Daytona 500, who wins it, and how do they do it?

Auto racing is a difficult and tough sport, it is the only one I know where all of the teams are on the 'field' at one time, there are no time outs, and only one can win. There are those that don't get it, and I do not care for there reply, but for those that do, please tell me who will win and how can they do it. My take is Matt Kenseth, with either Denny Hamlin or Kyle Busch bump drafting the #20 to the third Daytona 500 win for the Wisconsin driver! Please be considerate, and if you are one of those "roundy-rounders" go find a thread where you can relate. GO MATT!!!

I bet one of the racers is going to win it and they will do it in a car.

Originally posted by rickymouse
I bet one of the racers is going to win it and they will do it in a car.

That, sir is pure speculation on your part, and not even the least bit funny (unless you are 7) any real input?

The important thing is to keep your head in the game, and remember to

TURN LEFT!

Since the race 88 hasn't happened yet there is no way of knowing who 88 will win. As to HOW the winner 88 will win the race, I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that he 88 will be the first one to pass under the checkered flag88. And there are "time outs" in racing, yellow and red flags.

Nascar math 88>20

There are so many variables in Nascar, I don't even know how someone can make odds on a particular driver. The biggest consideration always seems to be how well the car is set up, and even then they get lucky a lot of the time.

Originally posted by Tylerknight
The important thing is to keep your head in the game, and remember to

TURN LEFT!

That is easy for us to say when a pack of 43, 3400 Lb racecars are inches apart, traveling at 200+ mph (equal to a football field a second with all of the lights on) with aerodynamic push, pull and side drafts, this sport is extremely difficult and dangerous, I just assume there are very few racing junkies here on ATS. Personally, it is my favorite sport, and I know literally hundreds of fellow junkies...

Originally posted by Carreau
Since the race 88 hasn't happened yet there is no way of knowing who 88 will win. As to HOW the winner 88 will win the race, I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that he 88 will be the first one to pass under the checkered flag88. And there are "time outs" in racing, yellow and red flags.

Nascar math 88>20

A time out is defined as a call of a teammember to call, at will, a cease to action. Therefore, racing has no called time out when you wish such a stop. A yellow flag lines up the field, and then the rest of the team services the racecar, and cuts it loose to regroup, hardly a stop of action. also a red or yellow flag is not called by the teams themselves, but as a safety issue deemed by the officials, and yes, 88 has a good shot at winning this 5 million dollar check and highly sought after thropy, he will need a drafting partner, maybe #5?

reply to post by teslahowitzer


Haha sorry I didn't mean to offend, there was a south park episode on NASCAR and Cartman wanted to be a driver. I'll try and find the link, I'm sure you'd get a good laugh out of it.

I am going to give my opinion regardless. Nascar takes very little skill in my opinion. The main factors that determine the winner are starting position and the capabilities of the individual vehicles. As far as driving goes, a big circle is not all that challenging. Now actual auto racing can be found in the likes of touring cars, formula 1, etc.

This is because not only are there starting positions and vehicle capabilities to take into account, but also the ability of the driver to maneuver through a winding and difficult course, which also means that the driver has to stay on his toes, especially considering the amount of gear changing that is involved. Compared to an oval track, there really is no comparison. So any type of racing that is done on a street-like course, or formula 1 type course, no matter what type of vehicles are being raced, is going to be not only watchable, but is going to take more skill than any racing done on an oval track.

So what you are saying is that a person, say, like Juan Montoya can't make the jump from Indycars here in the States and win at Monaco? It takes more than what you think than it requires to be a successful driver in any form of auto racing. The amount of guts it takes to do something like that is almost a certain given. A lot of drivers have been racing in a form or several different forms of auto racing or motorsports since they were children. Take what Nigel Mansell did in the 1980s and 1990s in Formula 1. He had many legendary battles with the likes of Senna and Prost. In 1993, he makes the jump over here to the states and dominates in Indycar for the next two years. This includes winning the PPG Cup in his rookie season. There are several other examples; Fittipaldi; Andretti; Ambrose; Villenuve; and Piquet who have either made the jump from one series to another or whose skills were passed down from their fathers.

Another thing to add to this thread is that most Formula 1 fans don't know of the test that Ayrton Senna participated in over here in the States for legendary race team owner. Roger Penske. Those two test sessions took place at Firebird Raceway and at Phoenix International Raceway in Arizona. The test session took place in December of 1992. Senna was also joined by Emerson Fittipaldi and by four time Indy 500 winner Rick Mears. It is believed by most that Senna had hinted at doing a stint here for a few years with Penske in Indycars.

reply to post by JiggyPotamus


Hi Jiggy, your input is always welcome, you should value it as we do. I like road courses very much, and in my driving days, the courses of Lime Rock, Road America, Watkins glen, and Road Atlanta were the only places where I could be competitive, could not get the sheer speed repetitively on the ovals,bent up some great iron. It takes a certain type of driver to master this on the top levels.When the track changes it's character by the hour, it is difficult at best to adjust and master, and is one hell of a challenge even for the best drivers. If road course drivers were that much better than oval drivers, then Montoya, Ambrose, and other 'transplants' would dominate the series. Even when Nascar runs the two road courses, 98% of the time a regular Nascar driver wins these. I personally feel there should be at least two more road courses on the schedule, but my last name is not Helton or France. One of the key elements of oval tracks is that the people in the stands can see the whole track and all of the action, this is not so on a road course, where not all of the action is in your field of view, A lot of fans say this is a factor. Maybe I should have done a different thread, but my test to see how many race fans are ATS regulars told me a lot, There is an untapped market the moderators are missing, how many million fans view races? ESPN, FOX, NBC, etc say a bunch!

Watched the winter testing w/the new cars - seems like the cars will be much looser this year with the lower spoiler package. Would look for the dominant restrictor plate drivers before the car of tomorrow was developed.

Would think Earnhardt, Gordon, Kennseth, Michael Waltrip (if he doesn't crash - underrated restrictor plate driver) maybe Kyle Bush likes a loose car, Kurt Bush depending on who's car he is in this year & Harvick and Boyer.

reply to post by BABYBULL24
That is right, the new car is way loose, especially when a car is under the rear bumper, rear downforce is 18% less than the previous design. This will be difficult on the intermediate tracks, but less rear spring will help some. These new cars are harder to drive, and if my theory is correct, you will see Nascar free up some shock and spring rules, maybe even cross weight limits. Kurt Busch is in the 78 furniture row car, and will be fast, and interesting to watch. thanks for the thoughful and interesting reply, and let the season begin. good luck!