One Daytona 500 Does Not a NASCAR Season Make

February 22, 2008

By Rebecca Gladden

Rebecca Gladden

The finishing order of Sunday's 50th anniversary running of the Great American Race had more surprises than a Vegas magician's stage act.

The 1-2 finishing order of Penske Racing teammates Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch was certainly unexpected, as was the placement of six Dodges in the top 10.

Equally unpredictable was the list of drivers who fell short of the mark at Daytona - among them Tony Stewart, who took the white flag running first and finished third a lap later, and his Joe Gibbs teammate Kyle Busch, who led twice as many laps as any other driver but ultimately finished fourth.

Not that there's anything wrong with those top-5 finishes, but Stewart and Busch will be the first to tell you that good wasn't good enough for them at Daytona.

Hendrick Motorsports woes were also unanticipated, with just one driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr., finishing in the top 10 (ninth). Despite starting on the pole, reigning Cup champion Jimmie Johnson finished 27th with a spin, a car that was never dialed in to his liking, and at least one serious pit road miscue. The other two Hendrick drivers, Jeff Gordon and Casey Mears, had DNFs.

All three Richard Childress Racing teammates finished outside the top 10, though Jeff Burton and Clint Bowyer each led a handful of laps. Kevin Harvick, last year's Daytona 500 winner, came in 14th.

Meanwhile, just one Roush Racing driver, Greg Biffle, finished in the top 10 (tenth). Carl Edwards was 19th, Jamie McMurray 26th, Matt Kenseth 36th, and David Ragan, who took out both himself and teammate Kenseth when he got into the wall, finished 42nd.

On the plus side, Gillett-Evernham landed both Elliott Sadler and Kasey Kahne in the top 10 - curiously at the exact same finishing positions they had in last year's Daytona 500 - sixth and seventh place respectively.

It's that last factoid as much as any other which makes my point.

How teams run in the Daytona 500 - good or bad - is generally not indicative of how they will perform the rest of the year.

For one thing, restrictor plate racing at Daytona is just too different from the typical 1.5-2.0 mile downforce track where NASCAR races throughout the season. The drafting situation puts teamwork at a much greater premium in plate racing than at any other track except Talladega.

Take a look at Elliott Sadler and Kasey Kahne with their top-10 Daytona finishes last season.

Sadler had only one other top 10 all year and it didn't come until race 29 at Kansas in September, where he finished ninth. And while Kahne ended the season with a bit of momentum, his top-10 at Daytona was followed by three straight finishes of 35th or worse and 16 straight races without another top 10, which finally came at Daytona in July.

Last year, the Daytona 500 turned out to be Kevin Harvick's only win of the season, though he did make the Chase and finish 10th in points. Conversely, Jimmie Johnson, who won 10 races in 2007 along with his second Cup title, started the year off dismally with a 39th-place run at Daytona after getting caught up in a big wreck.

And then there's Mike Wallace, who finished fourth in last year's Daytona 500 in the No. 09 car for James Finch. It was one of only two Cup races for Wallace in all of 2007, and one of just three races for the 09 car all year.

All this to say that in reality, almost nothing can be extrapolated from the results of the Daytona 500. It's a unique and special race, but relatively inconsequential in the context of a 36-race season.

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