The 50th Daytona 500
February 18, 2008
I wish there was more news about our Jacques Villeneuve but I'm afraid we'll know more in a week or so...
It was the Daytona 500's 50th yesterday and fittingly, Ryan Newman/Penske won. It was a great finish to a very non-eventful race.
Ryan's father was his 'spotter' and the whole family was there including grandma... The Daytona was one his Dad never won himself but he won vicariously through is son. lol
It was very touching when his Dad made it to winner's circle. How proud he was! The reunion interrupted the live interview. :-)
Great help from his team mate Kurt Busch. Thanks Kurt!
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It's Saturday, Feb. 16 and I'm still recovering. :-)
I am sad that Jacques won't be participating in the 50th Daytona 500 but will anxiously await his next Sprint Cup qualifying...
And, with BDR running Mike Skinner in the #27 for the Fontana race, I guess it will be a couple of weeks before the chaos becomes perfection.
In the meantime, I have my pics for the race tomorrow in Daytona. Go Carl and Jeff. Go Montoya and Biffle. Go Waltrip, Nemecheck. Give us a race that will blow our minds and mend our broken hearts!
It was difficult to write anything positive at all since Valentine's Day so I've decided to enjoy the weekend with or without my heart pounding for Jacques.
If Big Boys don't cry... they should. Humble pie goes a long way and can feed a village! lol
Still love your talent and confidence JV. If you were given lemons it's time to make some lemonade.
But, for now for Nascar fans like me, it's time for Nationwide and tomorrow it's time to Sprint Baby.
And let's not forget yesterday's Truck Series race, Bravo to Todd Bodine. Finally! :-)
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Feb. 14 - Valentine's Day 2008
Arghhhhhh. I've learnt never to expect much on Valentine's and this year was no different. Why we celebrate love only 1 day a year is beyond me. I wanted love from Jacques and look where it got me. lol
JV DNF in Duel 2. Crash. The world stopped spinning for 27 seconds. :-(
Duel 2 Lineup at 3:30PM on Speed or live on Nascar.com
DUEL #2
* Michael Waltrip
* David Reutimann
Dave Blaney
Travis Kvapil
Denny Hamlin
Jeff Gordon
* Patrick Carpentier
Tony Stewart
David Ragan
Matt Kenseth
* Jacques Villeneuve
Mark Martin
David Gilliland
* Dale Jarrett
Greg Biffle
Jamie McMurray
Robby Gordon
Kasey Kahne
* Eric McClure
Kyle Busch
Kevin Harvick
* Ken Schrader
Dario Franchitti
Jeff Burton
* John Andretti
* Stanton Barrett
The drivers with the * are the GOGHs. Jacques needs to be #1 or 2 to automatically qualify. Or, of the 4 remaining postitions, he must be among best times of both duels. And the damn provisional for Mr. Busch. :-(
I'm not worried at all... It's the last day of my JV Novena and my candle is lit until this Duel is over!
It's February 14, Saint Valentine's Day AND today Jacques Villeneuve shows his love by qualifying for Daytona.
The #27 is ready and Jacques is probably already up and focused on what he needs to do this afternoon.
Again, stay away from that other flying frenchman and Mr. Busch. Otherwise, it should be a piece of Valentine's cake! lol
We love you bossman!
Down to the Wire, practice practice practice
The Gatorade Duels determine the Go and Go Home 15 cars that are not yet locked into the Daytona 500. The next four days will be hours of stress and even great times but only Thursday's Duels will determine who stays and races the 500.
Despite some changes in 2008, the Daytona remains the toughest to Qualify and to win.
Jacques along with everyone else among the 15 cars have two practice sessions on Wednesday to tune in their cars for a 150-mile last chance race.
And then there are the provisionals... lol
Complicated enough for a newbie redneck but hey it's Daytona Baby!
And it ain't easy!
Wikipedia as always has great content/history about the Duels. Worth reading to understand why the Great American Race is the toughest of them all to Qualify for. See link to wiki below,
ll fevrier 2008
Jacques a beaucoup de travail a faire pendants les essaies cette semaine. It's down to the wire comme on dit en anglais. JV qui est parmit le groupe "Go or Go Home"(moi je prefere stay or go home lol) alors soyez la jeudi pour les Duels qui decideront sa position de depart le l7 pour la Daytona 500. :-)
Suis-je nerveuse... Non, je crois sincerement que Jacques sera la le 17. Les Duels sont toujours excitant et cette annee, encore plus. Jacques, tiens toi tres loin de Busch okay? lol
Montre leur ce que c'est un champion Jacques!
Wikipedia - The Daytona Gatorade Duels explained
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10 fev 2008
Bravo Earnhart Jr. qui a gagne la course Bud Shootout hier. Cette course marques le debut de la saison Sprint 2008.
Et bien, on est le 10 fevrier 2008. La cinquantieme qualif du Daytona 500. Jacques Villeneuve va se qualifier definitivement. Et pour Daytona, il faut seulement se qualifier.
Apres ces qualifs cette apres-midi, c'est une grosse semaine de pratique, pratique, pratique. Pour JV, cela lui donne une grosse avantage.
Bonne journee le JVistes et beaucoup de plaisirs en regardant les Qualifs Daytona 500.
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Congrats to Dale Jr. who won the Bud Shootout yesterday. So glad this season is starting out well for him.
Well folks, it's February 10, 2008. The 50th qualifying for the Daytona 500. Jacques Villeneuve will qualify, that's a given. You just have to qualify.
The beauty of the Daytona is after today's qualifying round, it's practce, practice, practice. For someone like JV, that's an advantage. :-)
Enjoy the qualifying today. Almost as good as the race itself...
Almost time JVistes... Daytona 500, The Cup Series Qualifying 1 p.m. ET Sunday February 10.
Show 'em what you've got!
Don't miss it on Fox/ESPN, ABC and Speed.
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Daytona International Speedway
1801 W. International Speedway Blvd.
Daytona Beach, FL 32114
(386) 253-7223
Tri-Oval 2.5 mile track.
31degree turns
3degrees on the straight
Weather, perfect
The Daytona 500, the All American Race? Not any more. lol
Nascar racing fans around the globe all dream of attending the Daytona 500 at least once in their lifetimes. It is a pilgrimage.
Here in Quebec, many snowbirds visit the great Daytona Speedway on a trip to Florida. I know of one lady personally that got there and just walked around the empty track. Spent the whole day feeling like it was the most magical place on earth. Her children missed a day at Universal for this!? :-)
It's comparable to those who kiss the brickyard's starting line in Indianapolis or the mythical races of LeMans and Rally of Dakar.
Hallowed Ground.
The Harley J. Earl trophy is one of the most prized possessions in motorsports.
Named after Harley J. Earl, a famous GM designer and friend of NASCAR founder Bill France Sr., the Harley J. Earl Perpetual Trophy rests year round inside The Daytona 500 Experience , “The Official Motorsports Attraction of NASCAR,” and bears the name of every Daytona 500 champion.
This year marks the 50th Daytona 500 Race and fittingly, the great Nascar Champion Richard Petty will wave the checkered flag as the honorary starter.
Richard won seven Daytonas and his dad Tom was the very first Daytona 500 winner, in 1959.
This year, JVistes around the WWW are excited to see JV in this 50th Daytona. The dream that he wins this race will remain until it's been won, if not this year... the next would be fine too.
But it's one race at a time in Nascar. Every week something to accomplish so right now, it's all about Jacques Villeneuve in the Top 10 Qualifying for Daytona. We dream one objective at a time. :-)
How exciting it is to see Jacques name on the "Contenders" list.
It's worth a quick look,
The 2008 Daytona 500 Contenders
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While you anxiously await Jacques on track Sunday, maybe it's a good time to take care of personal business...
If you plan on watching the Nascar Cup Races every weekend, you should take the time to make your better half happy. Keep them busy building their own field of dreams. It's simple and to celebrate Valentine's Day, Solo Build It! is offering a second package for only $100 more.
2 Full Web sites to share a passion, build a business, or enjoy a hobby. It's very fulfilling.
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Qualifying event is Sunday, February 10th at 1:15 PM. The qualifyers spend the next week in practice, practice, practice. Just qualifying puts your name down in history.
The oldest to win the Daytona 500 was Bobby Allison in 1988 when he was just 50 years old. :-) Jacques only 36 so he may just get a few under his belt by the time JV Racing Team's drivers are Jules and Joakim. :-)
And, Bobby also started 33rd in 1978 but still won the race.
Dreams come true for many partcipating in the Daytona but only the best racers in the world can win it.
On Sunday, February 17th at 3:30PM it's the 50th running of the Daytona 500. If you thought last year's Harvick over Martin win was the most exciting finish... hold on to your seat because you're in for the greatest ride of your life with the 50th.
Gentlemen, start your engines! It's time to rock and roll baby!
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Daytona International Speedway
1801 W. International Speedway Blvd.
Daytona Beach, FL 32114
(386) 253-7223
Tri-Oval piste de 2.5 miles
31 degre les tours/coins
3 degre sur la 'straight'
Meteo: parfait :-)
La Daytona 500, la 'All American Race'? Plus maintenant!
Il y a des fans partout sur le globe qui rêve d'aller au Daytona 500 au moins une fois dans leur vie. C'est un pèlerinage.
Ici au Québec, beaucoup de 'snowbirds' visitent la piste Daytona pendant leurs voyage en Floride. Je connais l'histoire d'une petite madame qui a passée une journée complète a marcher au tour de ce Speedway. Pour elle, c'était l'endroit la plus sacrée au monde. Ces enfants qui voyagaient avec Maman, auraient préféré une journée au 'Universal Studio'. :-)
Pour plusieurs, c'est comparable a un baiser sur la ligne de depart fait de briques au brickyard a Indianapolis, ou le parcours des courses mythique de LeMans ou le grand Rally de Dakar.
Terre Sainte.
Le trophé Harley J. Earl est une possession prestigieuse dans le sports automobile.
Il porte ce nom de Harley J. Earl, un grand designer de GM et ami du fondateur de Nascar, Bill France Sr.. L'originale demeure l'année longue(avec quelques sorties), au parc d'attraction, "The Daytona 500 Experience" et elle nomme chaque champion du Daytona 500. Comme notre belle coupe Stanley. :-)
Cette année marque la cinquantième course du Daytona 500 et la légende Nascar Richard Petty baisera le drapeau pour le départ honoraire. Richard en a gagné 7(le record) et son père Tom est celui qui a gagné la première en 1959. C'est historique.
Et surtout, cette année les JVistes autour de la WWW. ont hate de voir JV dans cette 50ième édition du Daytona 500. Le rêve aka jvisme, demeure, tant que cette course ne sera pas gagné. Si pas cette année... l'an prochain est correcte aussi.
C'est une course a la fois en Nascar. Chaque semaine il aura quelque chose a accomplir alors, pour le moment, le but est de voir Jacques dans les tops 10 en qualifs.
Quelle joie de voir le nom Jacques Villeneuve sur la liste des "Contenders". Ca vaut un petit regard,
Ma prediction pour le 500 ,top 10 ,Jv sur un Superspeedway il est vraiment dans son élément ,si il garde ca 27 en un morceau ,
il sera sans contredit,un aspirant au grand honneur,:)
Go Jv Go!
Les 'Contenders' de la 50ieme Daytona 500
