NASCAR insiders consider if racing at Daytona needs to be reimagined after late wrecks

NASCAR insiders Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi took some time to evaluate whether the racing at Daytona International Speedway needs to be examined following this past weekend’s Daytona 500.

Fuel savings, drivers running half-throttle and a litany of wrecks have brought many to state their disbelief with the current racing at superspeedway tracks like Daytona. After the dust settled on William Byron’s win, the duo tried to make sense of it all via the latest episode of their podcast, The Teardown.

“It felt like almost the typical Daytona race,” Gluck stated. “I mean, this is what it is. Like, you see these fast cars dominate and you say, ‘Wow, this guy, this guy could really — I mean, look at the moves he can make. He’s unbelievable. This is going to be a great,’ you know, the Penske cars or whoever, and then one by one, they all get eliminated from either one big crash, or multiple big crashes, and you’re sort of left with like, ‘Okay, who’s left? Well, they’re pretty good. Maybe they’re going to win it. Oh, look, they’re putting themselves in position.’ Then, they get wrecked, and you just sort of have this like, chaotic finish at the end.

“Obviously, a lot of the race is fuel saving and you know, they race three-by-three, and then the crew chiefs all tell them on the radio, ‘Okay, you guys can go now. And they race really hard. … I was standing there thinking, ‘Why do they all lose their minds toward the end of these races? And it just occurred to me, because I had just been talking to Riley Herbst a few minutes earlier and he had said, ‘Why don’t they just make this race 65 laps? Because that’s all we really race.’

“The whole time the crew chief’s telling him, you know, ‘Go 60% throttle, go whatever throttle,’ and he says, ‘I can see it on my dashboard. It says exactly what amount of throttle I’m running, and I go right to that number,’ and then they say, ‘Okay, go ahead and race hard.’ I wonder if like, the holding these guys back for so much of the race and part of the strategy of it, and then saying, ‘Release the hounds,’ like they all just go, you know what I mean?”

It’s a fascinating point from Gluck, seeing it from Herbst’s point of view, as many drivers simply spend most of the race riding around in the draft. Bianchi doesn’t believe the situation is as dire though, especially when it comes to the wrecks, as it’s just something that comes with the territory at Daytona.

“I get it, but to be honest with you, there’s been wrecks at beginning of these races too, from guys doing different things,” Bianchi added. “It’s just — I think it’s just the nature of super-speedway racing. At the end, you’re less inclined to give a guy a break and give him a spot because you may not get it back.

“… This is the Daytona 500, and everything that goes along with it. Playoffs, et cetera, et cetera. So, it’s hard to say to yourself, ‘Hey, I’m going to scale back.'”

Perhaps NASCAR’s major decision-makers will make a move when it comes to superspeedway racing, as this isn’t a new complaint from drivers and media members alike. The Daytona 500 certainly had some exciting moments this year, but was it truly a good, entertaining race? It’s subjective, but it’s hard to find many in agreement.