NASCAR Duels at Daytona: Pack Racing is Dead at Daytona

Every season NASCAR fans could expect tow racks to offer up two races each where huge packs of cars, three wide and ten deep, while fans and drivers waited for ”The Big One”—the small error which would compound into an enormous series of collisions wiping out a third of the field.

Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway were tracks so fast the cars had to use restrictor plates to cut top speeds to safe levels, creating the phenomenon known as “pack racing.” But that has changed.

Pack racing is dead at Daytona.

With the new, smooth and sticky surface at Daytona International Speedway, restrictor plate racing is no longer pack racing. Pair racing is the new order.

As demonstrated in the Budweiser Shootout and emphasized in Thursday’s Duels at Daytona, the mode at Daytona is two-car teams, running staggered a bit to let cooling air into the rear car’s radiator. The pack no longer has an aerodynamic advantage; the pair is the fastest combination.

As with the pack, a single car, even a very fast one, will drop right to the rear in no time, as Dale Earnhardt Jr. found out in Duel One. Otherwise, all the rules are different at Daytona. The veterans and the rookies know the same amount about racing on the new surface.

Duel One feature there was pushing pairs: Kasey Kane and Juan Pablo Montoya, Regan Smith and Kurt Busch, and Matt Kenseth and Kevin Harvick. Busch took the win in a green-white-checkered finish; Regan Smith pushed the pair of them clear of the field, then Busch won the drag race to the finish line.

Busch will start from the pole in Sunday’s Daytona 500. Dale Earnhardt Jr. forfeited the spot by wrecking in Wednesday practice.

The Penske Pennzoil Dodge driver emphasized how racing at Daytona has changed. “To find the right drafting partners out there, to make different things happen—you’re learning every lap. There’s always something to absorb, and something to check out,” Busch told ESPN after the race.

Earnhardt, and teammate Jimmie Johnson, had to start from the back in Duel One: Johnson because of an engine change, Earnhardt because of his wreck. Neither could find a reliable drafting partner, so neither finished in the top 10.

Burton, Bowyer Team Up for Duel Two Win

Drafting partners didn’t need to be teammates, but it helped. Duel Two went the Jeff Burton, pushed by his Richard Childress Racing teammate Clint Bowyer. In  photo finish, Burton edged his teammate by 0.005 seconds.

Burton also acknowledged that good pairs were the key. “It’s a shame two cars can’t fit in here [Victory Lane],” Burton told ESPN.

“With the way this thing’s going it’s really important to have someone who’s going to work with you Clint [Bowyer] and I decided we were just going to find each other early and work out well for both of us. I didn’t know who won—it was a good race.”

The pair had run up front for much of the race, planning strategy and sharing spotters, which gave them a huge advantage over mixed pairs, where the spotter for the lead car couldn’t warn the pusher about traffic ahead.

Traffic ahead was a big problem. When pairs of cars approached, side-draft would slow the lead pair; other pairs would suddenly be closing at huge rates, with no open road ahead. Tony Stewart spun Ryan Newman in Duel One, and Kyle Busch spun Denny Hamlin in Duel Two, because pairs ahead suddenly slowed, leaving nowhere to go.

Sometime the pairs were closer than just teammates. Brad and Brian Keselowski teamed up in Duel Two after Brad got loose and dropped back; Brad pushed his older brother into fifth place and into the Daytona 500.

Michael Waltrip, Bill Elliott, and J.J. Yeley raced their way into the Daytona 500, along with Keselowski. Joe Nemechek, Travis Kvapil and Dave Blaney will start in the 500 based on qualifying times.

Sticky as the new Daytona surface was, cars still ran best down low, as Trevor Bayne and Jeff Gordon learned in the 400 yards of Duel Two. After running up front, and sometimes leading, throughout the race, four-time champion Gordon and the 19-year-old Bayne tried to squeeze by on the high side to take the win. Gordon got loose, slid down into Bayne, and spun him into David Ragan. Bayne finished 21st after driving an excellent race, and will start 32nd in Sunday’s race.

The green flag waves for the Daytona 500 on Sunday, Feb. 20. Coverage on FOX television stations starts at 1 p.m.

Duel One Results
	#	Driver		Make		Sponsor		Laps
1	22	Kurt Busch		Dodge		Shell / Pennzoil		62
2	78	Regan Smith		Chevrolet		Furniture Row Companies		62
3	29	Kevin Harvick		Chevrolet		Budweiser		62
4	17	Matt Kenseth		Ford		Crown Royal Black		62
5	4	Kasey Kahne		Toyota		Red Bull		62
6	42	Juan Montoya		Chevrolet		Target		62
7	43	A.J. Allmendinger		Ford		Best Buy		62
8	5	Mark Martin		Chevrolet		GoDaddy.com		62
9	27	Paul Menard		Chevrolet		Peak / Menards		62
10	39	Ryan Newman		Chevrolet		U.S. Army		62
11	48	Jimmie Johnson		Chevrolet		Lowe's / Kobalt Tools		62
12	14	Tony Stewart		Chevrolet		Office Depot / Mobil 1		62
13	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.		Chevrolet		Amp Energy / National Guard		62
14	83	Brian Vickers		Toyota		Red Bull		62
15	09	Bill Elliott		Chevrolet		Phoenix Construction		62
16	47	Bobby Labonte		Toyota		Kroger / USO		62
17	46	J.J. Yeley		Chevrolet		Red Line Oil		62
18	97	Kevin Conway		Toyota		Extenze		62
19	87	Joe Nemechek		Toyota		AM FM Energy		62
20	36	Dave Blaney		Chevrolet		Tommy Baldwin Racing		62
21	9	Marcos Ambrose		Ford		Stanley		62
22	71	Andy Lally		Chevrolet		Adobe Road Winery		60
23	66	Michael McDowell		Toyota		HP Racing LLC		53
24	34	David Gilliland		Ford		Taco Bell		40
Duel Two Results
	#		Driver		Make		Sponsor	Laps
1	31		Jeff Burton		Chevrolet		Caterpillar	60
2	33		Clint Bowyer		Chevrolet		Cheerios / Hamburger Helper	60
3	115		Michael Waltrip		Toyota		NAPA Auto Parts	60
4	18		Kyle Busch		Toyota		M&M's	60
5	192		Brian Keselowski		Dodge		K-Automotive Motorsports	60
6	1		Jamie McMurray		Chevrolet		Bass Pro Shops / Tracker	60
7	2		Brad Keselowski		Dodge		Miller Lite	60
8	11		Denny Hamlin		Toyota		FedEx Express	60
9	56		Martin Truex Jr.		Toyota		NAPA Auto Parts	60
10	99		Carl Edwards		Ford		Aflac	60
11	00		David Reutimann		Toyota		Aaron's Dream Machine	60
12	24		Jeff Gordon		Chevrolet		Drive to End Hunger	60
13	38		Travis Kvapil		Ford		Long John Silver's	60
14	64		Derrike Cope		Toyota		Sta-Bil	60
15	16		Greg Biffle		Ford		3M	60
16	37		Rob Richardson Jr.		Ford		North Texas Pipe	60
17	7		Robby Gordon		Dodge		Speed Energy	60
18	32		Terry Labonte		Ford		U.S. Chrome	60
19	21		Trevor Bayne		Ford		Motorcraft / Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center	60
20	6		David Ragan		Ford		UPS "We Love Logistics"	60
21	60		Todd Bodine		Toyota		Tire Kingdom / Valvoline	54
22	77		Steve Wallace		Toyota		5-Hour Energy	54
23	20		Joey Logano		Toyota		The Home Depot	15
24	13		Casey Mears		Toyota		GEICO	2