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The Big 6: Questions Answered After the Wood Brothers Make It 100 at Daytona

Who… should you be talking about after the race?

Once Kyle Busch had control of the race in overtime at Daytona International Speedway, it seemed as if he would finally get the win he needed to extend his season win streak to an astonishing 20 years and put playoff questions to bed. But a last lap move by Harrison Burton, with help from rookie Parker Retzlaff in just his second Cup start, left Busch still searching while Burton took the Coke Zero 400.

Burton’s first career win is a landmark not just for Burton, but also for his team. The win was the 100th for Wood Brothers Racing, a team that has been a Cup Series staple since 1953. Wood Brothers Racing revolutionized the pit stop in NASCAR and has sent 19 different drivers to victory lane. Burton is the first winner for the team since Ryan Blaney got his first career win in the famed No. 21 in 2017.

And don’t forget Retzlaff.

He finished an impressive seventh in just his second career Cup start. Sure, it was Daytona, where anything can happen, but Retzlaff was impressive in the closing laps. The Xfinity Series bans pushing another driver for any length of time, but Retzlaff not only pushed Burton to the front, he was able to push and be pushed in his first superspeedway Cup race. He avoided a couple of huge crashes and was among the leaders when it counted most. His Daytona debut was impressive.

See also
Wood Brothers Racing Earns 100th Win at Its Own Playground

What… is the big question leaving this race in the rearview?

Just a week after Corey LaJoie flipped his car at Michigan International Speedway, two more cars got airborne at Daytona on Saturday. Michael McDowell got up in the air and sideways after he was turned from behind; an impact with another car before he could go all the way over put him back on his wheels before things got ugly.

Josh Berry wasn’t so lucky when the No. 4 lifted off after getting turned on lap 159. The car rolled in the air and landed on the roof, where it slid for what seemed like an eternity before impacting the inside wall, still upside-down.

Safety crews got to Berry quickly and set the car upright, after which the driver was able to climb out under his own power. This crash comes a year after Ryan Preece flipped several times on the backstretch grass at Daytona.

The speedway did remove some backstretch grass after Preece’s crash. Grass is often a culprit in rollovers because the cars slide so fast while sliding on pavement scrubs speed, making liftoff less likely.

But three airborne cars in two weeks is too many, and really four when you figure in an Xfinity flip at Michigan. NASCAR did add a fin to the back of the Cup cars this week, but clearly it wasn’t enough. What can the sanctioning body do to keep all four wheels on the ground at higher speeds?

That question has to be addressed, because when cars get airborne, it endangers not only the driver but fans in the stands and people in the pits. 

Where… did the other key players wind up? 

Pole winner McDowell needed a win to keep his playoff hopes alive, and he certainly looked like he had the car to do it on Saturday. McDowell finished eighth in the first stage and led three times for 26 total laps on the night. He was leading on lap 152 when he got turned by Austin Cindric, who tried to back out but clipped McDowell. After a wild ride during which he nearly flipped, McDowell was credited with 30th place and a lost opportunity.

Daytona 500 winner William Byron was consistently a top-10 threat Saturday night. He finished ninth and eighth in the opening stages and led one lap, but was collected in the same incident as McDowell and was unable to get the No. 24 repaired. Byron was scored 27th.

Active Daytona win leader Denny Hamlin had a brutal week before the race even started, as a procedural engine penalty cost him 10 playoff points and 75 driver points. He’s still locked into the playoffs, but a great night at Daytona would have put momentum back on Hamlin’s side. Unfortunately for Hamlin, he was picked up in a multicar incident on lap 60 and finished 38th.

When… was the moment of truth?

Multicar crashes are pretty much a given at Daytona these days, so it came down to getting through the big ones and making the race official before another one could break out.

After the race was sent into the first overtime, it became a matter of just that: getting through the first lap to end the possibility of another overtime restart. This time, the field avoided another crash, allowing Burton and Busch to race it out.

Superspeedway racing sometimes doesn’t get enough credit as a driver skill because of the unpredictable nature of the races. And sometimes it doesn’t matter how good a driver is if he gets wiped out in a crash he didn’t start.

Busch is a good superspeedway driver who doesn’t always have the finishes to show for it. He has one win at Daytona and a pair at Talladega Superspeedway, but he drove a smart race on Saturday, working traffic while avoiding the crashes that happened around him. His runner-up finish illustrates current speedway product. The huge packs don’t allow a single driver to set up a slingshot pass like they once could, and Busch really never had the chance to set up a pass on the last lap.

Another truth in Burton’s win is that he’s now playoff-bound despite being last in driver points among drivers who have run every race. It’s the second time in three races that has happened, with Austin Dillon winning from 32nd in points at the time, though his playoff eligibility was later revoked for intentionally wrecking both Joey Logano and Hamlin to get the win.

That exposes another weakness in the playoff system. NASCAR once limited playoff eligibility to the top 30 in driver points, but currently any full-time driver is eligible. Drivers who have had overall better seasons will miss the postseason for Burton, which seems wrong. 

Maybe it’s time to revisit point standings and playoff eligibility. Limiting the playoff field to drivers at least within the top 30, if not the top 25 or even 20 makes sense. The system needs that added integrity.

Why… should you be paying attention this week?

Darlington Raceway is a tough test for drivers looking to secure a last-minute playoff berth. There are two former Darlington winners not currently in the playoff picture: Erik Jones (who has a par of wins and could be a threat for a third if he had a car capable of it) and Busch. Busch has been solid over the last month, but still hasn’t quite had the speed to be a weekly contender.

Darlington could be what the doctor ordered for Hamlin. Hamlin is the active Darlington win leader with four victories. For Hamlin, who has never been able to put together a title run, some momentum to kick off the postseason could be a major help to keeping his head in the game as he tries for his first championship.

See also
The Underdog House: The Playoffs Are Overshadowing a Beautiful Moment

How… will Saturday’s win change Burton’s career path?

There was a time when a win, especially a win at a prestigious track or in a major race just about guaranteed the driver a ride for years to come.

Times have changed, though, and that could mean that there might not be a seat at another team for Burton, who will part ways with the Wood Brothers after this year in favor of Berry.

Burton’s win does raise his stock, but he’s inconsistent and finds himself in the middle of bad situations often. Not all of them are his doing, but he’s too often running deeper in the field where incidents do happen.

His run on Saturday was impressive, and Burton is just 23 with a handful of Xfinity Series wins as well. He’d be a good addition to an Xfinity team looking for an experienced driver.

A step back to the Xfinity Series in a quality ride would allow Burton to gain experience running up front. His Cup career may stall for a year or two, but Burton could still land a ride down the road.

Amy is an 20-year veteran NASCAR writer and a six-time National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) writing award winner, including first place awards for both columns and race coverage. As well as serving as Photo Editor, Amy writes The Big 6 (Mondays) after every NASCAR Cup Series race. She can also be found working on her bi-weekly columns Holding A Pretty Wheel (Tuesdays) and Only Yesterday (Wednesdays). A New Hampshire native whose heart is in North Carolina, Amy’s work credits have extended everywhere from driver Kenny Wallace’s website to Athlon Sports. She can also be heard weekly as a panelist on the Hard Left Turn podcast that can be found on AccessWDUN.com's Around the Track page.


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Echo

One question Amy, who is really running NASCAR !!!
Ok 2. Why can’t the best designers and engineers fix the rollover problem. Nascar says they employ the best in the world in those fields. And someone in Nascar is approving those decisions.

TimW

Cars are designed like aircraft wings so they want to fly, ever F1 and IndyCars with all their fancy wings trying to hold them down they still want to fly !

Echo

Everyone wants more horse power except the France family. Is the world wrong and the France’s right !