by Jeff Hammond

Around the track

Follow the action:

• Daytona schedule
• Daytona practice speeds

Watch:

• Video Central

Picture perfect:

• Action from Daytona
• 2010 Hall of Fame nominees

Read all about it:

• NASCAR boss defends drug policy
• Stewart on pole after qualifying rainout
• NASCAR announces Hall nominees
• Mayfield misses deadline for Daytona

Analysis:

• DW: Let's be clear
• Spencer: Drivers to watch in Daytona

No Bull

I was so proud and impressed last week by the Team Red Bull No. 83 crew that won the 2008 Sprint Pit Crew Challenge. They did a phenomenal job withstanding challenges from some top-notch teams like Richard Childress Racing's No. 29 team and then in the final round from the No. 11 Joe Gibbs team.

I am also proud because they train at our facility, PIT Instruction and Training. I see those guys working hard five days a week, so I have first-hand knowledge of the effort they put forth. Not only did that effort help them win the competition last Thursday night but it also gets them ready for the real action on pit road on Sundays.

I saw the action Saturday night as both surprising and not surprising.

Since the Sprint Showdown and the All-Star Race are non-points races, it's one of those situations where we were expecting a lot more beatin' and bangin'. Unfortunately, that didn't happen as much as we all thought, so I think we were disappointed in that part of it.

That said, what a storyline you have when you see names like David Ragan, Brian Vickers and AJ Allmendinger — names you normally don't expect to see running like they did the other night — doing so well. Another guy you can add to that list is Sam Hornish Jr., boy was he fast. Darrell Waltrip called him "bad fast."

I think the Showdown race set the tone for what we were going to see in the All Star race. It was unexpected to see Hornish run as well as he did. It was great and incredible to see Sam take off and show that he can hang with those guys. I also think it's very fitting as we head into this weekend, because this is the first year Sam isn't in Indianapolis preparing for the Indy 500. Sam would be one of the favorites to win that event, but he has made the move over to NASCAR, so it was great to see him flying around Lowe's Motor Speedway last Saturday night.

The good, the bad ...

While it wasn't a surprise to see Kasey Kahne win the fan vote and get moved into the All-Star race, it was when the smoke cleared to see him in Victory Lane — a million dollars richer. Let's be honest, Kasey hasn't won a Sprint Cup race in a while, plus he didn't run all that great in the preliminary event. But he found new life and in the end, he and his crew chief, Kenny Francis, made it look easy.

That's the fun of the All-Star race — the unexpected. I think we commented during the SPEED broadcast of the event that we didn't know if it was the full moon, the night race, luck of the draw or whatever ... but I don't know how you sum it up. It was such a weird weekend.

I think Sam and Kasey were the two biggest winners of the night. The reason I say that, Hornish is a champion and a winner and he is committed to NASCAR. As a driver, you want to be respected by the other drivers in your profession. I think that is where Sam is at. You don't want to be an "also-ran." You want to be someone that we talk about. In my mind, that is something you can't place a value on for a race car driver.

I don't care if you are Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart or Jeff Gordon. You never get tired of hearing someone talk about how good you are. And you darn sure don't want to hear anyone talking about how bad you are. So when you have an opportunity like Sam did the other night, I think it was not only good for him, but for the team, the fans, his owner Roger Penske and the fans that support him.

The guy to me that was a surprise because of how poorly he ran was Jeff Gordon. He qualified on the outside pole and Lowe's Motor Speedway is a track where he always runs extremely well. Yet it just wasn't a good night for him and I admit it, I was surprised. They just never got the handle on that race car. I just didn't think that would happen to him.

His teammate Jimmie Johnson wasn't that far behind in the disappointment column. Don't get me wrong, he salvaged a good finish out of the All-Star race, but he didn't run well. That is not typical Jimmie Johnson.

When it came to the Hendrick group, it was Dale Earnhardt Jr. once again showcasing what he can do. He ran really well. Once again, he was very consistent. If I had to sum it up in a nutshell, I would have to say I was surprised that the two lead dogs of Hendrick Motorsports didn't live up to their billing Saturday night.

Lessons learned

That being said lets not lose sight of the fact that All-Star Race was not about championship points. It doesn't count. The big picture is what happens this weekend in the Coca Cola 600. You are talking about 600 miles this Sunday and on a whole Jeff and Jimmie are good at the 1.5-mile Lowe's Motor Speedway. Until you beat Jimmie Johnson there, he is the one that rules.

Even though last weekend's race and this weekend's race are completely different, I still think it opened up some eyes to what might come into play. But you may also have been given some false impressions because of what happened last weekend. Last Saturday night was only four 25 lap segments that they ran — not 600 miles.

We have seen that this car is stable enough and that there doesn't seem to be any tire related issues. So, you can go an entire fuel stop. But you need to anticipate that a car that is good at the end of 25 laps might not be so good at the end of a 50 or 60 lap run. There is so much going on in a 600 mile race that you can't take out of a series of short sprint races like last weekend's events.

I think there is one common denominator that will carry over from last weekend. If you have a decent car and can get out front of the pack, you could dominate. I think track position is going to be key this weekend. Being out front is the place to be.

Be a part of the action

While we are talking about all the festivities here in Charlotte, I wanted to let you fans who are coming into town know about a few fun opportunities.

If you want to stop by and visit me and David Ragan, we will be at the Concord Mills Mall location of Discount Tires this Friday signing autographs from Noon to 2 pm. We would love for you to come by and say hi!

Also, make sure to come on downtown Friday night for Trackside at 7 pm. It is always one of the biggest and best Trackside shows we do all year.

FOX race analyst Jeff Hammond led Darrell Waltrip to two of DW's three Winston Cup championships as his crew chief. They also teamed to win the 1989 Daytona 500.

For autographed copies of Jeff Hammond's book "Real Men Work in the Pits" plus magnets, hats and more, check out www.dwstore.com.

For photos and appearances, visit Jeff's web site www.jeffhammond.com.