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Start - 13th | Competitors - 26| High - 1st | Low -21st | Finish - 10th | analyzer report
Race Report - February 22nd, 2005
The hallowed grounds of Daytona Motorspeedway is like a shrine to many fans. Yes the track is spectacular, yes the racing is exciting but most of all, the Daytona 250 is the start of the racing season. A start where the paint schemes are exciting to behold, where driver swagger is at its highest and where drivers ride white knuckled lap after lap hoping to find a finish line and a good start to the season.
The AMSOIL Chevy started thirteenth on the grid which would place it clearly in the mid pack. Year after year the early stage of the race pits veterans against rookies, enthusiasm and rustiness typically mean a big crash in the opening stages. Inglin dropped back and hung near the tail end of the lead draft counting the laps and waiting for it to happen. Laps wound by and there was no wreck in site. Could it be possible to run the entire distance without the 'big one'?
There was a teaser caution at lap fifteen but it was an isolated incident and only a few cars would be involved. It happened right in front of the ECI express Chevy but Kevin had enough room to pull low, decelerate and avoid any contact. Everyone ducked in for tires and fuel except for teammate Dan Bailey. For Bailey this would prove very fruitful as he held on to the top spot and paced the field for the next fifteen laps.
As they say, all good things must come to an end and near lap thirty there was a major crash with multiple cars involved. Kevin again was hanging back and seeing the track blocked slowed to a near stop and waited for the smoke to clear. Brett Molzahn was tumbling somewhere in the midst of the crash and many cars recieved damage. The crew beckoned Kevin to stay out and lead a lap then come for tires. All went well except that Kevin got stuck behind a slow car on the restart and wasn't able to hold the lead draft. For the second third of the race he ran many seconds off the pace and when it came within enough laps for the final pit window, Kevin ducked in and took fuel and tires in order to make it to the finish.
Of course as soon as he got on the track the caution waived.
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Knowing that he had fresh tires and a full load of fuel Kevin hung out in front of the leaders and hoped for a quick caution. That caution unfortunately would come from his teammate Dan Bailey who made contact with the retaining wall and put a damper on what was a very solid initial outing.
Eventual winner Francois Coulliard was kind enough to allow the AMSOIL chevy to return to the lead pack and Kevin circled the field to join the fray. Fifteen laps remained and after the restart Kevin climbed from twelfth to eight. Running high through the tri-oval, the ECI Express was clipped by a warping Steve Wilson from the low lane and bounced hard off the outside concrete. Upon ricocheting off, he was struck from behind by Michel Palardy who had no place to go. The car was damaged both front and rear and Kevin had no choice but to bring it to the attention of the crew.
Somewhat repaired and still on the lead lap the best that could be hoped for was a top ten. As fate would have it, Kevin was in eleventh when Scott Olson grenaded a motor and dropped from competition Kevin soldiered around and crossed the finish-line in tenth place.
Kevin Inglin, the pilot of the AMSOIL Chevy had this to say after the run:
"Getting out of Daytona with a top ten tonight was a blessing. After the unfortunate damage, well I'm pleased to get away with tenth. I don't think there was going to be much passing on the high side and I probably would have tucked down low and stayed there had a couple of laps gone by but we got caught up in a warp incident again. We were fortunate just to be on the lead lap at the end after running a conservative race. It would have been interesting to see how it could have played out.
In any case, we plan on playing it a bit more conservative this year and working on top tens and fives. Last year ended on such a sour note that we need to show what this team can do and we're looking for steady, measured progress. Before I go, I want to thank AMSOIL for coming on board again this year. They're a quality company and we're proud to represent them for another season. We don't want to forget Eastern Outerwear who has also remained on board with us this year.
Until next week... "
