Clear favorite missing for NASCAR’S opener

Unpredictability inspires drivers for great race

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.— The first four events leading into the Daytona 500 have produced four different winners. Ricky Stenhouse

Jr. put his new team on the pole, while Erik Jones outlasted a crash-fest to win a qualifying race. Joey Logano and William Byron won the qualifying races.

No clear favorite has emerged for “The Great American Race.” No single manufacturer has a demonstrated edge going into NASCAR’S version of the Super Bowl.

Instead, it’s a wide-open field of 40 drivers, with each believing he has a shot at the life-changing victory and the record $23.6 million that will be shared by the drivers. And why not? The unpredictability of Daytona allowed Justin Haley to gamble on rain strategy last July and shock the field with a win in his third and final start of the season.

Now Haley is back at Daytona for his debut in the Daytona 500, just one of a handful of drivers in a watered-down field that includes six Cup Series rookies.

Timmy Hill raced his way into Sunday’s field in a qualifying race and said his Daytona 500 debut will keep tiny MBM Motorsports in business for the foreseeable future. More important? Hill thinks he’s got a chance to be competitive Sunday.

“My car is very capable of running competitively in this race,” Hill said. “I feel like we’re not just here to participate, we’re here to race.”

But no one knows what that racing will look like when the flag drops. The exhibition Busch Clash was a demolition derby as drivers shook off the offseason rust and adjusted to NASCAR’S new rules package.

The superspeedway rules implemented last season put a taller spoiler on the cars and made for unpredictable closing rates — and they were not used in the Daytona 500. Teams raced the package twice at Talladega and in the July race at Daytona that was shortened 82 miles by rain. Moments before the sky opened, former Daytona 500 winner Austin Dillon wrecked the favorites with an aggressive move as the leader.

Enfinger wins

NASCAR opened the Truck Series season with Grant Enfinger beating Jordan Anderson in a frantic push to the finish that drew sparks as the trucks banged in Friday night’s closing lap at Daytona International Speedway.

The race had been delayed by rain, stopped when a crash caused Ty Majeski to flip onto his roof, and then oddly delayed in a crash that saw a fiery truck stopped on the apron when it was rear-ended from behind in a case of faulty equipment.

Enfinger cycled into a lead after late accidents and was out front when the race went to a two-lap overtime shootout. He first used a block on Ross Chastain to preserve the win, then had to beat Anderson to the finish line.