Who… should you be talking about after the race?
William Byron will be the talk of the town this week after capturing his first Daytona 500 win. Byron was in the right place at the right time. After triggering an 18-car pileup with eight laps to go, he avoided getting caught up in it. Byron steered clear of another incident coming to the white flag and just managed to cross the start/finish line before the caution lights came on, making the race official.
Also in the conversation, though, is that each of Byron’s two wins at Daytona International Speedway have come after first triggering a multi-car crash. Byron got his first career NASCAR Cup Series win in the 2020 regular season finale. That incident cemented Byron’s playoff spot, but it came at the expense of teammate Jimmie Johnson, who was caught in the crash Byron touched off. This time, he didn’t have to contend with the best cars in the field in the closing laps because they were eliminated. Eventually, Byron’s superspeedway racing will catch up with him, and he’ll have a hard time finding drafting partners.
And don’t forget Christopher Bell. Bell drove a smart, calculated race, avoiding the late trouble and working his way into the conversation in the closing laps after leading 22 laps earlier in the day. Bell won his Bluegreen Vacation Duel race on Thursday night (Feb. 15), hinting that he’d be a contender, and capped it off with his third-place finish in the 500.
Bell is a driver to watch this year — he still needs to find a little consistency, but if he can find it, he’ll be in the title conversation.
What… is the big question leaving this race in the rearview?
Denny Hamlin ran the kind of Daytona 500 a veteran winner runs, moving through the field when the laps began to tick down to be at the front. Hamlin was caught in a crash not of his doing, but is 2024 — at last — Hamlin’s year?
Hamlin kicked off the year by winning the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum and was in a position to contend for the first big points payout of the year until his early exit.
Hamlin had a confidence in 2023 that he hadn’t shown much of in previous years, but once again fell apart in the playoffs.
Hamlin can and should be a title contender. He’s good enough but has never seemed to be able to get out of his own head deep in the playoffs to close the deal. He can beat the field … if he can beat himself. How he handles disappointments like…
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