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.
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…
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