Analyzing Daytona - Margin Calls, Smoke, Orlando United, DaleTona

How close is too close? NASCAR analyzes Daytona coming into week 18 of the Sprint Cup season

When it comes to close calls and great finishes, you only have to look back to February of this year when Denny Hamlin beat Martin Truex Jr to the line by .010 seconds, and with Tony Stewart still on a high from last weeks race at Sonoma, it could prove to be a scorcher at the World Center of Racing.

DAYTONA FAST FACTS

Here are some fast facts about the racetrack itself, just in case you are looking for trivia items to stump your friends. 

Groundbreaking for Daytona International Speedway was Nov. 25, 1957. The soil underneath the banked corners was dug from the infield of the track and the hole filled with water. It is now known as Lake Lloyd.

· The first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Daytona was a 100-mile qualifying race for the Daytona 500 on Feb. 20, 1959 – won by Bob Welborn.

· The first summer race at Daytona International Speedway was held on July 4, 1959 – won by Fireball Roberts (140.581 mph).

· NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty won his 200th career race on July 4, 1984 at Daytona.

· Lights were installed in the spring of 1998. However, the July race was delayed until October that year due to thick smoke from wildfires. The second Daytona race has been held under the lights ever since.

· The track underwent a repave in 2010.

NASCAR remembers the Orlando night club victims with a special decal this weekend

NASCAR has announced that it will provide all drivers with a special Orlando Unites decal that will be placed on the A post of the cars in remembrance and to honor the 50 people who lost their lives in the tragic events at The Pulse Night Club. NASCAR released a photo of the decal, which is below:

This decal will be displayed during this weekends NASCAR races at Daytona International Speeday

 Can Smoke Rise (To The Occasion) Again?


Following Tony Stewart’s dramatic race-winning last-lap pass at Sonoma, many started comparing his 2016 to his surprising march to the 2011 Sprint Cup crown. Here is the statistical breakdown comparison between Stewart’s 2011 and 2016 seasons. Notably, from races 9 through 16, the No. 14 had the exact same average finish in both seasons. Is this a foreshadowing of a 2016 championship?

Comparing Seasons - Tony Stewart - 2011 vs 2016 (Pre-Chase)

Race No.

Track

Season

Start

Finish

Points

Season

Race No.

Track

Start

Finish

Points

1

Daytona

2011

25

13

12th

2016

1

Daytona

Out

N/A

N/A

2

Phoenix

2011

18

7

3rd

2016

2

Atlanta

Out

N/A

N/A

3

Vegas

2011

15

2

1st

2016

3

Las Vegas

Out

N/A

N/A

4

Bristol

2011

13

19

3rd

2016

4

Phoenix

Out

N/A

N/A

5

Auto Club

2011

5

13

6th

2016

5

Auto Club

Out 

N/A

N/A

6

Martinsville

2011

28

34

11th

2016

6

Martinsville

Out

N/A

N/A

7

Texas

2011

26

12

10th

2016

7

Texas

Out

N/A

N/A

8

Talladega

2011

30

17

12th

2016

8

Bristol

 Out

N/A

N/A

9

Richmond

2011

31

9

10th

2016

9

Richmond

18

19

40th*

10

Darlington

2011

9

7

7th

2016

10

Talladega

14

6

38th

11

Dover

2011

27

29

10th

2016

11

Kansas

16

12

37th

12

Charlotte

2011

22

17

9th

2016

12

Dover

34

34

37th

13

Kansas

2011

13

8

8th

2016

13

Charlotte

21

24

35th

14

Pocono

2011

15

21

9th

2016

14

Pocono

6

34

36th

15

Michigan

2011

6

7

11th

2016

15

Michigan

3

7

35th

16

Sonoma

2011

20

39

12th

2016

16

Sonoma

10

1

32nd

17

Daytona

2011

19

11

12th

2016

17

Daytona

TBD

TBD

TBD

18

Kentucky

2011

9

12

11th

2016

18

Kentucky

TBD

TBD

TBD

19

New Hampshire

2011

2

2

11

2016

19

New Hampshire

TBD

TBD

TBD

20

Indianapolis

2011

24

6

9th

2016

20

Indianapolis

TBD

TBD

TBD

21

Pocono

2011

28

11

9th

2016

21

Pocono

TBD

TBD

TBD

22

Watkins Glen

2011

7

27

10th

2016

22

Watkins Glen

TBD

TBD

TBD

23

Michigan

2011

18

9

10th

2016

23

Bristol

TBD

TBD

TBD

24

Bristol

2011

42

28

10th

2016

24

Michigan

TBD

TBD

TBD

25

Atlanta

2011

20

3

10th

2016

25

Darlington

TBD

TBD

TBD

In 2016, Tony Stewart has made eight starts posting one win (Sonoma), three top 10s and an average finish of 17.125. He is currently 32nd, outside the Chase cutoff (top 30) in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings. Stewart missed the first eight races of the season due to a back injury. 

DALE-TONA

Dale Earnhardt Jr is looking for a sweep at Daytona this Saturday night under the lights.

Will Dale Earnhardt Jr repeat his season opener win with another trip to Victory Lane? According to the stats above, the 88 driver is 4th out of all active drivers on the all time wins list, with 10 wins at restrictor plate tracks. Just hope he can get out of the current funk he's in. 

WHERE AND HOW TO WATCH AND LISTEN:

Thursday, June 30

TV Notes (ET):

2:00 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series practice, NBCSN

3:00 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice, NBCSN

4:00 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series practice, NBCSN

5:00 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series final practice, NBCSN

Friday, July 1

TV Notes (ET):

2:10 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, NBCSN

4:10 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, NBCSN

7:30 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series: Subway Firecracker 250, NBCSN

Saturday, July 2

TV Notes (ET):

7:45 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Coke Zero 400, NBC