Kasey Khane looks like the complete package
The 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup season hasn’t “officially” taken the green
flag, but there’s already been plenty of action on the track. And
several teams should be very pleased with the positive signs from what
they’ve seen.
You have to tip your hat to the rebound that Richard Childress Racing, specifically Kevin Harvick and his No. 29 team, have made coming out of the gate on a hot streak.
They
were beaten up pretty good during the offseason. In addition to all
that, Kevin was sick before the running of the Budweiser Shootout - but
he still came away a winner. You have to be excited for that camp.
 Mark your calendars now for the Great American Race! Coverage of the 2010 Daytona 500 on FOX begins Feb. 14 at Noon ET. • Daytona 500 race week schedule
The
other encouraging thing for that team was they ran well the entire
race. It wasn’t a fluke that put the No. 29 car in Victory Lane. That
car showed some good muscle and the crew made the right adjustments.
Everything about Saturday looked like a positive effort across the
board.
Look who finished second Saturday night. Kasey Kahne
and Richard Petty Motorsports have to be relieved that despite all the
mergers and with the switch-over from Dodge to Ford, they got a
positive result after Saturday's race. They started pretty far back.
They ran well and took home second place. If they can step it up even
more come the 500 on Sunday, it should lead to a very interesting day
for that group.
The other organization that has to be
relatively pleased is Stewart-Haas Racing. They are starting their
sophomore season as an organization and I think a lot of positive
things came out of Saturday for them.
When you look at qualifying, how can you not be excited for the Wood Brothers and the legendary No. 21 car?
That
bunch, even on a limited schedule, has done an exceptional job of
putting together a great group of racers. When they raced in 2009, they
were good, and now they show up at Daytona and are kicking their season
off in fine style. Last year, they qualified fifth for the Daytona 500,
but this year they stepped it up a notch and snagged fourth position.
We
know they are already locked into the race and maybe, just maybe, with
Bill Elliott behind the wheel, that 21 car might be a factor in the
outcome of Sunday’s race.
One thing on their minds
So
next up are the Thursday races at Daytona - The Gatorade Duels at
Daytona - and these races will set the field for the 500. Teams that
are locked in and teams with good cars have to race smart and not beat
themselves. They can’t afford to throw away possibly the best
opportunity they might have to win our series' biggest race.
Everyone’s
main priority is to win the Daytona 500. I don’t want to hear about
points right now. I don’t want to hear whether Jimmie Johnson has
started his “Drive for Five.” These two weeks in Daytona are geared for
one thing and one thing only — winning the Daytona 500.
So
for those teams locked in - the front row and the three "Go or Go
Homers" that locked in via speed - they have to race smart during
Thursday's races.
This is “the” car that was chosen for the
500. Do they have a good backup? Sure, most teams do, but this is your
best piece and so you have to take care of it.
They don’t
need to be making any death-defying moves Thursday. The risk/reward
simply isn’t there when you look at the big picture and clearly the big
picture is racing on Sunday in your primary car. Thursday you just
can’t do something stupid.
Complete package
If you look to last weekend as a glimpse of a favorite or two for Sunday, one pick has to be Kahne.
I
think that bunch has a good engine package to go along with a good
handling package. Kahne’s team moving to Ford power is a real positive
for them. Thursday will be a good indicator of how things will shake
out.
Handicapping Sunday’s race also makes you look at Kevin Harvick. He won Saturday night, and he has won the Daytona 500 before.
Plus, you simply can never count out Tony Stewart
on the superspeedways. He has Hendrick power under his hood, and
everyone knows how good that is to have. There is obviously extra
motivation for Tony. As we always tell you, the Daytona 500 is our
sport's biggest race and one of the crown jewels in NASCAR that Tony
has never won.
I also think it would be a mistake to not
look at Penske Racing come Sunday. It has definitely improved its
speedway program from a year ago. Also don’t lose sight of the fact
that it was a Penske car winning the Daytona 500 two short years ago.
My point is we know these Dodges can be a threat when they drop the
green flag Sunday afternoon.
Penske has a great group of
drivers over there. You have a past NASCAR champion in Kurt Busch. You
have the continued improvement and learning curve of Sam Hornish. New
to the Penske stable this year is Brad Kesolowski, and he brings not
only fresh ideas, but also fresh energy to the organization.
You go, girl
I
also have to say “job well done” to Danica Patrick in Saturday’s ARCA
Series race. She did an incredible job rebounding from a spin to race
hard and get a great finish.
I am cautiously optimistic of
how she will do Saturday now that they have announced she will be in
the Nationwide race. She proved Saturday that she can do well in a
stock car. I think everything about that effort Saturday was positive.
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| Chirs and Jeff get a beer bath at RIchmond by the Bud crew! |
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