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| Jimmie Johnson won the Clash at Daytona in February. |
However, it's only the second race using this current race package with cars featuring aero ducts, taller spoilers, and engines producing 550 horsepower. Denny Hamlin won the season-opening Daytona 500 but was using last season's package.
When setting up my personal ratings for this week's race that features lots of unknowns because of the package debut at Daytona, I started with what happened in April's Talladega Superspeedway race that saw 37 lead changes among 15 drivers. What stood out the most was Chevrolet appearing to have an edge with the new package as six of the top-eight finishers drove the Camaro, including the first three finishers.
Hendrick Motorsports had a 1-2 finish in the Geico 500 with Chase Elliott winning the first race of the season for Chevrolet and teammate Alex Bowman was runner-up. Bowman stepped up last week in the final half of the Chicagoland race to lead 88 laps and win his first career Cup race.
I gained tons of respect for Bowman in the final seven laps when Kyle Larson reeled him in to erase a 3.4-second lead and eventually make the pass. It looked like the race was over and Larson had the much better long-run car. I thought there was no way Bowman could bounce back, but within two laps there was Bowman trading paint with the rear side panel of Larson's No. 42 and then did a little side-drafting to slow Larson's momentum and make the winning pass to retake the lead with five laps to go. It was big league stuff, but almost as important was that Hendrick Motorsports and Chevrolet got a win on a 1.5-mile track that only two organizations had won on in the first races on those types.
“I'm still pretty speechless," Bowman said of his first win. "I was able to go home and enjoy it even more with my friends and team and we won the race! I am just so thankful for Hendrick Motorsports, Axalta, Nationwide, LLumar, Valvoline and Chevrolet for believing in me. They stuck behind this team and it means so much. I am extremely thankful for this opportunity with this No. 88 team and Greg Ives. Greg is a great crew chief and I am so happy to get my first win with him.”
So the scoreboard for the season has Joe Gibbs Racing with 10 wins, Team Penske with five wins, and now Hendrick with two wins. The biggest surprise not on the scoreboard has been Stewart-Haas Racing with no wins after having seven wins through the same juncture last season led by Kevin Harvick'sfive wins.
The new package at Talladega also was a stark contrast to the Daytona 500 that used last season package with restrictor plates. Joe Gibbs Racing finished 1-2-3 led by Hamlin's second career Daytona 500 win, but at Talladega, they had a rough day with Kyle Busch doing the best finishing 10th. Last seasons Coke Zero 400 winner Eric Jones finished 19th, Martin Truex Jr. was 20th and Hamlin was involved in an accident and only completed 80 laps finishing 36th.
“We had a great race earlier this year in Daytona, but this weekend will be entirely different,’’ Hamlin said. “Just like all the other teams, we have learned a lot about ourselves in the weeks since the Daytona 500 and we will be fighting for a repeat win, but we are ready and preparing for the challenge that is coming our way.’’
Hamlin is a great starting point in regards to a betting strategy at 10/1 betting odds. It's hard to keep someone out of the equation who has led laps in 19 of his last 24 Daytona starts and finished sixth or better in seven of his last 11 starts there. He gets out to the front to avoid "the big one" behind him, but he couldn't avoid being in a six-car wreck at Talladega with the new package. And that's kind of the dilemma here: new package results at Talladega versus past history in plate races, specific past history at Daytona, and current form from the entire team ranging from the driver, pit crew, car chief, and crew chief.
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