Our next big event is Thursday's Duel 150 races. Everyone has been asking me what to expect, and my answer is I don’t know what to expect. In talking to the drivers, they really don’t either.
With NASCAR’s latest adjustments, the drivers are going to try to continue this two-car hookup style of racing, but that’s going to be affected by the reduced air flow to the engines. Will these new regulations by NASCAR bring back the old-style pack racing?
I think it will only be temporary because the drivers know if they want to win this race, they need a two-car breakaway. While neither race Thursday will have an entire 43-car field, it still will be a clear indicator of what we can expect to see Sunday.
I think we will see a higher level of frustration from some of the drivers than we did Saturday night. The guy in the back, the pusher, obviously has his job to do, but for all intents and purposes he is along for the ride. He’s really at the mercy of the guy he is pushing. He can’t see as well as the lead car obviously, and there definitely will be cases where the second guy isn’t happy with the way the lead guy is driving. So I look for that frustration level to build again Thursday and then probably boil over Sunday.
Brad Keselowski wasn’t in last Saturday’s race. What he mentioned to me about watching it was that the key to Kurt Busch’s ultimate success was his patience. Busch was finally able to find someone to work with him, and that set him up to challenge for and then ultimately win the race.
Also don’t forget that there is a level of frustration to this new style of racing because frankly it is just that — new. There is nothing guys can reference back to. It’s clear that the guy in front is totally dependent on the guy behind him that is doing the pushing. You can have a fast race car, but if you don’t have a pusher, then you simply aren’t going anywhere. You saw Saturday night with Kyle Busch that there won’t be any single-car breakaways.
This new style of racing, to me, takes some getting used to, but it surely has to be exciting for the fans. This high-speed chess game, like we call it, has now been taken to another dimension. When that happens, the interest level and excitement build.
Yes, we have seen glimpses of this at Talladega, but never at Daytona. Now with the brand-new smooth surface at Daytona International Speedway, we are seeing the science of a two-car tandem being perfected right in front of our eyes.
To me, this is a brand-new page in the NASCAR history book.
