The 2016 NASCAR season is about to start the Chase for the Sprint Cup with the Daytona 500 this Sunday, February 21st.
NASCAR is the only sport that starts its season with the biggest event of the year. Of course very driver wants to win the championship at the end of the year. However, if they can claim the title of Daytona 500 Champion to start the season, it is already a career year.
There are some changes for drivers on the track as I noted a couple of weeks ago. There are also some changes in rules from NASCAR for the 2016 season. The two biggest are the charter teams and the “overtime rule” changing for this year.
The NASCAR Charter Team rule has created 36 Charter Teams that will be guaranteed a starting position in every race of the Sprint Cup season. Along with the charter teams, NASCAR has cut the total number of teams in each race from 43 to 40. The final four spots in each race will be chosen through qualifying and filled by non-charter teams. You can read more about the NASCAR Charter Team system here.
The other major change involves “overtime” in the Sprint Cup races. The rule of three attempts at a green-white-checkered finish if a caution is issued before the leader takes the white flag has been changed. There will be one green-white-checkered attempt to end the race should a caution cause the race to be under the yellow flag at the scheduled amount of laps. However, NASCAR has literally drawn a line as to what constitutes a valid attempt at a green-white-checkered finish.
The one attempt will only be considered valid if it has a “clean re-start” which is determined by the leader crossing the “overtime line” painted on the track. Where that line is will vary from track to track. For example, at the Daytona International Speedway this weekend the “overtime line” is a direct extension of the start-finish line from the front stretch extended through the infield and across the back stretch.
If the leader does not cross this line without an accident causing a yellow flag to be issued the re-start will not be considered valid and will not count as the attempt at a green-white-checkered finish. There will be no limit as to how many attempts at a clean re-start can be attempted.
Once there is a clean re-start with the leader crossing the overtime line the race can end under the yellow flag with cars being scored for the finish in the order they drive under the caution period for the final laps in overtime and cross the finish line. This new form of overtime got its first use during the Sprint Unlimited non-points race last Saturday night (2/13). Find out more about the new NASCAR overtime rule here.
How will these two and the other changes affect the race for fans? Only time will tell.
Now let’s move to the race at hand, the Daytona 500. A familiar look to the start of the race will greet the fans as the #24 Chevrolet will lead the field to the green flag to start the race from the pole position. What will be unfamiliar id that the car will be driven by the youngest driver to ever start the Daytona 500 from the pole, Chase Elliot. Starting on the front row with Chase will be Matt Kenseth in the #20 Toyota. The two drivers earned the front row in last Sunday’s (2/14) Daytona Pole Qualifying. The rest of the field will be set in tonight’s two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Can-Am Duels.
One driver that will not win this weekend is Tony Stewart. Tony announced that the 2016 Sprint Cup season will be his final NASCAR season as a driver. Unfortunately for “Smoke,” due to a back injury suffered during an off-road racing event he will not be driving his #14 Chevrolet for a last chance to win the Daytona 500. Brian Vickers will be filling in this weekend for Tony.
In the past I have posted the names of the drivers I felt had the best odds of winning the race each weekend. At least to start this season I will just share some basic stats and let you draw your own conclusion as to which drivers have the best chances of winning.
Top 10 Active Driver Rating at Daytona
Kyle Busch – 94.4
Dale Earnhardt Jr. – 93.7
Kurt Busch – 90.3
Matt Kenseth – 89.5
Jimmie Johnson – 89.2
Denny Hamlin – 88.7
Clint Bowyer – 83.4
Joey Logano – 83.4
Kasey Kahne – 83.0
Kevin Harvick – 82.4
NOTE: Driver ratings are compiled from the 2005-2015 races (two per year, 22 total) at Daytona.
There are nine active drivers that have won the Daytona 500 during their careers and four of them have won the race twice. Those Drivers are Michael Waltrip (2 wins), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2 wins), Jimmie Johnson (2 wins), Matt Kenseth (2 wins), Kevin Harvick, Ryan Newman, Jamie McMurray, Trevor Bayne and last year’s winner Joey Logano.
It will be interesting to see what happens this weekend in the first points race of the season to find out what the upcoming new year in NASCAR could have in store for drivers, teams and fans with some of the new rules.
One thing that remains the same is the driver that wins the first race of the year has the pressure removed to get the win needed to all but lock them self into the Chase for the Sprint Cup at the end of the season.
We will all get to see which driver that will be when 40 drivers race for 200 laps around the 2.5 mile Daytona International Speedway starting at 1 PM ET (12 NOON Central Time) in the Daytona 500.
By: Buck Stevens
