Elliott And Earnhardt Jr Head Daytona 500 Field

It's Daytona weekend with the Nascar Truck race tonight at 7:30 (FS1), the Xfinity Series race on Saturday 3:30 pm (FS1) and Sunday's Daytona 500 at 1 pm (FOX). Chase Elliott, a repeat pole winner, and Dale Earnhardt Jr will start on the front row.

Judging from the amount of lead car moving and blocking techniques, combined with side-drafting used in the Can-Am qualifiers, staying in the lead will be a difficult job. Brad Keselowski and Denny Hamlin demonstrated this ability well.

NASCAR announced detailed changes as to how races will be run in stages in 2017. There are three stages in a race. Stage 1 and Stage 2 will reward drivers who are leading, or in the top 10, at the conclusion of each stage. The Final Stage will determine the race winner.

Additionally, the extent to which teams can make repairs will be more tightly policed beginning with the 2017 season. NASCAR officials unveiled a new Damaged Vehicle Policy, Under the guidelines, teams no longer will be allowed to replace damaged body parts that are the result of accidents or contact.

Repairs, such as fixing damaged sheet metal, will be allowed; however, teams will be given five minutes to fix damage once they enter pit road. If the damage requires the car to go behind pit wall or to the garage for repairs, the car will not be allowed to return to the race.

Also, if the repairs take longer than the five minutes allowed, the car will not be permitted to return to the race. Once repairs have been made, a car is still required to maintain the minimum speed determined for that event. Once that has been accomplished, the five-minute clock is reset in case the car needs to come back down pit road.

Previously, teams were allowed to replace any damaged panels or parts with no time limit and no penalty. Quarter panels, splitters, hoods and deck lids damaged in accidents were often removed and replaced. Some repairs were completed on pit road.

More extensive damage often meant a trip to the garage. Each time, the driver was sent back out onto the track as quickly as possible. That will no longer be the case. Heavily damaged cars that need extensive repairs that can't be done on pit road, Miller said, "are essentially going to be out of the race.

Denny Hamlin wins the second Can-Am race in last lap pass.

Denny Hamlin won the second Can-Am Duel Thursday night at Daytona, getting a run on the high outside line in the closing laps to spoil leader Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s bid for the victory. Hamlin also won a qualifying race last year en route to his first Daytona 500 title. Chase Elliott, who already has the Daytona 500 pole, won the first Duel.

The two qualifying races set the lineup for the Daytona 500 (Sunday, 2 pm).

D.J. Kennington will start his 30th Daytona 500 after racing his way into the field. He'll be joined by Corey LaJoie, who got a little help from Jimmie Johnson.

In the second Duel, Earnhardt, who led most of the race, took the lead after a caution for Jimmie Johnson’s flat. Denny Hamlin, who recovered from a pit road penalty early, moved up to second. He got a push on the outside from Austin Dillon and was able to pass Earnhardt, who will start second Sunday.

Eanhardt said, "I don’t know what I could have done better to defend that. Denny’s smart. He’s one of the great plate racers out there.” It was Hamlin’s third career Duel win and came the same day Joe Gibbs Racing announced a contract extension with the driver.

The News As I See It: YouTube temporarily pulled a New York zoo’s live stream of a giraffe giving birth, after some complained that it was sexually explicit. I just want to say if you are watching an animal give birth and you think this is too sexy, the problem is you.

A zoo spokesman said that their YouTube cam had been reported as containing nude content. All animals are nude! They’re all nude! Every one of them is nude except for your neighbor’s dog who has to wear those stupid dog outfits that he clearly hates.

One of the seven newly discovered planets has already been declassified after discovering it was merely Pluto wearing high heels and sunglasses.

A new report projects that by 2020 the legal marijuana industry will create more than a quarter of a million jobs for people to be late to.

This Date In History: 1582; Pope Gregory XIII issued a papal bull introducing the Gregorian calendar reform. 1803; The Supreme Court ruled in Marbury v. Madison that any act of Congress which conflicts with the Constitution is null and void. 1821; Mexico declared its independence from Spain.

1868; Andrew Johnson, 17th president of the United States, became the first president to have impeachment proceedings brought against him by the House of Representatives. 1903; The lease for Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, was signed.

Picture Of The Day: Chase Elliott wins the Daytona 500 pole fir the second straight year.

Printable Things I Never Told You: 1) What's a moderation and how do I drink in one? 2) Legend has it if you whisper IKEA 3 times in the mirror, an extra screw will appear and you'll be haunted by the piece of furniture you assembled wrong. 3) My bank officer wanted me to sign up for a 401k, but there's no way I can run that far. 4) The way I deal with an unexpected cobweb to the face tells me I probably wouldn't be much use in bar fight.  5) I shouted, "Run, Forrest, run", but the trees just stood there, frozen with fear. In the end, the flames consumed them all......except for Crazy Larry and Wild Root Cream Oil Charlie.....and that's five !

Today's Horoscope: Pisces - February 24th: Actions take a moment, consequences last a lifetime. Your friends won't forgive you if you don't take the opportunity you are presented with.Your lucky horse for today is "Sombrero's Lid." He's a long shot but so is his name. I'd wager $2 across the board.

Birthdays: Winslow Homer, American painter 1836, Honus Wagner, baseball player 1874, Chester William Nimitz, admiral 1885, Joseph Lieberman, politician 1942, Steve Jobs, entrepreneur 1955, Paula Zahn, TV news reporter, anchor 1956, Billy Zane, actor 1966.

The AREA 51 Retirement Home Bar And Grill: (Cabin Crew): "The pilot co-pilot are dead. Is there anyone on board who can fly the plane? (Harrison Ford): "I can." (Cabin Crew): "Anyone else?"

A highway patrolman pulled up alongside a speeding car on the freeway. As the officer peered through the driver's window, he was astounded to find that the blonde behind the wheel was knitting.

The trooper cranked down his window and yelled to the driver, "Pull over!" at the top of his lungs. The blonde yelled back, "No, scarf!"

The Hits Just Keep On Coming: Three women were sitting around talking about their husbands' performance as a lover. The first woman says "My Husband works as a marriage counselor. He always buys me flowers and candy before we make love. I like that."

The second woman says, "My husband is a motorcycle mechanic. He likes to play rough and slaps me around sometimes. I kinda like that."

The third woman just shakes her head and says, "My husband works for Microsoft. He just sits on the edge of the bed and tells me how great it's going to be when I get it."

An aging grandmother tells her grandchild, "I want to leave you my farm. That includes the barn, livestock, the harvest, the tractor, the farmhouse and $24,548,750 in cash."

The grandchild, absolutely floored and about to become rich says, "Oh grandma, you are so generous! I didn’t even know you had a farm. Where is it?" Grandma whispered, "Facebook…"

That's it for today, my little fur balls. Remember, you know you're getting old when you fall down and wonder what else you can do while you're down there. I'm heading over to AREA 51 for happy hour.

Follow Jimmy's Journal on Facebook by clicking the "Follow This Blog" button at the top right of the page.

More next week.

Stay Tuned !