Daytona Lineup, News, Notes, Stats, ETC.

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THE RACE: Coke Zero 400
TRACK: Daytona International Speedway
NASCAR Sprint Cup Race #17 of 36 for the 2011 season

Race: Saturday, July 2, 2011 in Daytona Beach, FL

Title Sponsor: Coca Cola

Scheduled Green Flag (approx): 7:48pm/et

•NASCAR Pre-race: TNT's Countdown to Green - 6:30pm/et

•Television Race Coverage: TNT, 7:30pm/et

•In the Booth: Adam Alexander, Wally Dallenbach Jr., Kyle Petty

•Pit Reporters: Matt Yocum, Marty Snider, Ralph Sheheen, Chris Neville

•TNT's Pre-race show: Lindsay Czarniak, Larry McReynolds, Kyle Petty

•SPEED's NASCAR Raceday Pre-Race Show: 4:30pm/et with John Roberts, Jeff Hammond, Kenny Wallace

 

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Track Specs

Track/Race Length: 2.5 mile oval, 160 laps, 400 miles
Tri-oval with 31-degree banking in the turns
18-degree banking in the tri-oval and 6-degree banking on the straightaways
Date track opened: 1959
Banking in turns 1-4: 31 degrees
Banking in tri-oval: 18 degrees
Banking on backstretch: 3 degrees
Banking on the straightaway: 6 degrees
Length of frontstretch: 3,800 feet
Length of backstretch: 3,400 feet
Grandstand Seating: 168,000.
Pit Road Speed: 55 mph
Pace Car Speed: 70 mph
Pit Road Length: 1,600 feet
Pit Road Width: 50 feet
Repaved in 1978 and 2010
Opened: 1959

 

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Numbers for the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona

0  fewest cautions (seven times, most recent 2/18/62)
1  fewest laps led by race winner (four times, most recent 7/2/94, Jimmy Spencer)
1  fewest on lead lap at finish (eight times, most recent 2/15/76)
1  fewest leaders (four times, most recent 2/22/63)
6  fewest lead changes (twice, most recent 7/16/02)
7  races won from outside a top-20 starting position
9  wins by Dodge at DIS (last win in 2008)
10  most wins (Richard Petty); most Coke Zero 400 wins (5, David Pearson)
11  fewest cars running at finish (7/4/63)
12  most poles (Cale Yarborough, eight for the Coke Zero 400)
16  most cautions (2/20/11)
20  drivers with more than one pole
22  most leaders (2/20/11)
26  drivers with more than one win
34  most cars on lead lap at finish (7/1/06)
39  worst starting position for race winner (Matt Kenseth, 2/15/09)
41  most cars running at finish (twice, most recent 7/7/07)
44  races won from the front row, 25 from the pole
53  different pole winners
55  different winners in 105 races
60  most caution laps (twice, most recent 2/20/11)
74  most lead changes (2/20/11)
151  most laps led by Coke Zero 400 winner (Tony Stewart, 2005)
184  most laps led by race winner (Richard Petty, 2/23/64)

 

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2011 Caution Update

3  number of races extended beyond scheduled distance in 2011
4  fewest cautions this season (Fontana and Pocono)
16  most cautions this season (Daytona)
125  number of cautions in the first 16 races of 2011; includes 57 for accidents, 29 for debris and 20 for spins
600 of 4,858  number of laps under caution in 2011
815.259 of 6,490.900  miles under caution in the first 16 races

 

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At Daytona International Speedway

• Groundbreaking for Daytona International Speedway was Nov. 25, 1957. The soil underneath the banked corners was dug from the infield of the track and the hole filled with water. It is now known as Lake Lloyd.
• The first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Daytona was a 100-mile qualifying race for the Daytona 500 on Feb. 20, 1959.
• Richard Petty won his 200th career race on July 4, 1984 at Daytona.
• Lights were installed in the spring of 1998. However, the race was delayed until October that year due to thick smoke from wildfires. The second Daytona race has been held under lights ever since.
• For only the second time in its history, Daytona International Speedway was repaved in 2010. The project began on Monday, July 5, 2010.
• There have been 128 NASCAR Sprint Cup races since the track hosted its first race in 1959: 53 have been 500 miles, 48 were 400 miles and four 250 miles. There were also 23 qualifying races that were points races.
• Fireball Roberts won the inaugural pole at Daytona.
• Bob Welborn won the first race at Daytona, the 100-mile qualifying race for the Daytona 500.
• Lee Petty won the first Daytona 500 on Feb. 22, 1959.
• Fireball Roberts won the first 400-mile race at Daytona, the 1963 Firecracker 400.
• 53 drivers have posted poles; 20 have more than one.
• Cale Yarborough leads all drivers with 12 poles.
• Bill Elliott leads all active drivers with five poles; followed by Jeff Gordon and Ken Schrader, with three.
• 55 drivers have won a race; 26 have won more than once.
• Richard Petty leads all drivers in victories, with 10.
• Jeff Gordon has six victories, more than any other active driver.
• The Wood Brothers have won 15 races at Daytona, more than any other car owner.
• 17 full-length races at Daytona have been won from the pole, including last year's Coke Zero 400, won by polesitter Kevin Harvick.
• A driver has swept both races at Daytona only four times, most recently by Bobby Allison, in 1982.
• The last 11 Daytona races that finished under green have had a margin of victory under a half second.

 

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Martin wins Daytona pole

#5-Mark Martin won the Coors Light pole for the Coke Zero 400 Sprint Cup Series race at Daytona International Speedway with a speed of 182.065mph. It is Martin's 1st pole of the season and the 50th of his career which is 8th all time, Martin has won 7 races from the pole. Martin breaks his own record for the oldest driver to win a pole [set in Feb 2010], now 52 years, 5 months, 23 days old. 2011 Daytona 500 winner, #21-Bayne starts 2nd followed by #33-Bowyer, #24-Gordon, #6-Ragan, #88-Earnhardt Jr., #71-Lally, #48-Johnson, #43-Allmendinger and #27-Menard.
The go-or-go homers who made the race (8): #21-Bayne, #71-Lally, #97-Conway, #38-Kvapil, #60-Skinner, #66-McDowell, #35-GBodine and #87-Nemechek.
The go-or-go homers who failed to qualify for the race (2): #37-Raines & #46-Yeley.

 

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STARTING LINEUP

1 5 Mark Martin Chevy 182.065 49.433
2 21 Trevor Bayne Ford 182.002 49.450
3 33 Clint Bowyer Chevy 181.624 49.553
4 24 Jeff Gordon Chevy 181.583 49.564
5 6 David Ragan Ford 181.320 49.636
6 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevy 181.240 49.658
7 71 Andy Lally Ford 181.039 49.713
8 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevy 180.995 49.725
9 43 A J Allmendinger Ford 180.948 49.738
10 27 Paul Menard Chevy 180.934 49.742
11 39 Ryan Newman Chevy 180.894 49.753
12 31 Jeff Burton Chevy 180.781 49.784
13 4 Kasey Kahne Toyota 180.752 49.792
14 99 Carl Edwards Ford 180.748 49.793
15 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 180.745 49.794
16 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 180.661 49.817
17 16 Greg Biffle Ford 180.581 49.839
18 1 Jamie McMurray Chevy 180.571 49.842
19 14 Tony Stewart Chevy 180.549 49.848
20 83 Brian Vickers Toyota 180.469 49.870
21 51 Landon Cassill Chevy 180.343 49.905
22 97 Kevin Conway Toyota 180.310 49.914
23 00 David Reutimann Toyota 180.296 49.918
24 47 Bobby Labonte Toyota 180.242 49.933
25 22 Kurt Busch Dodge 180.173 49.952
26 2 Brad Keselowski Dodge 180.040 49.989
27 38 Travis Kvapil Ford 179.856 50.040
28 78 Regan Smith Chevy 179.853 50.041
29 60 Mike Skinner Toyota 179.784 50.060
30 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Chevy 179.734 50.074
31 29 Kevin Harvick Chevy 179.651 50.097
32 13 Casey Mears Toyota 179.616 50.107
33 66 Michael McDowell Toyota 179.605 50.110
34 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 179.433 50.158
35 35 Geoffrey Bodine Chevy 179.261 50.206
36 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 179.229 50.215
37 20 Joey Logano Toyota 179.083 50.256
38 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 178.855 50.320
39 34 David Gilliland Ford 178.646 50.379
40 36 Dave Blaney Chevy 178.618 50.387
41 32 Terry Labonte Ford 178.586 50.396
42-OP 7 Mike Bliss Dodge 177.904 50.589
43 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 179.087 50.255
DNQ 37 Tony Raines Ford 178.363 50.459
DNQ 46 J.J. Yeley Chevy 175.750 51.209

 

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Pit Stall Selections Daytona International Speedway

 

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First practice cancelled

First practice was cancelled due to rain at the track and Happy Hour shortened to approx 45 minutes.

 

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NSCS Final Practice (HAPPY HOUR)

1 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 199.411 45.133 192.561
2 43 A.J. Allmendinger Ford 199.402 45.135 192.542
3 22 Kurt Busch Dodge 198.474 45.346 193.253
4 2 Brad Keselowski Dodge 198.470 45.347 193.229
5 24 Jeff Gordon Chevy 198.085 45.435 192.983
6 5 Mark Martin Chevy 198.085 45.435 192.984
7 33 Clint Bowyer Chevy 197.885 45.481 193.625
8 31 Jeff Burton Chevy 197.885 45.481 193.652
9 29 Kevin Harvick Chevy 197.707 45.522 192.212
10 27 Paul Menard Chevy 197.689 45.526 192.193
11 34 David Gilliland Ford 197.170 45.646 190.328
12 14 Tony Stewart Chevy 197.165 45.647 192.025
13 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 197.087 45.665 192.426
14 39 Ryan Newman Chevy 197.083 45.666 192.436
15 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 196.803 45.731 189.499
16 6 David Ragan Ford 196.803 45.731 189.498
17 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 196.301 45.848 192.685
18 20 Joey Logano Toyota 196.301 45.848 181.628
19 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevy 196.284 45.852 192.667
20 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevy 196.279 45.853 191.814
21 99 Carl Edwards Ford 196.249 45.860 193.058
22 16 Greg Biffle Ford 196.249 45.860 192.740
23 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Chevy 196.087 45.898 186.724
24 1 Jamie McMurray Chevy 196.078 45.900 186.736
25 00 David Reutimann Toyota 195.742 45.979 191.796
26 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 195.737 45.980 191.795
27 78 Regan Smith Chevy 195.546 46.025 190.301
28 32 Terry Labonte Ford 194.750 46.213 178.957
29 47 Bobby Labonte Toyota 194.746 46.214 188.910
30 4 Kasey Kahne Toyota 194.578 46.254 190.229
31 83 Brian Vickers Toyota 194.578 46.254 190.365
32 13 Casey Mears Toyota 194.393 46.298 189.114
33 46 J.J. Yeley Chevy 190.795 47.171 184.706
34 21 Trevor Bayne Ford 183.262 49.110 181.849
35 71 Andy Lally Ford 182.949 49.194 176.097
36 60 Mike Skinner Toyota 182.578 49.294 180.374
37 51 Landon Cassill Chevy 182.500 49.315 181.984
38 38 Travis Kvapil Ford 181.251 49.655 180.242
39 97 Kevin Conway Toyota 180.054 49.985 179.071
40 7 Robby Gordon Dodge 180.050 49.986 179.912
41 35 Geoffrey Bodine Chevy 179.932 50.019 178.502
42 37 Tony Raines Ford 179.659 50.095 177.421
43 66 Michael McDowell Toyota 179.530 50.131 177.323
44 36 Dave Blaney Chevy 179.501 50.139 177.548
45 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 178.554 50.405 177.609

 

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NSCS Final Practice (HAPPY HOUR) Best 10 Consecutive Lap Average

Rank Car# Driver From Lap To Lap Avg Speed Overall Rank
1 9 Marcos Ambrose 3 12 194.917 1
2 43 A J Allmendinger 3 12 194.870 2
3 20 Joey Logano 3 12 194.151 18
4 18 Kyle Busch 3 12 194.102 17
5 2 Brad Keselowski 2 11 194.064 4
6 22 Kurt Busch 2 11 194.062 3
7 29 Kevin Harvick 12 21 192.970 9
8 27 Paul Menard 12 21 192.927 10
9 34 David Gilliland 2 11 192.681 11
10 14 Tony Stewart 2 11 192.635 12
11 56 Martin Truex Jr. 4 13 191.753 26
12 00 David Reutimann 4 13 191.706 25
13 78 Regan Smith 2 11 188.788 27
14 83 Brian Vickers 7 16 188.786 31
15 4 Kasey Kahne 6 15 188.620 30
16 17 Matt Kenseth 11 20 186.170 15
17 6 David Ragan 11 20 186.115 16


Car must run 10 consecutive laps on the track to be included in the above chart

 

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To the Back

•To the Back: #47-Labonte (engine)

 

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Goodyear Tires Notes / Fast Facts

•Tire: Goodyear Eagle Superspeedway Radials

Number of Tires:
Sprint Cup: Left-side -- 1,050, Right-side -- 1,050;
Nationwide: Left-side -- 525, Right-side -- 525

Set limits:
Sprint Cup: 5 sets for practice/qualifying and 6 sets for race;
Nationwide: 6 sets for weekend

Tire Codes: Left-side -- D-4138; Right-side -- D-4412

Tire Circumference: Left-side -- 87.9 in; Right-side -- 88.4 in.

Technical Inspection Inflation:
Left Front -- 30 psi; Left Rear -- 30 psi;
Right Front -- 55 psi; Right Rear -- 50 psi

Minimum Recommended Inflation:
Left Front -- 27 psi; Left Rear -- 27 psi;
Right Front -- 50 psi; Right Rear -- 48 psi

Estimated Pit Window: Every 32-34 laps, based on fuel mileage (Sprint Cup).

Notes: Teams in both the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series will run the same Goodyear tire codes at Daytona this week . . . this is the same combination of left- and right-side tires that teams in these two series ran at Daytona in February, as well as at Talladega in April . . . they also ran this right-side tire code (D-4412) at Las Vegas in March . . . this left-side code (D-4138) has been run at Talladega since 2009 . . . as on all NASCAR ovals greater than one mile in length, teams are required to run inner liners in all four tire positions at Daytona . . . air pressure in those inner liners should be 12-25 psi greater than that of the outer tire.

 

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Some Chassis Selections by Teams for this race

Chassis selections for Daytona: see the list of many teams and what chassis were selected by the team to run at Daytona International Speedway for the Sprint Cup Series Race:
#1-Jamie McMurray: Crew Chief Kevin Manion and the McDonald's team have elected to bring Chassis number #1109 to Daytona. This chassis was last raced earlier this year to a 21stplace finish at Talladega Superspeedway. It was also used in this season's Daytona 500, finishing 18th, and both Talladega races last season, where it came home second and 36th.
#2-Brad Keselowski: The #2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger team will use chassis PRS-639 during Saturday's Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway. This is a new chassis to the #2 fleet.
#5-Mark Martin: crew chief Lance McGrew has chosen Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 5-632 for Saturday's race at Daytona. This is the same chassis that Martin drove to top-10 finishes at Daytona and Talladega earlier this season. The #5 Chevy will sport the red, white and blue colors of Carquest Auto Parts this weekend at Daytona. Carquest, a longtime partner of Hendrick Motorsports, is on the hood of the #5 Chevy for eight races this season.
#6-David Ragan: Primary Chassis RK-691 last ran the Duel at Daytona  finished 20th. The backup chassis RK-717 is a brand new chassis. Jacksonville UPS employee, Russell Taylor, will serve as the green flag delivery driver for Saturday night's race in Daytona. Taylor recently celebrated 40 years of safe driving and his name will be featured on the C-Post of David Ragan's UPS Ford.
#9-Marcos Ambrose: The #9 RPM team has prepared chassis No. 721 for this weekend's 400-mile race. This is a brand new DEWALT Ford Fusion and has not been run previously this season.
#17-Matt Kenseth: will run primary chassis RK-779 a brand new chassis, this weekend Kenseth will pilot the #17 Affliction Clothing Live Fast Ford.
#18-Kyle Busch: Chassis No. 296 is a brand new chassis that is slated to see action for the first time in Saturday night's Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway.A new twist on the familiar Interstate Batteries paint scheme returns to the #18 Toyota for Saturday night's Coke Zero 400. The Interstate All Battery Center green-and-gold scheme will adorn Busch's #18 Toyota.
#22-Kurt Busch and his Steve Addington-led Shell-Pennzoil "Double-Deuce" Dodge Team will be racing their "PRS-632" Penske Racing Dodge Charger at Daytona this weekend. The car debuted in Busch's 2010 Daytona qualifying race where Busch started third and finished fourth. It is the same Dodge Charger that Busch raced in February's qualifying race (started sixth and won) and Daytona 500 (started third and finished fifth). The "PRS-641" will serve as the backup car this weekend. Busch is entertaining suggestions as for the name for the "PRS-742" chassis, his Sonoma race-winning "Double-Deuce" Dodge Charger.
#27-Paul Menard will pilot Chassis No. 338 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. This #27 Quaker State Chevy was a brand new addition to the RCR fleet for the 2011 season and was last seen on the track at Talladega Superspeedway when Menard brought home a 12th-place result after starting from the fifth position. Menard also drove this racer at DIS in February, where he turned the fourth-fastest lap during qualifying for the Duel 150's. He started on the front row for the first of the two qualifier races and finished ninth. He then started 19th in the 53rd running of the famed Daytona 500 and finished ninth, his career-best finish at Daytona.
#29-Kevin Harvick: will race chassis No. 343 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. Harvick has competed in this car twice so far in 2011: he led five laps before finishing 42nd when the car's engine expired at Daytona in February and scored a fifth-place finish at Talladega in April.
#31-Jeff Burton will race chassis No. 331 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable in this weekend's Coke Zero 400. Built new for the 2011 season, this #31 Chevy first competed in the second Duel 150 qualifying race at Daytona International Speedway where Burton drove it to victory. He then raced this Caterpillar Chevrolet in the 53rd running of the Daytona 500 that ended eight laps shy of the halfway mark when the engine suddenly expired, crediting the #31 team with a 36th-place finish. Burton also drove this RCR racer to a 16th-place result at Talladega Superspeedway after starting 27th earlier this season.
#33-Clint Bowyer: will pilot chassis No. 294 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. This Chevrolet Impala, built in 2010 specifically for restrictor-place racing, has seen action at four races over the last two seasons, never finishing outside of the top 10. This includes a trip to Talladega Superspeedway's Victory Lane last October, a fourth-place finish in the 2010 Daytona 500 and a ninth-place finish in this year's edition of the Budweiser Shootout at Daytona. Most recently, it was on track for a second-place effort in the April Talladega event where Bowyer finished a record-tying 0.002 seconds behind race winner Jimmie Johnson.
#35-Geoff Bodine: will pilot the No. 19 chassis this weekend. TBR ran the No. 19 chassis with Steve Park at Talladega Superspeedway this season. Park started 33rd before and electrical issue ended his day early.
#36-Dave Blaney: will run the No. 27 chassis this weekend. He most recently piloted the chassis at Talladega Superspeedway in April where he led 21 laps before a late-race spin spoiled a solid run. TBR also ran the No. 27 chassis in the Daytona 500 this season. Golden Corral returns to the #36 Golden Corral Chevy. If the #36 Golden Corral Chevy finishes in the top-10 in the Coke Zero 400, kids eat free (with an adult purchase) on Monday, July 4th. Golden Corral will also donate $5,000 to the DAV.
#39-Ryan Newman This will be the first start for Chassis No. 39-664. The new chassis for the #39 Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) team was wind-tunnel tested just a couple of weeks ago in preparation for the Coke Zero 400.
#42-Juan Pablo Montoya: Team Target Crew Chief Brian Pattie has elected to bring chassis #902 to Daytona and was run three times during the 2010 season, finishing 10th at the Daytona 500 and third in both Talladega races. The Target team also used this chassis in all four restrictor plate events in 2009 with a best finish of ninth in the July race at Daytona.
#43-A.J. Allmendinger: The #43 RPM team has prepared chassis No. 722 for this weekend's event at Daytona International Speedway. This U.S. Air Force Ford has been run previously this year at Daytona and Talladega.
#48-Jimmie Johnson: will pilot chassis No. 628 at Daytona. Johnson won at Talladega Superspeeway earlier this year in this chassis. Backup chassis No. 618 crossed the finish line fourth at in this year's Bud Shootout in Daytona.
#88-Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Crew chief Steve Letarte will unload Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 88-629. Earnhardt last raced this chassis to a fourth-place finish after pushing his teammate Jimmie Johnson to the win at Talladega Superspeedway in April.
#99-Carl Edwards: The #99 Subway will be unloading chassis RK-677 this weekend at Daytona which last ran at Talladega, finished sixth.

 

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Opening ODDS

6201 KEVIN HARVICK 6/1
6202 DALE EARNHARDT JR 8/1
6203 KYLE BUSCH 8/1
6204 CARL EDWARDS 8/1
6205 JIMMIE JOHNSON 8/1
6206 JEFF GORDON 10/1
6207 KURT BUSCH 10/1
6208 TONY STEWART 14/1
6209 CLINT BOWYER 14/1
6210 JAMIE MCMURRAY 15/1
6211 DENNY HAMLIN 15/1
6212 JOEY LOGANO 20/1
6213 MARK MARTIN 20/1
6214 KASEY KAHNE 25/1
6215 JUAN MONTOYA 25/1
6216 GREG BIFFLE 25/1
6217 MATT KENSETH 30/1
6218 JEFF BURTON 30/1
6219 RYAN NEWMAN 35/1
6220 DAVID REUTIMANN 35/1
6221 BRIAN VICKERS 35/1
6222 MARTIN TRUEX JR 35/1
6223 DAVID RAGAN 40/1
6224 AJ ALLMENDINGER 40/1
6225 BRAD KESELOWSKI 40/1
6226 PAUL MENARD 45/1
6227 MARCOS AMBROSE 45/1
6228 TREVOR BAYNE 50/1
6229 REGAN SMITH 60/1
6230 FIELD - ALL OTHERS 50/1

 

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Coke Zero 400 preview
By Micah Roberts
VegasInsider.com

What an extreme change of venues we have from one week to the other in six short days in NASCAR‘s Sprint Cup circuit. On Sunday we had the up and down hills of Sonoma’s road course with left and right turns at laps of 90 mph. This Saturday night we’ll see left turns only on the high banks of Daytona International Speedway at speeds of over 190 mph.
This week’s race also represents the one race out of 36 on the year that we’ll see the entire race uninterrupted by commercials. TNT will still show commercials, but it will be in a side box with race coverage running continuously making the normally sub-par TNT broadcast must see television. While this is a compromise made by NASCAR, TNT and sponsors who all know that fans want to watch every green flag lap, it’s a shame that it’s only once a year. NASCAR still remains the only sport that cuts away during live action for commercials.

The type of restrictor-plate racing we’ll see this week will be similar to what we saw at Daytona in February and Talladega in April with two-car tandems being the fastest way around the track. Drivers will create alliances with each other to help each other get to the final lap and then everyone is on their own from there.

That type of racing has been received with mixed reviews from fans, but there is no denying that it adds to a major change of pace from what we‘ll witness in the 32 other races during the season. The best part about it is seeing the drivers unite -- putting their differences aside -- for the greater cause of winning the race. If someone’s fast during Thursday’s practice like Kyle Busch, even Kevin Harvick will have no problem hooking up with him.

I like the aspect of tandem racing in the same fashion I liked tag-team wrestling or 4x100 meter races of any kind. It takes two to tango and one weak link hurts the team effort. Ideally, most of the drivers would like to have their own teammate be their buddy, but based on where they qualify, they may have no choice to use the partner their dealt with.

Just to reflect back to February during Daytona speed weeks, Kurt Busch dominated. Last week's Sonoma winner won the Gatorade Duel and Budweiser shootout leading up to the Daytona 500. Trevor Bayne won the race as a 100/1 long shot with the likes of David Gilliland finishing third and Bobby Labonte finishing fourth. Kurt Busch settled for fifth in the last lap frenzy that took place.

Although Talladega races are much different than Daytona, because the cars are the same and the tandem racing is the same, it’s worth noting what happened there in April. Eight cars -- or four sets of teams -- came through the final turn of the last lap with a legitimate shot at winning. Three of them were separated by two thousandths of a second with Jimmie Johnson’s nose of the car getting there just before Clint Bowyer’s.

In that last stretch at Talladega, it was Hendrick teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. who pushed Johnson to the win and Harvick who pushed his RCR teammate Bowyer to a close second. Incidentally, both Johnson and Earnhardt Jr. will be using those cars for this week’s race.

The top candidates to win this week will be some of the same drivers and teams beginning with RCR who have four capable drivers led by Harvick and Bowyer, both of whom won at Talladega last season. Harvick also won this race at Daytona last season. Jeff Burton, who has had an awful season thus far, won one of the Gatorade Duels at Daytona. Harvick is bringing the same car that finished fifth at Talladega, Bowyer is doing the same. In Bowyer's case, the car he's bringing also won last years fall Talladega race in addition to runner-up this year. Burton will be using the same car that won the Gatorade race.

Last season, the Ganassi team did very well in plate races, but they haven’t shown the same type of ability in the two races this season. Jamie McMurray led the teams change with a win at Daytona win and runner-up at Talladega, but they have been off not only in these types of races this season, but everywhere else.

Expect Roush Racing to continue their excellence in plate races as well. Carl Edwards was runner-up in the Daytona 500 and finished sixth at Talladega. Greg Biffle was right in the mix on the last turn at Talladega as well. The two of them teamed up so well together at Talladega that they have brought the exact same cars this week for Daytona.

The driver everyone wants to see win is Dale Earnhardt Jr. and he just might do it ending his 108-race winless streak. In two of his last three Daytona races, he’s finished runner-up and fourth to go along with his two career wins on the track. He’s got his fourth-place finish at Talladega this year to go along with five wins there as well.

I’m going to look for RCR to continue their great run with maybe Kurt Busch making a surprise visit to a plate race winner’s circle. There is no better plate racer without a win on them than Busch.

Since long shots have been successful the last three seasons of plate races with both Brad Keselowski and Trevor Bayne paying out at odds of 100/1 or higher along with Jamie McMurray paying out at 35/1, it may serve well to look for a few of those type of candidates. Paul Menrad has the RCR power going for him and has done well at both plate races this season. David Gilliland has finished in the top-10 of both plate races this year. Mark Martin has found himself right in the thick of things at the end of both races and David Ragan has always run well.