Indy Preview

I fully expect this Brickyard 400 to be a Jimmie Johnson/Juan Montoya shootout. They both qualified on the front row (Juan taking the top honor), and the way it turned out last year, all signs point to one of those two taking the coveted checkers.

Last year's edition featured Montoya smoking the field, leading 116 laps (of 160) before being penalized for speeding on pit road. Jimmie was there to take advantage of Juan's mistake and cruised to the victory, his second consecutive and third out of the last four years.

Juan has led every practice session this weekend thus far, and I pick him to finally get his second career victory, first on an oval, as long as he can stay out of trouble and run a smart race.



Other drivers that could potentially challenge those two are Clint Bowyer, Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick, Jeff Gordon, and Denny Hamlin. Jeff Gordon is so hungry for a win, and he's riding a hot streak right now.

If Chip Ganassi were to win this race, he would become the first car owner to win the Daytona 500, Indy 500, and Brickyard 400 all in the same year. He's got a good shot at it with Montoya, and even Jamie McMurray, who starts fourth. If Jamie could win it, he'd join a short list of drivers who have won Daytona and the Brickyard in the same year.

Daytona Recap

How 'bout that race at Daytona? The last one with the old pavement sure was a doozy, hehehe...

Kevin Harvick won from the provisional pole position after a series of late cautions due to wrecks.

One incident we saw that hasn't happened at Daytona in a while was the "Big One", which, in this case, took out 20 cars. Usually the crashes at Daytona don't involve that many cars, as they often do at Talladega. But 12 laps from the scheduled distance, we saw half the field wiped out in turn three, due to Kurt Busch and Jeff Burton tangling. The reason we don't see it as much is because the handling that comes into play during a race at Daytona spreads the field out a bit more, so it's easier to avoid a spinning car cuz everyone's not right on top of each other. Check it out here!

Even though Kurt Busch spun twice in the final 20 laps, he still managed to finish seventh! ...and Reed Sorenson in the #83 car, who was involved in the big one, still managed to finish 8th!

The driver I had picked to win, A.J. Almmendinger, wasn't so lucky, as he got wrecked early on. He finished 36th.

And how about Junior??? He won the Nationwide series race on Friday night in that special #3 Wrangler car! When I saw that he won, I thought 'what are the chances of that?' He runs a special one-off deal to honor his late father, and he wins! ...and to cap it off, he finishes fourth in the Cup race! I see him making the Chase, because it's an even year. He makes the Chase in even years (2004, '06, '08, and now 2010).

Joey's Pick Of The Week: Daytona

A.J. Almmendinger.

Yes, I said it. The Dinger is my pick to win the Coke Zero 400 on Saturday night. He's finished well here before (third in the '09 Daytona 500), and he's not bad on restrictor plates overall.

With the unpredictability of these races, why not? It's easy to just go with the usual plate favorites, like Jamie McMurray, Dale Earnhardt Jr, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, and Tony Stewart, although they all will most likely make their way to the front at some point.

Driver emotions, Daytona

Kyle Busch is arguably one of the most talented drivers in the garage today. When his car is running good, he is virtually untouchable.

Notice I said, "when his car is running good", because when it's not, he can turn a bad day into a worst day.

Good drivers are guys that can turn a 15th-place car into an 8th-place finish. Jimmie Johnson is a perfect example of that. There are times (very few) when the 48 Chevy is running like junk, but somehow, either through pit strategy or tweaking of the car, they come out with a good finish.

Kyle, on the other hand, is certainly capable of winning a championship or two; he just needs to learn to keep after it during their struggles and "make lemonade out of lemons". Too many times I've seen him wreck a car that could've finished in the top-20 or top-15, if he hadn't lost his cool and, ultimately, stormed off without an interview, I might add.

Anyway, this weekend is DAYTONA!!! I've already seen a few wrecks in practice. Kyle Busch, David Ragan, Kasey Kahne, Reed Sorenson, Denny Hamlin, Tony Stewart, and Joey Logano have all been involved in incidents in practice. Kasey, in my opinion, has the ability to run very well the rest of the year, if he stays out of trouble. The new Ford engine seems to be very competitive, but he isn't finishing races, which isn't necessarily his fault. Last week, at Loudon, he blew his new Ford engine, after a strong run (he led 110 laps, the most). He needs to rally to make the Chase, but I have faith.

This Saturday's race will be the last one with the old asphalt. After that, the track will be repaved, the first time since, like, 1979. I guess it's for the better, especially after the pothole incident in the 500 this year, but the way it is now is awesome! The old pavement gives the racing it's own unique style, cuz it's so worn and bumpy, that handling plays a much bigger role than, say, Talladega. Just to see those drivers bouncing around and off each other out there makes the racing at Daytona so good...

I still think Bobby Labonte needs to be in the #83 Red Bull Toyota. He said he wants to be competitive, well those owners need to think twice before putting in guys like Casey Mears or Reed Sorenson (not saying they aren't good).

By the way, good to see Steve Park try to make his first Cup race since 2003. The last time he was at Daytona (July 2003), he won the pole.