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The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
Feb. 21, 2016
Volume X, Edition XI
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This week's TV Schedule can be found here.
Chase Elliott has been in the spotlight for the past week after becoming the youngest pole winner in the history of the Daytona 500. On Saturday, he put on another impressive performance by winning the PowerShares QQQ 300 at Daytona International Speedway.
Elliott took the lead for the final time after a restart on lap 108. His No. 88 led the field around the bottom line with new JR Motorsports teammate Elliott Sadler in tow. As the race wound down, two of the day's most dominant drivers, Joey Logano and Kasey Kahne, attempted to lead a second draft on the high line. Logano got an excellent run in turn 2 on the final lap, prompting Elliott to jump to the high lane and block Logano. The Nos. 88 and 22 cars drafted away from everyone until Logano tried to squeeze past Elliott on the frontstretch. With too little room to work with, Logano and Elliott made contact as he raced toward the checkered flag, trying to keep their cars under control. In the end, Logano could not complete the pass.
"It was a heck of a battle at the end there," Elliott said from Victory Lane. "We just found ourselves at the right place at the right time at the end, and luckily just barely had enough to get by Joey there."
Elliott had an adventurous day leading up to his win. He bumped into Bobby Labonte when the field stacked up in front of him early in the race, triggering the second caution of the event. When Elliott was pitting during a different caution, about ten laps later, he nearly left his pit box too soon.
Things settled down for Elliott during a long green-flag run in the middle portion of the race. While Kasey Kahne did most of the leading, Elliott kept the leaders in sight until pitting for the final time on lap 95. He continued to battle for the lead with Logano and Sadler until Ray Black, Jr. stalled on the backstretch, bringing out the caution on lap 102. Most of the frontrunners elected not to pit, setting up the final showdown between Elliott and Logano.
"We started slowly making the top work, slowly but surely kind of moving it up," Logano explained after the race. "The last lap I started getting up there, had a good run on the 88."
Regarding the close finish, Logano added, "We made some contact, and the contact was kind of what killed me there, that killed my forward momentum I had to be able to pass him by the line, and I just couldn't do it in time."
The first 30 laps of the race, along with the last 20, bore little resemblance to the rest of the event. The race struggled to find rhythm as three cautions were displayed in the first 22 laps, eventually giving way to a long green-flag run in which the front runners experimented with differing pit strategies.
The Good:
The Chevrolet powerhouses of the XFINITY Series were the teams to beat at Daytona. In addition to Elliott's win, Kahne wound up third and Sadler was the top-finishing XFINITY Series regular in fourth. Justin Allgaier rebounded from a late pit road speeding penalty to finish 12th, rounding out a strong showing for JR Motorsports. Richard Childress Racing had a good start to the season as well. While pole sitter Ty Dillon faded to 13th, Austin Dillon, rookie Brandon Jones, and Brendan Gaughan all scored top 10s.
The Bad:
Rookie Ryan Preece's race lasted only five laps before getting caught up in an accident; he would finish last. Brennan Poole had a promising run ruined after experiencing an alternator failure. With no alternator, the battery drained itself until Poole was forced to pit under green for a new battery, losing three laps in the process.
The Ugly:
Erik Jones had a rough opening race after getting hit by Labonte's sliding car on lap 13. Jones finished the race five laps down in 31st after spending most of the afternoon riding around the track at reduced speed. Daniel Suarez hung on through the closing laps and scored a respectable eighth-place finish, but Jones' troubles, coupled with a 23rd for Labonte, were results far below what many expected for Joe Gibbs Racing.
Underdog Performance(s) of the race:
On a day when the favorites dominated, Blake Koch squeaked out a top 10 in his first outing with Kaulig Racing. Dakoda Armstrong and Jeremy Clements came away with top 15s. And although Ryan Sieg finished midpack (20th), Kevin Harvick was correct to give Sieg a hat tip for his strong run during the race.
Double Duty Interlopers:
In addition to Elliott, Logano, Austin Dillon, Kahne, and Labonte, Sprint Cup drivers Kyle Larson and Aric Almirola joined the XFINITY regulars at Daytona. Larson was caught up in the early crash with Erik Jones and Labonte, later forced to pit road with a tire rub. Almirola led nine laps during the middle of the race en route to an 11th-place result. Camping World Truck Series driver John Wes Townley quietly finished 17th.
Quotable:
"Basically, everyone on the last lap is pushing, so are they going to black flag the whole field? I think that's where it becomes very challenging." – Second-place finisher Joey Logano on NASCAR's ability to enforce the "no pushing" rule
"(I'm) very proud of this race team, that's a strong run right here, right out of the box." – Fourth-place finisher and points leader Elliott Sadler
"I'm not gonna lie, when we took the white flag, I'm like 'Ahhh, I don't know if we're gonna make it back…'" – Darrell Wallace, Jr., who took a backup car to a sixth-place finish
The Final Word:
The lasting image from this race will be the thrilling finish between Elliott and Logano. After leading a race-high 40 laps, Logano nearly pulled off the last-lap pass that would have sealed the victory for Team Penske. Instead, Elliott took the checkered flag and will take a huge confidence boost into today's Daytona 500.
It was shocking how little the beginning and end of the race resembled the middle. While the opening and closing laps featured plenty of side-by-side action, the middle stages were a single-file parade. However, the race did not feel boring. Alternating pit strategies gave the race a "musical chairs" feel, leaving fans wondering who would be in front when the music stopped. There will hopefully be more instances like this one during the 2016 NASCAR season, instances that dispel the notion that long green-flag runs lack compelling racing and that gimmicks like caution clocks have no business in any NASCAR race.
With Elliott's victory, nobody has claimed a spot in the new XFINITY Chase. Elliott has only recently become a Sprint Cup driver, but he falls into that group nonetheless. The first race of the year proves that on any given weekend, seeing one of the XFINITY regulars take down a Cup Series interloper will be a tall order, but it should also be a ticket to the Chase.
Up Next:
The XFINITY Series heads to Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday, February 27th. Race coverage begins at 1:30 p.m. ET.
Bryan Gable is a Contributor for Frontstretch. He can be reached via e-mail at bryan.gable@frontstretch.com.
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