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The Daytona Three-Hundred Something
I hope you enjoyed your offseason. I certainly would have if not for the total lack of NASCAR, but then again, I guess that’s the idea.
More importantly, I hope you enjoyed Speedweek(s) and all the great racing action. The Mother Nature shortened 500 was fantastic while it lasted, but it still makes me want to donate money to build domes for every speedway in the country. It isn’t that it makes a certain winner undeserving necessarily unless there are some really, really special circumstances surrounding—Kurt Busch at New Hampshire last year, cough cough. It’s that five-hundred miles sounds so much thicker, so much more official, than “one lap past halfway.” Going the distance is huge as far as watching the race for me. Not going the full way is as much of a letdown for me as a viewer as it is to know the drivers didn’t go the full way. I like being along for the full ride. Not going all the way is like stopping your workout a few reps short because “you have a lot to do.” It feels wussy and unproductive.
At any rate, the 500 was still great racing while it lasted and Matt Kenseth is a very deserving winner. If the rains had come right after the biggest caution of the day and Elliott Sadler inherited a win off of pit shenanigans, then it’d be a different story. Kenseth won by actually racing and was near the front off and on as most were who didn’t have a big 18 painted on their door. So before I get to some important points, I’d like to congratulate veteran, champion, winner Matt Kenseth and company.
Important Points:
The nauseating way that Dale Earnhardt Jr. is not bigger than the sport, but is bigger than certain rules within said sport.
He’s nothing if not honest. Dale Jr. caused the biggest mess of the day when he hooked Brian Vickers down the backstretch after being forced “almost into the grass.” I assume veteran Jr. is aware of the several feet between the double-yellow out of bounds line and the yard. He wasn’t near the grass and coming back into Vickers instead of blending back in with traffic was breaking the rules. It also happened to break a fourth of the field, causing millions in damage and putting dominant Kyle Busch out of the show for good. The block Vickers put on Junior was legal, Junior’s answer was not. The result? No penalty.
Another hilarious quote came when Junior questioned a rule that was enforced against him about pitting outside the box. The rule has always been there and Junior never thought to give it a glance until he was the one who broke it. “That’s one they need to look at.” Here’s what you need to look at Dale: where your pit stall is. You missed it twice during Speedweeks not including when you pitted with a tire outside of the box.
I like Junior. I like what he represents to the sport and I think he’s a fine symbol for it. I don’t like the way the rules bend to his favor. Bristol notwithstanding, Junior has benefited from Daytona more than the rules say he should have and I’m still of the belief that his only win since coming to Hendrick was a result of favoritism. If another driver had been in Junior’s position not keeping caution speed with Junior in second at Michigan last year, the poor schmo would’ve been out of there in a heartbeat. It’s unfortunate none of this will ever be brought to light because the grandstands are packed with “I like him because everyone else does” Junior bandwagoners.
Digger is cute, but if you’re going to show him every three seconds, he needs more animations.
Everyone loves Digger, the adorable mascot gopher of Nascar on FOX. What we don’t like is a four-hour broadcast with two, count em, two versions of Digger’s hijinx. Do something else or you’ll be as played out as the insufferable Boogity Boogity Boogity.
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Contenders for the Chase and for the Championship
Next week at Fontana will be a much better barometer for the year as a whole than Daytona was. Smart money isn’t on the 48 squad having the day they had today all season long. There are a number of outside-the-box (just for you 88 team) predictions that Greg Biffle will be close to the front this year. Although Daytona isn’t the best indicator of success through the year, Biffle will have to do a complete 180 from this week’s performance. There’s not having a great restrictor plate program, and then there’s running like absolute garbage. Every other Roush car had a great showing at one time or another during the 500. What’s going on with that?
Other inexplicable predictions have Denny Hamlin struggling this year. Why? Because someone has to? Your “surprise” bad year will most likely come from Clint Bowyer and at least one of the Hendrick cars. Aside from the 48, none of them had a stellar year last year and the field is too crowded to have all four of them killing it week after week. I look for the Chase field to look something like this:
Tier 1 (Championship Contenders)
Kyle Busch (lock)
Denny Hamlin (lock)
Carl Edwards (lock)
Tier 2 (Just outside of the top, 1-4 race wins)
Jimmie Johnson (lock, but he can’t stay on top forever)
Jeff Gordon
Matt Kenseth
Kevin Harvick
Tier 3 (A handful of race wins between all these guys)
One of the Stewart-Haas cars
Dale Earnhardt Jr. (consistency alone is enough to get him there)
Mark Martin
Ringers that may sneak in include the other Stewart car, the non-Kenseth Roush kids and maybe a fluke Dodge like Kahne or Montoya. David Ragan is certainly poised for a decent season. My hopes are lower for other “watch out for guys” like Joey Logano and Casey Mears.
Let’s see who can run with the 99, 48, and 18 at Fontana—if anyone—and we’ll know who is Cup hunting.
By Danny West
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