By: Zach Catanzareti, Staff Writer
Following Sunday’s running of the Advance Auto Parts Clash at Daytona International Speedway, many people had questions. And Kurt Busch may have an answer for the big one: “Why the single-file racing?”
In the rain-shortened non-points event, Paul Menard was seen dominating out front from pole, as nearly the entire field shifted to single file along the outside walls of the 2.5-mile superspeedway.
Until a 15-car crash ended the green-flag running of the event, little moves were made mid-pack and up front. Jimmie Johnson’s gutsy move for the lead to trigger the accident was the first move for the lead since the race’s opening lap.
With Kurt Busch surviving to finish second in his first race for Chip Ganassi Racing, the 2004 series champion feels it’s an issue with the car more than the driver.
“We’re all smart guys, that’s why we’re running the high groove,” Busch said. “I wish I knew [how to fix it]. That would be the golden ticket to create the better racing and the stability in the cars side-by-side. If I had a magic wand, I would wave it.”
Despite the confusion, Busch knows why the pack turned one-demensional.
“The cars don’t side-draft as well off the left side,” he said. “The right side is too vulnerable. So, when you draft off somebody on the right, you dump a lot more air onto their rear spoiler. And then you take away their side-force on the right side. We’re at an oval, we’re turning left, the right side is very important.”
With the current plate package being used for the final time in next week’s Daytona 500, Busch knows what to expect if the circumstances trend to the high lane.
“If we can get the cars less dependable on the side-force, that’s what I would try to explain to the fans,” he said. “That’s what I thought the cars were more of when I first started racing.”