The MCZ Motorsports 250 “2019 Sports Car Preview” podcast is now available!
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“All the motorsports news and opinion you need in 250 seconds!”
– MCZF1
This week marked the much anticipated NASCAR debut of Danica Patrick at Daytona, taking part in the 3rd-tier ARCA race.
It is not really a surprise that she was relatively quick, qualifying 12th in the grid just half a second off pole, since her best IndyCar races have been on super speedway type tracks. Patrick knows how to run in the draft, drive efficiently and carry speed through the corner, all basic requirements for big oval success.
The big test will be how she handles being in the middle of 43 stock cars, rubbing fenders and banging wheels for 200 miles at those speeds. Driving fast is not the only key to NASCAR success; being able to anticipate trouble – and avoid it – is just as important. That will be the part that will come slowly, and probably frustratingly, for Ms Patrick. She has the basic driving chops, now she has to prove she has the race craft.
Lost in all the “Danica-mania” is the fact that disgraced Formula One refuge, Nelson Piquet Jr out-qualified Patrick in his first visit to a super speedway. With just a Craftsman Truck test under his belt, the Brazilian qualified 7th. Piquet will certainly have his work cut out during the race, as he tries to learn the nuances of drafting and oval racing strategy while trying to avoid tangling with young guys brought up on the rough and tumble world of quarter midgets and dirt tracks.
My prediction for today’s race? Piquet will get punted into the wall about half-distance after running in the 20th-30th spots. Patrick will bring it home in the 10th-15th place range…and no one will remember who won the race by Sunday.
– MCZF1
US race fans rejoiced this weekend for the official start of the season was marked with the Rolex 24 at Daytona. The Grand-Am endurance car race did not disappoint, with David Donohue beating Juan-Pablo Montoya by just 0.167s – yes, after 24 hours of racing, he won by less than a fifth of a second!
The #58 Brumos Riley-Porsche driven by Donohue, Antonio Garcia, Darren Law and Buddy Rice (who joins a select group of Indy 500 & Daytona 24 winners) led home four cars on the lead lap – separated by just 10 seconds for the final couple of hours – in one of the most competitive 24 hour races ever. Donohue was a popular winner since it was 40 years ago that his late father, Mark, won the race with Chuck Parsons.
Hopefully this great race was a glimpse of things to come the rest of the year. Fans can finally breathe a sigh of relief, the off-season is over – now let’s go racing!
– MCZF1
