Earnhardt, Daytona may spark boost
daytona beach, fla.» The good news for NASCAR is that all signs indicate Dale Earnhardt Jr. has a legitimate shot to win the Daytona 500.
A victory for NASCAR’s most popular driver, in his return to racing after a concussion sidelined him the second half of last season, would be a massive boost for the sagging series. Earnhardt’s star power has been one of the bright spots of Speedweeks and his strength on the track has been obvious every time he’s behind the wheel of his Chevrolet.
Earnhardt was part of a Hendrick Motorsports qualifying sweep for Sunday’s season-opening race. Chase Elliott won the pole, and Earnhardt will line up next to him on the starting grid. Elliott added a win in a qualifying race, and Earnhardt led 53-of-60 laps in a second qualifying race before he was passed at the end.
So the Hendrick cars have speed, the drivers aren’t cowering from the Toyota teamwork that dominated last year’s race, and they are ready to go bumper to bumper with the Team Penske fleet.
It means Sunday could be a strong opening day for NASCAR, particularly if Earnhardt can pull off his third victory in “The Great American Race.”
Earnhardt isn’t ready to call himself a favorite, and thinks he will have his hands full with the Joe Gibbs Racing group and Penske drivers Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski.
“Watching the last several plate races, the Gibbs guys have the market cornered on the favorite,” Junior said. “The Penske guys are strong. It’s their race to lose. The Hendrick cars are going to be up there trying to mix it up.”
NASCAR needs Sunday to go off without a hitch.
The series is under scrutiny because of sliding attendance and television ratings. Also, the title sponsor deal with Monster Energy came in at a fraction of what NASCAR was looking for when it shopped the naming rights almost two years ago.
NASCAR celebrated its deal with Monster in a Las Vegas announcement, and has hitched its wagon to the hope that Monster can attract a younger demographic and raise the level of excitement at all the events. But there was little signage around the track during Speedweeks, and one of the few indications Monster is the new Cup sponsor were the scantilyclad women around for some of the pomp and circumstance. There’s been no television advertising — and NASCAR was even the subject of a critical examination in The Wall Street Journal.