We know the big race could be a race of two halves. The first, fairly laid back, just getting some laps in, trying a few things out, settling the car in to the track, seeing how the draft works, and seeing how the engine temperatures change when bump drafting, a lot like the second Duel race. The second half could be a real eye opener, just like the first Duel race. Full of action, wrecks and riches for the victor.
We know that not only does tandem drafting work, for as long as the engine temps can handle it, but we also know that the old fashioned draft works very well too! Just look at the run the 88 had on the 14 on the last lap of the first Duel when the yellow flag came out. Was Smoke really going to win that race had it stayed green?
We know that Danica was very unlucky! We must also be impressed with not only what she did with her hands as she approached the inside wall, but also her attitude to the whole weekend, learn and gain respect first and results will come!
We know that as a young, inexperienced rookie, Michael Waltrip is likely to make silly mistakes...
We also know that the 500 is a long race, and a different prospect completely to the Shootout and the Duels.
So I guess that means we don't know all that much after all!
So last night, or this morning, 3.30am UK time this morning in fact, I sat up to watch the 2012 NASCAR Bud Shootout...
Was it worth it??
Hell yeah!!
If you listed every element the perfect pre-season event should have the list would include lots of lead changes, close racing, wrecks, and a nail biting finish.
This years race had all those elements packed into an 82 lap action packed sprint!
Surely the racing was exactly what NASCAR fans wanted, a return to pack racing... or was it? The racing was definately more "pack" than "tandem" but a "return"? This was not "old school" pack racing where drivers sat two or three wide, lap after lap, unable to race for themselves. This was "new school" pack racing where drivers could draft or bump draft to overtake... and it was good!
There were wrecks, several wrecks, but what do you expect when you put that many drivers, that close together, for that few laps. The only real sticking point and the cause of the wrecks, was the effect of bump drafting in the corners, especially when the pushing car is lower on the track than the car being pushed.
FoxSports.com are already running a poll asking fans, "Should NASCAR make changes after the Shootout?" Richard Childress is not happy. Should NASCAR change the rules package? Should NASCAR ban bump drafting in the turns? Should NASCAR do this, should NASCAR do that?
“NASCAR asked the teams and the drivers what we could do to make it better,” said Tony Stewart, the defending Cup Champion. “My point is, this is better than having to sit there and stare at the back of a spoiler for 500 miles and not be able to see where you're going half the race. We had control of what lane we got to run in. We got to move whenever we wanted. You didn't have to not move because you had a guy behind you that you had to rely on making your decision on what he had to do also. We had more control as drivers today.”
The answer according to Dale Earnhardt Jr - "You just hold your damn car where it needs to be and not drive around like an idiot."
Quite! The rules package worked perfectly. I do not believe the drivers will bump draft to the extreme we saw in the Shootout for the whole 500 miles next Sunday. The 500 is a different kettle of fish, a long race to survive, not a sprint. We might see more of the same in the last 100 miles but that has always been the way, hasn't it? The drivers have the Gatorade Duels next, more time to get the hang of the "new school" pack racing.
The other story from the Bud Shootout was Kyle Busch and his “stab and steer — and some braking" saves and his last corner slingshot for the win on Tony Stewart. Love Kyle or hate him, that boy sure can drive a race car.
So what have we learnt so far?
"Pack" racing is back, don't bump draft the left side of another car in the turns, Kyle Busch sure can save a race car...
Since the Shootout NASCAR has mandated changes cars to slow them, and to reduce the two car hook-ups that dominated that race.
Changes have been made to the cooling systems; a smaller grille opening and a "pop off valve" all designed to make the engines overheat quicker. In theory this should stop the cars bump drafting lap after lap as the pushing cars engine will overheat, making the two car hook-ups a method of overtaking, not a way of just running round as in the Shootout.
NASCAR have also reduced the restrictor plate size by one-64th of an inch, to 57-64ths. This has already dropped speeds from the 206mph in the Shootout to 200mph in practice.
I think it is a shame they didn't run the 150's with the bigger plate to see what effect the cooling system changes would have made on their own, but NASCAR obviously wanted to slow the cars as well as limit the two car drafting.
One thing has been bothering me since the Shootout... the yellow line rule. Should Denny Hamlin have been penalised for going under the yellow line when he was alongside Ryan Newman above the line. I am still of the opinion that the driver should not be allowed to jump below the yellow line to advance your position. However, on the run to the flag, if a driver pulls out and is alongside the other car above the line, should they be penalised if they are forced under the line by the other driver? Put it another way, drivers should not be allowed to block! Bearing in mind what happened 10 years ago this should go without saying!
Its also great to see the new Nationwide cars at Daytona. It is a pity that the new square fronts of the Challenger and Mustang are limiting speeds... to 200mph!! Cool!!
Gatorade Duel Race No. 1 Lineup - 1. Dale Earnhardt Jr. No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 186.089
2. Paul Menard No. 27 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 185.422
3. Ryan Newman No. 39 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 185.002
4. Mark Martin No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 184.991
5. Tony Stewart No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 184.911
6. Kurt Busch No. 22 Penske Racing Dodge 184.896
7. Juan Pablo Montoya No. 42 Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 184.763
8. Marcos Ambrose No. 9 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 184.748
9. Kevin Harvick No. 29 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 184.740
10. Jimmie Johnson No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 184.687
11. Bill Elliott No. 09 Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 184.532
12. AJ Allmendinger No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 184.290
13. Joe Nemechek No. 87 Nemco Motorsports Toyota 184.222
14. Matt Kenseth No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford 184.102
15. Dave Blaney No. 36 Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 183.793
16. Regan Smith No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 183.681
17. Kasey Kahne No. 4 Red Bull Racing Toyota 183.602
18. Bobby Labonte No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Toyota 183.576
19. Brian Vickers No. 83 Red Bull Racing Toyota 183.557
20. Kevin Conway No. 97 Nemco Motorsports Toyota 182.949
21. David Gilliland No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford 182.697
22. Michael McDowell No. 66 HP Racing Toyota 182.434
23. JJ Yeley No. 46 Whitney Motorsports Chevrolet 180.977
24. Andy Lally No. 71 TRG Motorsports Chevrolet 180.828
Gatorade Duel Race No. 2 Lineup - 1. Jeff Gordon No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 185.966
2. Trevor Bayne No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford 185.445
3. Clint Bowyer No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 185.223
4. Jeff Burton No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 185.071
5. Greg Biffle No. 16 Roush Fenway Racing Ford 184.911
6. David Ragan No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing 184.612
7. Carl Edwards No. 99 Roush Fenway Racing Ford 184.475
8. Travis Kvapil No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford 184.271
9. David Reutimann No. 00 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 184.019
10. Brad Keselowski No. 2 Penske Racing Dodge 184.008
11. Michael Waltrip No. 15 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 183.966
12. Jamie McMurray No. 1 Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 183.685
13. Kyle Busch No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 183.595
14. Martin Truex Jr. No. 56 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 183.456
15. Joey Logano No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 183.206
16. Todd Bodine No. 60 Germain Racing Toyota 183.057
17. Casey Mears No. 13 Germain Racing Toyota 182.867
18. Steve Wallace No. 77 Rusty Wallace Racing Toyota 182.574
19. Robby Gordon No. 7 Robby Gordon Motorsports Dodge 182.120
20. Terry Labonte No. 32 FAS Lane Racing Ford 181.492
21. Robert Richardson No. 37 Front Row Motorsports Ford 181.466
22. Denny Hamlin No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 181.316
23. Derrike Cope No. 64 Max Q Toyota 177.894
24. Brian Keselowski No. 92 K-Automotive Dodge 177.581
The 2011 Budweiser Shootout certainly lived up to its name, a Shootout. Two drivers, who was going to draw first? Actually two sets of two drivers, but you get the point.
It definitely was a different style of racing.
Some will say that it was dull. No big packs. No solid 2x2 trains of cars. No "pack" to speak of. Is this a bad thing? Throughout the 90's restrictor plate races were full of cars running together, unable to race for themselves. Race winners were decided by who had the most cars behind them. If the low line had 5 cars nose to tail and the high line only had 3, the low line was probably going to be ahead at the flag. One-on-one passes for the lead on the last lap were few and far between. Top speeds were always kept just under the 200 mark, and big packs were the order of the day, literally.
With the COT all that changed. The big square cars have been able to draft much more than the last generation cars. What we saw in the Shootout was drivers who were able to decide their own destiny, drivers who were able to "race" for themselves. Yes they were still being pushed, still reliant on help from behind, but that's just the nature of racing at Daytona, it was this way before restrictor plates and it will always be this way.
I liked the race. I liked the fact that the drivers could overtake. I liked that come the last lap the third and fourth place cars were able to pull out and get level with the leader. I also liked that the second place driver was able to slingshot round the leader coming out of turn four on the last lap, with no help.
Was NASCAR right to call Kurt Busch as the winner? Yes. The yellow line ruling should be enforced at all times. The last thing we all want is another (avoidable) airborne wreck. Will Hamlin pull down below the line next Sunday, err no.
Do I want 500 miles of that next Sunday? No... 100 miles? Yes!
Do I think that's what we are going to see? No.
Even without NASCARs new cooling system pop off valves I do not think the 500 would be like that. Firstly; 43 cars will be on track, not 8 as it was at the end of the Shootout. That many cars on track together are going to stay together. There may be breakaways but eventually the rest will catch up and the pack will be together again. Secondly the drivers are not going to be able to maintain that style of intense racing for the whole race. 75 laps is one thing, 500 miles is something very different. We all know that the first 400 miles of a 500 mile race is a matter of survival, while the last 100 miles are serious. With this in mind I think the drivers will give each other a bit of room until the last 100 miles.
I also like NASCARs answer to the speed issue. For a change they have resisted a change to the restrictor plate. By leaving the plate the same NASCAR are saying, we like the racing, we like the draft, we like the overtaking. What NASCAR are trying to do is limit the length of time the cars can bump draft by restricting the airflow to the engines. The longer you bump draft, the more chance you have of overheating. So in theory the cars will still be able to hook up and pass as they did in the Shootout, but not for 50 laps solid. Now the two car draft should be used as an overtaking tool and not for lap after lap driving. If this works NASCAR should be applauded for being bold and not just running to a plate change to slow the cars.
Hopefully on Sunday we will see 43 drivers who can draft, can overtake in the pack with help and one-on-one for the win. 43 drivers who are able to race for themselves and not just sit in the pack unable to move, waiting for the wreck. Drivers having fun!
The 125's will give us an idea of whether NASCARs changes have worked.
