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Five to Watch: Key story lines for Daytona Road Course
By Jeff Wackerlin, MRN.com | Published: August 15, 2020 6
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The NASCAR Cup Series will take on the 3.61-mile, 14-turn Daytona International Speedway Road Course for the first time in Sunday's Go Bowling 235 (3 p.m. ET on NBC/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The 65-lap race was realigned to replace Watkins Glen International this year on the schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic and will mark the first road-course race of the season.
"I think the fun-factor this weekend has got everybody’s anxiety-level up; but also the challenge that’s right in front of us because it’s basically a wild card-style race, where you could see a driver and a team that don’t normally make the playoffs, punch their ticket," said Kurt Busch, who has one Cup Series road-course win (Sonoma 2011).
"I think the fun-factor this weekend has got everybody’s anxiety-level up; but also the challenge that’s right in front of us because it’s basically a wild card-style race, where you could see a driver and a team that don’t normally make the playoffs, punch their ticket," said Kurt Busch, who has one Cup Series road-course win (Sonoma 2011).
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INTO THE GREAT UNKNOWN: With no practice or qualifying, drivers have been preparing for the Go Bowling 235 in simulators or with iRacing. A lot of eyes will be on both the NASCAR Xfinity and Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series races, which will utilize the same tire, to see how the rubber gets laid down and where speed can be made. Goodyear wet weather radials are also available if the conditions warrant. The top two drivers when it comes to wins this season - Kevin Harvick (six) and Denny Hamlin (five) - will start on the front row with Harvick on the pole.
"I think me leading everybody into Turn 1 at Daytona could be interesting because I have no freaking clue where I’m going as we go down there," said Harvick, who has finished in the top five in the last nine races this season. "Most everybody in the field is the same way. We’ll prepare the best we can and hope we can make it around the first lap with all the wheels still headed in the right direction."
"I think me leading everybody into Turn 1 at Daytona could be interesting because I have no freaking clue where I’m going as we go down there," said Harvick, who has finished in the top five in the last nine races this season. "Most everybody in the field is the same way. We’ll prepare the best we can and hope we can make it around the first lap with all the wheels still headed in the right direction."
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KING OF THE ROAD: When it comes to the last 10 Cup Series races on road courses – Charlotte Roval, Sonoma and Watkins Glen – Martin Truex Jr. and Chase Elliott are tied for the most wins with three. Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick also have one win each in that span. Elliott, who took the wins at Watkins Glen in 2018 and 2019, won at the Roval last season. Blaney, Elliott, Harvick, Clint Bowyer, Alex Bowman, Jimmie Johnson and Joey Logano are the only drivers who have finished in the top 10 in the two races at the Charlotte Roval.
"Obviously, I’ve enjoyed Watkins Glen these past couple of years," Elliott said. "We have a new challenge ahead with the Daytona Road Course. I think the biggest thing is not having any practice. I think it is going to be exciting but it’s also going to be really hard for the guys that have never made a lap there before."
"Obviously, I’ve enjoyed Watkins Glen these past couple of years," Elliott said. "We have a new challenge ahead with the Daytona Road Course. I think the biggest thing is not having any practice. I think it is going to be exciting but it’s also going to be really hard for the guys that have never made a lap there before."
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ROLEX EXPERIENCE: There are a number of drivers in the field who have competed in the Rolex 24 at Daytona over the years with Jimmie Johnson and Michael McDowell with the most starts, each with seven. Brendan Gaughan is the only driver in the Go Bowling 235 with a Rolex win when he co-drove a Porsche GT3 to a class victory in 2011. Kyle Busch, who has four Cup Series road-course wins, is the most recent driver to compete in the Rolex 24 when he made his debut in the race in January.
"I think any time you’re able to go to a race track and gain some experience, run some laps, obviously it helps with the visual, the pickup points, how the corners transition and so on, it helps," said Busch, who is seeking his first win of the season. "There’s definitely – I hope, anyway – a little added advantage there."
"I think any time you’re able to go to a race track and gain some experience, run some laps, obviously it helps with the visual, the pickup points, how the corners transition and so on, it helps," said Busch, who is seeking his first win of the season. "There’s definitely – I hope, anyway – a little added advantage there."
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FOUR TO GO: Four races remain in the regular season before the Cup Series 16-driver playoff field is set. Ten drivers are locked in on wins. William Byron remains the driver on the bubble with a 26-point advantage over Erik Jones and Jimmie Johnson. Rookie Tyler Reddick is next, 36 points behind Byron.
“I'm really looking forward to this weekend,” Reddick said. “There is just a lot of possibility out there to make up points on the other drivers we're on the playoff bubble with, and we'll need to capitalize on that."
“I'm really looking forward to this weekend,” Reddick said. “There is just a lot of possibility out there to make up points on the other drivers we're on the playoff bubble with, and we'll need to capitalize on that."
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CHICANE CHANGES EVERYTHING: With the exception of simulation, no driver in the field has raced on the Daytona Road Course with the newly added chicane coming off Turn 4 on the superspeedway. Charlotte has a similar chicane that helps slow the cars down prior to heading towards the start-finish line, and it has provided some exciting moments. One of those moments came in 2018 when Ryan Blaney took the win after Jimmie Johnson made contact with Martin Truex Jr. racing to the checkered flag.
“The challenges of this track – there will be some really high speeds and then the chicane off of four will change that to some degree,” said Johnson, who has one Cup Series road-course win (Sonoma 2010). “It’s going to be a balance of aero efficiency on the straightaways and mechanical grip for the tight little infield section. It’s going to be really interesting for those who have never taken a lap on this track.”
“The challenges of this track – there will be some really high speeds and then the chicane off of four will change that to some degree,” said Johnson, who has one Cup Series road-course win (Sonoma 2010). “It’s going to be a balance of aero efficiency on the straightaways and mechanical grip for the tight little infield section. It’s going to be really interesting for those who have never taken a lap on this track.”