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Feb. 24, 2016
Volume X, Edition XV
Top News
Today's Featured Commentary
Professor of Speed
by Mark Howell
Numerology can be a fascinating, if not speculative, study. It was all too present in last Sunday's running of the Daytona 500, especially at the end of the race when Darrell Waltrip commented that Denny Hamlin won in his 11th appearance in "The Great American Race" while driving the No. 11 FedEx Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing.
It was later mentioned on Twitter that "Denny Hamlin" totals eleven letters, it was his 11th Daytona 500 with FedEx sponsorship, and that he started 11th on the grid, only adding to the seemingly symbolic numerical significance.
From my vantage point, I'd like to push this numerology angle in another direction. With no offense to Hall of Famer Waltrip and his way with meaningful mathematics (remember his 1989 Daytona 500 win occurred when he drove his No. 17 Chevrolet in what was then his 17th appearance in the 500), I'd suggest there were other relevant numbers to consider at the end of last Sunday's event.
Those numbers were as simple as one, two, three, and four.
The first three numbers can be summed up in one word: Toyota. There's no question that the manufacturer all but dominated the Daytona 500. A Toyota Camry was in the lead for 158 of the 200 total laps run last weekend (that's 79% of the race, for you math types). When the checkered flag flew, Toyotas occupied the top 3, and four of the top-5, positions. Hamlin's last-lap, come-from-behind, photo finish win was so stunning that it even – according to Toyota Racing Development president David Wilson – overshadowed the company's Indianapolis 500 victory back in 2003.
I used to think that TRD meant "Toyota Racing Development." I'm thinking that now it means "The Real Deal"….
Admittedly, it all seems like ancient history now – those angry days a decade or so ago when Jimmy Spencer welcomed Toyota's foray into NASCAR competition with his oh-so-memorable "Remember Pearl Harbor" comment. For a while, it seemed like both doors and minds would be closed to the company as NASCAR Nation hunkered down and waved its "Made in America" flag.
I remember discussing this development back then with the students in one of my popular culture classes. While exploring the notion of "American-made cars", the students discovered that a Toyota Sienna minivan was actually more "American made" (as in total parts and labor) than the iconic Ford Mustang. The information surprised them, but it did little to shock or anger them; to that group of 18- to 22-year-olds, cars were cars – not machines reduced to being either "foreign" or "domestic."
So seeing a Toyota sitting in Victory Lane at Daytona should not be too much of a surprise, either; a Camry sat atop the leaderboard pretty much all of Speedweeks. Now there's one booked into the Chase come fall.
So if numbers one through three in our numerological analysis constitute the Toyota Camry, what constitutes the number four?
In this case, it's literally the number four, as in Kevin Harvick's No. 4 Jimmy John's Chevrolet. It was Harvick's aggressive push down the backstretch that allowed Denny Hamlin to make the late-race move he did to take the win. Harvick's Chevy provided Hamlin's Toyota with the momentum it needed to track down the leaders.
Without Harvick's help, which began when Hamlin attempted to block the No. 4 and protect his teammates' positions up front, we would have most likely seen a different outcome last Sunday. As in Toyota sweeping the entire top-5 positions, perhaps?
It's all in how you rationalize the numbers, I guess….
Dr. Mark Howell is a contributor for Frontstretch. He can be reached via e-mail at mark.howell@frontstretch.com.TODAY AT FRONTSTRETCH:
Tuesday's Answer:
Q: The 2001 Cracker Barrel Old Country Store 500 at Atlanta was one of the best races in Cup for current dirt track owner and part-time Super DirtCar Series competitor Dave Blaney. He could have thrown a wrench into the memorable Jeff Gordon-Kevin Harvick finish had he not had a miscue. What happened?
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