bigbadbrother
01-14-2014, 12:19 AM
Well, it definitely was an interesting test at Daytona. Naturally, we all wished Mother Nature had cooperated better. Of course the old saying about Florida -- "Don't like the weather? Wait 30 minutes and it will change," -- came to mind, but we just couldn't get any relief last Thursday, and so testing became a complete washout.
It was great to get the cars Sprint Cup cars on the track on Friday. It was really cool to see these drivers go for nearly eight-and-a-half hours without a single incident. That's pretty amazing, actually.
I think we all would have loved to have seen more drafting. With Mother Nature eliminating any on-track time on Thursday, it condensed everyone's schedule. Naturally, all the teams had their own agenda and that was to go down their list of things to try to make their cars go faster. That's why I think we only saw a little bit of drafting in the closing hours on Friday.
I can't really say there were any huge surprises at Daytona. The Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas were fast. The Hendrick and Richard Childress Chevrolets were fast. Similar to last year, other than the two Penske Fords, the Roush Fenway Fords continued to search for speed. The reality -- and we all know it -- is how these things qualify is one thing, but how they race is completely another. Once they drop the green flag and they are out there in a pack, well, that's the great equalizer for everyone.
I just think the best thing across the board whether you were a driver, a race fan, work for NASCAR or a broadcaster like myself, you were just excited to see cars back on the track. When that happens, you know 2014 Speedweeks at Daytona isn'€™t that far away.
It was great to get the cars Sprint Cup cars on the track on Friday. It was really cool to see these drivers go for nearly eight-and-a-half hours without a single incident. That's pretty amazing, actually.
I think we all would have loved to have seen more drafting. With Mother Nature eliminating any on-track time on Thursday, it condensed everyone's schedule. Naturally, all the teams had their own agenda and that was to go down their list of things to try to make their cars go faster. That's why I think we only saw a little bit of drafting in the closing hours on Friday.
I can't really say there were any huge surprises at Daytona. The Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas were fast. The Hendrick and Richard Childress Chevrolets were fast. Similar to last year, other than the two Penske Fords, the Roush Fenway Fords continued to search for speed. The reality -- and we all know it -- is how these things qualify is one thing, but how they race is completely another. Once they drop the green flag and they are out there in a pack, well, that's the great equalizer for everyone.
I just think the best thing across the board whether you were a driver, a race fan, work for NASCAR or a broadcaster like myself, you were just excited to see cars back on the track. When that happens, you know 2014 Speedweeks at Daytona isn'€™t that far away.