Daytona Busch Series opener: Joy for LaJoie
Two-time NASCAR Busch Series champion Randy LaJoie got his 2001 season off to a winning start with victory in a rain-affected NAPA 300 at Daytona.
It was the third win at the Florida tri-oval for a man who spurns NASCAR's premier Winston Cup in order to maximise the number of Sundays off he gets.
The traditional Saturday curtain-raiser to the Daytona 500 ended under the yellows when LaJoie's nearest pursuer, 'Front Row Joe' Nemechek, was tagged from behind by fellow Winston Cup regular Matt Kenseth with less than two laps to run. With LaJoie watching the mayhem in his rear-view mirror, pole-sitter Nemechek was lucky not to be collected by the pack as his Pontiac spun wildly down the tri-oval's back stretch.
With just 17 laps completed, the race was red-flagged for 90 minutes because of the first rain drops of Speedweeks. On the restart, with the afternoon temperatures plummeting and the floodlights on, LaJoie, Kenseth, LaJoie's team mate Nemechek and ex-Champ Car driver P J Jones broke away for what looked set to be a spectacular final lap - until Kenseth's less-than-subtle attempting at bump-drafting Nemechek through and into the lead, that is.
Kevin Harvick dodged the bullets to finish second, ahead of Kenseth and Lyndon Amick. Defending Busch Series champ Jeff Green finished 19th in his first race since switching to Ford.
NASCAR Busch Series round 1,
Daytona (USA), February 17
120 laps, 300 miles
1 Randy LaJoie, Pontiac, 2h13m11s, 135.152mph
2 Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 120 laps
3 Matt Kenseth, Chevrolet, 120
4 Lyndon Amick, Pontiac, 120
5 Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 120
6 Mike McLaughlin, Pontiac, 120
7 Jason Keller, Ford, 120
8 Kenny Wallace, Chevrolet, 120
9 Phil Parsons, Chevrolet, 120
10, Tim Sauter, Pontiac, 120
(6 cautions for 23 laps; 8 lead changes among 7 drivers)
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