The Winston Cup Series headed back to Daytona to kick off the second half of the season with the Pepsi 400, the 3rd of 4 restrictor plate races this season. The DEI owned cars of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Michael Waltrip have won 8 of the last 10 restrictor plate races, and as the battle for the season championship continues, fans and media alike speculated on how that dominance would effect the point standings.
Qualifying brought the first big surprise of the weekend, when Richard Childress Racing teammates Steve Park and Kevin Harvick qualified 1st and 2nd. Point leader Matt Kenseth had to take a provisional after a terrible qualifying run, and started the race from the 36th spot. DEI teammates Earnhardt and Waltrip qualified 5th and 6th.
As the race went green, Kevin Harvick jumped to the front, taking the lead from his teammate on the first lap. Harvick held the top spot until lap 55, when Michael Waltrip drove around him to take the lead with Dale Earnhardt Jr. on his bumper. Waltrip held the lead through the first round of green flag pit stops, taking just two tires and reclaiming the lead as the cycle completed.
The first caution of the day came on lap 64, when Dave Blaney spun into the grass coming out of turn 2. The field came into the pits under the yellow, where Jimmie Johnson takes the lead briefly. On the restart, Earnhardt and Waltrip drive around Johnson to take the top 2 positions, with Earnhardt leading the way. Another caution came just 11 laps later, when Kurt Busch set off a chain reaction that damaged 7 cars, including Robby Gordon and Steve Park, both of whom were running in the top 10.
From the second caution on through a long green flag run, pit strategy became the top concern for many teams. Earnhardt, along with several other teams in the top 10, opted to stay out under the caution, but many teams mired in the pack came in to top off their fuel tanks. This decision proved to make a major difference as Earnhardt and Waltrip both have to pit with just 21 laps remaining, leaving rookie Greg Biffle in the top spot.
Bobby Labonte made a late charge for the lead, only to run out of gas while battling Biffle, who held on to take the checked flag and score his first Winston Cup win. Point leader Matt Kenseth came in 6th on the same strategy that gave Biffle the win, one position ahead of rival Dale Earnhardt Jr., in add 5 more points to the biggest lead a driver has enjoyed at halfway in 16 years.
Unofficial Results
- Greg Biffle
- Jeff Burton
- Ricky Rudd
- Terry Labonte
- Bobby Labonte
- Matt Kenseth
- Dale Earnhardt Jr.
- Jeremy Mayfield
- Kevin Harvick
- Dale Jarrett
Unofficial Results
- Matt Kenseth
- Dale Earnhardt Jr. -180
- Jeff Gordon -203
- Bobby Labonte -255
- Michael Waltrip -392
- Jimmie Johnson -472
- Kurt Busch -484
- Kevin Harvick -502
- Rusty Wallace -532
- 1Sterling Marlin -553
