By ZECH YODER
The month of February means two important things: football and the 500. For motorsports fans, the month of love culminates with the Daytona 500, which was run for the 65th time this past Sunday. As a new year of racing begins, I am pleased to accompany you on the journey through NASCAR, INDYCAR, Formula 1, and other form of motorsports.
Growing up in South-central Pennsylvania, motorsports has always been part of my life. I have early memories of Saturday nights at Clyde Martin Speedway watching micro sprints, Friday nights at Williams Grove Speedway watching sprint cars, and watching tractor pulls and mud bog at the legendary Buck Motorsports Park. I also have fond memories of listening to the Indianapolis 500 on the radio during Memorial Day picnics.
This column serves as a place to discuss all things racing, both on and off the track.
Without further delay, the 65th running of the Daytona 500:
Before we get to the race, to those who were completely frustrated with the television coverage and the number and placement of commercials, I empathize with you. While I understand that this is the largest NASCAR event of the year and Fox is able to generate a disproportionate amount of its advertising revenue, the number and placement of commercials was a significant determent to the overall viewing experience.
Overall, the race was good – not great. First, there were no rain delays. Daytona is always a crapshoot when it comes to rain. To have no weather issues was certainly a bonus.
As was the case last year, the NextGen car limited the racing to only two lines. In years past, it was not uncommon to see cars three and even four wide. The NextGen car, however, produces much greater downforce and, consequently, much more drag. The additional drag makes it much more difficult for one or two cars to break out of the pack and create the three and four wide racing we have become accustomed to in the past.
Nevertheless, the racing seemed improved from last year. I was particularly intrigued by the green flag pit cycles and how that mixed up the running order and the leaders. Counting down to five laps to go, the race got very excited with RFK teammates, Brad Keselowski and Chris Buescher, leading RCR teammates, Kyle Busch and Austin Dillon. A well-timed maneuver pushed Busch and Dillion around Kesewlowski and Buescher and it looked as though Kyle Busch was going to win his first Daytona 500.
As fate would have it, with less than three laps to go, the caution came out and when racing resumed, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. made several bold moves to put himself in a position to win his first Daytona 500. Kyle Busch, on the other hand, was collected in a last lap crash and finished 19th.
Although it was nice to see Stenhouse win his first 500, I was really hoping to see Busch win it. I’ll admit, I have never been much of a Kyle Busch fan, but I think there is something special about him joining Richard Childress Racing. He brings something that almost resembles Dale Earnhardt back to Richard Childress Racing. To see him win the Daytona 500 with RCR would have been special.
NASCAR is back! For 36 of the next 37 weeks, the NASCAR Cup Series will weave its way throughout the country and, hopefully, put on a remarkable show in the process.
Zech Yoder is a local resident, an attorney at Adler Attorneys in Noblesville, and a lifelong race fan.