An up and down day for both G2 Auto Racing owners. FBG Racing saw a potentially huge points day go for not in the waning laps under the California sun. With all three drivers running strong throughout the day, two of the drivers would go on to not even finish the race. Kasey Kahne got loose in turn four and destroyed the back end of his Mountain Dew Dodge. He admitted later that it was his mistake of driving to hard into the corner. Jeff Gordon lost a cylinder like several Hendrick motors throughout the day. While he tried to stay on the track, he was eventually black flagged for not keeping a safe minimum speed.  

Sunday, Feb. 20th: Secretly, FBG Racing CEO Frank Gordon was hoping that this would be his captain's weekend. Having won a Gatorade Duel and his first career Busch win, Tony Stewart seemed primed to take home the trophy for the Great American Race. And for the first 175 laps, that seemed quite possible. Yet like most restrictor plate races, the real action didn't start until the cars ran down the final laps.
"I had complete confidence that G2 Cars would be contenders for this race," said [Frank] Gordon. "Daytona has always been a favorite track for both Jeff and Dale, and Stewart and Johnson have had success here, as well. But I was hoping to see an FBG Racing car in the new Victory Lane, and sure enough, I got to." Gordon and Stewart were one-two for much of the last half of the race. When Gordon began to try to get a run on Stewart, eventually Griffin Motorsports drivers Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Jimmie Johnson joined the action. When Gordon attempted to pass Stewart on the outside, Earnhardt stayed tucked behind Stewart, and two drafting "trains" were formed. Earnhardt took advantage of the draft to pass Stewart on the outside, but was later passed on a green-white-checkered finish by Jeff Gordon and newly-acquired Griffin Motorsports driver Kurt Busch. Despite his best efforts to catch up with Gordon, Earnhardt finished third and Jeff took the checkered.
After trading paint with Griffin Motorsports driver Jimmie Johnson, who finished fifth, Stewart finished inside the top ten with a seventh place finish. Griffin Motorsports sophomore Ryan Newman finished 20th after battle with traffic, and FBG Racing's Jamie McMurray was forced into the garage earlier on after The Big One, and finished 32nd.
The Daytona 500 puts Griffin Motorsports into an early points gain with a 33-30 lead over FBG Racing. Both G2 Auto Racing team will compete in the Auto Club 500 at Fontana next week.

Budweiser Shootout Beneficial For FBG Racing, Who Gets First Draft Pick For 2005 Season

Although there were some reservations around the garage area about FBG Racing CEO Frank Gordon's choice of Jeff Gordon to represent him in the Budweiser Shootout, [Frank] Gordon insists that it was the right call. And now everyone agrees with him.
"I'm glad that Tony did as well as he did," says Gordon, "Just seeing him run through the pack like that right from the start was very reassuring to me. Sure, at superspeedways like Daytona and Talladega, you're going to see a lot of back-and-fourth movement along the drafting lines, but Tony made some great moves and had a hell of a race."
Shortly after the conclusion of the Budweiser Shootout, G2 Auto Racing began its draft for the 2005 Season. FBG Racing immediately added NASCAR veteran driver and four-time Winston Cup Champion Jeff Gordon to its ranks, followed by 2004 Raybestos Rookie of the Year Kasey Kahne. For the fourth spot in his active driver pool, Gordon acquired Jamie McMurray, whose consistency in putting top 5 and top 10 finishes on the board caught Gordon's eye last year. 2003 Winston Cup Champion Matt Kenseth was resigned to the FBG Racing roster, as well. As for alternates, Gordon gave a nod to 2004 FBG Racing driver Bobby Labonte and Winston and Busch Series regular Jason Leffler to fill the last of the FBG ranks.
"I couldn't be happier with the draft for this year," says Gordon. "I have a very balanced team, and we'll be a much stronger force in the qualifying points this year, despite the reduction in points."
FBG Racing's 2005 team will begin its points accumulation with the Daytona 500 Bud Pole Qualifying at 1:00PM later today.