Mammoth Blog

French tennis player Mathieu Montcourt, who was recently banned for betting on matches, has died. He was 24. The French tennis federation said Tuesday that Montcourt died overnight but the cause of death is not yet known, and an autopsy will be conducted.

French media reported the 119th-ranked Montcourt was found dead by his girlfriend in the stairwell of his Paris apartment. In May, Montcourt was handed a five-week ban and fined $12,000 for betting on other matches. That ban took effect Monday.

"It is with great sadness that the French tennis federation has learned of the sudden death of Mathieu Montcourt," the French tennis federation said. "Mathieu was an enthusiastic young man, passionate, very endearing, and extremely appreciated for his kindness and politeness."

Four-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal grew up playing against Montcourt on the junior circuit.

"This morning I woke up with one of the worst news anyone can receive," Nadal said on his Web site. "I heard about the death of our friend Mathieu Montcourt. I am still under shock for this. I can't believe it."

French tennis federation's technical director Patrice Dominguez told The Associated Press on Tuesday that Montcourt's girlfriend became alarmed when Montcourt failed to arrive.

"She was with a friend in Mathieu Montcourt's apartment," Dominguez said. "They came out after a while, having left him messages, and noticed that he was lying on the floor next to his bike ... They called the (ambulance), but unfortunately he was already dead."

Montcourt complained during the French Open that the punishment was too harsh, saying that he never bet more than $3 at any time, and never on his own matches - a fact confirmed by the ATP, which oversees the men's Tour.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport said Montcourt had wagered a total of $192 on 36 tennis events in 2005. It reduced his suspension on appeal from eight weeks to five.

A moment of silence was planned before the first match Tuesday at The Hall of Fame Tennis Championships in Newport, R.I.

"It's really sad. I practiced with him for the first time at Roland Garros," said Fabrice Santoro, the two-time Newport defending champion.

ATP board member Justin Gimelstob said, "The tennis community is a tight group and to lose one of our players at such a young age is really difficult for everyone."

The issue of betting in tennis drew increased attention from the sport's governing bodies after an online bookmaker voided all wagers on a 2007 match involving Nikolay Davydenko. About $7 million was bet - 10 times the usual amount for a similar-level match - and most of the money backed Davydenko's lower-ranked opponent.

Davydenko was cleared in September after a yearlong investigation. source>>>

Michael Waltrip Racing announced Tuesday that Martin Truex Jr. will drive the No.56 Toyota with NAPA as the team's primary sponsor in 2010.

Waltrip will run a limited schedule next year, including the Daytona 500, an event he has won twice (2001 and '03). He will continue to drive the No.55 Toyota. Waltrip had contemplated his driving future throughout this season.

"As an owner, I knew there was a time that would come when I wouldn't be a full-time driver anymore, and that time is now," Waltrip said during a press conference held at his race shop.

NAPA will sponsor Truex and Waltrip in 2010.

"To me, it's always been about the sponsor and NAPA has been the greatest sponsor I could ever have, and I thought this was an opportunity to put them in victory lane on a regular basis, and that's why we're sitting here today," Waltrip added.

Truex, 29, has one victory and 34 top-10 finishes in 135 career Sprint Cup Series starts. His first win came in the 1997 spring race at Dover International Speedway. He also qualified for the title chase that year, finishing 11th in points. Truex is currently 24th in the standings.

"I'm looking forward to next year, and I think we're going to do really good things," Truex said.

Truex has spent his first four years in NASCAR's top-tier series with Earnhardt Ganassi Racing. Dale Earnhardt Inc. and Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates formed an alliance during the offseason.

Prior to his full-time Cup career, Truex won back-to-back Nationwide Series championships from 2004-05.

Waltrip formed his Cup team in 2007, fielding a three-car stable at the time. He has also owned a Nationwide team since 1996.

In May, David Reutimann won the rain-shortened Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway and gave Waltrip's organization its first Cup victory.

Waltrip currently holds the 33rd spot in points, while Reutimann sits in 14th.
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Lance Armstrong surged within a second of the Tour de France lead after his Astana squad won Tuesday's team time trial in a dramatic finish.

Switzerland's Fabian Cancellara of the Saxo Bank team narrowly kept the yellow jersey lead following the fourth stage, a 24.2-mile ride in and around Montpellier.

Astana needed to beat Saxo Bank by more than 40 seconds for Armstrong to take the yellow jersey. The seven-time champion started the stage in third place, and Astana exactly matched that 40-second deficit. Cancellara's team finished third.

"That's Swiss timing," Cancellara said, laughing. "Time is on my side."

Armstrong credited his teammates but acknowledged he had hoped to move in front after the first team time trial on the Tour since 2005.

"This is a little bit of a disappointment," he said. "That's cycling."

The 37-year-old Texan said the many tight turns along the course made for "tricky" riding. Three crashes marred the start of the stage, including one involving Giro d'Italia winner Denis Menchov.

The U.S. team Garmin was second in the stage, 18 seconds after Astana, despite only five of the nine riders being able to keep up the pace.

The stage finished with a flair. At the last intermediate time check (19 miles), Astana was 41 seconds faster than Saxo Bank, putting Armstrong in the lead at that point and setting up the tense finale.

Armstrong and Cancellara share an overall time of 10 hours, 38 minutes, 7 seconds, although the Swiss rider was deemed a fraction ahead. Organizers examined Saturday's opening time trial in Monaco that was won by Cancellara. Those results were calculated to the thousandth of a second.

After Cancellara, the next four riders are from Astana: Armstrong; 2007 winner Alberto Contador of Spain is 19 seconds back in third; 2004 runner-up Andreas Kloeden of Germany is fourth, 23 seconds back; and Levi Leipheimer of the United States is fifth, 31 seconds behind.

Astana also dealt a serious blow to some top challengers: Defending champion Carlos Sastre of Spain is 2:44 back; two-time runner-up Cadel Evans of Australia is 2:59 behind; and Menchov of Russia trails by 3:52.

Menchov was trailing a Rabobank teammate when he misjudged a left turn and skidded into the barriers early in the stage. He scraped and bruised his arm.

"It was a slippery road," said Menchov, also crashed in the final time trial of the Giro. "It's nothing serious."

Four riders on the BBox Bouygues Telecom team also crashed, as did Belgian rider Jurgen van den Broeck, a support rider to Evans on the Silence Lotto squad.

The teams set off one by one at seven-minute intervals in a race against the clock. The course through sun-baked streets of Montpellier, near the Mediterranean, is among the flattest this Tour.

Riders try to ride single file to cut down on wind drag and take turns in the lead to maximize efficiency and conserve energy. The first five riders record the same times while laggards get individual times. All teams had nine riders except Quick Step; one member of the Belgian squad quit the race after a crash in Stage 2.

Next up is Stage 5, a 122-mile ride along the Mediterranean from Le Cap d'Agde to Perpignan. The Tour ends July 26 in Paris. source>>>

A lawyer for a college athletic conference told Congress on Tuesday it would be in the public's interest if the government investigated the system that determines college football's No. 1 team.

Barry Brett, who represents the Mountain West Conference, raised the possibility of antitrust violations in the Bowl Championship Series during testimony before a Senate Judiciary Committee subcommittee.

He got a favorable reception from Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, the subcommittee's top Republican. Hatch noted that the Sherman Antitrust Act prohibits contracts, combinations or conspiracies designed to reduce competition.

"I don't believe a plainer description of the BCS exists," he said. The BCS "brings to mind the major Supreme Court decisions prohibiting price-fixing and horizontal restrictions on output," he added.

Utah, which is in the Mountain West, was bypassed for last year's national championship despite going undefeated in the regular season. The title game pitted Florida against Oklahoma -- each with one loss.

Under the BCS, some conferences get automatic bids to participate, but the Mountain West and others do not. Critics argue that this system is designed to reduce competition, contrary to antitrust laws.

But Harvey Perlman, chancellor of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, said the BCS simply recognizes that the public wants to watch powerhouse college football teams such as his. Perlman is the new chairman of the BCS Presidential Oversight Committee. source>>>

Tiger Woods is coming to Turning Stone Casino and Resort to compete in a skins game to benefit Native American children.

Notah Begay III, Woods' college roommate at Stanford and the only full-blooded Native American on the PGA Tour, says that Woods, Mike Weir, and Camilo Villegas would compete Aug. 24 at the resort's Atunyote (uh-DUNE'-yote) Golf Club course, which also hosts the Turning Stone Resort Championship on the tour.

All proceeds will benefit the Notah Begay III Foundation, which seeks to reduce diabetes and obesity among Native American youth.

The total purse of $500,000 will remain the same as a year ago. Begay says Monday that only 3,000 tickets will be sold because of security concerns. source>>>

It's never too soon to start looking at the upcoming college football season.

So with less than two months to go until the first game kicks off in the 2009 season, let's take a look at some of the big games around the country.

A good number of games for the first few weeks of the season have already been slotted by the networks and the viewing landscape is beginning to take shape.

In the last few seasons, the trend has been towards most of the big games starting in the 3:30 or 8:00 p.m. time slots. It seems that universities and networks are shying away from the noon kickoffs in the eastern time zone, making it harder to fill a full day with quality matchups.

If you're anything like me, you take a good look at the schedule each week and get upset when two intriguing games are being played at the same time, or even worse, on the same network.

All of the times and networks listed are subject to change, but this has been the information handed out by the networks and universities thus far.

Break out your calendar and let's start setting our viewing guide.

Sept. 3

The season kicks off on a Thursday night, which will most likely be a little anti-climatic. Sure, it's a great way to start off Labor Day Weekend, but most people won't make it through a good Oregon/Boise State matchup.

North Texas at Ball State kicks off first, but I'm holding out for South Carolina and NC State.

South Carolina at NC State: 7 p.m., ESPN

Oregon at Boise State: 10:15 p.m., ESPN

Sept. 5

Saturday gives us our first full slate of games topped by Georgia visiting Oklahoma State. This will be a great road test for Mark Richt, taking on Zac Robinson and Dez Bryant.

My advice is to start the day with a local game of interest and then settle in for Georgia/Oklahoma State at 3:30 p.m. Keep the remote handy with an interesting Illinois/Missouri game on at the same time.

Then, catch a little of BYU at Oklahoma before switching over to watch Alabama take on Virginia Tech. If this game becomes a blowout, switch over early to see Maryland visit Cal which starts just before another interesting night game of LSU at Washington.

Georgia at Oklahoma State: 3:30 p.m., ABC

Illinois vs. Missouri (in St. Louis): 3:30, ESPN

BYU vs. Oklahoma: 7 p.m., ESPN

Alabama vs. Virginia Tech (in Atlanta): 8 p.m., ABC

Maryland at California: 10 p.m., ESPN2

LSU at Washington: 10:30 p.m., ESPN

Sept. 7

Labor Day gives us two interesting matchups that might be worth putting on while you're outside at a pool, or enjoying the air conditioning inside. Both should prove worthy of your time.

Cincinnati at Rutgers: 4 p.m., ESPN

Miami at Florida State: 8 p.m., ESPN

Sept. 10

The second weekend kicks off with a good ACC matchup. I don't know about you, but I'm extremely curious to see year two of the Tech offense and the triple option.

Clemson at Georgia Tech: 7:30 p.m., ESPN

Sept. 12

This Saturday hosts the number-one matchup of the preseason. Sure there will be lots of critical conference showdowns that develop as the year progresses, but USC at Ohio State is the grand-daddy of non-conference matchups whether it's played in the Rose Bowl or not.

Kudos to both schools for scheduling the tough opponent and giving college football fans what they deserve: meaningful football in September.

The day doesn't have much leading up to the big clash, but whet your appetite with Notre Dame at Michigan, UCLA at Tennessee, Iowa at Iowa State, and Stanford at Wake Forest.

Iowa at Iowa State: Noon, FSN

Stanford at Wake Forest: Noon, Raycom/ESPN GamePlan

Notre Dame at Michigan: 3:30 p.m., ABC

UCLA at Tennessee: 4 p.m., ESPN

USC at Ohio State: 8 p.m., ESPN

Purdue at Oregon: 10:15 p.m., FSN

Sept 17

The Thursday night ACC matchup is again very watchable at Georgia Tech has to travel to Miami.

Georgia Tech at Miami: 7:30, ESPN

Sept 19

This week looks to be a little more balanced with some quality games from start to finish.

Again, the noon timeslot will be filled with local matchups and the normal cupcakes, but Boston College at Clemson could be worth watching.

Don't sleep on the East Carolina/North Carolina game. We all remember how East Carolina started last season.

Then, Tennessee at Florida will be the game of the day, and Michigan State at Notre Dame should be worth flipping to during commercials.

Finish off the day with West Virginia at Auburn in a rare non-conference matchup, and Kansas State at UCLA which will carry into the a.m.

Boston College at Clemson: Noon, Raycom/ESPN GamePlan

East Carolina at North Carolina: Noon, ESPN or ESPN2

Michigan State at Notre Dame: 3:30 p.m., NBC

Tennessee at Florida: 3:30 p.m., CBS

West Virginia at Auburn: 7:45 p.m., ESPN or ESPN2

Kansas State at UCLA: 10:15 p.m., FSN

That's how the first three weekends of the season shake out. Hats off to the teams that scheduled interesting opponents in September and especially to those who are treating us to the rare, tough non-conference matchup.
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2009 Heisman Trophy Futures Odds - College Football Odds: This is without a doubt the best preseason crop of Heisman Trophy candidates we have ever seen. In this class we have two previous Heisman winners (Tebow, and Bradford) and have at least three others that have a legitimate shot at the trophy. Today Sports Handicapper Craig Trapp will break down the top 5 favorites and give you his preseason pick to win the Heisman Trophy.

Active Image2009 Heisman Trophy Futures Odds Tim Tebow (+200): Florida Gator fans are lucky to have back the 2007 Heisman trophy and now he is going for his 3rd National Championship and his 2nd Heisman. Florida was much more balanced last year and it really hurt Tebow's chances at winning the Heisman. For him to win this year he will need to rush the ball for more yards and touchdowns. No betting value at this price so definitely is a play against. Check the site for updated 2009 Heisman Trophy Futures Odds and College Football Odds.

College Football Odds Sam Bradford (+250): Last years Heisman winner is looking to improve on his record breaking year. This team has lost several of Sam's key weapons will make it a little more difficult to put up the ridiculous numbers again. Also might be up against it as the voters don't usually vote for the same player two years in a row. Stay away and play against Bradford as there is no wagering value at this price.

Colt McCoy (+250): The best stats of any player last year returns for his Senior season and is out to prove that he is the best QB in the BIG 12 and College Football. The leading rusher on his team was a surprise stat but shows how important he was to this Longhorns team. But either way not sure he can repeat that great season and at less than 3-1 can't bet him at the short price.

Terrell Pryor (+750): Much is expected for this young spread offense QB. Not sure that he has the passing capabilities to win this years heisman. He will have to really improve his all around stats if he is to beat this deep talented group of Heisman candidates. Think the hype has pushed down the value here really should be about +1000.

CJ Spiller (+2000):Without a doubt the most explosive RB returning to college for 2009. Love his multi faceted attributes his stats will be good enough to win the Heisman. Will need help from his team in the win category if he is going to pull off the huge upset. But either way love his betting value at this longshot price. Without a doubt should be a very interesting Heisman Race all of 2009. The top 4 will be very tough to beat but taking Spiller at 20-1 is a really good pick. Also another super longshot is Dez Bryant who is over 50-1 currently. Easy Deposit Bonuses -Once your deposit is processed, your CASH bonus will be available for wagering within minutes.

Craig's Week Of All Sports Plays Subscription Get all of Craig's picks for one week!! This includes all sports plays from Craig and includes all level of plays!! Craig's 2008 finished well and 2009 will be even better! Get in now as this weekly package is a huge savings over buying individual games. Picks minimum: handicapper must provide you with at least 7 picks during subscription term, otherwise we will give you another such subscription for free.

Sports Betting Promotions provides live NCAA football odds Free College Football Picks, College Football predictions, College Football scores and much more this NCAA football Odds season. Check out the handicappers at the site for College Football Picks and College Football Predictions. Don't miss this 2009 College Football season and start winning with our handicappers College Football Picks and College Football predictions. Bet College Football Odds with bookmaker.com. .Don't forget to join us this fall for top handicappers College Football Picks and College Football predictions. Check the site daily for updated NCAA Football Odds and College Football Betting Odds. source>>>

Bill France Sr. and his willing partners -- some more willing than others -- created NASCAR in an art deco inn right across the highway from Daytona Beach's surf.

When they left the Streamline Hotel that December day in 1947, the makeshift masters of stock-car racing didn't own a map nor possess certainty that the unpaved road would lead to anywhere special.

The loosely arranged sport needed rules. The ambitious France concluded that racing needed a ruler to impose a tire-iron grip on maverick promoters and the rowdy cowboys slinging their souped-up street cars around the South's dirty curves.

The France gang started NASCAR history. Some 62 years later, as NASCAR prepares to capture the echoes and trinkets of that history in a $195 million Charlotte museum financed by hotel taxes, the candidates for the first Hall of Fame class are heading into the fourth turn. The five winners will take the checkered flag in October and reach Victory Lane when the museum opens next May.

Naturally, the list of 25 nominees encourages a passionate debate inside the garage and outside the track, where emotions can run hotter than a 1956 radiator.

No. 1 is automatic: "The King."

Richard Petty came from a royal racing family. Father Lee Petty won the first Daytona 500 and became the sport's first three-time champion. Young Richard, a kid mechanic, didn't envision himself as a driver until finishing high school. In Richard's 1958 NASCAR debut, Lee knocked him out of the race and snatched the trophy.

Richard learned and thrived. He won 200 races, 95 more than anyone else. He won seven championships, a record that Dale Earnhardt matched in 1994. Petty also became NASCAR's broadly recognized front man, with his wrap-around shades, cowboy hat, mustache and irrepressible smile. Even today, after selling the family business and putting his marketable name on George Gillett's team, "The King" remains an adored ambassador who -- in his words -- keeps "doing the Richard Petty thing."

No. 2 is preordained: Dale Earnhardt. His share of the championship record (six titles came under formidable nominee Richard Childress) merits inclusion. Fame entails more than statistics, however.

Earnhardt ranks seventh in victories with 76, which seems to invite competing claims from Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip (84 wins each) and Cale Yarborough (83, with three consecutive championships). But Earnhardt ranks first in stuff that builds legends: a beguiling smirk under his thick mustache, a devilish twinkle in his eyes, an insatiable thirst for reinforcing his "Intimidator" image.

The sport revolved around Earnhardt's personality and the wildly disparate emotions he triggered. Despite commercial successes since he died in Daytona's last turn eight years ago, racing hasn't been the same since.

No. 3 should be automatic: David Pearson.

The "Silver Fox" from Spartanburg, S.C., ranks second to Petty in wins (105) and poles (113). Their rivalry carried the sport in the 1960s, when Pearson bagged three championships. He developed a reputation for slyly riding along in the pack and avoiding trouble until attacking late in the race.

Pearson discovered a method for conquering Darlington's quirky egg shape and won 10 times there. The walls tend to sneak up on drivers, leaving cars with right-side scrapes called the Darlington Stripe. Years ago, before white cement walls replaced highway-style steel guardrails in the turns, Pearson mastered the secret art of bouncing off the guardrails and accelerating.

No. 4 might as well be automatic: Bill France Sr.

He will make the cut regardless of how anyone frames the debate because this is NASCAR's Hall of Fame. France started the league and ran it through 1971, his choices promoting survival during shaky years near the beginning and end of his reign.

France, according to company history, helped lay out Daytona's first beach course in the 1930s and drove there. He built the current Daytona track, the home base for the family-controlled International Speedway Corp., and he built the Talladega track, where airborne cars still fly into the catch fence, jeopardizing spectators.

If France's son and successor, Bill Jr., also makes the inaugural group, the Hall of Fame will look like an inside job. Bill Jr., who transferred power to son Brian in 2003 and died in 2007, deserves recognition more than any administrator other than the founding father, but two spots out of five could paint the rulers as dictators.

The selections will be made by 47 people and a fan vote that collectively will count as one person. The electorate includes seven NASCAR officials, two from ISC and two from the Hall of Fame. The rest: 14 from the media; nine retired drivers, owners and crew chiefs; four car manufacturers; and nine reps from current and former tracks.

No. 5 is the toughest choice, particularly with active driver Jeff Gordon ineligible until three years after retirement. Junior Johnson's life story makes it easier.

Johnson would qualify as a finalist for the fifth spot purely on the basis of his records as a driver (50 wins, tied for 10th) and owner (139 wins, plus six championships divided equally between Yarborough and Waltrip).

He never won the championship behind the wheel. That could tilt the balance toward the three-wide chargers (Allison-Waltrip-Yarborough) or toward owner-driver Lee Petty.

Johnson, though, stands alone as the symbol of the sport's evolution from moonshiner (which landed him in federal prison) to corporation-attracting magnet. On top of that, the oil-stained young star in the white T-shirt from Wilkes County uncovered the aerodynamic miracle of drafting while wheeling an inferior car to victory at the second Daytona 500 in 1960.

Anyone who can travel from high-branch coon hunting to highbrow physics in one career and keep going 50 more years has earned his perch. source>>>

Two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Tony Stewart needed little time to grasp the driver-owner concept. At the season's midpoint, he has already:
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Won two races (Pocono and Daytona), becoming the first driver-owner to win a race since Ricky Rudd in 1998, and the first to win multiple races since Rudd in '97;

Captured the points lead, the first driver-owner to do so since Alan Kulwicki in 1992;

Put both of his Stewart-Haas Racing cars in the top 12 in points.

Stewart's surprising success highlights a season filled with compelling storylines. Competition is strong and balanced, as illustrated by the 11 different race winners this season. There were 12 different winners in all of 2008, including seven drivers who have yet to win this season. In other words, last year's mark will likely be passed.
Some other statistics gleaned from the first half

- Seven different teams represented in the current NASCAR Sprint Cup top 12

- Eight different Coors Light Pole winners

- 34 drivers with at least one top-10 finish

- 40 drivers have led at least one lap

- Average Margin of Victory of 1.044 seconds

- 10 races with an MOV under 1 second

- Average of 11 leaders per race

- Average of 20 lead changes per race

- Average of 22 green flag passes for the lead all around the track

- Average of 3,038 green flag passes per race

- 52 percent of the cars finished on the lead lap

- 85 percent of the cars were running at the finish

- All four manufacturers have won a race and are in the top 12

The above statistics are the reason for one of the most competitive, yet unpredictable seasons in recent memory:

There have been three first-time winners. Brad Keselowski, David Reutimann and Joey Logano all captured their first career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victories. With his win at New Hampshire, Logano became the youngest winner in series history.

Mark Martin's successful return to a full-time schedule has been one of the most intriguing stories thus far this season. His three victories tie him with Kyle Busch for the most in the series at the halfway point. Still, Martin is outside the Chase top-12 bubble, in 13th. He has eight more races to make a top-12 return. In his third full season, Colombia-born Juan Pablo Montoya is looking more and more like a championship contender. With eight top 10s, he has already eclipsed his previous season-best total of six in 2008. Montoya currently sits 11th in the points, 86 points inside the Chase cut-off.

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Who's at fault for the last-lap crash between Kyle Busch and Tony Stewart in the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway? Stewart didn't do anything wrong, and Busch wasn't the culprit. Instead, restrictor plates are once again to blame.

The final lap in Saturday's 400-mile race at Daytona marked the second straight restrictor-plate event where the leader became the victim of a horrifying wreck just short of the finish line.

Busch passed Stewart for the lead with less than two laps to go, but Stewart caught his former Joe Gibbs Racing teammate as they came out of the final turn on the last lap.

As Stewart made an attempt to pass, Busch tried to block him twice, with the second block resulting in his rear bumper hitting Stewart's front end. Busch spun around and slammed hard into the wall. He was then struck behind by Kasey Kahne, triggering a multi-car crash, the second "big one" of the race.

"I don't know that we did anything wrong," Stewart said. "(Kyle) was protecting his position, which he's got to do. That's what he has to do as a driver. He can't just sit there and let us make a move like that and not try to defend it. But it puts him, it puts us, it put Kasey Kahne behind him in a bad position where it drove Kyle's car all the way up to Kasey's windshield."

While Stewart took the checkered flag, Busch climbed out of his battered car with no injuries, but he had to be forced by NASCAR officials into the safety vehicle for a ride to the track's infield care center.

"I just don't like it to end that way," Stewart added.

Busch refused to comment on the crash, but crew chief Steve Addington said his driver's misfortune was the product of restrictor-plate racing.

"It's part of this racing," Addington said. "I feel like this is what happens on the last lap coming to win the race."

In a similar ending at Talladega earlier this year, Carl Edwards held the lead with Brad Keselowski on his back bumper as they approached the finish line. Keselowski attempted to make a pass underneath, but Edwards blocked with the two drivers making contact.

As Keselowski drove on to his first career Sprint Cup Series victory, Edwards spun, hit third-place runner Ryan Newman and then flew into the wall and safety fence along the frontstretch. Edwards was not hurt as he exited his car unhurt and jogged to the finish line. However, seven race fans sustained minor injuries after being struck by debris from his car.

At Daytona, Edwards stayed clear of a final lap incident and held on for the fourth-place finish.

"It was a crazy finish, and I thought I wanted to be up there racing with those guys, then I saw that and I was just fine with where I was at," Edwards said.

NASCAR mandated restrictor plates to reduce speeds for races at Daytona and Talladega after Bobby Allison's spectacular crash in the spring 1987 race at Talladega. Allison's car sailed into the safety fence on the frontstretch after he cut a tire. His car broke the fence with debris flying into the grandstand. Several spectators were also injured in that incident.

Even though Daytona and Talladega provide a lot of excitement for the fans when a multi-car pileup occurs, especially those on the final lap, most drivers aren't particularly thrilled with restrictor-plate racing at NASCAR's biggest track.

"There is nothing to do to stop it," said Jimmie Johnson, who finished second at Daytona. "If you think about the position that the sport is in, one race, it's boring, there's no racing, there's no excitement. Then a couple races there's an exciting finish and we're worried about the exciting finish. It's plate racing. We're damned if we do, damned if we don't."

NASCAR has said in the past that safety is their number-one priority. Safety improvements have been made with the new car, but NASCAR still needs to take steps to reduce risks in restrictor-plate racing before something serious happens.
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