This isn’t your daddy’s NASCAR. This isn’t even your slightly older brother’s NASCAR. This year’s Daytona 500 signaled a change in more ways than one. From the new stage format to Monster Energy becoming the new title sponsor, NASCAR marked a shift to make the racing more watchable and captivating in all parts of the race for both the TV viewer and the fan at the track.
NASCAR, in addition to Monster Energy, is also trying to connect with millennials more than ever before. With ratings falling and other sports, as well as different forms of auto racing, attracting a younger audience, NASCAR needed to do the same or risk becoming more and more irrelevant into the future. NASCAR invited members of the media from various millennial-focused sports and pop culture sites to give them a behind the scenes look at one of the most prestigious races in the world, the Daytona 500. Full disclosure: NASCAR hosted me as a member of the media to attend to learn more about the sport. Some, but not all expenses, were covered by NASCAR.
I have been to plenty of NASCAR and IndyCar races, including the 100th Indianapolis 500 last year, but never anything like this. There was a healthy mix of people ranging from those who have never attended a race and were just learning about the sport to someone like myself who has been a fan for over 25 years. But even I have never been to the Daytona 500.
First impression of Daytona International Speedway is that it is freaking massive. You know an infield is big when you’re able to fit multiple garages, a road course, a fan center, a lake and thousands of RV’s inside. The 31-degree banking was also huge, being at least a couple stories tall.
Getting in on Saturday morning, the first thing we did was take a pace car ride around the track to get a feel for the speedway and get a taste of driving on the banking. Former NASCAR driver and current pace car driver Brett Bodine took me around for a high speed tour which got up to 100 mph.
The video doesn’t do it justice, the banking is steep and going within literal inches from the wall was an incredible rush. Anyone who ever says they can race in NASCAR or that it’s easy or it’s just people driving around in circles is completely clueless. Do this and tell me that because it’s tough to do that going 100 mph, much less an unstable car going 190 mph with cars inches away from you for 500 miles.
Before Saturday’s Xfinity race, we got a chance to talk to a couple drivers. First, we stopped by Brennan Poole’s hauler to talk to the Chip Ganassi Racing driver while then going to see Richard Petty Motorports driver Aric Almirola, who was racing both on Saturday and Sunday.
Next, we spent some time in the garage area during Xfinity qualifying. We got a tour of Matt Kenseth’s hauler, showing how cramped the hauler can be on the inside, yet still be roomy enough to fit all their pieces of equipment as well as two cars for travel to and from the track.
Final practice for the Daytona 500 started and while teams are busy putting the final tweaks on their cars for Sunday, fans can still be in the active garage that’s full of moving race cars. Anyone with what’s called a “Hot” pass can be in the active garage area. This is something that cannot be purchased and is only really available if you are in the media or you’re a fan with some pretty good connections.
Security does a good job keeping people back to give a lane for the moving cars, but it’s good to keep your head on a swivel because those cars will not stop.
After practice, we were able to learn about what some of the crew members do during a race weekend. We got to talk to Rob Lopes, tire specialist for Dale Earnhardt Jr. and then Todd Gordon, crew chief for Joey Logano.
Next came the ultimate, getting to spend a few minutes with “The King” Richard Petty. The seven-time Daytona 500 winner and NASCAR champion with 200 total wins is one of the most legendary people of the sport and any time you get to have a moment with someone like this, you cherish that. Even got to tell him my dad got to see him win the famous 1979 Daytona 500 in person.
And when you get to meet a legend such as Richard Petty, you just have to get your picture with him. “The King” is as advertised. Someone who does anything and everything for his fans in addition to being the complete racer.
Watching the Xfinity race from atop the NASCAR hospitality RV in the infield, we were in front of almost all the crashes. This year, almost all of the crashes seem to have happened down the backstretch going into turn three. Call it luck, but I was able to grab one of those crashes that caused a long red flag. This crash ended stage one once the red flag was lifted.
If there was any issue with the weekend, it would be the long red flag periods during the Xfinity race. Including the red flags, the 300 mile Xfinity race was almost as long as the Coca-Cola 600 mile race so that was a concern. At the same time, it’s tough to imagine this being the norm for stage racing. Considering this was a restrictor plate race (which was going to have lots of crashes anyway) and the Daytona 500 having fewer stoppages, the Xfinity race may be the exception instead of the norm.
Sunday morning, we got back to Daytona for the 500 and had a jam packed day. After getting passed by Darrell Waltrip’s tricked out golf cart, we visited Austin Dillon who was talking to MMA fighter Anthony Johnson. Darrell Wallace Jr. aka “Bubba” also chatted with us right before leaving for the drivers meeting.
One thing that was noticed on Sunday was the amount of celebrities who were there for the race. From the Thunderbirds doing the flyover to Mario Andretti celebrating the 50th anniversary of his only Daytona 500 win to football players, singers and actors, there were many celebrities all over the place.
The Daytona 500 pre-race show is something different than anything else. Fans are allowed to be in the grass area between the tri-oval and pit road to get close to the Lady Antebellum concert and driver intros. It also gives fans a chance to get on the tri-oval and to sign the start/finish line. You really do get a sense of the banking once you walk on it.
As the race started, I wanted to stay behind pit road for at least the first stage of the race. After walking up and down the track, I ended up in Joey Logano’s pit. As I was there, Logano reported a loose wheel and needed to come in. The crew immediately popped up and were ready to service the car within seconds.
As you can see, the crew got up very quickly and was immediately ready and then put four tires on Logano’s car. Everyone was calm, nobody was panicked. It just seemed like “business as usual.” You can also somewhat see the TV feed on the right with Logano’s stop, so you can tell what’s going on at the same time.
After stage one, Kyle Busch won with Kevin Harvick second and Ryan Blaney third. Except for Logano’s blown tire, it seemed like a very uneventful stage finish but provided a bunch of differing strategies that made it great to watch. As someone who loves to see different strategies play out, this was fascinating to see.
Stage two and three had a bunch of crashes. Two big crashes, among others, had taken out almost every favorite and set up a scenario where someone was very likely going to get their first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series win.
Ironically, despite lots of crashes, the caution wasn’t thrown for anything for almost the last 1/4 of the race. Even though every driver was keeping their foot on the gas, this became a fuel mileage race. We haven’t seen a fuel mileage race like this in the Daytona 500 since Darrell Waltrip won in 1989. Everyone filled their tanks at the same time so everyone had a risk of running out of fuel at the very end.
In just the past few laps, Chase Elliott was leading and seemed destined to win his first ever race and join his father Bill as a Daytona 500 champion but was passed by Martin Truex Jr., then Truex was passed by Kyle Larson heading to the final lap.
On the final lap, Larson slowed, giving the lead to Kurt Busch who had just enough fuel to win his first Daytona 500 in his 16th try. Ryan Blaney, who was eighth in that video coming to the final lap, finished second and AJ Allmendinger finished third. Almirola, who I got to meet Saturday, finished fourth and Paul Menard was fifth. All five drivers with their career-best finishes in the Daytona 500.
In the end, the 2017 Daytona 500 brought something different that we have never seen before. But at the same time, it brought a sense of beauty. In these prestigious races like the Daytona 500 or Indianapolis 500, there’s something about each race that makes it memorable.
For this Daytona 500, the stage racing sure made the racing was different, but it didn’t really cause the wreck fests at the end like we’re used to on restrictor plate tracks. Granted, a lot were already wrecked, but what we got at the end was a great finish based on who could save precious amounts of fuel in order to achieve glory. Just like Alexander Rossi in the 100th Indy 500, a fuel mileage race can be the most tense and exciting racing you can see and we were treated to a classic finish in Daytona.
As far as stage racing goes, I personally loved it and loved the differences in strategy. But at the same time, I don’t want to call it a success just yet. It was one race and it was the anomaly of a restrictor plate race. Let me see how this plays out at some of the other tracks first and determine whether or not this kind of racing should be here to stay. Having said that, NASCAR couldn’t have asked for a better race for stage racing to make its debut.
As the race was over, my work was over at the Daytona International Speedway. I learned a lot, had lots of fun, networked a lot and took away a great experience that I’ll remember forever, as well as a means to help me professionally. NASCAR is one of the most accessible sports for the media because the sanctioning body as well as the drivers understand that they need the media as much as the media needs them. The media needs the drivers to take time from their busy schedules in order to make a living, just like drivers need the media to get their name out there, make their sponsors happy, build up the sport and for them to make their living.
The drivers we got to talk to, they are some of the most media-savvy athletes in all of sports. NASCAR drivers have been largely accused of being “too vanilla” and not exciting when they’re being interviewed but Monster Energy is hoping for more personalities, to have more people like Kyle Busch or Brad Keselowski, who isn’t afraid to be a bit rough around the edges. To have fans either love them or hate them and give them no choice to be indifferent.
It’s a long-term strategy but the addition of Monster Energy, a new and exciting race format, an embrace of online media as well as including millennials with everyone else, NASCAR seems like they are planting the seeds for long-term success. Ratings for the Daytona 500 went up seven percent over last year so despite it being down from previous years, that’s at least a start. It doesn’t signal victory yet but maybe in 10-20 years, we’ll look back and see the beginnings of an emerging NASCAR renaissance.
