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Sprint Cup
CUP: Bud Shootout Was Filled With Multicar Crashes
Daytona race dissolves into wreckfest...
Jeff Gordon flips after being hit by Jimmie Johnson and Kurt Busch after an on track incident during the NASCAR Budweiser Shootout at Daytona International Speedway on February 18, 2012 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo: Getty Images)
NASCAR should rename next year’s Budweiser Shootout “The Last Man Standing.”
With the return of pack racing at Daytona International Speedway came the return of multicar crashes throughout Saturday night's race. Twelve of the 25 drivers crashed out of the race. A similar scenario could play out in next Sunday’s Daytona 500.
For years, pundits have referred to events like Saturday night’s as “races of attrition.” But nothing could compare to what we experienced — or what eventual winner Kyle Busch experienced. At times, he appeared destined to bring home just the steering wheel and the trophy.
The wrecks came early and often. David Ragan ignited the first, a nine-car melee following contact with Paul Menard 10 laps into the race. Ragan hooked Menard on the left side and the No. 27 was finished for the night.
Clint Bowyer had trouble keeping his nose clean and wiggled twice before his new Michael Waltrip Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. made contact with Bowyer's No. 15 Toyota and sent in on a wild ride through the grass in Turn 1 on Lap 32. Fortunately, with Bowyer’s wreck, he only took out himself — albeit temporarily.
The competitors were driving on the ragged edge throughout the race, but the save of the evening occurred 16 laps later when Busch was tapped by Jimmie Johnson but gathered up his No. 18 from literally sideways on the apron to back in the race.
Busch explained the miraculous save as “stab and steer — and some braking.
“These left-side mirrors are so touchy, so I tried going down slowly and Jimmie just must have been there a little bit and turned me sideways and got me on the apron,” Busch said. “Scared everybody half to death – including me.”
The madness continued on Lap 55, as drivers continued to find problems when cars weren't lined up properly with one another while drafing, this time when Marcos Ambrose spun out Joey Logano and consequently sent four additional cars to the garage.
Logano believes that the current speeds contributed to the high number of incidents.
“Right now these cars are going pretty fast around here,” Logano said. “It just depends on where you get hit and how hard you get hit. Right when you thought you were all right to ride and (would) be all right, you get turned around.”
The last time pack racing was in vogue there was plenty of riding around that occurred, particularly after NASCAR dictated that drivers refrain from riding each others bumpers. Not long after, the evolution of tandem drafting occurred.
However, on Saturday, the ride-and-wait strategy of waiting to make a move failed most drivers. Fourteen laps after Logano retired — along with seven of his competitors — two-time Shootout winner Jeff Gordon moved up into Kurt Busch, then was launched by Johnson from behind. Gordon rode the wall out of Turn 4, then started flipping toward the frontstretch.
By the final restart on Lap 81, only four of 25 cars — second-place Tony Stewart, fourth-place Brad Keselowski, sixth-place Greg Biffle and seventh-place Ryan Newman — were on track to finish the race without incident.
Yes, with no points on the line, competitors will ramp up the intensity for the Shootout. Despite the carnage, the general consensus of drivers was gratitude for placing the responsibility of racing back in the competitors’ hands.
“NASCAR asked the teams and the drivers what we could do to make it better,” said Stewart, the defending Cup champion. “My point is, this is better than having to sit there and stare at the back of a spoiler for 500 miles and not be able to see where you're going half the race.
“We had control of what lane we got to run in. We got to move whenever we wanted. You didn't have to not move because you had a guy behind you that you had to rely on making your decision on what he had to do also. We had more control as drivers today.”
But for drivers, practice and common sense accompanying that control will go a long way to ensuring they’re running at the end.
“It just takes a little bit of patience and a little bit of thinking on the parts of everybody on the racetrack,” said Kevin Harvick, a victim on Lap 54.
“All the wrecks tonight have been caused by people hitting in the left-rear. I just hate it for everybody on our Budweiser team. The car was fast, in position to do the things we needed to do. Man, you just can’t hit guys in the left-rear.
“I think the biggest problem is the tandem racing has been so easy for these guys to stay attached that some of them haven’t raced in pack racing. You get those big runs and things are going to happen a lot faster than they used to. They are just going to have to be a little more patient.”
With the return of pack racing at Daytona International Speedway came the return of multicar crashes throughout Saturday night's race. Twelve of the 25 drivers crashed out of the race. A similar scenario could play out in next Sunday’s Daytona 500.
For years, pundits have referred to events like Saturday night’s as “races of attrition.” But nothing could compare to what we experienced — or what eventual winner Kyle Busch experienced. At times, he appeared destined to bring home just the steering wheel and the trophy.
The wrecks came early and often. David Ragan ignited the first, a nine-car melee following contact with Paul Menard 10 laps into the race. Ragan hooked Menard on the left side and the No. 27 was finished for the night.
Clint Bowyer had trouble keeping his nose clean and wiggled twice before his new Michael Waltrip Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. made contact with Bowyer's No. 15 Toyota and sent in on a wild ride through the grass in Turn 1 on Lap 32. Fortunately, with Bowyer’s wreck, he only took out himself — albeit temporarily.
The competitors were driving on the ragged edge throughout the race, but the save of the evening occurred 16 laps later when Busch was tapped by Jimmie Johnson but gathered up his No. 18 from literally sideways on the apron to back in the race.
Busch explained the miraculous save as “stab and steer — and some braking.
“These left-side mirrors are so touchy, so I tried going down slowly and Jimmie just must have been there a little bit and turned me sideways and got me on the apron,” Busch said. “Scared everybody half to death – including me.”
The madness continued on Lap 55, as drivers continued to find problems when cars weren't lined up properly with one another while drafing, this time when Marcos Ambrose spun out Joey Logano and consequently sent four additional cars to the garage.
Logano believes that the current speeds contributed to the high number of incidents.
“Right now these cars are going pretty fast around here,” Logano said. “It just depends on where you get hit and how hard you get hit. Right when you thought you were all right to ride and (would) be all right, you get turned around.”
The last time pack racing was in vogue there was plenty of riding around that occurred, particularly after NASCAR dictated that drivers refrain from riding each others bumpers. Not long after, the evolution of tandem drafting occurred.
However, on Saturday, the ride-and-wait strategy of waiting to make a move failed most drivers. Fourteen laps after Logano retired — along with seven of his competitors — two-time Shootout winner Jeff Gordon moved up into Kurt Busch, then was launched by Johnson from behind. Gordon rode the wall out of Turn 4, then started flipping toward the frontstretch.
By the final restart on Lap 81, only four of 25 cars — second-place Tony Stewart, fourth-place Brad Keselowski, sixth-place Greg Biffle and seventh-place Ryan Newman — were on track to finish the race without incident.
Yes, with no points on the line, competitors will ramp up the intensity for the Shootout. Despite the carnage, the general consensus of drivers was gratitude for placing the responsibility of racing back in the competitors’ hands.
“NASCAR asked the teams and the drivers what we could do to make it better,” said Stewart, the defending Cup champion. “My point is, this is better than having to sit there and stare at the back of a spoiler for 500 miles and not be able to see where you're going half the race.
“We had control of what lane we got to run in. We got to move whenever we wanted. You didn't have to not move because you had a guy behind you that you had to rely on making your decision on what he had to do also. We had more control as drivers today.”
But for drivers, practice and common sense accompanying that control will go a long way to ensuring they’re running at the end.
“It just takes a little bit of patience and a little bit of thinking on the parts of everybody on the racetrack,” said Kevin Harvick, a victim on Lap 54.
“All the wrecks tonight have been caused by people hitting in the left-rear. I just hate it for everybody on our Budweiser team. The car was fast, in position to do the things we needed to do. Man, you just can’t hit guys in the left-rear.
“I think the biggest problem is the tandem racing has been so easy for these guys to stay attached that some of them haven’t raced in pack racing. You get those big runs and things are going to happen a lot faster than they used to. They are just going to have to be a little more patient.”
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