NASCAR 2020 gets started with the Busch Clash

NASCAR is back this weekend at Daytona International Speedway with a 75-lap non-points race called the Busch Clash featuring 18 drivers who became eligible by either winning a pole last season, winning a past Daytona 500 or Clash or participated in the 2019 Playoffs.

It’s an appetizer for next week’s Daytona 500, a tutorial and refresher course for the fans and bettors. What we see in Sunday’s race will give us all a better idea of who to bet on next week when there are 40 cars racing each other in the first official race of 2020.

But there’s absolutely no reason not to bet this race. It’s a short non-points race, but every driver wants to win to get some momentum heading into the Daytona 500. All 18 eligible drivers have a legitimate shot to win.

Before I attempt to make a case for a couple of drivers to win, let’s talk about the race packages for 2020 and what changes have been made. The race package NASCAR will use the next two weeks at Daytona is what they used at both Talladega races last season and the July Daytona race, so reviewing those three races would be a good idea before finalizing some selections.

The race package with engines producing 550 horsepower used on most 1.5-mile tracks will remain the same. The package using engines with 750 horsepower on the shorter tracks will be almost identical to what was used on those in 2018 with the spoiler being severely reduced below three inches which will reduce the downforce by almost half what it was in 2019.

Jimmie Johnson won the Busch Clash last season paying out at 25-1 odds. It was his first Clash win since 2005. Sunday’s Clash will be his last as he’s set to retire at the end of the season. The seven-time Cup Champion could break a tie with Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty for most championships if he wins the title this season. The Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook has Johnson posted at 40-1 to win the title.

I’ll be rooting for Johnson, but I won’t have many bets made on him this season, or at least until he has a better showing than he did the past two seasons when he didn’t win a race and had only five top-fives combined. He’s been stuck on 83 career Cup wins for a long time.

The drivers I’ll have action on are those that have done well in this short format, drivers that did well in the three races using this race package last season, and then a long shot to throw in the mix and make the race more exciting.

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