Speedweeks is officially behind us and now it’s time to look ahead. Next up is the Daytona Road Course. This race is replacing the Auto Club 400 at Fontana. Due to California’s restrictions, the race was canceled and replaced with the Daytona Road Course.
For the second week in a row, NASCAR will be at Daytona and it will be another exciting weekend of racing.
Chase Elliott’s road course streak is on the line
Well, it is safe to say Chase Elliott is the new road course king. Chase Elliott has won four in a row on the road courses dating back to 2019. Elliott will look to continue his streak on Sunday. Last season NASCAR made its debut at the Daytona road course and Chase Elliott won. He will look to defend that win and keep the streak alive.
Who can dethrone Chase Elliott
A heavy favorite coming into the weekend is Denny Hamlin. Hamlin finished in the runner-up position last August on the Daytona road course. Denny Hamlin had a strong race last year and is a threat to win on Sunday. Hamlin also posted a top 10 finish at the Busch Clash during Speedweeks when he finished 6th. Obviously, it was not the finish he wanted and he will look for redemption on Sunday.
Another Heavy Favorite
Martin Truex Jr has a real shot at winning this race. Last year he posted a 3rd place finish in his debut on the road course. Truex Jr even led 10 laps in last season’s race. In last week’s exhibition, it was a tough race for Truex Jr when he crashed exiting the bus stop. This caused him to finish last. He will be looking for some redemption on Sunday.
No Practice Or Qualifying
Before the season began NASCAR announced that 8 races will have practice and qualifying. This race will not have practice or qualifying. This means by draw Chase Elliott will lead the field to the green Sunday. Teams will be forced to rely on last years race for preparation of this one.
Drivers will also use the IRacing simulator to practice before each race. A lot can go wrong on Sunday without proper preparation but with some prior experience, the race should not be as crazy as last years event
Daytona Adds Curbing to Bus Stop and Chicane
A major problem that occurred in the Busch Clash was dirt at the bus stop. The way the curbing was setup caused dirt to go all over the race track which caused many issues for drivers. Daytona International fixed this issue by adding tall curbing where the dirt was.
However this can be a problem for drivers because if they hit it, it can cause severe damage to the splitter. This will certainly be one of the many curveballs drivers will face at Sunday’s race
What to Expect
Without practice and qualifying, we can expect chaos. Without practice drivers will be driving blind going into Sunday’s event. We can expect Chase Elliott to be a dominating force on Sunday. The one plus for Sunday’s race is little to no rain is expected and even if it does rain teams will have rain tires.
As long as there is no lightning this race will have no delays. It will be an exciting race that can be seen at 3pm on FOX, TSN and heard on the Motor Racing Network.
