlin as he went through the “hat dance” in Victory Lane. Marty Smith from ESPN.com reported on the story, noting, “A handful of those folks in the grandstands wore head-to-toe Denny Hamlin garb. And they didn’t know it, but they were soon to fall face-first into a race fan’s dream.”

Hamlin told Smith, “There’s not a whole lot of true-blue Denny Hamlin fans that are all decked out in all my gear and everything, and basically, I saw, I think four people or so with all my gear on. And I told Austin [Peyton, Hamlin's manager] to go get those people because it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for them to be part of Victory Lane. And it’s a way for me to say thanks for being one of my fans.”

Hamlin understands the plight of the common fan though too. He was once a youngster looking for a signature from his childhood idol, Bill Elliott. “It was just for a brief second. But I remember that feeling,” he said. “It was 15 seconds that I was in front of him that we made eye contact, and I told him I was his biggest fan and he was my favorite driver. For him to acknowledge me then, for 15 seconds, it was more than worth the three hours of waiting in line.”

Elliott made Denny Hamlin's dreams come true many years ago. Now Hamlin gets to re-pay the favor to his own fans

Hamlin continued, “It’s hard for me nowadays to think ‘Man, these fans are getting pushed through autograph lines,’ and all that. They’ve really got to be devoted. But then I realize back then what it meant to me to meet my favorite driver. So that’s why I try to take that little extra time to make it worth my fans’ while to be a Denny Hamlin fan.”

Sound familiar?

When I walked up to Mark Martin last year at Indianapolis I had no idea what to do. I was excited and nervous all at the same time. Even though I was 20 years old and had done many cool things in my life, I’d never done anything quite like meeting the man I grew up idolizing. (For the original story, check out this: http://adamniemeyer.blogspot.com/2009/07/mark-martin-im-blessed-to-have-so-many.html)

Why do I idolize Mark Martin? Well, there’s just not enough time or room to talk about that, we’ll save that for another day, but it’s important to know that Mark Martin is just as humble and caring as each of his competitors when it comes to talking to fans.

Mark Martin is ready to go in 2010

As his son Matt pointed out last season, “He is extremely humble. He’s just plain hard on himself. I asked him how he could weigh 125 pounds when he looks big, and he says things like, “Well, my brain isn’t that big.” He’ll just say things like that. He’s funny. He’s a simple guy. A cool guy. There aren’t many secrets about my Dad. He’s just a guy from Arkansas.”

He is just a guy who has shown so much in his career to so many people. The least of which is his enthusiasm for racing and passion for being a winner. “I’ve always been competitive,” he said in his book “Mark Martin: Mark of Excellence”. “Anything I’ve ever done, I’ve gone at it 100 percent. I don’t know any other way.”

Sound familiar?
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I hope my thoughts today on why I believe NASCAR is the greatest sport on the planet has fueled your passion for the beginning of the season which is now only 18 days away. If you’d like an autograph or picture with me, I know I’d have to make sure I followed the lead of the NASCAR drivers listed above and help you out. After all, they are great role models.

Have a great day and remember, it’s just 18 days until we get to see the Daytona 500.

Mark Martin shares wisdom on years of experience at Indy

Not only did Mark Martin make the dreams of this young guy come true today, he said he was, “living a dream.” He ran five laps in the second practice and parked the car. It was just that fast.

But even before he got to run his first real laps at Indy in a Hendrick Motorsports car he reflected on the first half of the 2009 Sprint Cup Season. Even his most loyal fans couldn’t dream of the season that he’s had so far. He leads the series with four victories, he’s claimed three poles and he’s had the fastest car at many stops on the schedule.

“We try to win every race, every week, and always have. The thing is we’re having a good time,” he said. “We’re having a lot of fun.”

Mark Martin turned a lap that was .017 seconds faster than former Indy 500 champ Juan Pablo Montoya in the second practice session today

He’s got a new bounce in his step. He smiles more often and he’s even shown some emotion after winning races by pumping his fist after getting out of the car. He’s said time in and time out that it takes a lot more than having a fast car to win the race. “We’re going to try to cross all our t’s and dot all our i’s,” he said.

Since Mark has been so close so often to winning the Cup title he’s come out with the attitude that the trophy doesn’t mean anything to him. But, he feels he owes it to his team to go out and run for the Chase. “I’ll feel devastated for my team, but for me, I’m living well beyond my means right now. I feel like my race team deserved to be a part of that elite group but if we come up short it won’t be from lack of effort,” he said.

Former teammate Jeff Burton agrees. He said, “From the outside looking in, I thought Mark Martin in a Hendrick car, that's potential magic. He is the most dedicated driver in the garage. I try to be dedicated, but that man, he lives, breathes, sleeps it.”

Jeff Burton still has the utmost respect for his former Roush Racing teammate Mark Martin

As for Indy, well, Mark was on record last year saying, “It’d be the crown jewel of my career.” One year later his ideas haven’t changed. “It’d be a nice addition to the trophy case. A big trophy,” he said, smiling. “It’s definitely one of the crown jewels of stock car racing so you give it your best just like you do at all the others. There’s not much more you can do other than that.”

“It’s the history, the recognition,” he added.

He’s a man who was there for the first test in 1992, and he’s the only driver of the nine who competed that day who still runs full-time in the Sprint Cup Series. Bill Elliott will attempt to qualify for the Brickyard tomorrow, and he’s the only other driver who is still running in the Cup Series.

Bill Elliott is the oldest Brickyard 400 winner. He won at age 47. Can Mark Martin knock Elliott's name off that record in the record book?

Elliott has won at Indy, Martin has not. And, just like the 2007 Daytona 500, Mark likes to think back to a race that he “woulda, coulda, shoulda” won at IMS—the 1997 Brickyard 400. He reminisced, “I think about the one that got away; the year that Ricky Rudd won. Jack (Roush) said we had enough gas to make it and we had run out of gas so many times and we had run out of gas so many times that [crew chief] Steve Hmiel and I, we were chasing a championship instead of worrying about winning races.

“I’ll always question in my mind if we could have made it or not, but the decision was based on us probably running out of gas multiple times prior to that.”

50-year old Mark Martin has been the talk of Indianapolis sports news this evening

But even though he almost won that race you could tell from his demeanor that he wants to get on with the weekend and give his best shot to win on Sunday. He ran the quickest lap, a 49.822 second circuit in the second practice. He’ll go out third tomorrow morning for qualifying, which is a phenomenal draw for a pole run. Even if he doesn’t get the pole or the win he’s having fun this season, which is more than anyone would have guessed five years ago about what Mark Martin would be doing right now.

“I’ve been incredibly blessed with a great family, great friends, a great career,” he explained. “And now with a great team, we’ve had our share of success. It’s great. I don’t know how else to expand on it. I stay fairly even keel.”
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I’m heading out to the track to see Mark turn a fast lap tomorrow morning. There’s a 50% chance for rain according to Indianapolis TV stations, but I have faith that NASCAR will do whatever they need to do to get qualifying in. In 2005 they moved practices and qualifying to make sure qualifying was actually run. Hopefully we won’t need to worry about that though.

I’m attempting to get a hold of Bart Starr for my own version of a “Bart blog” for all the faithful Markaholics who have requested. Thanks for reading, tune in tomorrow to ESPN at 10AM to watch qualifying.

I’m just living the dream…From Indianapolis, good night.