| Published:Waubonsee Insight |
| Date: February 2005 |
| Section: Nascar/Sports |
| Comments: My first published article. |
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By: Ian Essling
The ground has been trembling these last few weeks in Florida. Some claim to have a heard a noise "like a freight train" droning on for hours at a time down by Daytona Beach. California's earthquakes are not in town for the weekend, nor have Oklahoma's tornados dropped by for a little mayhem. While both of these scenarios might have been interesting, neither is true; after a seemingly endless winter, the cars have finally returned to the track, and the 2005 NASCAR season is a scant few weeks from getting underway.
Teams have been at Daytona testing their super-speedway cars for the last month or so, participating in NASCAR's required "Pre-Season Thunder" testing session. Every team in the Nextel Cup series has made an appearance at Daytona, although a couple of drivers were unable to make the test. Kevin Harvick and Tony Stewart both had previous commitments, and designated other drivers to test their cars.
So, what should we expect at this year's Great American Race? It's a safe bet that the Chevys will be the class of the field, as usual. Ford and Dodge still have a ways to go before they can catch up with the drafting ability of the Chevy teams, and the gap seems to have increased in past years.
Dale Earnhardt, Inc and Hendrick Motorsports will likely lead a lot of laps, but a rejuvenated Richard Childress Racing team could be the dark horse candidate to dominate the field.
Here's a little taste of the action we're sure to see come February 20 th . These five drivers are my picks to challenge for the win at the Daytona 500.
Like him or hate him, he is the defending Daytona 500 champion and a tough racer when it comes to restrictor plate tracks. His team Dale Earnhardt Inc has been phenomenal on the two plate tracks (Daytona and Talladega) in the past few years; Junior has combined with teammate Michael Waltrip to win ten plate races since 2001. Although Earnhardt, Jr has been strong in the past, I think that he may have a difficult time maintaining his strength this year. One possible glitch could be lack of drafting help; teammate Michael Waltrip, who was a strong plate racer in 2003, failed to finish in the top-10 in every plate race last year, and finished 20 th in points. Another backslide for this team is the massive reshuffling of personnel that occurred during the off-season. Junior will be running with a new crew chief this year (Pete Rondeau), but the pilot of the eight car says it will not affect his performance. Also, "Slugger" Labbe and Chris Andrews, integral cogs of the DEI restrictor plate machine, left the team to join Evernham Motorsports.
Junior will probably run near the front at Daytona, but this event has not been kind to him in the past; while he runs very well on plate tracks in general, with the Daytona 500 it has been feast or famine as they say.
Recent Daytona 500 finishes: 1s , 36th, 29th
Harvick flew under the radar in 2004. Only five top-5 finishes, 14 th place in the standings, and, for the first time in his career, no wins. Yet, the 29 team shows signs of having an exceptional showing at this year's Daytona 500.maybe even a win. Harvick ran exceeding well in the restrictor plate races last year, with three top-5s in four tries, including a season-best second at the fall Talladega race. "We are very confident that our restrictor-plate program is one of the best in the sport." Harvick says. So confident, in fact, that he skipped preseason testing at Daytona. "I think [engine builder] Danny Lawrence and all the guys in the engine room have burned the midnight oil in an attempt to find us [more] horsepower." (Source: Nascar.com). With two strong teammates at his side this year (Burton in the 31 and Blaney in the 07), look for Harvick to stay in the top-10 all day at Daytona.
Recent Daytona 500 finishes: 4th, 4th, 36th
Another love or hate driver, Gordon won two of the four plate races in 2004 (Earnhardt Jr won the other two). Hendrick Motorsports has made great strides to end the 'DEI Dominance' of the restrictor plate tracks, and it seems like the efforts have been successful. He was fifth in preseason testing at Daytona, and that bodes well for his chance to win another Daytona 500, especially after his third place finish in the points last year. Gordon has four teammates to help him draft to the front of the field, as Busch series star Kyle Busch moves up into Cup-level racing, replacing veteran Terry Labonte in the number five car.
Recent Daytona 500 finishes: 8th, 12th, 9th
Johnson did almost everything last year, except for win the championship. Eight wins and twenty top-5s led to a second place finish in the standings, a mere eight points behind champion Kurt Busch. While Johnson was strong on the plate tracks in 2004, what will really help him at Daytona is the momentum he is carrying from last season. Johnson ended 2004 with four wins in the last six races (including three in a row), and a second place finish in the season finale. Johnson is an excellent drafter, and when he works with his teammate and part owner Jeff Gordon, both cars are exceptionally fast.
Recent Daytona 500 finishes: 5th, 3rd, 15th
See, you thought I was going to do something crazy and through a Ford or a Dodge in here, didn't you? The orange Home Depot machine is a solid car on superspeedways. 2002 Champion Stewart was the runner up to Dale Jr in last year's 500, and showed remarkable speed when he stayed in line with the eight car. However, when he was alone or in deep traffic, the car seemed to almost stall. Stewart needs to stay at the front, and stay with those that he can draft with well (Dale Jr and Kurt Busch are his best bet). Stewart elected to not test his car at Daytona, but a substitute driver did turn some fast laps, so he will probably run fairly well.
Recent Daytona 500 finishes: 2nd, 7th, 43rd
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