MattWeaver- While many are discussing the controversial finish and disqualification of Denny Hamlin, the real story of the Bud Shootout is the Daytona race package that NASCAR employed.
The two-car breakaway is a major competitive hindrance and must be modified before racing resumes on Thursday.
While NASCAR PR will spin the Shootout as an exciting prelude to the 500, I cringe at the thought of 700 additional miles of this.
The two-car sets completely eliminate the white-knuckle visual of pack racing while the promise of 205 mph delivered nothing in regards to competition. The Shootout amounted to Merry-Go-Round lead swapping until the last lap.
The Sanctioning Body is on notice. You have five days to fix this.
Bud Shootout Instant Reactions
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A_Rosser14- What a race! I enjoyed the way the draft worked. It delivered a new kind of pack racing for a majority of the Shootout. I’m not sold on its execution for next week. The Daytona 500 is a race I enjoy because of the need to have a good handling car. There are no fluke winners and the new format could buck that trend.
As for tonight, this was a great race. A little too much carnage (and several close calls) but the racing was entertaining. It was something mostly fresh. And unlike Talladega, which gets boring with two cars a half-straightaway ahead of the pack, they were still racing each other.
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Saiyavenger- It felt good to see cars on the track again if nothing else. That was kind of an anti-climactic race, especially in the second half.
The Noah’s Ark-style 2x2 racing was annoying to watch at times. And even though the race had a record number of lead changes, it sure didn’t feel like it. The Shootout felt like just another race until the final laps. The lead didn’t feel important.
The huge speeds were fun to watch, and it had a couple fun moments, including Kyle’s ‘maverick’ move before retiring. But that’s the extent of it. The race had little action that me feeling kinda disappointed overall.
The winner didn’t help me feel especially excited either. Kudos to Denny Hamlin’s reasoning for botching a potential win. Smart man.
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