Official Inside Pulse Preview of the 2007 Daytona 500
Race- 1 of 36 (Official Start to the 2007 Nextel Cup Season)
Time- 2:00 PM on FOX / 1:15 PM on MRN Radio / 11:30 AM on XM Satellite Radio
2006 Winner- Jimmie Johnson
Yes, after months of waiting, we’re finally getting close to the start of the Daytona 500. And man, will it be nice to start typing California beginning on Sunday night! The Daytona 500 is the start of the NASCAR Nextel Cup Season (duh), and is being run on February 20th, 2005 this year (again, duh). The 500 is a two hundred lap event held during the daylight hours (its sister race, the Pepsi 400 is the night race at Daytona). Dale Jarrett will take the field down to the green flag this year, regardless of the results of the Gatorade Duel at Daytona. This year’s field could potentially contain at least five former Daytona 500 winners (Jarrett, Gordon, Waltrip, Marlin, Earnhardt Jr.), as well as seven former NASCAR Winston/Nextel Cup Champions (Jarrett, Gordon, Busch, Johnson, Labonte, Stewart and Kenseth).
The Daytona International Speedway itself is a 2.5 Mile tri-oval, and shares the title of being the fourth largest track on the NASCAR circuit (road courses Watkins Glen and Infineon Raceway, and Talladega are longer, and Indianapolis Motor Speedway is also 2.5 miles long). Daytona shares the distinction (with Talladega) of being a restrictor plate race. That is to say, all cars in the race have a special restrictor plate installed to cut the amount of air that flows into the engine, thus reducing speed to somewhat safer levels. This became instrumental in the Superspeedway races following a series of horrific crashes in the 1980s and early 1990s. This also means that drivers at Daytona use little of their brakes during the course of the event. That’s not to give off the impression that Daytona is an easy course to race; it’s not. Drivers have to constantly be aware of “the Big One”, a multi-car crash that happens occasionally at Daytona and Talladega. Though Talladega is more likely to see a crash on this scale, Daytona has had its share of wild rides in the past. In recent years, both Michael Waltrip and Ryan Newman have taken a tumble on the track, and many the world over remember the late, great Dale Earnhardt’s incredible wreck several years ago (he flipped several times down the backstretch, only to finish the race!) Because of its high speeds, Daytona is an especially dangerous track to race at. As most everyone knows, Dale Earnhardt was killed in a last-lap crash during the 2001 Daytona 500. What you may not know (if you didn’t catch the ESPN biopic 3) is that Dale Earnhardt’s close friend and fellow NASCAR veteran Neil Bonnett was also killed at Daytona. He died during a crash in 1994 at the track, in a very similar manner to Dale Earnhardt. A track worker was also killed just last year during a freak accident during an ARCA race.
When you watch the race on Sunday, be prepared to see a lot of “drafting” and “blocking”. Drafting is when two cars get together, with one right behind the other. This cuts the amount of air flowing off the spoiler (or back) of the lead car, and dramatically decreases the amount of air against the grill (or front) of the tail car. Thus, the two cars when drafting can run faster than a car that is running by itself. Thus, when you will hear during the broadcast that a car has fallen out of the draft, it means that he is either hung out to dry, or he has fallen too far behind the pack to maintain the draft. You will also notice drafting lines during the course of the race. Daytona is a tricky place sometimes, and a particular line around the track may only work during the first half of the race. This is why during restarts you’ll see one line of cars start to pull away from the other, only to see the other line catch back up with the first line. “Blocking” refers to one car moving his car around the track in order to prevent another car from passing. You will especially see this towards the end of the race if the first and second place cars are within a car length of each other. Blocking is riskier than it may seem, because if you attempt to block a driver that is already underneath you, you’re more than likely heading towards the outside wall, or the inside retaining wall, whichever way the momentum from your spin takes you.
In the past few years, the finishes to the Daytona 500 have not been as close as, say, the very first race in 1959. Tony Stewart is one of the leading favorites to win this year’s event, though there are always others in contention, including Michael Waltrip (a two-time winner) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (the 2004 winner). Jeff Gordon has taken the checkered flag in the 500 three times (1997, 1999, 2005), and Sterling Marlin has twice. Dale Jarrett is a three-time Daytona 500 winner, and is the active leading driver in that category. Kurt Busch had a second place run two years ago, but is not historically good at Daytona. Mark Martin is likely making his final appearance in the 500.
Predicted Cautions: 6 (2 – Debris, 1 – Engine Failure, 3 – Crash)
Green/White/Checker Finish: No
Predicted Winner: Tony Stewart(#20 Home Depot Chevrolet – Joe Gibbs Racing)
2nd Place – Dale Earnhardt Jr.
3rd Place – Kasey Kahne
4th Place – Kevin Harvick
Estimated “Big One”: 10 Cars (5 Out, 2 Re-Enter the Race, 3 Damaged)
