Daytona
Today is the 50th running of the Daytona 500. Lots of interesting stories going into the race:
- After a hideous debut last year, the Toyota teams are now outfitted with more horsepower than anyone else on the track. Will Waltrip and Red Bull rise to the level of Toyota newcomer Joe Gibbs Racing, or vice versa?
- How will the new open wheel drivers fare? Juan Pablo had a respectable rookie season in 2007 - can he follow in Tony Stewart’s footsteps and emerge as a competitor for the Cup? And how will Indy 500 winners Sam Hornish Jr. and Dario Franchitti fare in their rookie NASCAR seasons?
- What will Junior do with Hendrick-quality equipment? In the other races this past week he posted 2 wins and 1 third-place finish (the highest ranked non-Toyota in the Nationwide race). Based on this week he looks ready to finally win the Cup.
- And let’s give a shout-out to the veterans who didn’t make the field for this year’s race - Bill Elliott, Sterling Marlin and Ken Schrader will all be watching the race this year. And former champion Dale Jarrett will be racing in his final Daytona 500.
It will also be interesting to see whether the sport’s ratings rebound this year, or decline further. It seems Brian France has recognized that he changed the sport too much, pursuing mainstream and corporate fans and money in a way that alienated some of the sport’s most fervent longtime fans. Probably the 30% decline in International Speedway Corp. stock from its peak in 2005 caught his attention. Ouch.