Rain washes out final 2 practices
Canceled sessions a big setback for 9 drivers using backup cars
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Rain washed out the final two practices Saturday before NASCAR’s season-opening Daytona 500, a potential setback for the nine drivers switching cars before “The Great American Race.”
Former Cup Series champions Brad Keselowski and Martin Truex Jr. as well as front-row qualifier William Byron are among those forced into backup cars because of issues in the duels Thursday night. Erik Jones, Chase Briscoe, Kaz Grala, Anthony Alfredo, Cole Custer and Ross Chastain also switched cars and will have to start Sunday’s race from the back of the 40-car field along with Keselowski, Truex and Byron.
“I think we proved as an industry last year that track time was a little overrated,” said David Wilson, head of Toyota Racing Development. “These are professional-caliber sporting organizations and the expectation is they show up to the arena, to the racetrack, prepared to race.
“Obviously, the 500 is wrapped around a lot of tradition, and we all love that and we’re grateful that we have a little bit of track time for the guys that get their hands dirty. They always like to be able to get out there on track and make sure that everything is running as it should.”
NASCAR had two practice sessions scheduled for Saturday, one in the morning and the other in the afternoon. Heavy rain soaked the track early, though, prompting officials to shift gears before the Xfinity Series opener later Saturday. An ARCA series race also was scheduled for the middle of the day.
The sessions would have provided two hours of seat time for drivers who have gotten little since the start of the coronavirus pandemic last year, a final chance for crews to fine-tune engines and check for fluid leaks and vibrations before NASCAR’s signature event.
“I’m fine without it,” said 2017 Daytona 500 winner Kurt Busch.
Pole-sitter Alex Bowman avoided an engine swap and keep his prime starting spot. Bowman’s team thought it had an engine issue during the first of two qualifying races, but crew chief Greg Ives said Saturday it turned out to be something less problematic.
One of his Hendrick Motorsports teammates wasn’t as fortunate. Byron will slide into his backup and hope for the best.
“I’m still confident in the backup car the guys brought us,” said Byron, adding that it’s the car he drove to victory lane at Daytona last August to slip into the playoffs. “It’s been fast every time it’s been on track, and I think it will be again when we get to the race . ...
“Obviously, we didn’t want to go to a backup car, but I think we’re still in a really good place for the 500. We’ll definitely be good to go.”
The entrance to your home — or your mudroom, if you’re lucky enough to have one — has a hard job.
It has to welcome you and your guests with an inviting appearance. It also has to withstand whatever weather you track in — and provide a place to stow the mounds of coats, boots, hats and umbrellas that come with you in the winter.
“Especially in climates with snow, it’s mandatory to have a transition spot between outside and inside,” said Jean Stoffer, an interior designer in Grand
Rapids, Michigan. But while functionality is paramount, she added, “it’s always possible to make it look good too.”
Designing a space that won’t be overwhelmed by all that paraphernalia isn’t easy. But there are plenty of tricks that can help, even if you’re dealing with a tiny hallway leading into an apartment.
Especially in a small space, what’s required is “dedication to organization and storage solutions,” said Sarah Richardson, an interior designer and TV and YouTube personality based in Toronto.
“I’m the sort of person who needs to have a place for everything, and for everything to find its place,” said Richardson, whose own mudroom contains a family’s worth of outerwear and accessories, from ski boots to flip flops. “There is just so much gear.”
Stoffer, Richardson and other designers offered advice on how to design an entryway that keeps the mess at bay.
Assess your needs
“When we design a project, everyone’s pretty keen on talking about bedrooms and bathrooms, and open floor plan versus divided rooms, but they sometimes overlook the mudroom,” said Rafe Churchill, a partner at the architecture and design firm Hendricks Churchill, which has offices in New York and Sharon, Connecticut. “So that’s something we always bring to the discussion.”
There is no one-size-fits-all solution, he said. Do you have children who need access to low cabinets and hooks? Will you need to store sports equipment? Do you have a collection of footwear requiring a wall of cubbies? Do you have pets? “Sometimes, people want an area so the dog can sleep there,” Churchill said.
Thinking through how you will realistically use the space before you begin making changes will help avoid disappointment later.
Start with the floor
If you’re renovating or planning to replace the flooring in an entryway, choose a durable material that will age gracefully.
Stoffer is partial to porcelain tile because it’s impervious to the elements. “And now porcelain can look like almost anything,” she said, including wood and natural stone.
Richardson favors natural stone, but chooses hardwearing varieties like granite, slate and some marble. “Going with a honed finish as opposed to polished will be less slippery,” she said, and won’t show scratches as easily.
Hendricks Churchill has also used brick, a tough material whose appearance improves with age.
Add a mat or a rug
Mats and rugs aren’t just inviting — they also help contain dirt, snow and water. And two are sometimes better than one.
Birgitte Pearce, an interior designer in Montclair,
New Jersey, sometimes uses a two-rug setup to scrub the soles of shoes and boots as people arrive home.
First, she installs a mat or rug in an abrasive material right next to the door. “We’ll suggest either Chilewich mats, which have a really rough texture and can grab a lot of stuff, or Waterhog mats from L.L. Bean,” she said. Or when she is renovating a home, she’ll leave a recessed area in a tiled floor for a coir mat, so it sits at the same level as the tile.
Then, if there is enough space, Pearce installs a larger rug made from a hardwearing but slightly less utilitarian material, like cowhide or sisal, providing a decorative accent while collecting more dirt.
Another option for a rug is an indoor-outdoor model from a company like Dash & Albert, said Lauren Nelson, an interior designer with Decorist, in San Anselmo, California.
Wool rugs also tend to do well in entryways. “We do rugs that are all wool, just in darker colors and with a lot of pattern, because they really hide a lot of dirt,” Nelson said. “They can be vacuumed and cleaned, and have a cozy feel.”
Fortify the walls
With bags, packages, umbrellas, dog leashes and hockey sticks, the walls in an entry hall can quickly go from pristine to scuffed and dented. Wall paneling can help.
Hendricks Churchill frequently installs vertical
V-groove, beaded or shiplap paneling on mudroom walls because the wood stands up to wear and tear better than painted drywall. “Even if you paint the paneling, it’s easier to do a fresh coat of paint every so many years than having to patch and repair damaged Sheetrock,” said Heide Hendricks, a partner at the firm.
With or without paneling, Jenny Wolf, an interior designer in New York, recommends choosing paint with some sheen for durability and to make cleaning easier. “Definitely use eggshell paint,” she said, rather than a matte finish, because you won’t damage it with light scrubbing.
Use the wall space
“Use your vertical space as much as you possibly can,” Richardson advised.
Consider where you can install shelves to hold baskets and hats — all the way up to the ceiling. “And: hooks, hooks, hooks,” she said. “Add as many hooks as possible, at a variety of heights, so that anyone and everyone can reach them. No matter how many hooks you have, every single one of them will get used.”
Adding hooks to wood paneling is relatively easy, but adding them to drywall is more challenging, because screws have a tendency to pull out. As a workaround, Hendricks Churchill sometimes creates custom peg rails by securing a horizontal board to wall studs and then screwing hooks into the board.
An alternative to hooks is a coat tree, which can be placed in a corner. Rather than using separate hooks and shelves, Wolf sometimes uses a large wall unit that combines the two. Some units also include a mirror, combining three functions into a single piece.