NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers return to Saturday night racing this weekend, with the added flair of competing on the banks of Daytona International Speedway.
The Coke Zero 400 marks the halfway point of the season, but more importantly it’s one of nine races remaining before the field for the Chase for the Sprint Cup is set. Trust me, that will be on most drivers' minds more than any mid-point assessments this weekend.
It’s a rough race to manage, primarily because of the nature of the crashes the drafting at the track breeds. Cars swarm around the track in a tight pack, bunched together in single- and double-file lines for most of the event’s 160 laps. That’s if the race doesn’t go into extra laps under the green-white-checker rule which could really come into play here. The 2.5-mile track offers 31 degree banking in the turns -- and a needed second sense for drivers and spotters trying to negotiate through those packs.
The potential for a crash aside, making a move at the wrong time can turn a strong night into a finish deep in the field. This is a place where one needs driving partners -- and where everyone goes for broke on the last lap.
Chase contenders have fared well on this track in the past, with Jamie McMurray winning the season-opening Daytona 500 this season and this race in 2007. Drivers looking to gain some ground, like Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth, Kyle Busch and Jamie McMurray, must be happy to see a track where they’ve won in the recent past looming.
Points leader Kevin Harvick, second-running Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon (who has six Daytona wins) are obviously among those to watch this weekend.
But what about those deeper in the Chase field, the men trying to get in position to clinch a berth or move into the top 12? Here’s a look at the Chase-contending drivers that are further back to watch this weekend:
Dale Earnhardt Jr.: No current driver seems to have the inherent sense of this track more than Earnhardt Jr. It's been a while since he’s won at Daytona, but that’s as much a factor of circumstances and poor luck as anything else. No matter where he is entering those final laps, he’s one to watch. A restrictor-plate genius, he enters the race with two wins at Daytona. He has 12 top-10 finishes in 21 starts at the track and an average finish of 14.9.
Jamie McMurray: With a pair of recent wins at the track, McMurray is one of the top drivers to watch this weekend. He may have an average finish of 23.93 at the track, but both of his wins there have come since 2007. He finished 11th in this race a year ago. He has also shown strength at sister track Talladega Superspeedway, showing that both McMurray and now his Earnhardt Ganassi Racing team have figured out these restrictor-plate tracks.
Tony Stewart: Obviously, summer works well for Stewart, who is in the midst of another timely rally. Look for that to continue at Daytona, a place where he has three wins and 12 top-10 finishes. Stewart has an average finish of 16.74 at the track. Even better, he won this race a year ago and has three finishes of eighth of better in the last five races here.
Matt Kenseth: The 2009 winner of the Daytona 500 and his Roush Fenway Racing team have been looking for a shot to finish well and gain some ground. This could be just the place. Kenseth has an average finish of 17.429, respectable for a long-time driver on this type of track, but has clearly moved beyond that level in recent years. Kenseth is surprisingly strong at Daytona, a place where he has a worst finish of eighth in his last four races and just one finish worse than that in his last six races.
Clint Bowyer: The Richard Childress Racing driver has clearly taken to the high-banked superspeedway. He has three finishes of ninth or better in his last four races at the track, two of them fourth-place finishes. Overall, he has six top-10 finishes in nine Cup starts at the track. Add in his Nationwide numbers (eight finishes of sixth or better in 10 races) and he’s clearly looking to gain some ground on the competition this weekend.
Here’s a look at the Chase-contending drivers who are entering the danger zone at Daytona:
Joey Logano: Logano is still trying to make his first Chase, but he hasn’t enjoyed any success in his trio of races at Daytona, with finishes of 20th, 19th and 43rd -- an average finish of 27.33.
Ryan Newman: The Stewart-Haas Racing driver won the 2008 Daytona 500, but he hasn’t performed well in recent runs at the track. Newman has a top finish of 20th in his last four races at the track. He also has a pair of 36th-place finishes and a 34th in that stretch.
Kasey Kahne: The Richard Petty Motorsports driver is looking to regain ground lost with a failed engine last weekend. Daytona just might not be the place for his to do so. For a while, it seemed like Kahne had this track figured out with a string of four consecutive top-10 finishes. But he has a top finish of 15th -- and two of 29th or worse -- in his last three races at the track.
Greg Biffle: The Roush Fenway driver is coming off a third-place finish at the track, but he’s dealt with a slate of setbacks over the years at Daytona. He’s one of those who seems to head to races there braced for the worst. In the three previous races, he finished 18th, 20th and 43rd. Overall, he has an average finish of 20.867 at the track.
Jeff Burton: The Richard Childress Racing driver is certainly overdue for some good luck this season. After all, he’s already endured his share of setbacks. Burton’s a previous winner at the track and has an average finish of 17.55 there. He has a top finish of 11th in his last four races at the track, though, with the others falling in at 16th, 28th and 37th. And it’s clear that if bad luck is going to strike anyone this year, it’s going to be Burton.
