2016 NASCAR Pit Road Week 1: Daytona

Weekly Review and Power Rankings

Daytona 500

By Richard Tix

The 2016 NASCAR season has officially kicked off at Daytona. Speedweeks are over and the excitement of another opening race at Daytona International Speedway has come and gone. A long weekend of superspeedway testing, tuning, and practicing for the Daytona 500 has all lead to Sundays running of the great American race.

Everything kicked off with a Denny Hamlin Sprint Unlimited win last Saturday and then a Chase Elliot Daytona Qualifying Pole win last Sunday. Duels came and went with mixed results per fan review and finally we had the big one this Sunday.

However, the real "big one" that most fans know at superspeedways never came (which was a good thing).

Chase Elliott brought the field to green but was an early victim to some poor handling cars on longer runs. He spun out early and had his car saved until he hit the infield grass at which point his splitter took over leaving wreckage behind. He did get back out on the track, but his day was over.

A few others were also victims of poor handling cars later in runs including Daytona and fan favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr and "Amelia" (the name of this specific car/chassis).

The big story all day was how dominate the Toyota Camry's were, especially those of JGR. For most of the race they seemed to be the cars to beat. Even down the stretch a beat up and battered Carl Edwards #19 was at the front of the pack.

As the race came to a close it was a Toyota front pack with Matt Kenseth, Martin Truex Jr, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, and Carl Edwards all lined up along the bottom groove.

Eventually on the last lap Denny made his move when he saw the #4 of Kevin Harvick coming in the high line and thought it was his one shot at a win (Denny still claims he was blocking Harvick to keep him out of the top 3). It was the only shot Hamlin had at a win and he left the single line behind for a shot at the Daytona 500 win.

Well, he got a huge shot from Harvick in the top line and when Kenseth went high to block him he split the middle between the #20 and Truex. Kenseth tried to battle him but lost it and started to fall back.

Meanwhile Hamlin and Truex beat and banged down the front stretch and Hamlin, using a bit of side draft, just nudged out the #78 by 0.011 seconds at the line.

It was a fantastic finish to a quality Daytona 500. The loose cars left for a ton of entertainment and interesting strategy all race long. The first green flag stops came late in the race that also really shook a few things up down the stretch, but everything and everyone will remember this race for the finish at the line that will be talked about for years.

**2016 Daytona 500 Race Results

Pit Road Power Rankings Week 1 (Preseason)

1. Denny Hamlin (LW-6)- I was high on Denny for 2016 heading into the year (just see last weeks Power Rankings). He came out with a bang after the Unlimited and Daytona 500 wins. JGR already looks strong, but it is hard to put a finger on how good they could be while at a superspeedway. Finish: 1st
2. Kyle Busch (LW-1)- Next week will really show if JGR is continuing where they left off in 2015. If Daytona was any indication, the rest of the field has some catching up to do. Finish: 3rd
3. Kevin Harvick (LW-3)- Overlooked for the most part because of the finish, Harvick was the key pusher in the Denny Hamlin win. Finish: 4th
4. Joey Logano (LW-2)- He may not have the Championship at Penske, but he maybe the favorite on that team to win one in 2016. Finish: 6th
5. Martin Truex Jr (LW-10)- So, so close. I think a ton of NASCAR fan's were pulling for him on the front stretch. Putting the second place finish behind us, it looks like the relationship with JGR will do them well in 2016. Finish: 2nd
6. Carl Edwards (LW-9)- He struggled much of the day, especially compared to his teammates. However, he took his beat up car and still finished in the top 5. Finish: 5th
7. Kurt Busch (LW-8)- It was a quiet day for Kurt, but he was still towards the front when it counted. Finish: 10th
8. Jimmie Johnson (LW-4)- He led some laps, but in the end had some rough luck. They fought through and finished the race out with a decent spot. Finish: 16th
9. Matt Kenseth (LW-11)- Kenseth might deserve to be higher, but his last move sent him backwards. However, he had to make that move if he wanted to win, and that is what it is all about. I am just glad he saved it and the field didn't get wadded up in the process, applause for everyone on that. Finish: 14th
10. Ryan Newman (LW-12)- Who realized Newman finished 11th? With about 20 to go I thought to myself "they haven's talked about Ryan all day." Then noticed he was in back riding around. So to see him towards the top 10 in the final laps was amazing. Finish: 11th
11. Brad Keselowski (LW-5)- Up and down day for the #2. BK was towards the front and also the back. He never could get up and run with JGR and eventually got stuck in the middle and the results show that. Finish: 20th
12. Kyle Larson (LW-NR)- LarSON hung out towards the front a ton on Sunday. Didn't seem like he or JMac had enough for JGR, but they held their own. In the end it was a good start to 2016 for Kyle after a disapointing 2015. Finish: 7th

Dropped Out: Dale Earnhardt Jr

Just Missed: Kasey Kahne and Austin Dillon

Honorable Mention: Regan Smith (battled to a 8th place finish), Michael McDowell (took the non Chartered spot in the #59 and finished higher then Grandpa's boy (Ty Dillon). McDowell finished 15th), and Ryan Blaney (finished 19th but had the #21 in contention most of the day).

NASCAR leaves Daytona Beach and we start to really shape the 2016 at Atlanta Motor Speedway next week. Will someone top the JGR dominance next week? Will Harvick and Logano continue to be the strongest competition in the field? Will rookie Chase Elliott bounce back in his second start of his rookie season and at his "home track?" All these things will be fun all week leading up to the second race of 2016.