Dodge proves it's a new day

Manufacturer at head of class

DALE JARRETT Future TV star

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - When they marked their return to Daytona seven years ago, Dodge tried to paint the town red.

Last night, the manufacturer earned that right after Penske Racing drivers Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch, who finished 1-2 respectively in yesterday's 50th Daytona 500, led a conga line of six Dodge drivers in the top eight.

"This is an awesome victory," said Mike Accavitti, director of Dodge Motorsports.

"The win is super important. Ryan and the No. 12 team did an excellent job. Penske Racing was on top of their game today. It was a great showing by all Dodge teams."

Although Newman pocketed a $1.5 million payday, and Busch $1.063 million for finishing in second place, Team Penske captured a $1 million bonus offered by Dodge CEO Bob Nardelli to any team that won the Daytona 500.

Asked what he planned to do with his extra loot, Penske said, "We're going to spend it to make the cars go faster. I'm sure that'll be the first thing we'll do."

The Toyotas of Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch prevented Dodge from sweeping the top six spots. Stewart finished third and Busch fourth.

Reed Sorenson finished fifth in his No. 41 Dodge for Chip Ganassi Racing while the Gillett Evernham Motorsports team had Elliott Sadler in the No. 19 Dodge and Kasey Kahne in the No. 9 Dodge finish sixth and seventh, respectively.

Robby Gordon, who switched from Ford to Dodge in the last week of testing, wound up eighth in the No. 7 Dodge.

The Penske files

Penske Racing not only swept the top two spots, but had its third driver, Sam Hornish Jr., end up as the highest finishing rookie at 15th.

Dario Franchitti was the next highest finishing rookie in 33d, while Regan Smith finished 37th.

"I was pretty happy with the car all day," Hornish said of his No. 77 Dodge. "I think we definitely had a better finish in the car but kind of got stuck back in traffic a little bit and was kind of just fighting for our life there for a while."

Said Penske, "I would say that I was really surprised, but I was confident when we made the decision to bring him in to be our third driver. I know Ryan and Kurt have worked with him a lot over the last week, the tests here, then in [Las] Vegas, then in California. But he drove a masterful race. He was working with his teammates.

"I think he's going to be a really great team player."

Little E sets pace

Dale Earnhardt Jr. was the last man standing among the four-car Hendrick Motorsports stable, finishing ninth. Teammates Jeff Gordon (39th) was forced to retire with a suspension problem on Lap 154 and dropped 10 laps off the pace; Jimmie Johnson (27th) spun out on Lap 148; and Casey Mears (35th) tagged the wall in Turn 1 with five laps to go to induce the race's seventh and final caution. "It was a good Speedweeks," said Earnhardt, who won the Budweiser Shootout last Saturday night in his first race with his new team and won his heat in the Gatorade Duels Thursday. "We obviously didn't have enough car there most of the day." . . . Drivers set a torrid pace early on, evidenced by the four lead changes in the first six laps, which had to set some kind of record. The lead was exchanged among: Michael Waltrip (Laps 1-2), Johnson (Lap 3), Denny Hamlin (Laps 4-5), and Stewart (Lap 6). In all, there 42 lead changes among 16 drivers and 81 green-flag passes around the track for the lead, which was the second-most in race history behind the 89 recorded in 2006 . . . Defending champion Kevin Harvick detected something amiss with his Chevrolet early on. "I think this thing is getting ready to blow up," Harvick radioed to his crew. Harvick struggled, as a result, to keep up with the leaders and wound up finishing 14th . . . Mark Martin, whom Harvick outsprinted in last year's epic finish (margin of victory: .020 seconds), wound up finishing 31st after his day ended when he got caught up in the sixth and penultimate caution of the race on Lap 190 when Dave Blaney's Toyota spun in front of his Chevrolet and caused it to tag the wall coming out of Turn 2 . . . Dale Jarrett, a three-time Daytona 500 winner, made his last appearance in the Great American Race yesterday and finished 16th. Jarrett will compete in at least four more Sprint Cup races before transitioning into the TV booth to work for ABC/ESPN . . . Three drivers were forced to go to the rear of the 43-car field before the start of the race: Jamie McMurray and Franchitti were forced to go back after switching to backup cars while Joe Nemechek was sent back for missing the driver introductions. Nemechek, though, had a good excuse: He was at a chapel service and lost track of time . . . Yesterday marked the 10th anniversary of Dale Earnhardt's lone victory in the Daytona 500, which snapped the Intimidator's 19-year streak of futility. As the country duo Brooks & Dunn sang "Hardworkin' Man," which was rumored to be one of the late driver's favorite songs, Earnhardt's familiar black No. 3 Goodwrench Chevrolet was rolled out from beneath a makeshift stage on pit road and displayed to the crowd.