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February 12, 2007

Always Number Six
By Dennis Michelsen

Raise your hand if you have ever written the previous year on a check when sending in your mortgage payment in February! If your hand is up then you can relate to my situation too. I was playing with statistics getting ready for my appearance on Rowdy Fantasy this week (www.rowdy.com) and kept wondering why I had two guys in the number six car. After further review I realized that my brain is stuck back in 2006! Mark Martin will always be number six to me.

Selling Lots of Scorecards
Watching cars zip around Daytona International Speedway in practice and pole qualifying I realized just how often drivers change numbers and sponsors. Bobby Labonte is supposed to be driving number eighteen with Interstate Batteries on the side. Dale Jarrett is still in UPS colors but will always be number eighty-eight to me. When I see Kellogg's and Frosted Flakes on the number five car it just seems wrong to not have Terry Labonte behind the wheel. Rusty Wallace will always be the Miller Lite car and shouldn't Sterling Marlin be in the Coors car? The guy selling scorecards at the track this season will be very popular!

Missing Number Twenty-Eight
When Ricky Rudd was announced as the second driver for Yates Racing I was hoping we would see Rudd back in good old number twenty-eight. It is impossible to bring back the great Davey Allison but for some reason seeing the old number back on the track brings back memories of his smile! Things are always changing in NASCAR but some things should not be messed with at all. The number twenty-eight with Yates Racing is a combo that should be brought back for us sentimental race fans!

Some Things Never Change
Qualifying at Daytona and fast Yates Racing cars is one thing that never changes! Last season was a disaster for Robert Yates and both of his teams. He lost both drivers and one of his sponsors and struggled through an awful year. This season an old veteran Ricky Rudd teams up with the surprising youngster David Gilliland and they are off to a great start! Yates Racing grabbed their five Daytona 500 poll and swept the front row! Those Yates Racing engines are always fast… some things never change!

Battle for the Final Spots
Three more spots in the Daytona 500 were wrapped up on qualifying day with Boris Said, Sterling Marlin, and Johnny Sauter able to breath a little easier. That leaves twenty-three cars to compete for five more spots in the Great American Race. If you are stuck at work and can't watch all the action on Speed Channel, tune into www.racetalkradio.com for the latest news. Our updates at the top and bottom of every hour will let you know who is in and who is out of the biggest race of the year!

When I look at certain numbers or sponsors I can't help but see a different driver in the car. The ironic thing is that fans that have been fans for different lengths of time might see different drivers in those same cars! But to me Mark Martin will always be good old number six.