Kevin's Daytona Diary

I always knew that the Daytona 500 was one of those races that we all want to win, but I guess I didn't fully grasp the whole magnitude of it until I actually won it. It made my life a lot busier in the months that followed - some days I didn't know if I was coming or going - but to share that win with some of racing's biggest names is such an honor.

All of the emotions and the excitement of that win came back to me last week when I revisited the track. There have been just a handful of events in my career that meant as much to me as the Daytona 500 Champion's Walk of Fame induction and past champions reunion. I was able to have conversations with some of the legends of our sport, and to see how much their 500 wins meant to them - some even decades later - really put things into perspective for me. It was really neat.

The whole thing really pumped me up for the races, moreso than I already was. I was all about sweeping Daytona again, and thought that - sorry, KNEW that - we had the cars to do it. While I didn't walk away from the Busch Series race terribly disappointed, Saturday night's Cup race will go down as probably my biggest disappointment of the season so far.

Friday evening was just terrible. We know to expect rain delays pretty much anywhere we go in the summer, and at Daytona it is pretty much a given. But it didn't rain on Friday, it poured. I knew pretty early on that the chances of actually getting the race in were sitting somewhere between slim and none, but I'll give it to NASCAR for trying.

I was up-and-at-'em early Saturday morning, and so was my No. 21 crew. The AutoZone Chevy was just awesome. Of course, we took a couple of hits in the race that I could have lived without, but we overcame them pretty easily. I think the race was ours if I could have gotten the 21 out front, but I'll take second.

When I'm racing, I typically don't think too far ahead and take each lap as it comes. But, man, that 29 car was on point and we had a really good chance for another good run.  Just as quick as that thought came, our night was over. I've been racing my whole life, and long ago learned that stuff happens and you can get caught up in someone else's mess or impatience. I've been on both the giving and the receiving end many times. But the disappointment that comes with seeing a car capable of winning a race reduced to a car running just to finish never goes away.

The good thing is that we have been solid enough throughout the year that races like that don't hit us too hard. We've run strong all year, even though we have had a couple of hiccups along the way. Our engines keep getting better every week, our guys have been really good performance-wise, and we have a plan getting into the Chase with our engines being better and having different packages and things like that to choose from. Momentum seems to be on our side, and if we can keep that up and avoid any more 'hiccups,' I think we'll be good to go.

DeLana's Daytona Diary

I want to thank everyone for the birthday wishes you sent. I received a lot of cards and emails, and even saw a couple of "Happy Birthday" posts for me on the messageboard. It really means a lot to me that you guys not only remembered the day, but took the time to send along your greetings. I really appreciated that.

All in all, my birthday was pretty good. I spent the entire day at the track with Kevin, but I can't complain. We actually chose to celebrate a day late, and had some fun at home with friends, family and the pets. I ate way too much cake, but isn't that what birthdays are all about?

Daytona ended up being pretty frustrating for the KHI teams, but they are a resilient bunch. Both Bobby Labonte and Tony Raines had to overcome some hurdles in the Busch Series race, but they both really hung in there. We've learned that we'll have weekends like that, and you just have to push forward. Everyone across the board has really stepped it up, and I am proud of their efforts.

I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge everyone's generosity towards our "Operation: Wax Smoke" project. We receive donations every single day, and it just means so much to Kevin and I. The raffle that we've got going on is just...wow! I can't believe that someone sent us their entire diecast collection and asked us to use it to raise money for OWS. That is just so amazing. I was looking over the diecasts last week, and the winner of that raffle is going to be absolutely thrilled! Thanks to all of you!