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Can't ask for much more than Daytona finish

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Jeff Hammond

FOX race analyst Jeff Hammond is a former NASCAR crew chief who led Darrell Waltrip to two of his three Cup championships. The duo also teamed up to win the 1989 Daytona 500. Prior to that, Hammond was the jackman for Cale Yarborough for all three of his Cup championships. He has 43 Cup wins as a crew chief.

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Updated Jul 7, 2009 10:44 PM ET
     
 
I thought we had some very good racing Saturday night. We had some strategy work out. We had a little bit of the unknown because the tires were somewhat on the iffy side. The teams that could adapt and keep up with it, plus managing their chassis, really shined in Daytona.
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Right there at the end it was "Here we go again." We had a double file restart, which was as much a factor as anything in this race. I don't know what race fans want or what NASCAR is looking for, but that last lap had me on the edge of my seat. I saw some good moves and some aggressive racing. Daytona is always hold-your-breath kind of racing. Other than Tony Stewart, who won the race, the three guys that should be very pleased coming out of Daytona have to be Denny Hamlin, Marcos Ambrose and Juan Pablo Montoya. Denny is looking solid in this year's Chase and getting some positive momentum going to make things happen. The thing I love about Marcos is that this guy wants it so bad and to watch him race is fun. If this cat was 10 or 12 years younger and a rookie coming into our sport, I really believe we would all be sitting up taking notice of him. He has passion and is making great strides. You also have to tip your hat to Michael Waltrip Racing because their third team is so competitive. They have to be very proud of this. What's neat about Juan Pablo Montoya and his crew chief Brian Pattie is they have a game plan and they are executing it. They are genuinely big-picture racing and once we get to the Chase, I believe we will see a totally different approach from these guys. I think if they can get themselves into the Chase, they will cut it loose. This is where the experience of Juan Pablo is really starting to shine. It's also really clear that he and Brian are totally on the same page. They are taking one race at a time. They know what the number needs to be at the finish of each race and that's their goal for every weekend. The fun thing to watch is they are making it happen. I have the utmost respect for that entire team.

Working both sides

Saturday night was a storybook ending to me for Tony Stewart. People are now starting to compare Tony to the late Alan Kulwicki since Tony has a legitimate shot at winning the championship this year and becoming the first driver/owner since Alan to do it. I don't think that is a fair comparison. Alan did what he did in a time that was meant for him. What Tony and his organization are doing is just a different time and a different league now. Tony basically started with nothing. Sure the team existed, but basically that's all they had. He did an excellent job of putting the right people in place to operate two successful teams. Just look at the fact that Tony has now won three races this year, is leading the points and his teammate Ryan Newman is in the top 12. That is pretty darn impressive for a first-year team. Tony has made the transition from driver to owner to drive/owner look like child's play. The other night Tony's intention was not to wreck Kyle. He didn't dump him. Tony would have been just as happy to finish 2nd. You just had two guys going for a win. Tony tried to pass Kyle on the inside and when that didn't work, Tony tried to pass on the outside and the second block Kyle threw cost him. Kyle just made a bad error in judgment. I admire both of them for going for it. Tony now leaves Daytona with a 180-point lead with eight races to go until the Chase. With the limited amount of testing that is available these days, these guys don't need to get too far away from what they have been doing. They just don't need to get crazy on anything right now. I just wouldn't change up a whole lot. They have too much momentum going their way right now to change much. I think Tony will continue to race smart. Tony's a veteran and he is smart enough to not put this team in a hole by tearing up race cars. I just don't see him being a stupid racer. His record shows how consistent he is. As an owner now, he also realizes how much time, effort and money goes into getting these cars right. 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.

Tagged: Juan Pablo Montoya, Michael Waltrip, Ryan Newman, Marcos Ambrose, Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin

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