Happy Daytona 500 Eve! I refuse to say Daytona Day. In fact, that is the last time you will see Daytona Day on this blog. Yes, I realize I just said it again.

Truck Series Thoughts

I thought it was a pretty good Truck Series race Friday night minus the deluge of multi-car crashes. I’m afraid that’s just a prelude for the next two days.

As I mentioned on my first post, I’m a Ben Rhodes beat reporter (easiest thing to call it). I thought he did a good job of avoiding the accidents and made a nice move on the last lap to get from seventh to fourth. He told me after the race his truck was a very good pusher, but not a great leader. His truck failed post-race inspection for being too low, but he said it was from damage caused during the race and his team will not face any penalties.

Bad Move NASCAR

One thing I promised myself when I started this blog is that I won’t be a contrarian just for the sake of being a contrarian. We get enough of that already. If I give an opinion on this site, you make darn sure it’s what I believe.

I just saw that Timmy Hill will not get to run in the Xfinity race after it was already determined he had qualified via a provisional. He’s out because Matt Tifft and Josh Williams failed post-qualifying inspection and their times were disallowed, which means Tifft and Williams have to use a provisional and that knocks Hill out and Gray Gaulding is in on speed.

WHAT!?!?

How can NASCAR justify retroactively altering the starting lineup after qualifying is complete? Change the order all you want, but pull a driver and team out due to another’s error? Not good.

I feel like the solution is simple. Tifft and Williams start at the rear, Hill stays in and Gaulding stays out. Also, the teams of Tifft and Williams need to face penalties next week as well. Otherwise, it sets the precedent that you can doctor the car to get it qualified and just get sent to the rear. If I’m a small team, that’s what I’d do every week.

Daytona 500 Predictions

I’ll keep these brief. I think Team Penske is going to be hard to beat. If they can avoid trouble, and I think there will be plenty, I have a hard time envisioning Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, or Ryan Blaney not winning the race as long as they continue to work together like they have during Speedweeks.

Other possible winners are the usual suspects: Hamlin, Elliott, Harvick, Kyle Busch.

How about a couple of dark horses: Paul Menard, Daniel Suarez, and Aric Almirola.

Also, keep an eye on Clint Bowyer and David Ragan.

That’s all for know. Enjoy the Xfinity race. Please feel free to leave a comment or three.

Thanks for reading the NASCAR Fix!

-JW