Now The Season Begins!

The gates are closed, trash is being removed from the bleachers, and the cars and drivers are all gone, except one…  Now that Trevor Bayne, the Daytona Cinderella story, has won the Daytona 500, the attentions of drivers and crew chiefs alike has turned to Phoenix and the rest of the 2011 season.

NASCAR, the only pro sport to open with its largest and most coveted event, is more about handling, grip, and downforce than it is about the bumpdrafting and two car drafts that have dominated the sport for the past two weeks.  Many drivers and teams have said in the past that when you arrive at the plate tracks that you’ve got what you’ve got, whereas at the small and intermediate tracks a good team and crew chief can propel a driver toward the front or make him unable to compete.

For many teams, Phoenix holds many unknowns. How well did teams prepare and grow in the off season? How will new driver/crew chief relationships work?  How will the new noses work on downforce tracks?

I am sure that the plentitude of drivers whose hopes were wrecked at Daytona will be happy to have more of their fate in their own hands. Nobody will be shoving them around the track, not without fireworks. Also, there probably won't be any 10 car wrecks. 

Back to sanity, well, sanity for NASCAR anyway.  Let the season begin!


For more by Joseph Davis, visit http://thespotterstand.com and follow him on Twitter @the_Bumpdrafter

Posted in: Dale Earnhardt Jr,Daytona,Nascar,Nascar Blog,Racing,Sprint Cup