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| Entry into Turn 1 is going to be a thrill to watch all day. |
Date: Sunday, August 16, 2020
TV-Time: NBC, 2:35 p.m. ET
Venue: Daytona International Speedway
Location: Daytona Beach, Florida
Handicapping NASCAR at Daytona
It took 23 races on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule before we finally get to see some road racing after both Sonoma Raceway and Watkins Glen’s scheduled events were canceled due to the pandemic which is how we get Sunday’s race on Daytona International Speedway’s 14-turn 3.57-mile road course.
It’s the first time NASCAR has used the layout run annually for the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona endurance race.
Road racing with right and left turns in the big bulky NASCAR cars are one of my most anticipated events of the season. They’re calling this a road course but it’s going to be something different we have never witnessed in NASCAR. It’s going to be fast, as in almost being scary fast.
Most of the tri-oval is still being used with corner banking set at 31 degrees which means these cars will be ripping at full throttle and because they’re using the 750 horsepower package -- no restrictor plate or tapered spacer -- we’ll see faster runs than we saw during the Daytona 500.
Of course, they have to slow down once they get to a situation where they have to make a hard left turn onto the road course section. NASCAR determined that this race package would be going too fast around turn 3 and 4 so they put an extra chicane between turn 4 and the start/finish line.
In normal road races, you can write four to five names down and have a great shot of seeing one of them win. It’s a select group of drivers that have genuine skills making left and right turns in a series that goes around in circles most weeks.
But not many of the skilled road drivers have raced on the Daytona course, which should probably be called a Roval like the one in Charlotte. Between no elevation changes and the high speeds on the high bankings, it’s hard to call it a road course.
Because of the track and drivers having little experience on it and not even being able to practice or qualifying on it, I think the pool of drivers to select from that have a legitimate shot at winning widens by up to 20 drivers having a shot which is good for betting. I would not be shocked if someone who has never won a road race wins Sunday.
Ride the Road Value?
Clint Bowyer, who leads all active drivers with 12 top-fives, could be your guy at 20/1 odds to win.
“I’m probably unique since at least I have some laps on the racetrack,” Bowyer said. “It was a long time ago (2013). I don’t even remember those laps, but I ran the Rolex 24 and have some experience on that track. I think there are definitely drivers and teams who have experience of running at the Rolex who will be ahead of the pack, ahead of the curve, for sure. But, it’s nothing like driving one of these Cup cars. That’s going to be totally new to all of us.”
Bowyer’s lone road course win was at Sonoma in 2012 and the last two years at the Charlotte Roval, he was third in 2018 and fourth in 2019. A couple of other reasons to support Bowyer this week besides the chunky odds is the 750 hp package that has performed the best for him this season with a fifth-place at Phoenix and runner-up at Bristol. It’s also desperation time for Bowyer to clinch a playoff berth -- four races remain -- and also secure a ride for 2021.
He drives for Stewart-Haas Racing, one of the elite programs, and hasn’t been offered a contract while almost all the other rides for good teams are slowly being claimed, and there are younger drivers like Erik Jones who may be sought after more than the 41-year-old Bowyer. But a win sure could push the odds in his favor to stay in the No. 14.
Big Names Still Respected
This week’s race package should be a major part of what driver is decided to bet on because a few teams have been better than others who are dominating the season overall. Kevin Harvick who has been very competitive on road courses (2 wins) over his career leads the series with six wins, but they all came with the 550 hp package. Denny Hamlin is next with five wins but doesn’t have any using the 750 hp package.
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