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February 09, 2009
Bring On The Season!!
By Mark Young
After what seemed like an off-season that lasted six months instead of only two The Budweiser Shootout was a great prelude for things to come.....I hope. The banning of testing and the economic downturn we are all feeling has made the weeks leading up to the Daytona 500 a little lack-luster compared to years gone by. But in some ways I think this may have created more anticipation as we prepare ourselves for the 150 mile qualifying races and ultimately the 500 on Sunday. Regardless, the season is upon us and I cannot wait for it to kick-off on Sunday.
The shootout as well as qualifying for the pole showed me some things that I didn't expect but I am anxious to see how it pans out on Sunday. Here are a few thoughts I have based on what I have seen so far...
The Dodge teams either have a real big horsepower issue still or they aerodynamically need the draft to go fast.
All of the Childress cars qualified bad (Bowyer the fastest at 26th). We know they make good power, these guys are going to rely on how well they draft to do well........don't count them out.
The newly formed Stewart-Haas teams are fast right off the truck, no surprise since they are essentially the 5th and 6th Hendrick cars.
Glad to see Bill Elliott and the Wood Brothers running so well, I hope they have a great 500 and get sponsorship for more races.
The three full time Earnhardt-Ganassi cars showed great muscle, perhaps this union is going to work.
Joey Logano had a tough first weekend, I don't think this coming weekend is going to be any easier.....welcome to the Cup Series son.
I am really concerned about how much these cars are dancing around on the increasingly bumpier surface at Daytona. There are a couple of things that need to be done to fix this. 1) The track needs to be repaved like Talladega was. 2) NASCAR needs to ease up on some of the restrictions on the chassis adjustments and tell the teams that they can no longer use bump-stops to get the cars to handle.
I can't wait for Thursday to see everyone out there grinding away in the 150 mile races. That will really tell us a lot more about what to expect on Sunday.
What do you guys think?
February 9, 2009 | Permalink
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Comments
I only got to see the highlights but man those cars were just unstable as all hell. I would try everything else possible before repaving the track surface; NASCAR does need to exercise more leeway on the plate tracks I think as far as suspension goes.
Stewart and Newman may have a big surprise in store. Their HMS-supplied equipment will definitely close the gap, and even though it is an upstart team, Stewart is no slacker. I get the vibe that he knows something that we don't.
My picks for the duels: 14 in Race 1; 99 in Race 2.
My pick for the 500; well it's so tough to pick the winners becuase the plate tracks generally produce unpredictable finishes, and the winner can come from 20th to the lead on the last lap, so I'm really just drawing out of a hat. I give the 18 the win.
Posted by: Joe | Feb 10, 2009 3:44:16 AM
Seems like every year we see some surprises during speedweeks. This year has been no different. It's good to see so many independent teams trying to make the race. Racers are racers and will never lose that spirit, that's what made this sport to begin with. As far as SHR is concerned, yes they are doing well so far, but I will wait until we get to the nonrestrictor plate races to see where they really stand. Good luck and have a safe year to all.
Posted by: Peter | Feb 10, 2009 7:37:49 AM
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