Insider's View: Wally Dallenbach

Daytona 500: NASCAR's "Super Bowl"

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- No other sport starts its year with the biggest event. If other sports were like NASCAR, we'd watch the Super Bowl in September and the World Series in April. But Winston Cup racing begins its season with the biggest race of year, the Daytona 500, and Sunday's is shaping up to be a good one.

	Wally Dallenbach

Everyone wants to win the Daytona 500. It's easily the most pressure packed week of the season with guys having to qualify, then race their way into the line-up through the 125s. The field is going to include a lot of drivers thanking their lucky stars to have made it in as well as a number of disappointed guys that didn't make the cut. All that pressure from the team and its sponsors falls directly on the shoulders of the driver.

The magic question at Daytona, and Talladega for that matter, over the last few seasons is, "Why are the DEI cars so dominant at the restrictor plate tracks?" Well, I don't have to tell you that if I had the answer to that I'd be sitting on my very own tropical island right now. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Michael Waltrip and Steve Park in my opinion, again have the cars to beat on Sunday.

The DEI cars just seem to have more horsepower than anyone else at the plate tracks and that was evident again in last week's Bud Shootout. Junior's car just rolls so much better than anyone else's, especially though the corners when he was pulling away from everyone. His car doesn't bind when it turns, it rolls so easily through the corners that it doesn't scrub off an ounce of speed.

START YOUR ENGINES  Click here to play Wally Dallenbach's TopDrivers.com Fantasy Game.

I think the only way the rest of the field is going to catch DEI is to gang up on them. At the last couple plate races, guys seemed content to just get in line and follow Earnhardt and Waltrip, which is fine if you want to race for second or third place. Six or seven guys are going to have to work together to race with them because they are so much stronger than the rest of the field.

Another factor in Dale, Jr,'s favor, and maybe more bad news for everyone else, is that he seems to have a new sense of focus this season. Now it's early and hard for me to tell after only a week of the season if this is true, but Junior has said he wants to concentrate more on being a racecar driver in 2003. And believe me, that is a full-time goal. There is so much more to being successful in Winston Cup racing than simply standing on the gas. When a guy is showing other interests and is taken away from the business at hand, whether it's to shoot a video or make an appearance on MTV, the crew gets down on you. It takes a 110 percent effort by everyone and it really starts with the driver. If Junior is serious about it, with the talent and equipment he has, this could be his year.

But it does take more than just a good car to win the Daytona 500. Experience is key and you'll see a lot of veteran drivers, who know how to use the draft, run with each other and work together on Sunday. If a younger guy with a fast car comes along, the veterans will use him to get to the front, but then quickly drop kick him out of line once they get there.

So using all that criteria, who do I like on Sunday. It's hard not to pick the DEI team and I expect Junior and Waltrip to again be there at the end. It'll be a matter of breaks and luck to see who winds up in victory lane, but I expect one of the teammates to be there.

I also like Sterling Marlin. He's got a fast car and knows how to get around Daytona. When I was in Cup, he was one of three or four guys I liked to race with because he never did anything stupid and if you helped him, he's return the favor and never pull out of the draft and hang you out to dry.

As for a darkhorse, another veteran has caught my eye and that's Ricky Rudd. He also runs very well at Daytona and he and the Wood Brothers team seem to have meshed early. He's a good driver and can sneak up on you.

Don't forget to make your picks on our Top Drivers Fantasy Game, the best weekly Winston Cup game anywhere. It's the first official race of the season and you can walk away with some great cash prizes. So enjoy the Daytona 500 and hope to see you in victory lane.