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    Five Lessons From The Violent Coca-Cola Zero Sugar 400 Diet

    Vaseline Posted on

    DAYTONA BEACH — Another summer race has come and gone, and another checkered flag has waved over a driver no one saw coming.

    Let’s take a look at the key points…

    1. Wood Brothers deliver another outsider winner

    Add Harrison Burton’s name to the ever-growing list of surprise Daytona winners.

    Can we really speak of a surprise winner here?

    Burton, a 23-year-old driver headed to the unemployment line, survived the carnage that so many contenders endured in the closing laps. All that was left was to pass and hold off one of the best ever — Kyle Busch, who happened to be desperate for a win and a playoff spot.

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    That wasn’t as easy as it sounds, because Busch gave everything he could in the last corner towards the finish.

    This marks the Wood Brothers’ return to Daytona’s Victory Lane with the organization’s 100th NASCAR victory in the team’s illustrious history, more than 13 years after their improbable 2011 Daytona 500 win with Trevor Bayne.

    And it’s the No. 1 win of the career of Burton, who was told a few weeks ago that he will no longer drive the No. 21 car next year after three underperforming seasons.

    See you Saturday.

    The bottom line here: Don’t be too surprised. This is one of three NASCAR tracks where this sort of thing can happen, along with Talladega and the newest “plate race” track, Atlanta.

    2. Did Harrison Burton increase his job prospects?

    The only thing that is certain is that he definitely did not hurt him.

    And there is no doubt about the feel-good atmosphere that it all brings with it.

    With Burton’s father Jeff in the broadcast booth, it conjured up images of Dale Jarrett’s 1993 Daytona 500 victory with father Ned calling for CBS. The emotions were real for a family that knows how rough and tough this sport can be, not just on man and machine, but on the psyche.

    You lose your car, but you’re still obligated to show up week after week and play the series, to do your best when the heart may think otherwise. And then this, a real shock of glory on NASCAR’s biggest stage.

    This can’t hurt Harrison Burton’s chances.

    But honestly, how much can it help? This was largely about missing all the crap and still being there at the end. There’s a lot to be said for Burton’s courage and desire to stay hard on the gas on the backstretch and in Turn 3 as he passed Kyle Busch.

    And there is much to be said for the stubborn way in which he protected the lead in the closing stages.

    But what will it do for his future job prospects? Considering how few decent rides there are and how many good drivers are on the road, maybe not all that much.

    3. Another week, another reverse slide

    Well, back to work at NASCAR’s R&D center near Charlotte.

    Corey LaJoie’s airborne flip on his roof in Michigan last week caught everyone’s attention. New equipment — an extra rail along the rear window — was added to cars this week to prevent this sort of thing from happening, as the old roof flaps and other air-deflecting devices proved less than bulletproof.

    Josh Berry’s crash in the final laps of Saturday told engineers there was more work to be done. He was leading, was hit from behind, flipped hard to the side and immediately landed on his roof. Berry then slid upside down for a long distance before hitting an inside wall hard head-on.

    The pursuit of safety is as old as racing itself. It seems like they can make these cars 100% safe, but then something happens that tells you they’re only 99% safe.

    4. Grandstands provide the view, infield provides the audience

    Perhaps the summer NASCAR race at Daytona will take on the character of the Rolex 24 sports car race, which is primarily an on-track event for paying customers.

    The stadium crowd was big enough to satisfy most tracks. It looked to be somewhere between 40,000 and 50,000 in the stands, which is fine, except when compared to the packed house for the Daytona 500.

    At least that is how the eye judges.

    However, the infield was full with coaches, caravans and a lot of tents which filled the western-central part of the infield.

    Speedway President Frank Kelleher said in the hours before Saturday night’s race that reserved camping spots had sold out, as had all the suites at the track’s front. Ticket buyers came from all 50 states, 56 countries and six continents, he added.

    5. NASCAR rolls from Daytona to Darlington, playoffs to follow

    There is one more race left in the 26-race regular season of the Cup Series, which takes place next Sunday night at historic Darlington Raceway in South Carolina.

    After Darlington we head to Atlanta, where the ten-race play-offs begin.

    Next up at Daytona is Fall Cycle Scene from October 17-20, in conjunction with Biketoberfest in Daytona Beach. Historic Sportscar Racing returns from October 31-November 3, and the World Karting Association from December 28-30.

    After that, all indications are that the Rolex 24 sports car events will take place in January next year and NASCAR Speedweek in February.

    Vaseline
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