KIDWCKED
07-03-2010, 11:27 PM
c/p by Ed Hinton from espn
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- If the return of the rear spoiler brought a record 88 lead changes among a record 29 different leaders at Talladega back in April, then what will that spoiler bring to tighter, rougher, bumpier Daytona?
There'll be wildness of a different kind, drivers said, going into Saturday night's Coke Zero 400 -- wildness in fits and starts, rather than the almost constant passing at Talladega.
A pothole that appeared in Turn 2 during the 2010 Daytona 500 caused a two-hour delay.
But there will be lulls in the action Saturday night. Handling is much more of an issue on the 2.5-mile, worn-out Daytona surface than at the smoother, wider, 2.66-mile monster in Alabama.
So, in the second plate race of this season with spoilers replacing the misbegotten wings, those who hit the right setup may stand out quickly.
"They are definitely going to spread out more than at Talladega, that's for sure," said Kevin Harvick, who won the April race at Talladega. "I think after seven or eight laps, the handling will be king."
But the scrambling should repeat itself with every green flag that drops -- for the start or off cautions.
"We're going to be together for the first eight or 10 laps after a restart," Kyle Busch said. "The tires are still good there but then the cars that handle well will start going to the front."
And yet "the cars suck up really well, like what we had at Talladega," said Jamie McMurray, who won the Daytona 500 in February with a wing, and finished a close second to Harvick at Talladega with a spoiler. "That makes for really good plate racing, because you can get to the guy in front of you, and you're able to really give them a push."
So there should be something of an accordion effect -- scrambling, strung out, scrambling, strung out.
And there's the old truism that cautions breed cautions, which is why Denny Hamlin expects "a wild one" overall.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- If the return of the rear spoiler brought a record 88 lead changes among a record 29 different leaders at Talladega back in April, then what will that spoiler bring to tighter, rougher, bumpier Daytona?
There'll be wildness of a different kind, drivers said, going into Saturday night's Coke Zero 400 -- wildness in fits and starts, rather than the almost constant passing at Talladega.
A pothole that appeared in Turn 2 during the 2010 Daytona 500 caused a two-hour delay.
But there will be lulls in the action Saturday night. Handling is much more of an issue on the 2.5-mile, worn-out Daytona surface than at the smoother, wider, 2.66-mile monster in Alabama.
So, in the second plate race of this season with spoilers replacing the misbegotten wings, those who hit the right setup may stand out quickly.
"They are definitely going to spread out more than at Talladega, that's for sure," said Kevin Harvick, who won the April race at Talladega. "I think after seven or eight laps, the handling will be king."
But the scrambling should repeat itself with every green flag that drops -- for the start or off cautions.
"We're going to be together for the first eight or 10 laps after a restart," Kyle Busch said. "The tires are still good there but then the cars that handle well will start going to the front."
And yet "the cars suck up really well, like what we had at Talladega," said Jamie McMurray, who won the Daytona 500 in February with a wing, and finished a close second to Harvick at Talladega with a spoiler. "That makes for really good plate racing, because you can get to the guy in front of you, and you're able to really give them a push."
So there should be something of an accordion effect -- scrambling, strung out, scrambling, strung out.
And there's the old truism that cautions breed cautions, which is why Denny Hamlin expects "a wild one" overall.