Rushville Republican

Sports

Discussion

Add a comment on this story
February 26, 2013

Daytona 500 was uneventful

Catch fence did its job

Ken de la Bastide Rushville Republican

RUSHVILLE — Aside from the final 10 laps, this year’s Daytona 500 will not go down as a memorable event in the record books.



For the majority of the race the cars were lined up single file in the high groove with no driver venturing to the low side in the hopes of gaining positions.



The only time there was side by side racing came following a restart and once when Jimmie Johnson attempted to pass Brad Keselowski on the low side, a pass he wasn’t able to complete.



Had it not been for the final caution it’s hard to imagine that there would have been any side by side racing to the checkered flag. It appeared that once a driver got to the point, they were not going to be passed.



At this point in time there is no way of knowing what racing will be like with the new “Gen 6” car that NASCAR unveiled at Daytona. That might not be known until the series gets to the 1.5 mile tracks that dominate the middle stages of the season where downforce is more of a factor.



Danica Patrick showed that she can be competitive in a restrictor plate race as she stayed in the lead pack throughout the day and made history by becoming the first women to lead competitive laps in a Sprint Cup race.



A year ago I predicted that Patrick’s best chance of winning a race would be at either Daytona or Talladega where drafting is so crucial. On the final restart Patrick was running third, but lacked the drafting help to compete with Johnson for the victory; she eventually finished eighth.



Another pleasant surprise at Daytona, one in which I was proved wrong, was that there were no start and park cars in the Daytona 500. Reagan Smith started 40th and finished seventh, Michael McDowell came home ninth after starting 38th and J.J. Yeley recorded a top 10 finish after beginning the day in the 41st spot.



Several drivers that have to be considered championship contenders had a dismal start to the season, Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick, Kasey Kahne, Matt Kenseth, Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards all finished outside the top 30 at Daytona.



The scariest situation of the whole weekend took place on the final lap of the Nationwide Series race when Kyle Larson’s car got airborne in the tri-oval and knocked out a large section of the catch fence, spraying car parts into the grandstand.



I don’t ever think that I’ve seen the front third of a car peeled off like Larson’s Chevrolet did when he got into the fence.



The fortunate thing is that the catch fence performed as expected, it kept the car from landing in the grandstand. Granted, parts injured a number of fans, but none with life threatening injuries.



There will be a lot of discussions about how to improve fan safety in the future.



The only way to insure that safety is to not sell seats that close to any track. But it won’t stop fans from standing along the edge of the track to watch the cars streak past.

Text Only
Sports
  • Fish size limit changes for Indiana Rivers

    Indiana Conservation Officer’s would like to remind fishermen that the size limit for Black Bass changed last year on most Indiana Rivers excluding the Ohio River and its tributaries. Black bass is a term for largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass.

    May 23, 2013

  • Stellar field for Little 500

    Since returning to Indiana in 1973 there have been very few Pay Less Little 500 races that I’ve missed in 50 years, but the field for the 65th running on Saturday can only be described as stellar.

    May 22, 2013

  • Lady Lions claim sectional title

    CONNERSVILLE – After a season of ups and down and battling through injury and illness, the Lady Lion tennis team put it all together Saturday and captured the sectional title at Connersville.

    May 21, 2013

  • Woods' walk-off lifts Lady Lions by Tigers

    In the final tune-up before the softball sectional, the Lady Lions got a walk-off home run by Shelby Woods to edge Hagerstown 1-0. The Lady Lions complete the regular season at 9-10.

    May 21, 2013

  • Lions second in track sectional

    CONNERSVILLE – The host Spartans of Connersville ended the 2-year run for Rushville as track sectional champions. Connersville tallied 150 points to claim the sectional crown. The Lions finished second with 130 followed by Richmond 125, Centerville 54, Cambridge City Lincoln 47, Franklin County 35, Hagerstown 25, Union County 23, Northeastern 21, Tri 7 and Oldenburg Academy 3.

    May 21, 2013

  • Lions drop two to Dragons on Senior Night

    The Lions celebrated Senior Night for 10 players – James Brashaber, Brian Busald, Mark Busald, Mike Busald, Kyle Hoeing, Austin Maggard, Austin Niehoff, Hunter Orme, John Riddell and Matthew Wagoner – before face HHC foe New Palestine Friday. The visiting Dragons were able to sweep the doubleheader from the Lions.

    May 21, 2013

  • RCHS sports physicals May 29

    RCHS sports physicals for the 2013-2014 school year will take place from 5 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, May 29, at Rush Memorial Hospital.

    May 21, 2013

  • Lions outlast Spartans 9-8

    Connersville and Rushville scored a combined 17 runs through four innings. The Lions then shut down the Spartans offense the final three innings to take the 9-8 victory.

    May 17, 2013

  • Lion golfers fall to Trojans, Dragons

    NEW CASTLE - The Lion golf team traveled to Westwood Country Club to face the New Castle Trojans. In varsity action, the Lions fell to the Trojans 163-183.

    May 17, 2013

  • Lady Lions third at track sectional

    CONNERSVILLE – The Lady Lion track team traveled to Connersville for the IHSAA track sectional. The host Lady Spartans won the team title with 127 points. Hagerstown was second with 98 followed by Rushville with 94.5.
    Union County finished fourth with 85 followed by Richmond 62, Cambridge City Lincoln 56, Centerville 46, Seton Catholic 23, Tri 12.5 and Northeastern 11.

    May 17, 2013