February 14, 2010
By Kim Roberson
Kim Roberson
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Well ladies and gents, here we are – the official opening day of the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. It is hard to believe that we have flown through the off season this quickly.
We kicked off the season, albeit a day late, yesterday with the double header of the Nationwide and Camping World Truck series races. We have experienced double-file restarts “shootout style” in the truck series, and have figured out just how well Danica plays with the boys in the big leagues.
Now it is time to unleash the top series in NASCAR, and I for one can’t wait, especially if the Gatorade Duel races are any indication of what we will see today.
I have heard fans complaining for years that NASCAR doesn’t listen to them. It is all about the money and the show, not about the racing.
This year, the restrictor plates are bigger, and in a few months, the wing will be replaced with a spoiler. Bump drafting is allowed wherever the boys want to, and beating and banging is available to whoever wants to do it.
The one thing I have noticed as the result of the new rules package is the racing is great. There was a lot of side by side racing in the Duel races, and while drafting is good, the slingshot appears to be better. Yes, ladies and gents, the slingshot pass is back, and it will be interesting to see who can use it successfully, and who ends up in the infield when it fails.
When drivers have lost control, and many have as they get used to the increased power resulting from the larger restrictor plate, we have seen some spectacular saves (Bobby Labonte in final practice yesterday), and some wild rides (Kurt Busch in the Bud Shootout last weekend). One thing we haven’t seen is a car get airborne, and hopefully that will remain with the addition of the shark fin to work with the roof flaps when a car gets backwards.
It has been a long time since I sat on the edge of my seat all through a race at Daytona, but on Thursday during the two races, I was there, perched on my couch, wringing my hands and cheering cars on as they went three wide, back and forth around the track. Watching the drivers figure out what they could and couldn’t do with the new set ups, and their comfort levels as they took to the track. (Juan Pablo Montoya hasn’t been comfortable in his No. 42 Target Chevrolet but Kyle Busch loves his No. 18 M&M’s Toyota.) I expect experience to come through with the veterans today, as the guys who have raced with bigger plates and using the slingshot use that experience to make their way around those younger drivers who haven’t had the chance to figure out just what makes a car work in situations like they will face today.
Luck will also come into play – invariably there will be the “big one”. A tire will go down, or a driver will get too pushy, and that one issue will lead to the end of the race for five or ten other drivers as their cars go spinning into the wall or through the grass. The big one is rarely caused by the inexperienced driver, but by one who thinks he knows enough to make the move that eventually leads to chaos.
Jimmie Johnson still hears about how he took out half the field at Talladega a few years ago, and Carl Edwards is probably reminded often by teammate Greg Biffle how an attempt at bump drafting went horribly wrong.
There is also the problem of avoiding hitting the guy in front of you when the pack stacks up. We saw just how bad that turned out during the ARCA race last weekend, and Jimmie Johnson, the reigning four time Champion, has gone to a back-up car because he couldn’t avoid rear-ending Denny Hamlin during a practice crash on Wednesday.
Nimble hands, quick wits, and experience will be what helps the man who ends up in Victory Lane later today cross the finish line first.
In the mean time, thanks to the new rules and bigger plates, the race to the finish should be one of the best we have seen in years.
I can’t wait to see how it all turns out.
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