First, I know the drivers don't want a repave job at Daytona because it will take away some from the track as it stands. But, after what happened yesterday, a repave job needs to start tomorrow. It seems for all NASCAR is trying to do they take two steps forward and four steps back. To have your biggest race of the season - the granddaddy of them all - delayed twice because of potholes in the track is ridiculous. That just can't happen at Daytona. It makes NASCAR look amateur. To a new fan or someone tuning in for the first time I'm sure they have to think, "THIS is the best track in NASCAR and THIS is their Super Bowl?" You know they have to think if Daytona has potholes in the track how are the other tracks on the circuit?
Until the pothole problem this was one of the best Daytona races in a long time. They could almost do a traditional slingshot to get around another car. Guys were really fighting handling issues on the slick track 20+ laps into a run and the best handling cars were coming to the front as the runs went on. AJ Allmendinger had the best handling car early I think with the way he sliced up through the field. By the time they had to restart from pothole stoppage 1 the track had cooled down quite a bit and the guys just got two wide all the way back and there was nowhere to pass so about everyone was stuck where they were unless someone booted someone out of the way or someone messed up and slipped in the corner. Then they had the second stoppage and the track temperature dropped even more and handling went completely out the window.
Saying all of that despite the two pothole stoppages the finish was exciting as always. I really think Harvick had the car to beat but it just wasn't meant to be for him yesterday. Truex was another car that I thought was really strong the entire race and could have been a factor if not for the pothole situations. I'm happy for McMurray as I've always liked him - even when he had to cross over to the Roush darkside for a time. He had a strong car for the Bud Shootout and the 150 though so he had been up near the front for the entire week until the 500. His victory lane speech was really cool and you can see exactly what a Daytona 500 win means to these guys. McMurray shouldn't be considered an underdog anymore on any plate track. He has now won 3-4 plate races in his career.
To the original poster: you simply can't get a pulse on what the rest of the season will be like after the 500. Plate racing is such a different animal that these results will not be at all indicative of how these guys will perform this year. Give it about 4 more races and you'll see who has good cars this year and who is going to have to scramble to keep from falling further behind.
Yes, the Richard Petty cars ran well at Daytona. Let's see how they run when they go to California next week. Not saying they won't run well but Daytona is just not a way to judge how cars will run. McMurray may not even come close to sniffing another win all year. Or he could use this momentum and win a couple of more races and make the Chase - who knows at this point.
I really do hate it though that they had the pothole problem. With the track still being hot and slick it was shaping up to possibly have a 3-4 car draft at the front at the finish of the race with potential for some slingshot passes. The finish was really cool as is don't get me wrong but if not for the stoppages I think it would have been a much, much different race.
As far as the Kurt Busch situation I'm glad he pitted like he did. Last year it was always Pat Tryson's fault and if you Youtube some of what Kurt said to Pat it was really uncalled for. I'm not a fan of Kurt I admit but nothing was ever his fault and he berated Pat and the spotter horribly several times last year. I like Addington but thought Kurt deserved that one yesterday.
I'm always excited for the 500 but starting next week we get into the meat and potatoes. We'll see who has a good 1.5-2.0 mile package in their cars which is the most important package to have on the entire schedule with so many tracks around those sizes.
It was a good Daytona 500 that could have been awesome. But, I'm still happy with the result and happy for Jamie to get his first Daytona 500 win. Daytona 500 winners are becoming so unpredictable anymore. Go back to the 90s and about every 500 winner had the best car or at least one of the top 5 cars in the race.
90 - Derrike Cope - well we start out with one that didn't have the dominant car. But honestly Cope had a top 5 car there all weekend at least.
91 - Ernie Irvan - definitely had one of the best cars out there that day. Earnhardt, Irvan, Kyle Petty, and Davey Allison were the class of the 91 race.
92 - Davey Allison - led 127 laps and most definitely had the dominant car
93 - Dale Jarrett - Earnhardt dominated the race but Jarrett was in the top 5 all day.
94 - Sterling Marlin - Earnhardt, Irvan, and Marlin all had about equal cars that day and Marlin won.
95 - Sterling Marlin - Marlin won and had the dominant car leading 105 laps
96 - Dale Jarrett - Jarrett won and had one of the top 3-4 cars for sure that day. John Andretti had an awfully strong car before crashing out. Earnhardt, Schrader, and Terry Labonte all had really good cars that day too.
97 - Jeff Gordon - It can be argued who had the best car in this race. Bill Elliott, Mark Martin, and Earnhardt all had really good cars in this race too. But Gordon was up front for 40 laps.
98 - Earnhardt - Earnhardt is the dominant car in this race leading 107 laps.
99 - Jeff Gordon - Rusty Wallace by far had the best car in this race but Gordon won. Gordon had one of the top 3 cars out there.
00 - Dale Jarrett - and in dominating fashion. The race that caused the change in restrictor plate rules for the fall Dega race. Not even a Happy Hour crash could slow down Jarrett's car. The Fords were all really strong in 00.
01 - Michael Waltrip - he had one of the best cars out there as those DEI cars were really strong. But there were other really good cars that day too: Earnhardt Jr, Earnhardt, Marlin, Ward Burton, Schrader, and Mike Skinner all were running good.
02 - Ward Burton - did not have a dominant car but was in the right place at the right time. Had a definite top 5 car. Sterling Marlin and Ken Schrader had the best two cars that day IMO.
03 - Michael Waltrip - led 68 out of the 109 laps and definitely had the dominant car that day.
04 - Earnhardt Jr - he and Tony Stewart had the two best cars by far and finished 1-2.
05 - Jeff Gordon - Tony Stewart and Michael Waltrip had the best cars in this race but Gordon did have a strong car and had led 29 laps.
06 - Jimmie Johnson - had one of the better cars in the 500. At least a top 4-5 car all race.
Now, here's where things really start becoming skewed as far as leading cars all day winning the 500....
07 - Kevin Harvick - Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch had the best cars until Busch wiped both of them out in the middle of 3/4. Harvick had a decent car but not a top 5 car all day and wins.
08 - Ryan Newman - Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin had the best cars for sure with Stewart also having a good piece. Newman had a top 10 car probably but was pushed to the win.
09 - Matt Kenseth - Only led 7 out of the 152 laps. Had a good car but Kyle Busch had the dominant car leading 88 out of 123 laps before crashing out in the Vickers/Junior wreck.
10 - Jamie McMurray - led 2 laps all day - the last two. Had a good car but Harvick, Truex, Biffle, Boyer, and Kurt Busch all had better cars IMO.
It looks like its trending especially over the last 4 years to be completely unpredictable. The guys who are dominant are certainly not winning the 500. This year "may" have been different if not for the pothole issue but I doubt it. There would have been a wreck with a couple of laps to go and someone would have been able to do what McMurray done himself.
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