Phoenix International Raceway is up next for NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers. (Photo: Getty Images)
SPEED CREW RECAPS DAYTONA AND PREVIEWS THE NEXT UNKNOWNS AT PHOENIX
The “36 Hours of Daytona,” otherwise known as the Daytona 500, finally ended in the wee hours of Tuesday morning, barely with enough time for NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams to hop on their planes and dash back to the race shop to regroup and head to the West Coast.
Challenges abounded as teams faced a small window of time to prepare for this weekend’s stop at Phoenix, but the show must go on. The SPEED team takes a minute from their shortened week to offer analysis of the latest storylines and what lies ahead this weekend.
Q: It was announced this morning that Penske Racing will leave the Dodge camp next season to join Ford. Why the move and what does it mean for the future of Dodge in NASCAR?
“Chevrolet is the dominant manufacturer in NASCAR, and like telecommunications companies buy up little competitors, Ford essentially bought a team that gives it another formidable weapon with which to try to win the manufacturer’s and driver’s championships. Ford was willing to pony up money in a way Dodge wouldn’t or couldn’t. Dodge won’t be able to get Childress, Hendrick, Roush Fenway, Stewart Haas or Gibbs, but there is a group of mid-level teams such as Richard Petty Motorsports, Earnhardt Ganassi Racing, Michael Waltrip Racing and Front Row Motorsports that could be courted. Dodge is committed to NASCAR and will be here next year. The question is with whom.” --Tom Jensen, SPEED.com Editor-in-Chief
Q: Were there any big surprises or disappointments for you during SpeedWeeks at Daytona?
“I always have thought the 500 is a bad race to gauge a team’s capability. However, leading into Daytona, I was looking for the No. 48 team’s rededication and return to championship form. With the rough start in the 500 and the penalties that followed, they are off to a tough start, even if their appeal is won. Additionally, the script couldn’t have been written any worse for the No. 51 team and Kurt Busch. They needed to get off to a good start. Behind the eight ball in points and a number of torn-up race cars do not bode well for a team that will need confidence to carry them at times.” --Adam Alexander, host of SPEED Center
Q: Were you surprised by the severity of the penalties handed down to Chad Knaus and the No. 48 team on Wednesday and do you think they will win their appeal?
“NASCAR has made it clear since the original Car of Tomorrow was introduced in 2007 that they will tolerate no playing with the bodies of the cars, so I’m not surprised Knaus and the team got hit hard. Their appeal essentially will be that ‘we’ve raced the car in this configuration before and got away with it,’ but that doesn’t make it legal. That just means they got lucky, and I don’t think they’ll be so lucky as to win their appeal.” --Tom Jensen, SPEED.com Editor-in-Chief
Q: There are several new driver and crew chief pairings this season. How much stock do you put in how well they worked or didn’t work together at Daytona or do you focus more on the upcoming races as a gauge of driver/crew chief chemistry?
“When it comes to new driver/crew chief combinations, we will learn a lot more in the coming weeks. I like Tony Stewart and Steve Addington together. They seem to balance well and should be solid going forward. Denny Hamlin and Darian Grubb got off to a great start, and I think they both carry extra motivation this year. Denny is trying to redeem himself from a disappointing 2011 and Darian trying to prove he can deliver with someone not named Stewart.” --Adam Alexander, host of SPEED Center
“The new driver/crew chief pairings will have their work cut out for them at the next four race tracks. Daytona is a place where crew chiefs can't affect a lot during the race as far as handling is concerned, but that all changes in Phoenix. Drivers will be screaming for changes to make their cars handle better, and that all falls on the crew chiefs’ shoulders.” --Rick Allen, SPEED play-by-play announcer
Q: The Cup teams raced Monday night and into early Tuesday at Daytona and now head to Phoenix. What is the biggest challenge this short turnaround presents?
“This week’s shuffled schedule presents a challenge for everyone. Drivers have a little more flexibility because many fly on private or chartered planes. But it’s very tough on the crew guys and hauler drivers, who returned Tuesday mid-morning, turned everything around and got back on the road Tuesday evening. That’s a huge burden on them and they’re starting out the season exhausted already.” --Matt Clark, “NASCAR Insider” on NASCAR Race Hub
Q: How does it affect a driver’s mindset to start the season off so low in points, as Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Juan Pablo Montoya will?
“They may say it doesn’t bother them, but it does. Daytona was only one race that pays the same points as the next, but it eats at you when you’re that far in the hole starting the season. With the new points system NASCAR instituted last year, it will be hard for teams who finished 35th or worse to make up ground quickly because they’re competing against 20 or 22 really strong teams. Those guys better not slip up in the next two weeks or they might truly be outside the top 35.” --Jimmy Spencer, former driver and SPEED analyst on NASCAR Race Hub
”With the No. 48 team wrecking at the beginning of the Daytona 500 and then the points penalties incurred this week, they don't have any room for another bad performance before the Chase rolls around. In this sport, it is almost impossible to go 25 races without an issue, but then again, we thought it was impossible to win five consecutive championships.” --Rick Allen, SPEED play-by-play announcer
Q: What does it take to win at Phoenix and has that changed since they repaved the race track last season?
“Phoenix always has been a unique track, and guys still are trying to find the right lines to race. Some are using the apron after the reconfiguration and some are sticking with the standard line. The repaving and reconfiguration has neutralized the track a bit in terms of advantages for certain drivers, so it will be interesting in the coming years to see if someone, especially the veterans, emerges as a ‘Phoenix ringer,’ or if the track plays into the hands of the new racers. There still are a lot of unknowns but you can usually count on the strong teams being strong most anywhere.” --Matt Clark, “NASCAR Insider” on NASCAR Race Hub
Q: Who is your pick to win Phoenix and why?
“You must give a nod to Kasey Kahne because he won there last time. I think Carl Edwards will be strong again, as well. The guy who has talked up his year more than anybody -- about how things will be better than last season – is Denny Hamlin. This is a time when Denny needs to stop talking the talk and start walking the walk, and we’ll see if that happens at Phoenix.” --Tom Jensen, SPEED.com Editor-in-Chief
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