By Jerry Jordan, Editor
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Often I get criticized for wearing rose-colored
glasses or “drinking the Kool-Aid” when discussing NASCAR racing and whether a
race is good, or bad, but this weekend has tried even my steadfast resolve and leaves
me hunting a unicorn in the Daytona 500.
Until this week, I have never said a race was “bad.” Instead,
I’ve held fast that a race is different levels of “good.” Some races are better
than others but as a fan of racing, I hadn’t seen a “bad race,” at least, not until
Friday night’s NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series race and Saturday’s Xfinity
Series race. While there were some cool passes Friday and everyone was “going
for it,” having 23 drivers end up in the infield care center at Daytona International
Speedway was too much to take. And that doesn’t include multiple trucks catching
on fire, a crewmember being run over and a driver getting sprayed in the face
with a fire extinguisher.
On the polar-opposite end of the scale, the Xfinity race was
a snooze-fest with no one – except Chase Elliott – getting out of line to try
and run down the leaders. Sadly, it was boring when it didn’t have to be. Several
drivers reached out after the race and said their spotters were all playing it
safe and, “waiting for the big one.” The most exciting thing to happen was Brad
Keselowski’s roof flap coming off – something that is probably the topic for another
story.
Even Dale Earnhardt Jr. said after the race that he wasn’t
sure why there was no passing. One of the drivers was heard over the radio during
the race telling their spotter that the bottom groove was fine for a few laps but
then it would fade and was undrivable. Earnhardt Jr. agreed saying drivers
weren’t all bunched up on the top line for no reason, they just couldn’t go
anywhere.
“I don’t know what is going on with the high line becoming
so clearly dominant,” he said. “It doesn’t seem like it is entirely by choice.
They all ride up there for necessity.”
He said he wanted to see the “smart people” get together and
see what can be done but he declined to give his own opinion fearing it would
be lost in the “noise.”
Even Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR’s executive vice president and
chief racing redevelopment officer, was hopeful that today’s Daytona 500 would
be a better show that the two previous season-opening events. He is optimistic
and while one would expect the sanctioning body to take that position, it is
not all hype. The track will be slicker today, the drivers have more on the
line and the excitement level is definitely ramped up.
Let’s hope the Cup Series drivers can bring fans the elusive unicorn they have been searching for throughout SpeedWeeks.
NASCAR’s biggest race needs mix of truck chaos, Xfinity boredom
By Jerry Jordan, Editor
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Often I get criticized for wearing rose-colored glasses or “drinking the Kool-Aid” when discussing NASCAR racing and whether a race is good, or bad, but this weekend has tried even my steadfast resolve and leaves me hunting a unicorn in the Daytona 500.
Until this week, I have never said a race was “bad.” Instead, I’ve held fast that a race is different levels of “good.” Some races are better than others but as a fan of racing, I hadn’t seen a “bad race,” at least, not until Friday night’s NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series race and Saturday’s Xfinity Series race. While there were some cool passes Friday and everyone was “going for it,” having 23 drivers end up in the infield care center at Daytona International Speedway was too much to take. And that doesn’t include multiple trucks catching on fire, a crewmember being run over and a driver getting sprayed in the face with a fire extinguisher.
On the polar-opposite end of the scale, the Xfinity race was a snooze-fest with no one – except Chase Elliott – getting out of line to try and run down the leaders. Sadly, it was boring when it didn’t have to be. Several drivers reached out after the race and said their spotters were all playing it safe and, “waiting for the big one.” The most exciting thing to happen was Brad Keselowski’s roof flap coming off – something that is probably the topic for another story.
Even Dale Earnhardt Jr. said after the race that he wasn’t sure why there was no passing. One of the drivers was heard over the radio during the race telling their spotter that the bottom groove was fine for a few laps but then it would fade and was undrivable. Earnhardt Jr. agreed saying drivers weren’t all bunched up on the top line for no reason, they just couldn’t go anywhere.
“I don’t know what is going on with the high line becoming so clearly dominant,” he said. “It doesn’t seem like it is entirely by choice. They all ride up there for necessity.”
He said he wanted to see the “smart people” get together and see what can be done but he declined to give his own opinion fearing it would be lost in the “noise.”
Even Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR’s executive vice president and chief racing redevelopment officer, was hopeful that today’s Daytona 500 would be a better show that the two previous season-opening events. He is optimistic and while one would expect the sanctioning body to take that position, it is not all hype. The track will be slicker today, the drivers have more on the line and the excitement level is definitely ramped up.
Let’s hope the Cup Series drivers can bring fans the elusive unicorn they have been searching for throughout SpeedWeeks.