He never tires of seeing how so many still care so much about his old man. It really warms my heart to see the stuff on social media and so forth.
“He’s every bit as excited about it as he was the first day we met”, Crafton said of Abreu’s Daytona debut on Friday night.
Drivers can race in the Daytona Coors Light Pole Qualifying, in which teams run two consecutive laps with the faster lap used as the qualifying time, or the Duel at Daytona, two 150-mile qualifying races.
He won the 2014 Daytona 500, then the Coke Zero 400, plus the first race at Talladega Superspeedway last season.
It was the family’s 51st victory in some kind of race at this legendary track (34 from Senior, 17 from Junior), including three in the 500. Common examples include speeding on pit road, dropping debris on the track or failing to maintain the minimum speed on the track.
The date and the place weren’t lost on him.
There already have been many great stories throughout Speedweeks, and we have not even got to the real racing action this weekend. “I wouldn’t show up if I didn’t think I can win”. He’s a really easy guy to talk to and over in the time I’ve been around him, he’s answered every question I’ve asked. “I was glad that nothing bad happened and we didn’t tear our vehicle up because that would have been embarrassing on a day like this”. That was special to me.
It would have been more than embarrassing because the daydream was based on a dream vehicle, one that’s perfectly suited for superspeedways. Had McDowell mustered just a fraction quicker speed, he and not DiBenedetto would be worry-free and in the Daytona 500.
He’s been educating himself in how to race a truck, gaining experience with two races at the end of the 2015 season. That’s about as dominant as you can be. It may not be the exact date of his father’s passing, but taking the big one would be the biggest way to pay tribute.
“I think Rico will adapt well to that”, Larson said. “I appreciate all the work they’re doing, and hopefully we’ll get this thing all tuned in tomorrow (during Saturday’s final practice) and be good on Sunday”.
Tony Stewart, another household name known for his brash personality, is retiring after this season. A full season of racing with the successful ThorSport team is to follow.
From 2008-2012 he went through a four year, 143-start winless streak that left him rattled.
The rest? Only three other combos have lasted at least three seasons. The track is two-and-a-half miles long. The occasional pass by cars dropping out of line, receiving a push and forcing their way back in front of another auto is far less common than the vehicle attempting to drop out of line, receiving no help and dropping precipitously through the pack.
So it isn’t just having a fast vehicle.
“To be in Xfinity and Cup, you’ve to be on a big team”, said Nemechek.
Here we go again. That’s racing. That’s the way it’s always been, right? That was the oddest thing to wrap my brain around. “I would like to run the Indy 500, the Daytona 500 and the Rolex 24 at Daytona”.
They’ll be none of that on Sunday.
From a fantasy perspective, the Daytona 500 is among the most challenging races of the year.
Still, drivers want more. When his friends kept growing during the teen years, Abreu fell in love racing custom go-karts built by his father.
