Firecracker 400 (Coke Zero 400)
Daytona International Speedway
By Richard Tix
84 races strapping in. 84 times another driver went to victory lane. Injuries. Drama. Car changes. Rule Changes. Legal battles. Lastly, numerous bold, no holds-bar, statements to remind us Tony was still with us. Anything you can imagine happening to break a man down happened to Tony Stewart in the last few years. Last Sunday it came full circle.
Smoke never gave up through all the frustration and personal issues that could have followed him. Even on Sunday at Sonoma he wasn't going to lay down after a mistake or two. Between his hard racing and say all attitude, its what has defined his career.
This week, with Smoke only trailing a Chase spot (top 30 spot) by 9 points, NASCAR heads to Daytona International Speedway. It's a place Tony has won at four times and its a race Tony has won four times. The reality is that Smoke never won a Daytona 500, but winning four Firecracker 400's is no small task. Of current drivers only Dale Earnhardt Jr has as many DIS wins as Stewart (4).
So, last week I begged the question at the end of my intro to Sonoma is a underdog like A.J. Allmendinger could win and steal a Chase spot. I also specifically asked if Smoke could get it done at Sonoma. He did, so now the next question is can he get to 50 wins and lock himself into the Chase by being top 30 in points with one more Firecracker 400?
**This section is just a quick look at some of Cup drivers latest finishes. This is not a tool for fantasy purposes and NBTW only is looking at end results. No deep statistic's are involved, but rather it is just a quick way to get ready for the race and get caught up on who has finished well at each track**
The Good
- Denny Hamlin- 2016 Daytona 500 winner will look to continue his Daytona dominance in the 2016 Firecracker. Hamlin has a streak of five straight top 10's that includes four top 5's at Daytona heading into this weekends race.
- Dale Earnhardt Jr- Even with his wreck in the Daytona 500, Junior still has the best average finish in the last 8 Daytona races (10). That's saying something about just how consistently good he has been here in the last few years.
- Jimmie Johnson- In the last eight races only Junior and JJ have multiple wins (both have two). JJ also has five top 5's in those last eight races.
The Middle
- Regan Smith- Yes, Regan Smith is stuck in the middle. No, I wouldn't trust he will have another quality finish, but his last three finishes have been 8th, 16th, and 8th. Before that he had finished of 34th, 24th, 24th, and 7th.
The Bad
- Brad Keselowski- BK actually tends to find himself up front a ton at Daytona, but it never seems to unfold into more in the latest stops here. In 14 races he only has three top 10's. Don't be surprised to see him in the mix at some point but possible finish worse.
- Matt Kenseth- Speaking of a guy who can get in the mix at Daytona, Kenseth has two career Daytona wins, but his last seven runs here have had many mixed results. In those seven races he has one top 10 and only three top 20's.
- Paul Menard- Menard has seven straight finishes outside the top 15. Eight races ago was his last Daytona top 15 and it was 14th. The plus side is before that he had three top 10's.
About the Track: Daytona
Track Stats
- Jimmie Johnson was the first driver since Bobby Allison in 1982 to win both stops at DIS in a single season
- Tony Stewart won from 42nd starting position 7/7/12, which is the farthest back anyone has won from (Firecracker 400)
- However, Matt Kenseth won from 39th in the 2009 500, which is the farthest back anyone has won the Daytona 500
- Of current drivers, Jeff Gordon has the most wins at Daytona with 6 (3 of them the 500). Stewart is second with 4 (None the 500)
- A Toyota only has two wins at DIS (Kyle Busch 2008 Firecracker and Denny Hamlin 2016 Daytona 500)
- Chevy has won 8 of the last 14. Ford has won 5 of 13. Denny Hamlin won the other.
- Trevor Bayne is still the youngest Daytona 500 win (19 years old. 2011 Daytona 500). It is still his only Cup win.
Track Info
- Surface
- Asphalt
- Length
- 2.5 miles
- Banking
- Turns: 31 degrees
- Tri-Oval: 18 degrees
- Back Straight: 2 degrees
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