2018 Monster Energy Cup Series Race 1/36: Daytona 500

Welp, here we are once again. The 60th running of the Daytona 500.

I'm gonna try to get back into doing reviews for NASCAR this year, but don't be surprised if I give up halfway through.

Anywho, here's the starting grid for the Great American Race...



I think the Penske boys are the ones to beat.

ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME, THAT WAS HIGHWAY ROBBERY

Wow. He just flat wrecked him.

I realize it's the 500, but that's some bullshit.

Wow, that was a bulldozing.

AD3, a Daytona 500 champ (with an asterik).

EDIT: On second thought, it was just racing. It's the Daytona 500, for crying out loud. I don't know what's with everyone's beef with Austin Dillon, but it just can't be because he drives the #3. Sucks for Almirola, but as Stewart said a few years ago.

Tony Stewart wrote:I'll wreck my mother to win.

#NotMyDaytona500Winner (even though he got me my first Random Fantasy win)

On the bright side, minus the finish, the race itself was not nearly as bad as people were predicting considering how the Clash and the Duels went.

(Copied from my personal writing)

Whew...another Speedweeks come and gone. This is always one of my favorite race weekends of the year, right alongside the Indianapolis 500 weekend and the Southern 500 weekend. Now that it's all over, nothing left to do now but share my thoughts on the 60th running of the Daytona 500.

We went into the 500 this year with a lot of stories, as per usual -- for starters, this being Danica Patrick's last NASCAR start, which I am not at all surprised ended in tears (bit more on that in a minute). We had NASCAR just barely managing to scrap together a full 40-car field for the biggest race of the year, which not only disappoints me tremendously, but highlights the problems with the charter system and the worsening condition of the organization. We had the much-publicized Daytona 500 debut of Bubba Wallace, Jr., who went in backed by the legendary Richard Petty and on a few good luck wishes from Lewis Hamilton and Hank Aaron. We had Alex Bowman on pole for the 500 in the same car Dale Earnhardt, Jr. ran last season, which could only be interpreted as Bowman desperately trying to get somebody to actually notice him. And we had Dennis "The Cocaine Menace" Hamlin claiming that 70% of drivers took Adderall, and then retreating from that assertion faster than a French stereotype after being called to the NASCAR hauler. That's just too funny.

So we had some hard racing early on, followed by some expected attrition in the form of a few big accidents and a fairly tame third segment until it got down to the very end. Joe Gibbs Racing looked like they just completely self-destructed, between Hamlin having problems early, Kyle Busch falling out of contention after tire problems (too much rear camber), and the other two JGR cars getting caught up in wrecks. Chase Elliott indirectly being the cause of one such wreck could only be interpreted as karma for all the bullshit blocking he's been doing through all of Speedweeks, and for that I can't say I'm surprised. Danica Patrick getting knocked out of her last race because of an accident is unfortunate, but considering how most of her stock car racing career went, going out with a hard wreck is really the only way it could have ended. Jimmie Johnson wrecked his third racecar of the week in the 500, and while I feel bad for Jimmie I don't feel bad for that car, because it looks like ass. Was also pleased to see some of the underdogs, particularly Matt DiBenedetto running well through most of the race. I feel like the field running single file for much of the third segment was to be expected; it didn't need to get too crazy until they got to the finish.

I am so gutted for Ryan Blaney. I had been pulling so hard for Blaney to win that race, and seriously thought he looked poised to do it after winning his Duel race on Thursday, leading more than half the 500 miles, and narrowly missing a few big accidents in the process (and I must confess here that I also have a certain...affection for Blaney as well). When Liberty University (AKA William Byron) brought out the yellow with ten laps left, my heart sank because I knew Blaney was gonna get eaten alive on the restart. And then he turned around Kurt Busch in Turn 1 with two laps left due to a stackup on the high line, and my heart completely shattered. I knew he wasn't winning the race after that happened. I definitely feel like the speed he showed on Sunday is a good indication of what we'll be seeing the rest of this season, however much of it I actually care to watch. Blaney will have his time in the spotlight.

As for Austin Dillon winning the race, I can't really say I'm surprised, mad, or disappointed, I'm just...'eh'. There are a lot of people out there with a burning disdain for Austin Dillon because he inherited the famed Dale Earnhardt's #3 when it finally returned to NASCAR in 2014, he only got his ride on account of his grandfather owning the team, and Dillon himself being something of a prick. But I usually don't pay enough attention to him to notice or care. I can't really appreciate the irony of a #3 car winning the 500 twenty years after Dale Earnhardt himself did it, because Dillon is certainly no Earnhardt. On one hand, though at time of writing I haven't seen enough of the finish after it happened to call judgment on it, wrecking Aric Almirola to win was a dirty as shit move that he pulled, and the fact he dabbed as soon as he got out of the car for the first time probably enhances his toolbag status. But it also amuses me endlessly to see the amount of salt being shown towards Dillon for winning, and that a man who reeks of Trump won the race after wrecking a Latino, and after Trump himself gave the race his blessing. So whatever, it's Austin Dillon. The best thing I can say is "congratulations".

So thus ends 2018 Daytona Speedweeks. I was afraid at first that this Daytona 500 was going to be lackluster after seeing how they raced in the Duels, but I was pleasantly surprised to see a race that had a lot of attrition and hard racing in it. I thoroughly enjoyed this 500. Props to Bubba Wallace for coming out of his Daytona 500 debut with a runner-up finish. I really want to see him succeed in NASCAR.

kensethfan wrote:and that a man who reeks of Trump won the race after wrecking a Latino, and after Trump himself gave the race his blessing. So whatever, it's Austin Dillon. The best thing I can say is "congratulations".

Maybe I'm reading to much into this, but what does a driver's political views have to do with the race or how he raced?

For me, he made a dirty move that I don't like at all, but Almirola wasn't angry with him (in the interview I saw), so I'm not fussed with it. Pack up and move on to next week & Almirola will fight to win the 500 another year.

Nascar9fan wrote:

kensethfan wrote:and that a man who reeks of Trump won the race after wrecking a Latino, and after Trump himself gave the race his blessing. So whatever, it's Austin Dillon. The best thing I can say is "congratulations".

Maybe I'm reading to much into this, but what does a driver's political views have to do with the race or how he raced?

For me, he made a dirty move that I don't like at all, but Almirola wasn't angry with him (in the interview I saw), so I'm not fussed with it. Pack up and move on to next week & Almirola will fight to win the 500 another year.

I was referring to his personality, not his political views. According to all I've been told, Austin Dillon is the driver in NASCAR that most resembles Trump.

Alright, time for some thoughts.

I was pretty heated in my original post because I posted that basically when Dillon crossed the line. I really wasn't that upset, just was in the moment. I still think its pretty bull that Dillon did that to win the race, and didn't just stay on his tail and wait for the tri-oval/turn 4 to pass him (which could've resulted in a phenomenal finish) but it is what it is I guess, still gutted for Almirola and my man Ryan Blaney. However, the person I'm feel most upset for is Matt DiBenedetto. Dude was running great near the end, and I really wanted him to pull off the win since he seems like such a nice guy and races for a small team. Just sucks he got caught up in that last crash before overtime. He still had an amazing race, and I hope he can have at least a great result in a race soon. Anyways, from what I've heard it was a fairly clean race (I only saw the last segment) so I guess I'm gonna have to watch the first two. Also, even though alot of people dislike her, including me. I wish Danica didn't get wrecked out and had a great result, its going to be a little weird to not see her in racing after Indy in a few months since she is one of the drivers, whether your a casual fan or hardcore fan (or not even a fan at all) you still recognize her name.

I literally had a dream the night before the race that Almirola was wrecked from the lead on the final lap, and that Bubba Wallace finished the race in second.

That dream, however, also saw Almirola finish fourth, with Alex Bowman in third and Kurt Busch as the winner for the second year in a row, so I guess that I'm not quite prophetic.

Overall I thought that it was a memorable Daytona 500. It was a little silly to see multiple wrecks result from such unnecessarily heavy blocking, but it was certainly a competitive race.

It's a huge shame, though, that the winner achieved victory in such unsportsmanlike fashion. I don't understand the argument that Aric threw a crazy block; he put himself in front of the #3 before their bumpers aligned and Dillon just flat out plowed him over. It is a nice story that the #3 car won again 20 years after Earnhardt's lone 500 victory, but at the same time, the Dillon brothers already seem to think too highly of themselves as it is, and I'm afraid that winning the 500 in car #3 is hardly going to humble Austin.

Ah well, Almirola's already put the wreck behind him so I suppose that I should, too. On to Atlanta!

SpeedDemon37 wrote:I literally had a dream the night before the race that Almirola was wrecked from the lead on the final lap, and that Bubba Wallace finished the race in second.

That dream, however, also saw Almirola finish fourth, with Alex Bowman in third and Kurt Busch as the winner for the second year in a row, so I guess that I'm not quite prophetic.

Overall I thought that it was a memorable Daytona 500. It was a little silly to see multiple wrecks result from such unnecessarily heavy blocking, but it was certainly a competitive race.

It's a huge shame, though, that the winner achieved victory in such unsportsmanlike fashion. I don't understand the argument that Aric threw a crazy block; he put himself in front of the #3 before their bumpers aligned and Dillon just flat out plowed him over. It is a nice story that the #3 car won again 20 years after Earnhardt's lone 500 victory, but at the same time, the Dillon brothers already seem to think too highly of themselves as it is, and I'm afraid that winning the 500 in car #3 is hardly going to humble Austin.

Ah well, Almirola's already put the wreck behind him so I suppose that I should, too. On to Atlanta!

I can agree with that.  As much as I like Chase, the shit he was pulling that early in the race was ridiculous.  And he wasn't the only one.