Daytona Observations
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Thoughts, observations and a few questions following the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway:
• Some will say he's good, others will say he's lucky, but whatever it is, Kyle Busch is having one hell of a season. At this rate, he could easily surpass the modern day record for wins in one season (13) held by Jeff Gordon and Richard Petty.
I say it's because he's good.
• Not that good, you say? Well, how about Busch's save on Lap 83 when teammate Denny Hamlin bumped into him at 200 mph? The last guy I saw do something similar to that was Tony Stewart in the Busch race at Daytona in 2006.
• This was Kyle Busch's first win at Daytona. His previous best finish here was second (twice, both in the July race in 2006 and '07).
• I don't know about you, but I was expecting the green-white-checkers finish to this race and the caution that followed. It was a perfect finish to a race that had little drama until the final 20 laps.
• I'm not sure if it was the tires or the new car, but the big packs we're used to seeing at Daytona just weren't there. Well, they were for about the first five laps after everyone took on new tires, then everyone got spread out and it looked like any other Cup race.
• The early part of the race looked more like a practice session than a race. I don't know if that was a result of the limited practice time (only one session) or just everyone cruising along until the final 20 laps.
• I wonder if the fans enjoyed seeing single-file racing on a restrictor plate track? I doubt it. The attraction of plate racing is the big packs and each hold-your-breath, heart-stopping lap.
• I counted four right-front tire failures over the course of the weekend – three of them during the race. You usually don't see that happening on a restrictor plate track. Crew chiefs say because the new car still doesn't turn as well as the old one, they make adjustments to the front suspension that puts extra stress on the right-front tire.
Do we blame those failures on the crew chiefs?
• J.J. Yeley answered a lot of questions Saturday night with his superb performance filling in for an ailing Tony Stewart. It's obvious that there are some real issues that need to be addressed at Yeley's Hall of Fame team. Put Yeley in a top 10 car and he'll race in the top 10. Saturday, he finished 20th but was better than that.
• With Dale Earnhardt Inc. in the midst of a sponsorship hunt for next season, the weekend began on a high note for that organization, with three of four cars starting in the top 10 and Paul Menard starting from the pole.
Menard did his best Cinderella impersonation, leading 19 laps and running up front for much of the race. Alas, the clock struck midnight and his Chevy turned into a pumpkin before he could drive it into victory lane.
• If you're wondering if Patrick Carpentier has a future in NASCAR, the answer is y-e-s. The former open wheeler continues to impress, starting 10th and finished 14th.
• Jimmie Johnson ran into teammate Jeff Gordon twice and Kevin Harvick once while exiting his pit box. It was nothing compared to his hitting the wall on Lap 156, ruining what would have easily been another top 10 for the defending series champion.
• Whatever happened to NASCAR policing the bump-drafting at Daytona? Television showed several instances of drivers literally slamming into the car in front of them.
It caused Jeff Gordon on Lap 125 to tell crew chief Steve Letarte over the radio, "Someone should tell NASCAR that the bump drafting is getting out of control out here."
• The technique is easier now that the front bumper matches up perfectly with the rear bumper on the new car. It's no wonder that drivers have taken to calling it "slam-drafting."
• Did you count how many times the TNT announcers said the words "Coke Zero" during the broadcast? One would think they were being paid by the word.
• As was predicted, the crowd was sparse. Much of the top deck on the front grandstands was empty, as was the grandstand on the backstretch. It's a sign of the economy, not because of the cars or the tires or anything else.
• The "silly season" buzz in the garage is starting to get a bit deafening. Names like Ryan Newman, Martin Truex Jr., Juan Pablo Montoya and David Reutimann are getting as much play as Tony Stewart is these days.
And there's an equal amount of interest in the future of teams like DEI, Michael Waltrip Racing, Bill Davis Racing and a few others.
It will be interesting to see how everything plays out over the next few months.
Postscript:
NASCAR is in a funny place right now. There is a lot of discussion over the immediate future of the sport coming from both the garage and the media.
Car counts are down, sponsorships are in limbo, drivers are in flux and attendance is down.
While some choose to point out the negative things at the present moment – and there's no denying there are some serious issues facing the sport – I choose to accentuate the positive even in a time when there appears to be less and less of it.
When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.
See you in Joliet next Saturday night.
