NASCAR Cup Series

Sprint Unlimited provides excitement and Daytona 500 preview

Published Feb. 9, 2015 12:30 p.m. ET

Larry McReynolds

With cars finally back on the track this weekend, we all are gearing up for the Sprint Unlimited race Saturday night on FOX. We all know that these days to win any race, be it a non-points race, a points race or -- even in the case of Daytona qualifying -- one of the Duel races, is a big deal.

Our special event races are so much different from other stick-and-ball sports that hold special events. Just look a couple weeks back at the NFL Pro Bowl. Those guys weren't going all-out. They were taking it somewhat easy on each other and having fun. No one was really pushing the envelope.

That's far from the case from any race we ever run.

For any of these drivers it's a win, a trophy and, yes, a paycheck. The other cool thing where the Sprint Unlimited is concerned is if you win that race Saturday night, you're automatically guaranteed a spot in the field for the rest of your racing career. So obviously that is a big deal too.

I also believe that the Sprint Unlimited is a good initial indicator of who to watch for the rest of Speedweeks.

We've had a number of examples of that these last few years. Granted it's literally a different race car than what you plan to drive in the Daytona 500. Still though to me it's still a good measuring stick of where your program is at for the upcoming Budweiser Duel qualifying races on Feb 19th on FOX Sports 1 and for the Daytona 500 February 22nd on FOX.

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