2018 NASCAR Pit Road Week 1: Daytona

Weekly Review and Power Rankings

Daytona 500

By Richard Tix

What We learned. What We Saw. What We Heard.

Bubba Wallace is an emotional dude

• I mean, most of us paying attention already knew this. When he won at Eldora he absolutely showed us fans what we all clamor for: "more emotion out of drivers!!!" Well, the man finished second and broke down with his family around him during post race. It was fantastic. Bubba literally always wear's his feelings on his sleeve which is exactly what I love seeing in this sport. It's great for him, it's great for RPM, and it's great for NASCAR. Yet, this kid has had trouble finding sponsorship for too long....

The young guns are going to go all out for the win

• AD wasn't lifting, not on the last lap of the Daytona 500. You know, when I type that all I can think of is "who would?" Yet, I saw so many people complaining about AD's move. IMO, Aric's block had as much impact on that incident ad AD's not lifting... Aric seemed to understand and it was a risk he was willing to take because it was the freaking Daytona 500! AD had a run before Aric came up and he just didn't lift. It isn't like he spun him when he had a nose in front of him. No, he bumped that crap out of him, got him loose, then tried moving a bit down which hooked Aric. It's no where near the worst dump I have seen and most drivers seemed to understand the move and didn't blame AD one bit. 

The 3 team got Daytona 500 tattoo's

• The question of, "where" is the best part. Rumor has it (not a rumor, AD confirmed), the tattoo is right on the posterior of everyone who partook. Yup, it's the freaking Daytona 500 and these kids are crazy. Oh, and how great was it to see the No. 3 in victory lane at DIS and the No. 43 in second!?!?

The Ford's were fast

• Ok, we saw the Ford's fast all weekend but that doesn't really mean we learned anything because Daytona is way different then the 1.5 mile tracks we will be heading to. However, it should still be mentioned because BK, JoLo, Blaney, McDowell, Menard, Harvick, etc all had their moments (especially the Team Penske crew). It may not translate going forward, but lock it into your memory for the second trip to Daytona and the two trips to Talladega. If Ford does struggle with the 1.5 mile program, those superspeedways will be key tracks.

Pit Road Power Rankings: Preseason

1. Martin Truex Jr (LW-1)- Superspeedways are always a mess. Starting the season off at a superspeedway is a bigger mess when it comes to power rankings. So, without overacting to too much, Truex stays on top. The 78 was involved in a late wreck, but still came out 10th in points.
2. Denny Hamlin (LW-4)- Hamlin was my favorite going in and spent most of his day up front (after his early penalty on pit road), including leading 22 laps. He was in position late in the race, but luck didn't fall his way when the 3 turned the 10.
3. Ryan Blaney (LW-10)- Blaney led 118 laps on Sunday which was the most of anyone. He also won a stage and finished 7th. Not a bad day in his first official start with Team Penske.
4. Joey Logano (LW-9)- Basically if you looked up at any time mid race you would have noticed the 22 in second trailing the 21. JoLo was one of the strongest Ford's all day/weekend and it showed with a 4th place finish.
5. Chase Elliott (LW-6)- What a crazy up and down speedweek's for Chase. He and BK were towards the front when Chase went spinning, but he was a contender most of the race.
6. Austin Dillon (LW-NR)- What a start for AD and RCR. He is practically locked into the Playoffs and in dramatic fashion by winning the Daytona 500, in the No. 3, with a last lap fiasco. Hats off to Austin.
7. Kyle Larson (LW-3)- Larson got caught up early and salvaged his day for 19th. 
8. Brad Keselowski (LW-7)- BK had plenty of fast Ford Fusions all speedweek, but luck didn't fall his way. 
9. Kevin Harvick (LW-5)- Ditto for Harvick on what I said about BK. Kind of a quiet week for Harvick, but ATL should provide a bounce back to the spotlight.
10. Kyle Busch (LW-2)- What. A. Day. Early tire trouble and then a early spin left the No. 18 with a day to forget. Expect him to show up fast next week.
11. Bubba Wallace (LW-NR)- How cool was that? The No. 3 winning the race and the No. 43 coming in second. I really hope RPM has a bounce back season in 2018.
12. Paul Menard (LW-NR)- Menard quietly had a really good speedweeks and Menard and team had that No. 21 up front a bunch in each event. Nice way to start off his first start with Wood Brothers (currently third in points).

Dropped Out: Jimmie Johnson (LW-8), Erik Jones (LW-11), and Jamie McMurray (LW-12)

Just Missed: Michael McDowell, Aric Almirola, Ryan Newman, and Chris Buescher

The Next Team Power Rankings will likely be next week. I want to get at least a race or two in before I refocus on them. I mean, it's not like Daytona gives us a good grasp on where teams are anyway. However, if you want to see the preseason rankings, scroll down here: 2018 NASCAR Pit Road Preseason