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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — In years past, drivers could answer the lingering question of identifying the best restrictor-plate racer in the sport with a single word: Junior.
When it comes to that debate now, Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s retirement opens the door like the well-timed development of a third line at Daytona International Speedway.
An informal poll on the topic among drivers yielded a shaky constant of Brad Keselowski and Denny Hamlin taking that mantle as masters of the draft, and it makes sense.
Keselowski has six restrictor-plate victories, including five at Talladega. Hamlin has two, including winning the closest-ever Daytona 500 finish two years ago. Both have shown a sophistication in racing through the draft and running up front in recent years, which is underscored by their showing during Speedweeks so far.
“I look at Brad (Keselowski) and Denny (Hamlin) as being the top two guys,” Joe Gibbs Racing driver Kyle Busch explained earlier this week. “I think the speed of (Ricky) Stenhouse’s car was pretty important last year. He did a good job with it, won some races. But I got to look at Brad and Denny, the things they do, as the guys you kind of watch, see if you can mimic, emulate some of the stuff they have going on in order to get yourself through the pack and up toward the front.”
MAJORITY, NOT UNANIMOUS
Most drivers echoed the sentiment that Keselowski and Hamlin are above the pack at plate tracks, but it wasn’t unanimous.
Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney, in his first year with the Penske organization, mentioned Keselowski and teammate Joey Logano.
Logano tabbed Keselowski and Blaney. No playing favorites here, either. The Nos. 2, 12 and 22 Team Penske Fords ran 1-2-3 for the majority of the opening Can-Am Duel race, with Blaney winning and Logano finishing third.
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There were others, though.
Keselowski nominated Kevin Harvick specifically, another Ford driver. Harvick, in turn, said Keselowski and Logano.
Kyle Larson’s name was floated. So, too, was Stenhouse Jr., who won once at both Daytona and Talladega in 2017.
“I think the Fords have the fastest cars in the race usually, when you look at the past restrictor-plate races,” said Harvick, whose Stewart-Haas Racing team transitioned to Fords last year. “At some point, it’s gonna be a Ford and usually the Hendrick (Motorsports) cars qualify fast and then they can’t handle, and by the end of the race there’s a Ford up in the front racing for the win.”
THE FAVORITES
The drivers and the data both point toward a Team Penske driver winning the 60th running of the “Great American Race” on Sunday. Attitudes from the Penske camp varied when pressed.
The question following Can-Am Duel race No. 1: Is there any reason to believe a Team Penske car won’t win the Daytona 500?
The answers:
Ryan Blaney: “There’s plenty of reason. There are 37 other cars. Yeah, we’re super strong right now. It’s really cool to be probably the best team right now I’d say this whole week. But you never know what can happen. … I wouldn’t disagree that we might be the favorite team right now just because of the speed we’ve shown, but you never know what can happen.”
Joey Logano: “No reason to believe that, no. We’re going to make it happen.”