NASCAR

Wilson’s NASCAR Notes – Top Stories from Daytona Weekend

Miss anything that happened in NASCAR over the weekend? You don’t need to waste time scouring the ‘net and reading pages and pages worth of information: here are the biggest stories in NASCAR from Coke Zero 400 weekend in Daytona, and I won’t just tell you what happened – I’ll tell you what I think, too!

Harvick Wins a Wild Coke Zero 400

The Story: After waiting through a 90 minute rain delay, a late-race red flag for a 20-car pile-up (see below) and a Green-White-Checkered finish, Kevin Harvick emerged victorious Saturday night in the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona, getting the jump on Jeff Gordon on the final restart, then holding off a late charge from Kasey Kahne for his second win of the season. Harvick now leads Gordon in the standings by 212 points.

Wilson’s Take: It was like a NASCAR version of Survivor out there at the end of the race – the guys with the best shot at winning weren’t necessarily those with the fastest cars, but rather the best at avoiding all the wrecks. That’s not to say Harvick didn’t deserve to win – he had a strong car all night, and would have been in the mix one way or the other – but it would have been nice to see the No.29 be able to race to the finish with all of the top contenders. Was it exciting? Absolutely. Was it great racing? Not so much.

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The Big One Strikes Again

The Story: The ‘Big One’ doesn’t always show up in restrictor-plate racing, but it was back Saturday night at Daytona, and taking no prisoners; with 12 laps to go, Kurt Busch got knocked off-line and onto the apron, and as drivers started backing off – anticipating that the No.2 car would spin back onto the track – it kicked off a chain reaction that collected 20 cars in all, leading to a 20 minute red flag and taking out several top contenders.

Wilson’s Take: Even by Daytona standards, this one was pretty monumental. It wasn’t just that the wreck happened and involved so many cars, it was the fact that it happened at the front of the field, too. A lot of good cars got damaged or totaled, including the rides of Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin, Tony Stewart, Juan Montoya and Elliott Sadler (hey – he was in the top-10 all night – I told you he was good here!) just to name a few. I’m not sure whether guys were getting tired or if it was just a racing incident that ballooned out of control, but it’s not what most people wanted to see. Like I said above – it sure was exciting, but it doesn’t qualify as great racing. At Daytona, though, it happens – what can you do?

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Allmendinger Yells at The King?!?

The Story: According to NASCAR.com, A.J. Allmendinger, upset that he got spun into the wall 67 laps into Saturday’s race, yelled at team owner and NASCAR legend Richard Petty and then stormed off to his trailer when the King tried to calm him down in the garage.

Wilson’s Take: There are a few things that aren’t too advisable to do – tug on Superman’s cape, spit into the wind, etc. – I’d think that somewhere on that list would be yelling at the King of NASCAR. Especially when you are A.J. Allmendinger. I understand that A.J. was miffed, and I think it is a good thing when a driver is upset about performing poorly, but Richard Petty has won 200 races and seven championships – if he wants to offer you some advice, it is best not to get mad and storm off. Good thing for A.J. that he’s one of Ford’s best drivers right now.

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Junior’s Storybook Ending

The Story: In what could very well be the final time the No.3 car takes the track in NASCAR, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. wrapped up the famous number’s history in spectacular fashion – winning Friday night’s Nationwide race with the same blue and yellow Wrangler paint scheme that Dale, Sr. ran when he won his first NASCAR championship.

Wilson’s Take: It doesn’t matter whether you are an Earnhardt fan or not – this is a great story. Richard Childress, Rick Hendrick, Earnhardt, Jr. and Teresa Earnhardt all came together to make running the No.3 car possible, which was an incredible accomplishment all by itself, but to go on to win the race the proverbial icing-on-the-cake, providing the storybook ending everyone was hoping to see. This was also the debut for the new Nationwide car, and the verdict – the racing was good, and the cars looked great.

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Changes to the Chase?

The Story: NASCAR CEO Brian France said in a press conference over the weekend that we may see “high impact changes to the Chase,” possibly as early as next season.

Wilson’s Take: The problem is, France didn’t mention just what these changes may be, other than to say there were several different proposals that are being considered and that the goal is to bring out more of the “winning moments” in NASCAR. I’m not exactly sure how they are thinking of accomplishing that goal, but I can’t imagine that the changes will necessarily be bad. Whether or not they will be well received, though, is a bigger question, and one that won’t be able to be answered until France and the NASCAR front office give us more details.

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