Since 1959, the summer race at Daytona International Speedway has often marked the unofficial start of the second half of the NASCAR Sprint Cup season.
Fans and prognosticators have a gauge of which racers are definite contenders to the ones who still have some homework to do between now and Richmond, VA in September.
Certainly, the one thing that'll be on every racer's mind for tonight's Coke Zero 400 presented by Coca-Cola at Daytona (Live on TNT at 7:30 PM EST) will be the two-car tandems. Large trains of at least three or more cars in a drafting pack are extinct given the aerodynamics of the cars and the new pavement of the 2.5-mile track.
Drafting is still a critical and important aspect of racing around this mammoth of a high speed track, as drivers will pair up with a teammate or off-track friend to make their way towards the lead pack. Usually, you'll see these tandems work together all race long, backing off the lead pack occasionally to cool down their motors.
After regrouping themselves, these pairings work together to make their way back up to the front, which doesn't take nearly as long as it would in the old drafting system. During the days of the huge, 20-30 car packs, one wrong move would result in the lead cars passing by with relative ease.
In other words, that driver would get "freight trained" or "hung out to dry," which still happens but only if that racer loses their dance partner on the track.
During last night's Nationwide race, the two car tango was illustrated perfectly. Open wheel talent Danica Patrick worked the early portions of the Subway Jalapeno 250 with 1997 IndyCar champion Tony Stewart to grab the race lead. Her confidence grew so much that even when Stewart elected to work with Elliott Sadler for the remainder of the 250-miler, she was able to get drafting help from teammate Aric Almirola.
While it's a racer's tendency to be at the front all race long, when it comes to racing at Daytona, being the leader prior to the last lap is probably the worst place to be at during the closing stages. Simply put, it'd be akin to a matador and the bull, although in NASCAR parlance, it'd be 41 other hungry hounds chasing after you under the Daytona Beach night skies.
For those who want the big Hollywood-like crashes, while they still happen at the larger tracks, they just don't include quite as many cars as in the past. However, that doesn't mean that marquee names like Jeff Gordon or Jimmie Johnson are immune to these accidents, as they were swept up in an early race crash during this year's Daytona 500.
With a good, fast car as well as efficient pit stops and stellar drafting strategy from a teammate or friend all race long, those will pave the way to a rousing win at Daytona. If all those ingredients truly hold together, tonight's winner will have earned their money's worth at Daytona after 400 miles.
With a good, fast car as well as efficient pit stops and stellar drafting strategy from a teammate or friend all race long, those will pave the way to a rousing win at Daytona. If all those ingredients truly hold together, tonight's winner will have earned their money's worth at Daytona after 400 miles.
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