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Viewer's guide: Into the unknown
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Analysis:
Watch for the unknown
I think tonight's Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway could serve up a big shock. There doesn't appear to be any clear-cut favorite, and I could see a surprise winner like we saw last year when Jamie McMurray won the Fourth of July weekend classic.
When the Sprint Cup Series visits Daytona, normally you are thinking that Dale Earnhardt Jr., or Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart or Jimmie Johnson are going to win. But I really think it could turn out to be someone who is typically not a favorite.
Look at how close the field is on the track, the way this new car is and the chance of being taken out by someone else's mistake because of the packs the cars race in. On top of that, having limited practice time because of the rain on Thursday is only going to increase that because the guys won't have as much time to get their cars dialed in as they would like.
Martin Truex Jr., for instance, had his car impounded by NASCAR, and with the rainout of practice, the first laps he saw in his backup car was during qualifying on Friday night. That's a pretty steep order right there.
Speaking of Martin ...
I was surprised that NASCAR confiscated Martin's car on Thursday following opening day inspection — and he was clearly very angry with his team about it. NASCAR found the problem fairly early, and the team worked to fix it for a considerable amount of time but still couldn't get it right.
With the inspection process these days, there is very little room for error to be creative on the body. The car being impounded implies that somebody was playing well outside of the rule book. We'll find out sometime next week if that assumption is correct when NASCAR announces their weekend penalties.
I also think it makes a murkier situation even murkier.
A few weeks ago, Dale Earnhardt Incorporated put out a press release saying they had exercised their option in Martin's contract. But then Martin came back and said he wasn't sure it was done the way it should be. Needless to say, there is a lot of controversy around that situation.
Any number of people will tell you that Martin is linked to a number of other available rides out there, so something like this happening now will only further complicate things.
Hot, hot, hot!
The temperatures and weather here in Daytona Beach, Fla., in July is so much different than during February. It's hot, it's humid and the track is very slick.
In February, you heard us talk about how Daytona is handling the track, meaning you have to get that car comfortable at these high speeds. It's not a brute horsepower track like at Talladega. You have to get your car to turn and handle right. That is further amplified here in July by the weather. That is why I think it is such a wide-open race Saturday night. It's a slick racetrack. There are a lot of bumps between Turns 3 and 4.
Another big difference from February is that this race is 40 fewer laps. I know that doesn't sound like a big deal, but you don't have a lot of time to get your car right. I stop short obviously of calling it a sprint race, but it is 100 fewer miles and that is a considerable difference. You have to make decisions quicker, and they have to be the right decisions. You just don't have much time to get the car right as you do in February.
Pressure packed pits
Here's the other pressure these teams are facing: You aren't on pit road for a chance to make your car better as many times as in February.
If you have a bad pit stop, its impact is much bigger now because you won't have that many opportunities to get that track position back. Granted, restrictor plate racing cars can go from the back to the front, but you simply can't afford to have problems Saturday night on pit road. With the racing as tight as it is right now, you can't give away track position on pit road. It has to be the opposite; you have to pick up positions.
That is where the pressure comes in.
Be There!
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Why can't we be friends?
Drivers have great memories. They know who they want to be around and draft with. They know which driver is going to react which way in a certain situation. Granted, when it gets to the last lap, it's every man for himself. But just like in the Daytona 500, you do want to have help there in the closing laps.
The other thing is, you can't wait until the last second to get yourself into position to run with a particular guy. You have to set that up ahead of time.
The line of the Daytona 500 came from Tony Stewart when he said it was a high speed chess match and he was only smart enough to play checkers. Although that's pretty funny, he didn't just say it as a joke. What he is saying is that it's a thinking man's race. It may not look like it, but it is.
You have to get yourself in position and in enough time so you can make your move.
Want to get the inside scoop on everything that happened during the race weekend, as well as a preview of what to expect in the future? Tune in to SPEED every Monday night at 8 p.m. ET as Steve Byrnes hosts This Week in NASCAR.
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