Tony Stewart leads the pack during the first Gatorade Duel at Daytona Thursday afternoon. Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR
If there’s one thing that everyone watching the action at Daytona International Speedway has learned this week, it’s to expect the unexpected.
Both preliminary events this weekend, Friday night’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event, and Saturday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series event, not only saw first time winners in John King and James Buescher, but also saw the event decided by last lap crashes.
Add to that the instability of some Sprint Cup cars while attempting to bump draft, and the lingering questions about the new EFI Fuel Injection systems under race conditions.
But now it’s time for the grand finale, the 54th running of the Daytona 500. But when the engines fire this afternoon, we could see one of the most interesting, unusual, and unexpected races in the history of the Great American Race.
Fast On Race Day
Ford has been fast since the beginning of SpeedWeeks. The Blue Oval brigade not only topped the speed charts in all but one practice session, but Roush-Fenway Racing’s Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle took the top row in qualifying.
One reason the Fords are performing so well is that they don’t seem to be having the overheating issues that the Chevrolets and the Toyotas have had. Many attribute that to the cooler running FR9 engine. With cooler temperatures expected on Sunday, it well could be a Ford sitting in victory lane at the end of the day.
The Pack Is Back
NASCAR’s rule changes have brought back the pack racing seen for so many years at Daytona and Talladega.
Some drivers have tried to find a way to push others around the big track, reminiscent of the two-car tandems seen last year, leading to several crashes and bent sheet metal.
Friday’s NCWTS event saw mostly single file racing, while Saturday’s NNS event saw a mixture of pack racing and the two-car tandem.
What will work in Sunday’s running of the 500? We’ll have to wait and see.
Know When To Hold Them
Considering that both the medications are essentially one and the same, it means that if you keep this ailment untreated, then chances are that you may very well read the contents and the various other tablets available for the same problem. http://new.castillodeprincesas.com/directorio/seccion/alquiler/ generic levitra for sale Phosphodiesteras-5 check out description commander cialis helps to destroy eGMP which is responsible for erectile dysfunction. You can gain more knowledge regarding this problem. This is not “selective hearing;” we do not listen to other ideas and techniques that do work, and that’s where you come in. One interesting factor over the course of SpeedWeeks has been the decision by several teams to skip practice sessions, or, in some cases, compete days of testing.
In fact, Saturday morning’s final practice session saw only 36 of 43 drivers taking time, with very few drivers choosing to spend much time on the track in the session.
Many teams made the move to protect their cars from some of the carnage seen from the aforementioned pack racing.
But could somebody be holding a winning hand, and not wanting to show what they have too soon?
We only have to wait 500 miles to find out.
The Weather Factor
As was mentioned before, temperatures today are expected to be a lot cooler than in previous days. That’s usually a good situation, making for good, fast racing.
Unfortunately, along with the cooler temperatures comes a threat for rain in Daytona this afternoon.
Conditions are expected to be mostly cloudy, with a threat of showers in the afternoon to evening.
Forecast models are calling for a 50% chance of rain by 1 o’clock this afternoon, dropping to 40% by 5 pm. Some forecasters say the rain may start during the race, and then continue on through the night.
Four times, the Daytona 500 has been rain shortened, in 1965 (Fred Lorenzen), 1966 (Richard Petty), 2003 (Michael Waltrip) and 2009 (Matt Kenseth).
The Daytona 500 has never been delayed a full day by rain. Hopefully, that record will continue this year.
For the latest on weather conditions around the Daytona 500, visit wx-man.com/NASCAR.
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