Saturday, July 7 Daytona Int'l Spdwy Daytona Beach, FL

Broadcast Times

Practice: Thursday, July 5 (ESPN2 at 6:30 p.m./AT, 5:30 p.m./ET)

Qualifying: Friday, July 6 (ESPN2, TSN-alt at 2 p.m/AT, 1 p.m./ET

Pre-Race Show: Friday, July 6 (ESPN2, TSN-HD at 8:30 p.m./AT, 7:30 p.m./ET)

Race: Friday, July 6 (ESPN2 & TSN-HD at 9 p.m./AT, 8 p.m./ET) RAINED OUT

Rain Date for Race: Saturday, July 7 (ESPN2 & TSN-HD at 10 a.m./AT, 9 a.m./ET)


Kyle Busch in the Winn Dixie 250 Victory Lane.

Kyle Busch Dominates Race
By Reid Spencer, Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (July 7, 2007) -- Kyle Busch held off Kevin Harvick and Dave Blaney in a green-white-checkered-flag finish to win Saturday's rain-delayed Winn-Dixie 250 NASCAR Busch Series race at Daytona International Speedway.

Busch crossed the finish line .103 seconds ahead of Harvick, with Blaney .243 seconds back, in a race that required two laps beyond the posted 100-lap distance at the 2.5-mile superspeedway. Tony Stewart and Clint Bowyer completed the top five.

Busch led 65 of the 102 laps and was at the front when Juan Pablo Montoya spun in the dogleg on Lap 98 to bring out the race's sixth and final caution. The race restarted on Lap 101, and though Harvick and Blaney jockeyed for position behind the race winner, they never mounted a concerted threat.

The victory was Busch's eighth in the NASCAR Busch Series and the first this season, though he had led the most laps in four previous Busch races (Daytona, Las Vegas, Atlanta and Texas).

"It was definitely a good racecar, and all we had to do was keep it out front and try to keep the mistakes to a minimum," Busch said. "Really, there were none today. For me, it was just a matter of being able to hit my restarts right and go through the gears and not miss a shift and keep those guys at bay -- keep them to half-a-car-length to a car-length behind me so they could never develop momentum and a run to get by me."

Harvick ducked out of line momentarily on the final lap but had no drafting help, and the top four quickly returned to single file.

"We had a lot of trouble today," said Harvick, who had problems with the left rear tire on an early pit stop and later suffered an alternator failure. "We couldn't get the tire off, the alternator went out, and we were just really, really loose the first run and kind of had to back out of the pack there to wait to get our car fixed.

"Once we got our car tightened back up and were able to get back to where I could control the thing, we were able to make ground there and get back through the field. We put ourselves in position there at the end and got to about the rear tire and just didn't have any pushing. We were up there by ourselves and had to duck back down and just ride around."

Busch took the lead for the first time exiting the pits on Lap 22 with a pass in the grass, going three-wide to beat Clint Bowyer and Kyle Krisiloff to the scoring line at the end of pit road. Because Busch stayed below the pit road speed limit of 55 mph, NASCAR allowed the move, but warned the driver not to do it again.

"I was a little bit concerned about going out to the grass, but I felt it was in my best interest and the best interest of safety for everybody on pit road to go out there," Busch explained. "If I would have went to the inside, and one of those guys turned off into their pit box with me alongside of them, we would have either gotten wrecked with them or gone off into some other guy's pit box while there were people on pit road.

"I didn't want to bother anything going to the inside, so I said, 'You know what? I'm going to have go out to the grass.' It was either that or stop. I didn't know whether we were going to get busted for going out to the grass, because NASCAR can't control your pit road speed if you go out to the grass, but if they look at the replays, I probably slowed down a little bit."

NOTE According to reports published after the Busch race, NASCAR officials confiscated springs from Kyle Busch's car during post-race inspection - for closer examination...

Complete race results and point standings in the Event Stats section following...

Rain Postpones Winn Dixie 250 Until Saturday Morning
The NASCAR Busch Series event scheduled for Friday night at Daytona International Speedway -- the Winn-Dixie 250 Presented by Pepsico -- has been postponed due to inclement weather. The race will now run Saturday, July 7th at 9 a.m.

The NASCAR Busch Series garage opens at 6:30 a.m. and driver introductions are scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m./ET. TV coverage will begin at 9 a.m./ET (10 a.m./AT) on both ESPN2 and TSN-HD.

Event Stats PDF files unless otherwise noted

Entry List

Thursday First Practice

Thursday Rookie Practice

Thursday Final Practice

Qualifying Order

Qualifying Results

Starting Lineup

Race Results

Point Standings


Kyle Busch salutes the fans after his win...

Green Flag Fast Facts
The Race: Winn Dixie 250 presented by PepsiCo
The Place: Daytona International Speedway
The Date: July 6, 20071
The Time: 9 p.m./AT, 8 p.m./ET
TV: ESPN2 & TSN-HD, 8:30 p.m./AT, 7:30 p.m./ET
Track Layout: 2.5-mile tri-oval
Race Purse: $1,552,701
2006 Winner: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
2006 Pole: J.J. Yeley
Track Schedule (local time): Thur.: 2:30-3:30 p.m. – Practice; 3:50-4:20 p.m. – Rookie Practice; 5:30-6:25 – Final Practice. Fri.: 1:05 p.m. – Qualifying (Impound).
Year-To-Date Standings: click here

Qualifying Notes

• Jason Leffler won the Busch Pole for the Winn-Dixie 250, lapping the Daytona International Speedway in 48.765 seconds at 184.559 mph.
• This is Leffler's seventh Busch Pole in 137 career NASCAR Busch Series races.
• This is Leffler's first Busch Pole and his sixth top-10 start in 18 NASCAR Busch Series races in 2007.
• This is Leffler's first Busch Pole and fourth top-10 start in eight races at Daytona International Speedway.
• Tony Stewart posted the second-fastest lap at 48.819 seconds, 184.354 mph and will join Leffler on the front row.
• With four different drivers, Joe Gibbs Racing has posted six consecutive front row starts at superspeedways in the No. 18 car.
• Aric Almirola (third) posted his third top-10 start this season. He started from the pole at Daytona International Speedway at the beginning of the season.
• Juan Pablo Montoya (181.734 mph) was the fastest qualifying rookie.
• Clint Bowyer was the fastest of the driver that had to make the field on time.

Green Flag Notes

• WHAT TO WATCH FOR AT DAYTONA: INSIGHT FROM JOE BALASH, NASCAR BUSCH SERIES DIRECTOR - “Because of the size of Daytona, aerodynamics will play perhaps the biggest factor in the race. “The teams will make their car bodies as slick as possible to reduce the drag which makes the cars run faster on Daytona’s long straightaways and high banks. “Our series uses a unique wicker package on superspeedways. There’s a roof strip that runs across the top of the roof and a forward facing wicker bill that is added to the top spoiler. These two items help the cars race better in the draft. “The teams work as hard as they can to lower the back of the car to take the rear spoiler out of the air to reduce the drag. Because of this, NASCAR regulates and controls the rear springs and shocks that the teams use. Before qualifying, as the cars roll through inspection, the springs and shocks are randomly issued to the teams. “We do this to help control the competitive playing field at restrictor plate tracks.”
• Chevrolet’s winning cycle seems to have started up again. Kevin Harvick’s win at New Hampshire last Saturday was the second in succession for Chevy and helped pad its first-place standing over Ford by 14 points in the Bill France Performance Cup standings. Dodge remains in third place while Toyota is in fourth – but brings a strong contingent to Daytona this weekend and is a serious challenger for its first series win. Chevrolet has been on streaks of four and two wins since the start of the year, when Harvick won at Daytona. The manufacturer currently has a two-race victory string intact at Daytona’s summer race with the thrilling last-lap win by Mike Wallace in a Ford in 2004. Wallace returns for Saturday’s race in the No. 7 GEICO Chevrolet.
• Role Reversal: David Ragan (No. 6 Discount Tire Ford) started his season in dismal fashion with a 43rd- place finish in the season-opening event at Daytona. But his Speedweeks ended on an up note with his surprising fifth-place finish in the Daytona 500. Ragan, one of five full-time double-duty drivers in both the NASCAR Busch Series and in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series, has improved immensely over the past 16 NASCAR Busch Series races. He’s fourth in the points (after rising to a career-best third following the June 23 race at Milwaukee) and also leads the rookie rankings. He was 15th in Driver Rating (63.6) and 18th in Average Running Position (24.705) following the first nine races of the season. In the last eight events, Ragan has improved to seventh in both categories – a Driver Rating of 73.9 and Average Running Position of 19.678, both second-best among NASCAR Busch Series rookies behind Juan Pablo Montoya.
• Bires Continues Stout Runs: In his substitute role for Jon Wood, Kelly Bires (No. 47 Armor All Ford) has continued to provide his Wood Brothers/JTG Racing team with solid performances. In his first four NASCAR Busch Series starts, Bires has an average finish of 19th and has been running at the finish of each of those events. He had a career-best seventh-place finish at Nashville last month – the best result for the No. 47 Ford since Wood’s sixth-place at Nashville in April 2006. Bires also led five laps at Kentucky Speedway, the most laps lead for the No. 47 since Robert Pressley led 13 laps at Dover in 2004.
• JR Motorsports Makes Change: Dale Earnhardt Jr., owner of JR Motorsports, announced late Tuesday that Shane Huffman, driver of the No. 88 U.S. NAVY Chevrolet, has been relieved of his duties and Earnhardt will take over the ride at Daytona for Friday night's race. Earnhardt, a two-time NASCAR Busch Series champion, is the defending race winner; he also won in 2003 and his two wins in the summer race are the most among all drivers. This will be the first race that Earnhardt will compete in his own equipment and he plans to drive only for this event before embarking on the search for a new driver for the No. 88 Chevy. The 33-year-old Huffman took over driving duties last August and registered six top-10 finishes in 28 races for the team. He was 13th in the series standings, 57 points out of 10th place
• Independence Week Honor: During a week when Americans celebrate the independence of the United States, the JR Motorsports No. 88 U.S. NAVY Chevrolet team will honor a group that defends that freedom across the world every day. Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s car will feature a special black paint scheme with the SEAL Trident on the hood in honor and recognition of the Navy’s maritime Special Forces, the Navy SEALs, for Friday’s race.
• Harvick Inches Closer: His first win at New Hampshire last Saturday moved reigning series champion Kevin Harvick closer to claiming the second spot on the all-time wins list. With his 28th career victory now secured – and returning to Daytona where he won in February – Harvick is three wins behind Jack Ingram who is second with 31 wins. Mark Martin is the all-time leader with 47.
• Central Florida Ties: David Reutimann and Aric Almirola (No. 20 Rockwell Automation Chevrolet) return to their home track this weekend as two of the hottest drivers in the NASCAR Busch Series. Reutimann and Almirola, who is from Tampa, both grew up within a two-hour drive of Daytona International Speedway. Reutimann is having a stellar season in the series and is second in the standings entering Friday’s event having registered three top 10s in his last four races. Almirola opened eyes by capturing the Busch Pole for the season-opener last February; he also was awarded his first career win two weeks ago at Milwaukee when he started from the pole (the third of his career) then was replaced by Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin who took the No. 20 Chevy to Victory Lane. Prior to that race, Almirola had posted top-10 finishes at Nashville and Kentucky.
• 10-Spot: Biffle’s Career A Study In The Standings: Although Greg Biffle (No. 16 3M Ford), the 2002 series champion, hasn’t run a full time season in the NASCAR Busch Series since 2004 – when he became the first true double-duty driver to compete full-time in both the NASCAR Busch Series and in The NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series – he’s been a constant in the top 10. In the four seasons Biffle has competed in 27 or more races, he’s finished in the top 10 in the final standings. Perhaps more impressive is over the last season and a half, Biffle has competed in 23 races and has either finished in, or is ranked among, the top 10 in the standings. Last year he ran 14 races and finished ninth. Heading to Daytona, he’s participated in nine races and stands in ninth place as he splits seat time between Roush Fenway Racing (sharing with Todd Kluever) and Brewco Motorsports.
• Kerry Earnhardt Entered In Friday’s Race: Dale Earnhardt Jr. hopes to be joined by older brother Kerry Earnhardt in Friday’s race as Kerry will attempt to qualify the No. 63 Spraker Racing Chevrolet. Kerry Earnhardt has competed in three previous July races at Daytona, most recently in 2005.

IMPORTANT: All information, schedules and/or scheduled events is/are subject to change without notice. Please check with the source to confirm.