Testing SpeedwayMedia.com

Tag: Speedweeks

  • Multi-car pileup in closing laps of Daytona 500

    Multi-car pileup in closing laps of Daytona 500

    With the laps winding down in the Daytona 500, the pushing, shoving and tight-quarter action that defines restrictor plate racing led to the inevitable big one.

    “Speedway racing again,” Joey Logano said. “It’s a lot of fun until this happens.”

    As the field zoomed down the backstretch at Daytona International Speedway, Brad Keselowski moved from the outside line to the bottom to overtake race leader Ross Chastain. Meanwhile, Alex Bowman and William Byron, who spent the previous laps on the bottom line, got shuffled up to the middle line and worked their way up to the front. The last bump wasn’t squared up and Byron’s car wiggled, hooked Keselowski and triggered a 23-car pileup at the entrance of Turn 3.

    It capped off a miserable Speedweeks for the reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion who wrecked his primary car, Thursday, in the Bluegreen Vacations Duels.

    “You’re kind of always watching when you’re in there and especially if you’re on top you can kind of watch and see how well their pushes are and it just looked like the 48 kind of got the 24 out of shape and just happened to get the 6 in the right-rear and unfortunately we were in the top lane,” Blaney said.

    After the initial hit, he grabbed his wrist.

    “I had my initial wreck and then my wheel grabbed something,” he said. “I usually let go of the wheel, but I didn’t think I needed to and it just tweaked it a little bit. It’s all good.”

    He and Logano led a combined 57 of 200 laps and were in position to deliver Team Penske its second Daytona 500 victory. On the back of a ninth-month stretch of marquee victories for Roger Penske.

    “It’s part of it,” Logano said. “You’re pushing and shoving there at the end. We had the cars that could take it and were doing really well. I had Blaney behind me. I thought, ‘Man, if I could pick one, that’s the one I want. I’m in a great position here’ and just had to find the right opportunity to slip the 1 again because the 6 wasn’t working with us, so I felt if I could keep the 12 with me I’m gonna be in a decent spot, but it just didn’t work out.

    For Keselowski, the winningest active plate racer in the Cup Series (seven), he remains winless in his 15th attempt to win NASCAR’s crown jewel.

    “It’s just one of those deals,” he said. “We were mixed up in the middle of the soup most of the race. We executed really well in the final stage and put ourselves in position, but that’s just the way Daytona goes.”

    Byron and Bowman, whose drafting triggered the wreck, finished first and second.

    “Yeah, I feel really bad about that because I feel like that was — things were getting really intense with the pushes, and I felt like it was getting to the point where I couldn’t handle all the pushes, and you just try to get through those moments,” he said.

  • The White Zone: Some thoughts on the 61st Daytona 500

    The White Zone: Some thoughts on the 61st Daytona 500

    The buildup and anticipation came and went. The 61st running of the Daytona 500 is officially in the books. A new season of NASCAR is truly underway.

    But before we turn our focus to Atlanta Motor Speedway and beyond, here’s some thoughts I had on Sunday’s race.

    “DiBurrito” had a breakout race

    DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – FEBRUARY 17: Matt DiBenedetto, driver of the #95 Procore Toyota, races Ricky Stenhouse Jr., driver of the #17 Fastenal Ford, during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series 61st Annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 17, 2019 in Daytona Beach, Florida. Photo: Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images

    Matt DiBenedetto has always been the eternal underdog in his years of racing in NASCAR. He’s shown flashes of excellence that made him a rising star in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series ranks, but it never really translated when he made it to the national level.

    That changed Sunday, when he led a race high of 49 laps. For context, that’s more laps than he’s led in any race, any season and his cumulative Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series seasons combined.

    “Unbelievable how fast my car was,” he said. “I’ve never had a piece under me like that, so that’s amazing.”

    Now keep in mind that the racing we see at Daytona International Speedway isn’t what we see at any other track, besides Talladega Superspeedway. And come next week at Atlanta, DiBenedetto could be back to running mid-pack.

    He also finished 28th, after being collected in the Big One with 10 laps remaining.

    With that said, however, success at plate tracks is still noteworthy, and there’s a lot you can extrapolate from a strong run.

    “Had a lot of changes with this team and we came out and led the most laps and were flying in our Toyota Camry today,” he added. “A lot of momentum going into the season even though it kind of ended pretty heartbreaking.”

    If he has sustained success from Atlanta onwards, you can point back to Feb. 17 as the day he had his “breakout race.”

    Sunday’s race saved a forgettable Speedweeks

    Up until the green flag dropped on Sunday’s Daytona 500, Speedweeks 2019 stood to be arguably the most forgettable in recent memory.

    The Clash was a single-file snoozefest that was highlighted by a misstep on Jimmie Johnson’s end that triggered a 17-car wreck. The Duels were a single-file snoozefest that was highlighted by Joey Logano’s last lap pass to win Duel No. 2. Saturday’s XFINITY Grand National Series race was a single-file snoozefest that had no bright spot.

    The only race that wasn’t a snoozefest, prior to the 500, was Friday night’s Gander Outdoors Truck Series race. And that was a wreck-filled event in which only nine trucks finished the race and a crew member was run over.

    Sunday’s Daytona 500, however, was an exciting race that saved this year’s Speedweeks. Granted, there were some of the usual drawbacks of modern restrictor plate racing: The lead car had such strong control of the draft and could block any advance at whim. And while the finish suffered because of this, passing wasn’t a Herculean task.

    With this being the final restrictor plate race, these drawbacks could be a non-issue at Talladega.

    The final restrictor plate race

    While restrictor plates had been used prior to 1988, Feb. 14, 1988 was the first time NASCAR mandated its at both Daytona and Talladega.

    While intended as a safety device, the restriction of air flow to the engine, thus reducing horsepower, had the byproduct of bunching the field together and creating the multi-line pack racing, and multi-car wrecks that became synonymous with Daytona and Talladega.

    With NASCAR’s new aero package slowing down speeds, the restrictor plate has become redundant.

    It’s too soon to say if the plate will ever make a comeback. There’s always the chance that NASCAR doesn’t like what it sees at Talladega and Daytona (safety speaking) with the new aero package and brings the plates back.

    But if it truly is the final time we ever used the plates, and while I don’t expect the racing at Daytona or Talladega to change that much, there’s a part of me that’s sad to see the device that led to the most competitive races (objectively speaking) NASCAR sees year in and year out.

    Ratings are up

    At the time that I wrote this, the overnight ratings for Sunday’s Daytona 500 were released.

    It also finished as the highest rated sports event of the weekend, beating out the NBA All-Star Game.

    This comes after an increase in ratings for The Clash.

    Of course, we have 35 more races to run. So it’s too early to say if this weekend was just a bright spot or sign of turning the ship around. But it’s great to have more people watching NASCAR’s biggest race this year.

  • The View From My Recliner — Pre 500

    The View From My Recliner — Pre 500

    It’s been a while, but the recliner is set for another great season of NASCAR action.

    I hope there is more action in the Daytona 500 than the Advanced Auto Parts Duel at Daytona because riding around in single file and the big one happening on the final lap doesn’t mean action to me.

    It looks like the new ride height rule has crew chiefs and engineers scratching their heads about how to make the car handle at Daytona. Thankfully they have a couple of days to run simulations and get a plan together and hopefully bring us an action-packed Daytona 500.

    The idea behind this column is to share the perspective of a fan. If there is something you want to comment on, feel free to e-mail me jdhwood20@aol.com. I am here for you.

    Time for some Bold Predictions from the Recliner.

    • The five crew members over the pit wall will be a mess and before NASCAR gets to Charlotte for the All-Star Race, that rule will change.
    • Ryan Blaney will win the Daytona 500.
    • I will be the new owner of BK Racing. Well, not really, but Ron Devine won’t be soon.
    • When we hit the intermediate tracks, every Ford driver will be complaining that Chevy and Toyota will have an unfair advantage.
    • The Danica Double will end with wrecks at Daytona and Indy.
    • Chase Elliott will get his first win and they will keep coming after that.
    • Furniture Row Racing will have the Championship hangover and Martin Truex Jr. will not make the final four at Homestead.
    • The final four at Homestead will be: Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Larson and Ryan Blaney.
    • The 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Champion will be Kyle Larson.

    There are a few things I will be watching for this year.

    I want to see how Aric Almirola performs in Stewart-Haas equipment. He was respectable at Richard Petty Motorsports, but he knew most weeks that a top-15 was what he could hope for. Now that he is in a top-notch ride, he needs to prove he is the driver who can handle the equipment.

    I hope Bubba Wallace gets enough funding and RPM has the patience to see him develop as a driver at the Cup level. I think he has the talent and I hope he gets the chance to prove it.

    I am looking forward to finding out how the Hawkeye inspection platform works and if we will have 20 cars late for qualifying.

    It truly is an honor to have this space to share my thoughts on a sport I love.

    Enjoy the Duels and the rest of Speedweek.

    We’ll talk soon when I share The View From My Recliner.

  • Daytona Introduces Short Track Races For Speedweeks 2013

    Daytona Introduces Short Track Races For Speedweeks 2013

    Daytona track president Joie Chitwood III: “Grassroots short track racing is the foundation of this great sport.”

    [media-credit name=”Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”222″][/media-credit]Recently announced to take place at Daytona during Speedweeks 2013 is the inaugural “UNOH (University of Northwestern Ohio) Battle at the Beach” event that will include three non-point special races for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series, NASCAR Whelen Modified tours, and the Late Model division of the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series.

    All these series are used as stepping stones to NASCAR’s more lucrative national series, such as Sprint Cup and Nationwide.

    The series’ will race on a temporary oval slated to be a quarter mile (0.4) in length built on the 2.5 mile superspeedway’s back stretch.

    “When I think about adding a short track event here, it’s just an opportunity to connect with that local racer supporting NASCAR,” Mr. Chitwood said.

    He also went on to say he is thrilled to give young drivers the opportunity to fight for a win at the” World Center of Racing”.

    “Many of NASCAR’s greatest stars cut their teeth on short tracks around the country and we look forward to hosting the stars of tomorrow in 2013. Whether it’s a hobby or profession, everybody should have the chance to race at Daytona. ”

    The criteria for setting the field in the event include: winners of the 2012 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and West events as well as the series champions will automatically be locked into that series’ race at Daytona next year.
    Additionally, winners of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour or NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour races this season and series champions will be locked into the Modified event.

    The top 10 finishers in this year’s NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Division I national standings will earn a starting spot in the Late Model race.

    And the champions of the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, NASCAR Toyota Series from Mexico, and Euro Racecar NASCAR Touring Series this season will earn a protected starting spot in whichever one of the three 2013 Daytona races they choose to run.

    The remaining spots in next year’s features at Daytona will be filled through time trials and heat races.

    The “UNOH Battle at the Beach” event is scheduled for February 18-19, 2013, the Monday and Tuesday before the Daytona 500. Days that are also known as Daytona International Speedway’s “dark days”.