Each week, I’ll provide some quick analysis through a post called the Top Five — five notable storylines from the just-completed race. Next up: the Daytona 500.
Stars align for Kurt Busch, Monster and Stewart-Haas
Kurt Busch’s Daytona 500 victory was one of those things that just sort of makes sense in a head-shaking way.
Busch had never even won a restrictor-plate race and was 0-for-63 at Daytona and Talladega entering Sunday. Yet in Monster Energy’s first race as Cup Series sponsor, the car carrying the Monster logo ended up in victory lane.
Perfect!
It was also the first race without Tony Stewart as a full-time driver — and he went to the winner’s circle as a car owner after never winning the 500 himself.
Naturally!
Plus, the win came during a turbulent time for Stewart-Haas Racing — a move to Ford this season with uncertain results ahead, trouble finding sponsorship for two drivers and a lawsuit against a now-former sponsor.
Great timing!
It was only two years ago that Busch was suspended for an alleged domestic violence incident, forcing him to miss the 500. Since then, the woman who accused him was indicted for stealing from the charity she ran and Busch got married in the offseason to his new wife, Ashley Van Metre.
There always seems to be an answer for Busch, a comeback around the corner, a second chance, another shot.
Just look no further than this Speedweeks. It began with headlines about Busch getting sued by his former agent and ended with Busch earning NASCAR’s greatest prize.
Of course!
Drivers ‘scared’ to make move at the end
After a wild race that eliminated more than half the field, it seemed like the remaining drivers were hesitant to make a move and form two lines in the final laps.
Joey Logano kept trying, ducking down over and over to see if he could get anyone to go with him. It didn’t work, and the result ultimately allowed the leaders to stay in line and determine the win themselves.
What gives? I asked Logano why no one went with him. He opened his mouth but no words came out, and he just shrugged.
“Scared, I guess,” he finally said. “I don’t know. I don’t have any answer.”
Logano said he was shocked everyone decided to play it so conservatively.
Here’s a guess: Some of the drivers in the top 10 — like AJ Allmendinger, Aric Almirola, Paul Menard — obviously wanted to win, and would have made a move if it presented itself. But instead of forcing something, it was better to stay put for a sure-thing finish rather take a risk for the win and potentially drop back to 11th.
Each of them ended up with a top five to start the season, so you can’t fault them; but you can also understand Logano’s frustration.
Another upset for underdog Matt DiBenedetto
For the second straight year, Matt DiBenedetto scored an impressive finish in a car that had no business being that good in a Cup race.
DiBenedetto finished ninth in the Daytona 500, climbing out of his car to the cheers of his family and new GoFas Racing team on pit road (they literally clapped and yelled as he got out).
I asked him whether this finish was better than his sixth-place result at Bristol for BK Racing last spring.
“This one was a little more survival, that one was a little more racing,” he said with a smile. “I’d say they were different feelings. But the Daytona 500, just being in it in the first place is unbelievable. This one feels really good, because it’s been my dream since I was 5 to even be in it. So to get a top-10 in it, man, I’m just checking off all these dreams come true.”
Honestly, there were several great stories in the top 10. Look at Michael Waltrip! (You probably didn’t have a choice on the post-race show, but still…) The guy finished eighth in the Daytona 500 at age 53 and ended his career with a top-10. Not bad.
Also, Brendan Gaughan finished 11th — his best finish in a Cup race since Homestead…in 2004!
Kyle Busch throws down with Goodyear
No matter how much Kyle Busch changes over the years, one thing is consistent: If his equipment lets him down at an unacceptable level in his eyes, Busch is going to sound off about it.
He’s ripped Toyota engines, for example, as well as Goodyear several times. And on Sunday, it was the latter who drew his ire again after he spun and started a crash that took out several cars, including Dale Earnhardt Jr., Erik Jones and Matt Kenseth.
“Goodyear tires just suck,” he told reporters in his garage, according to Yahoo.
He also told FOX that Goodyear’s tires “aren’t very good at holding air.”
Yeesh. That’s probably not going to go over very well, but I also doubt Busch regrets his comments.
I asked Goodyear director of race tire sales Greg Tucker for his company’s side of things. He said Goodyear found evidence of a rub or a cut on Busch’s left rear tire, but the No. 18 team felt it was the right rear that went down. Stucker said there was a break on the right rear, but was inconclusive as to whether it was there beforehand or was caused when Busch spun and crashed.
Stucker acknowledged it was “tough for anybody” to hear criticism like Busch’s but said the top priority was to “get the facts and get it back to the team.”
So will Goodyear speak with Busch? Stucker said Goodyear has a regular call with the whole JGR team.
“It’ll come up there and get discussed at that point,” he said.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. escapes wreck with no injury
Earnhardt hit Kyle Busch’s car hard during Stage 2, which ended his Daytona Day. But it was a very respectable return — he was at the front when the incident happened — and he also showed the ability to take a decent hit without sustaining a concussion.
That sounds like a low bar for safety, but it has to be somewhat of a relief.
Afterward, the driver credited work on the headrests for keeping him safe.
“We changed some things in the interior that I feel will help me going forward,” he said. “I just appreciate all the effort NASCAR has put in to safety. I know we say that a lot, but if they hadn’t put the money into the studies that they did, I probably would have gotten hurt again right there.”
What exactly were the headrest changes? Earnhardt said the team “closed it up to where we really have no gap on each side.”
Basically, a driver’s head usually leans one way before hitting the wall and then slams over to the headrest on the other side (“It’s like hitting a baseball bat when you get there,” Earnhardt said), even if it’s only a couple inches of a gap.
But by making the headrests so close together they basically cradled his helmet, Earnhardt was able to absorb less of a jarring impact.
“The car itself sees a whole lot less (G forces) than the body does, and if you close (the headrests) up, you can minimize the Gs and get closer to what the car is seeing in those impacts,” he said.
It wasn’t too long ago, Earnhardt said, that drivers didn’t even want left-side head rests. They wanted room to be able to move around; now, that’s been proven to be more dangerous.
“That was really, really smart for us to go and have those meetings with NASCAR and say, ‘Hey, what can we do better?’ and talk about it,” he said. “That’s something I’m happy I did.”