DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series season-opening Daytona 500 was decided by a couple feet – rookie Austin Cindric’s No. 2 Team Penske Ford nudging ahead of Bubba Wallace’s No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota as they crossed the most famous finish line in stock car racing alongside one another in front of a sold-out crowd.
All afternoon long, the race featured close racing, strategic drafting and ultimately an overtime restart to settle the winner’s famed Harley J. Earl trophy.
There were 35 lead changes among 13 drivers in a decidedly competitive high-speed dance of skill and will. Today’s Daytona 500 also saw 104 green flag passes for the lead; the fifth-most since the creation of the Loop Data statistic in 2007.
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And for all the emotion and drama of the race, the drivers had nothing but encouraging remarks about the premier series’ points racing debut of the NASCAR Next Gen cars – officially marking a new era of racing featuring the most innovative technical changes to the sport in decades, if not ever.
“At the end of the day, it’s a race car,” Wallace said, standing on pit road following the race. “I actually enjoyed being behind the wheel and learning a lot. The draft is a little bit different. Pushing is a little bit different, so some things that we need to work on and enhance our speed in some areas.
“So it’ll be a good debrief tomorrow. We’ll just talk about it and try to get better.”
Technically the car features a new horsepower package, aerodynamic changes, single-lug nut wheels, a composite body, even a new camera-rearview mirror. Aesthetically, the cars look different with numbers moved from the car doors further up toward the front fender area.
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Teams spent much of the offseason testing them – their feedback resulting in tweaks here and there. And ultimately the car was declared ready for competition – Sunday’s race its important regular season debut.
As with Wallace, Aric Almirola, who finished fifth in his last full-time season start in the Daytona 500, was impressed with the new car. He started 38th on the 40-car grid and was able to methodically work his way forward – missing multiple multi-car incidents to get his Ford to the front draft and in position to at least compete for the win.
“I thought the car was resilient,” Almirola said. “I thought the car was dicey to bump draft aggressively, the cars move around a lot and the bumpers are rounded so they don’t make a perfect match, but nonetheless, it was Daytona and we put on a great race, a wild finish and it’s always exciting.”
Added race winner Cindric, “There’s so much different about this car but it’s still the same style of racing. … It was really interesting to see who picked up on different things in the race and even in practice.”
Cindric’s team owner Roger Penske agreed.
“I think we’re on a great trajectory,” Penske said. “All the new fans we had at the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum and certainly selling this place out, I think is terrific,” Penske said, adding “Everybody’s got the same hammer and it’s up to strategy, execution and the driver.”
“I think the cars we have today and the new rules are terrific,” he said.