Have a FaceBook, Twitter, or other social networking account?

Link them to your fanatic account!

Add An Account

TAKE ME TO...
NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
CUP: Drivers Look To Connect In Draft
It's all about finding the right drafting partner at Daytona.
Tom Jensen  |  Posted February 14, 2010   Daytona Beach, FL
Daytona International Speedway hosts two annual points-paying NASCAR Sprint Cup races. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
Working the draft in the Daytona 500 is no different than working a singles bar at night: It's all about who you can hook up with — safely — at the end.

Two years ago in the 500, the final green flag waved with three laps to go. At the time, Jeff Burton was leading, with Penske Racing teammates Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch fourth and sixth, respectively. The field went three-wide shortly after the green flew, as then-Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch passed Burton and dueled for the lead, Stewart taking the high line and Kyle going low.

Kyle quickly fell back and a three-car pack formed in front, Stewart leading Newman and Kurt Busch. With two laps to go, the Penske cars were spread out, each trying a different lane. But just after the white flag flew, Newman moved up to the high side and Kurt knew what the right thing to do was: He locked onto Newman's rear bumper, and as Stewart moved to the low lane on the backstretch to block Kyle, the two Dodge hooked up and sailed by on the high side.

For the final half lap of the race, Kurt stayed resolutely behind his teammate, giving him what Newman would describe as “the push from heaven.” It was the ultimate selfless act, because while it ensured that car owner Roger Penske would win his first Daytona 500, Kurt knew he was sacrificing whatever chance of victory he had in order to help his teammate.

There's a strong possibility that a similar situation will play out in this year's Daytona 500, especially given that the two Gatorade Duel qualifying races were both decided by mere inches.

Chances are good that several drivers will have to make decisions about whether to be the pusher or the one getting a push, as well as who to hook up with — who can they trust to race with at the bitter end, with a $1.5 million purse and a year's worth of bragging rights on the line.

It's anything but simple figuring out who your partner or partners should be in a 200 miles per hour draft.

Stewart, who won Saturday's NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Daytona, said he's not sure who he's going to work with in the 500. “Definitely going to be more impromptu,” said Stewart, who is tied with Cale Yarborough for third on the all-time win list at Daytona with 15 race victories. “I’m not sure, I feel like this year more than ever, where at Talladega where it used to be always Dale Earnhardt Jr. and I would always get together, I don’t think it is really is a scenario where you can even plan that you are even going to get in to those scenarios.”

From the moment Sprint Cup practice opened and on through the Budweiser Shootout, the Duels and multiple practice rounds, the drivers have carefully tried to figure out who they can draft with and who they can't.

“You kind of learn in practice who you can run around and who your car works really well with,” said Kyle Busch. “You sort of know the guys who are really good at it. You look at Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, Junior, Denny (Hamlin), Kurt (Busch) of course is really good, too — those guys are really good at drafting so you want to try to work with them. Then you go with your teammates — Denny (Hamlin) and Joey (Logano). I would look at how well they’re running and how well my car works with theirs'. Then you look at whoever else’s car yours works really well with. Whether it’s Matt Kenseth or Regan Smith, guys like that.”

The younger Busch said he's already found some surprises among potential drafting partners.

“When it was the 5 (Mark Martin), me and the 43 (AJ Allmendinger) — us three, we were pretty quick together,” Kyle said of his run in the first Gatorade Duel. “Staying in single-file order, we kind of ran away from the pack just a little bit. Other than that though it seems like the 29 (Kevin Harvick) and the 33 (Clint Bowyer) have fast cars when they’re hooked up together. The 48 (Jimmie Johnson) and I weren’t that great together so that’s one guy that I will kind of halfway cross off the list right now that I just don’t feel like my car works well with.”

For Kasey Kahne, who'd never had much success at restrictor-plate tracks, running well this Daytona Speedweeks has proven to be a revelation, as suddenly other drivers want to be his friend.

“This is the first time I’ve ever looked in my mirror and there are cars pushing,” said Kahne, who won the second Gatorade Duel in his No. 9 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford. “In the past, as a driver, you’re looking and it’s Kyle Busch or it’s Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon. ‘OK, I want to be behind those guys,’ or I want to try to put myself in a position that they’re pushing me, and this year I think the 9 car is one of those cars that some of those guys are pushing as well because it’s a lot faster than it’s been in the past.”

Kahne said he's already identified a couple of potential suitors.

“Kurt Busch, he’s been fast. I think the Penske cars are really good, so I look at those guys as cars to be around, and I feel like I’ve been racing either in front or behind the 14 (Tony Stewart) with Tony as much as anybody,” said Kahne. “ … There are some good cars that my car will work really well with.”

Yet for all the thinking, planning and preparation that goes into the 500, it just might come down to a split-second, last-minute decision on who to go with.


“You just always hope that you’re doing the right thing on the race track to let people know that you’re a quality guy that they want to race around and help at the end of the race,” said Kurt Busch, who has finished second three times in the Daytona 500. “You can’t win these plate races unless you’ve got that buddy that wants to stick with you.”

“I don’t have a strategy,” said Carl Edwards, who like Kurt is looking for his first Daytona 500 victory. “I’ve got 499 miles to figure out what I’m gonna do and then I’ve got to implement it, but it is interesting. It’s hard to decide when you’re in the car, but that’s part of the fun.”


Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. He is the author of Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED, and has appeared on television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association. Jensen is the 1997 National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year and has won numerous national and state awards for news reporting, columns and feature writing. The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com! Tom Jensen answers your questions during every race week and looks forward to hearing from you - please e-mail it to

Tunnelheads, Pick Your Starters! Win Weekly! Win Monthly! Win The Championship!
tom_jensen's avatar

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tom Jensen

MORE BY THIS AUTHOR
Advertising | Jobs | Feedback | FAQ | Terms of Use | NEW Privacy Policy | Ad Choices | Site Map
Fox Sports | FUEL TV | FX Network | National Geographic | IGN | AskMen
The Motor Sports Authority, SPEED and associated logos are registered trademarks of Speed Channel Inc.
All Rights Reserved © Speed Channel, Inc. 2012

All external links will open in a new browser window. SPEED.com does not endorse external sites.