WELCOME TO NASCAR 2010 !

EMOTIONAL WIN AT DAYTONA FOR JAMIE MCMURRAY

Jamie McMurray won an exciting ending to the 2010 Daytona 500. With team mate Greg Biffle pushing him, he was able to hold off a hard charging Dale Earnhardt Jr.

It was Jamie's first win for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing. When McMurray was let go at Rousch Fenway Racing at the end of the 2009 season, he was unsure of a ride for the 2010 season. He was able to get the ride with Earnhardt Ganassi Racing, rejoining Ganasi who gave him his first ride in Sprint cup back in 2002.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. driving for Hendrick Motorsports made a hard charge fro 10th position, and blew by everyone but McMurray to finish a close 2nd.

The Daytona 500 was slowed but 2 red flags that totaled 2 hours and twenty four minutes to repair a hole in the track in Turn 2. The first red flag was on lap 122 and the 2nd red flag occurred on lap 162.

Nascar needed 2 green/white checkers restarts to get the race in under green. NASCAR changed the rules this year to allow for 3 green/white checkers so the fans could see a better race and finish under green.

After McMurray done his burnout he climeded out of his car ran over and retrieved the checkered flag from the flagman and then ran over, knelt over on his hands and knees and kissed the Daytona logo on the turf. When he got to victory lane and got out of his car, the emotion got to him and he broke down and cried. "Oh, I'm going to cry," Jamie said as he was approached be reporters. Fighting back tears he said, "This is unreal..It's unbelieable. I can't really put it into words the way it feels.....It' a dream come true."

Office Depot honors Tony Stewart and his Mother. The Office Depot Foundation that serves as the primary charitable arm of Office Depot, has honored Tony Stewart (driver of the #14 car in NASCAR) along with his mother Pam Boas, with their highest honor-the "Listen Learn Care Award." The "Learn Listen Care honors people who have been innovative and creative following their dreams and helping others realize their aspirations and goals.

The Office Depot National Backpack Program honors Tony and his mother for their outstanding support of the program, as well as the on going work that they do through the Tony Stewart Foundation. Tony helped with the 2 millionth backpack since it started the backpack program in 2001.

Tony, an Indiana native personally presented backpacks filled with all the essential supplies to children in need during "Back to School Backpack Celebration" events in Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, Indianapolis and Kansas City. Tony said, "It's a great honor to receive the Office Depot Foundation’s ‘Listen Learn Care Award,’ especially alongside my mom, I’ve been fortunate enough to accomplish my dream of driving race cars for a living, and my mom always supported me in that goal. It means a lot to both of us to be able to give back and help others – especially kids – as they work hard toward achieving their dreams, too.

Tony's mom is a board member of the Tony Stewart Foundation, helped in the donation of 5,500 backpacks to a number of groups that the organization traditionally supports. These groups included the Bartholomew School District in Columbus, Ind., Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis and several summer camp programs for children who are ill or have other special needs. To learn more about the Office Depot Foundation, the National Backpack Program and its other initiatives, visit www.officedepotfoundation.org.

I would have to guess that at least 99%, if not 100%, of us would leave our job in a heart beat for $100 million.

But what if you were on the verge of doing something that no one has ever done before and make history doing it, with the possibility that it may never be done again for a long, long time.

That was a question that was asked of Jimmie Johnson on Friday during the rain delay, of course it was just hypothetical, but interesting.

HAt this point he has a very good chance of becoming the first driver to win 4 consecutive Cup Championship titles. This would virtualy guarantee him a place in the "NASCAR Hall Of Fame" and asure his legacy as one of the best drivers of all time.

Would/could he walk away for $100 million? he replied "Man I don't know, that would be a tough one to consider. Thats a lot of dough. Tax free?"

Uncle Sam doesn't get a dime, you get it all.

He replied, "I guess I would have to seriously consider $100 milion tax free."

Yep. You take it all. Uncle Sam doesn't get a dime.

With the price set, would the other drivers pass the hat and collect the money to get the #48 and Jimmie out of the race?

Denny Hamlin stated,"If Jimmie's is not here, I don't consider it a win, you want to know you can beat the best." So I guess Denny Hamlin won't be donating to the cause

So would anyone consier the challenge? Carl Edwards replied, "It would take more than 100 million for me to do it." For Carl and quite a few others $100 million may not sound like that much, as it would be 8-10 years of income for them.

Johnson said he would stick with reality and concentrate on the job at hand, winning a 4th Championship.

Johnson said, "I've got a great drive to succeed, but inside my own head, there are a lot of doubts every time I climb in the race car. As I get older I become more aware of history and more interested in it. So the fact that I could be a part of history in our sport, who wouldn't want that legacy?"

With everything aside, what about that $100 million?

"O.K., we could talk", he chuckled.

Some links you may like to visit........

NASCAR

Dale Earnhardt Inc.

Copyright © 2003 jtcbiz