DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The Daytona 500 is still the preeminent event in NASCAR racing, and even though the Chase for the Nexel Cup puts a lot of emphasis on the last 10 races, it doesn't diminish the importance or the value of the Great American Race.
If you don't believe me, talk to people in the garage. (Or the people in front of the SPEED Channel stage outside the Turn 4 tunnel at the track, for that matter.)
For example, the three MB2/MBV cars driven by Joe Nemechek, Scott Riggs and Joe Nemechek — who qualified fifth, sixth and 11th on pole day — spent a total of 14 days in the wind tunnel getting ready for Daytona alone.
Sammy Johns, the competition director at Evernham Motorsports, said his team started building the Dodge Charger a year ago. They set aside 10 guys on Labor Day weekend and told them to build the '05 Charger. By the end of the year, they built 10 cars.
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| Friday 2/18 on SPEED |
1 p.m. ET: NASCAR Live!
1:30 p.m. ET: Nextel Cup practice
2:45 p.m. ET: NASCAR Live!
3 p.m. ET: Busch qualifying
5 p.m. ET: NASCAR Live!
6 p.m. ET: IROC race
7 p.m. ET: Trackside Live!
8 p.m. ET: Truck prerace
8:30 p.m. ET: Truck race
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| Saturday 2/19 on SPEED/FOX |
10:30 a.m. ET: Nextel Cup final practice
Noon ET: NASCAR Live!
1 p.m. ET: Busch prerace on FOX
1:20 p.m. ET: Busch race on FOX
5 p.m. ET: NASCAR Live!
6 p.m. ET: NCTS 10-year anniversary
7 p.m. ET: SPEED News
7:30 p.m. ET: Inside Nextel Cup Live!
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| Sunday 2/20 on SPEED/FOX |
11:30 a.m. ET: NASCAR This Morning
1 p.m. ET: Daytona 500 prerace on FOX
2 p.m. ET: Daytona 500 on FOX
5:30 p.m. ET: NASCAR Live!
6 p.m. ET: NASCAR Victory Lane
7 p.m. ET: SPEED News
7:30 p.m. ET: Inside Nextel Cup Live!
8 p.m. ET: Wind Tunnel
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Daytona is still hallowed ground. Teams spend an incredible amount of time, resources and energy, and the energy level in the garage is incredibly high. The Daytona 500 hasn't lost any of its luster or significance. If anything, it just continues to grow.
Who to Watch
Jeff Gordon: Gordon was so good in practice last weekend that his team covered up the car, and he left with 30 minutes left in practice. When Gordon tested at Daytona and came back to the shop, crew chief Robbie Loomis said, "Let's start counting our pennies. Let's stack the pennies. We're not going to find dollars, quarters or even nickels in testing. We're going to stack our pennies and see what we've found." Winning is all in the details at Daytona. On the qualifying show, Matt Yocum reported the 24 team wouldn't even put decals on the car because they wanted less drag. Loomis did another little trick for qualifying. Even a slight tire rub will cut speed so the crew put a little grease on the wheel wells. Loomis is searching for gains in the thousandths of a second. The main engineer on the 24 car says, "If you've found ten-thousandths of a second, you've just found a hundredth." That level of detail is why everybody's watching two teams at Daytona: the 24 and the 48.
EXCLUSIVE FOX SNEAK PEEK
From some of FOX television's best and brightest, click on the links below for exclusive clips.
American Idol:
The 24 finalists chosen last week continue their quest for the AMERICAN IDOL crown as the Top 12 boys perform live for America for the first time. After the show, the audience will vote for their favorites. Who will survive and who will go home? Don't miss this season's first live show on AMERICAN IDOL Monday, Feb. 21 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX! (ID-412) (TV-PG; L) CC-HDTV 720p-Dolby Digital 5.1.
Sneak Peek Clip No. 1 | No. 2
The OC:
It's raining in Newport. Marissa tells Julie that she and Alex are an item and decides she has to get out of Caleb's house. Summer is faced with a big decision as she prepares to go to Italy with Zach. Ryan convinces Lindsay to take the paternity test and everyone anxiously awaits the results. Meanwhile, Sandy finds himself stranded in a motel room with nothing but a few snacks, champagne and Rebecca on "The Rainy Day Women" episode of THE O.C Thursday, Feb. 24 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. (OC-214) (TV-14) CC-HDTV 720p-Dolby Digital
Sneak Peek Clip
Jonny Zero:
Ms. Monroe asks Jonny to help locate her runaway grandson, Jason Bello. After Jonny agrees to take the case, he discovers that nothing is as it seems when Jason turns up dead. He is confronted by a former "Mafia Rat" and friend of Jason's, and finds himself smack in the middle of trouble. Soon Jonny realizes he is caught between doing what's right and helping a friend, and Random learns more about his family ties — ties that bind — on the "Lost and Found" episode of JONNY ZERO Friday, Feb. 25 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PM) on FOX. (JZ 108) (TV-14; L, V) CC-HDTV 720p-Dolby Digital 5.1.
Sneak Peek Clip
Family Guy:
With Hilarious Guest Voice Appearances by Phil LaMarr and Patrick Warburton
When Peter decides to become a fisherman, he takes out a large loan to buy a fishing boat and unwittingly gives up everything he owns as collateral. Faced with losing the family home, Peter resorts to desperate measures and hunts down a famous man-eating fish for the reward money. Meanwhile, Lois and Meg hit the beach for Spring Break on the FAMILY GUY episode "A Fish Out Of Water" Sunday, Feb. 20 (9:00-9:30 PM ET/PT) on FOX. (FG-305) (TV-PG; L) CC.
Sneak Peek Clip
That '70s Show:
When Jackie gets her own public access show, she's thrilled to finally be getting the attention she deserves. Unfortunately, when the cameras turn on, she freezes up. Meanwhile, Eric meets his new mentor, then discovers his mentor lives with his parents on the "On With The Show" episode of THAT '70s SHOW Wednesday, Feb. 23 (8:00-8:30 PM ET/PT) on FOX. (TSS-716) (TV-14; D, L) CC
Sneak Peek Clip
24:
Jack makes his move to capture Navi. Meanwhile, Audrey learns her estranged husband Paul may be involved in the terrorists' plot in the episode "Day 4: 4:00 PM — 5:00 PM" Monday, Feb. 21 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. (TWF-410) (TV-14; V) CC-HDTV 720p-Dolby Digital 5.1.
Sneak Peek Clip
House:
Scott Foley Guest-Stars; Executive Producer Bryan Singer in Cameo Role
A severely broken arm reveals a bizarre case of bone loss and ends the comeback plans of major league pitcher Hank Wiggen (guest star Scott Foley). House suspects Hank — with a history of drug abuse — is lying about using steroids, as his condition worsens. When Hank's kidneys start to fail, his wife offers to donate hers, but she would have to abort her early pregnancy. Forced into an impossible solution, and admitting failure as an addict, Hank tries to take his own life. House and his team must isolate and fix the problem soon if this pitcher's life, as well his career, can be saved in the "Sports Medicine" episode of HOUSE Tuesday, Feb. 22 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. (HOU-109) (TV-14; D, L) CC-HDTV 720p-Dolby Digital 5.1.
Sneak Peek Clip
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Jimmie Johnson: Jimmie Johnson had so much momentum at the end of the year, and it has certainly carried through from the off-season with a Budweiser Shootout win.
Dale Jarrett: His performance in the Shootout aside, anybody who has speed has to be a factor. The 88 team should figure out their tight condition before Sunday's race.
Ryan Newman: It was amazing what he did on two tires in the Shootout. In the garage, a lot of people in the Dodge camp are saying that the Charger is going to be better in the race than it was in qualifying.
Mark Martin and Rusty Wallace: Sentimentally I would love to see one or the other win their final Great American Race. Neither driver has put a Daytona 500 trophy on his mantel. But sentimentality aside, both can win on Sunday and win several more times this season.
Darkhorses: I don't know if you can count him as a darkhorse because he finished seventh last year, but I wouldn't be surprised if Elliott Sadler wins the Daytona 500. Backed by Yates horsepower, the 38 team learned a lot as part of the Chase for the Cup. Another driver who learned a lot in in the last 10 races of 2004 was
Jeremy Mayfield is tied with Sadler as my darkhorse. Mayfield told me that he wants his teammate Kasey Kahne to do well, too. He worked on a two-car team with Rusty Wallace, but his current situation is the best he's ever been in. He has matured and learned so much about the communication process. While they didn't qualify all that well, there's a lot of confidence at Evernham Motorsports.
Dale Earnhardt Inc.: After his qualifying run, Dale Earnhardt Jr. told me, "I saw this coming." He didn't test well. They were down on horsepower, and they've got work to do. Can they find something between now and Sunday? Maybe. I wouldn't ever count out Earnhardt Jr. or Michael Waltrip. They've won 11 of the last 16 restrictor plate races and if they won, I'd be the least surprised person in Daytona Beach, Fla., but the competition has stepped it up a notch.
What to Watch
Getting to know crew: Just as teams have prepared their race cars in the wind tunnel and testing at Daytona, I'll guarantee you that the teams that have made a lot of changes in the off-season have been practicing as well. The pit stops have to be flawless. Before the Budweiser Shootout, Mark Martin's crew chief, Pat Tryson, told his team, "This is for real. We've got to nail these pit stops to see what we have for the Daytona 500." Martin has never won the Daytona 500, and Tryson feels that pressure. But his pit crew does too. With 13 1/2-gallon fuel tanks and more pit stops, the pit crews are going to play a huge role in who wins the Daytona 500 just as they did in Jimmie Johnson's winning effort in the Shootout.
Passing is easier in the pits: Drivers are talking about problems passing and throttle response so pit strategy will also play a big role in who wins on Sunday. It puts even more pressure on those pit crews.
Timing is everything: Nextel Cup Series director John Darby told me if he catches 15 guys speeding with NASCAR's new electronic timing on pit road, he will penalize all 15 cars. He has sent a very clear message to the race teams. They used the Shootout as an experiment and then told the teams, "Here are the results. Get ready." It's a great move. A lot of competitors felt like the old process was a bit arbitrary. Now, it's the same for everybody. Whether it's an inch less spoiler at Fontana or electronic timing on pit road, as long as all of the teams know what the deal is, they will adapt.
Pit Perspective
NASCAR chairman Brian France understands that the sport must entertain the fans. You can't just line up 43 race cars and say, "Come to my race track." We've seen it across the board in all professional sports. When you go to a game or a race, you're going to an event, and Daytona's new Fan Zone provides incredible access.
There's a glass window in front of every garage stall. Some of the drivers have said they feel like a monkey in a zoo, but I've seen them walk over to the window and sign autographs or wave to the fans which means a lot. Some of the mechanics aren't crazy about the Fan Zone, but Jason Shapiro, brake specialist on Tony Stewart's 20 car, said he liked it and wished all tracks would do it instead of giving people garage passes.
As a rock band played and performers juggled and did somersaults on stilts, I stood next to Ken Schrader on the grid for the Budweiser Shootout. He just shook his head and said, "I can't believe what a show this has become." And he didn't say it in a negative way. Sporting events have become big entertainment.
It's going to require some adjustment for everybody, media included, because I've been lost ever since I got to Daytona. Once everybody gets used to the changes, we'll all realize that it's a great move because it was done for the fans, and that's the bottom line.
Finish Line
In the 24-hour sports car race, there were many different kinds of sports cars with different tires and rubber compounds, and as the track warms up, that rubber is going to get slicker. It's going to be tougher to get a hold of.
Mechanical grip, or how the cars handle at this race track, is very important. Horsepower aside, the teams that make the best adjustments to their handling packages between now and Sunday will give themselves the best chance to win.
As Kyle Petty said on Monday night's Trackside on SPEED, you're playing two games. You want to see how your race car stacks up with other cars, and you want to see who can run with you. If you can figure out those two variables, you will give yourself the best chance to win the Daytona 500.
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