Daytona 2024 Pre-Race Thread

StandOnIt

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I give them all credit sending it into turn one and never having done a lap in the car
 
I don't think there is a word in the dictionary that adequately describes the level of hatred I have for the new Daytona schedule.

The lack of buildup has been a problem, and keeps getting worse.

SPEED Channel was a big loss. We went from having over 100 hours of Speedweeks coverage to the bare minimum. And now we've gone from 12 days to five days.

The Daytona 500 doesn't feel "big" anymore. There's no ****** buildup anymore.
 
As long as they are maxing out on attendance and monster sized TV ratings, I don't see much changes for Nascar and the Daytona show. They were sold out months ago.

"Maxing out on attendance" is relative. They had to tear down a lot of grandstands to "max out" on attendance these days.
 
As long as they are maxing out on attendance and monster sized TV ratings, I don't see much changes for Nascar and the Daytona show. They were sold out months ago.
I guess it all depends on how you look at it. Yeah they've been sold out for months, but they also have taken out a lot of seats. They used to have basically 2 weeks of events down there and a ton more seating and sell the place out
 
It holds plenty.
Capacity101,500–167,785 (w/ infield, depending on configuration) 123,500 (grandstand capacity)
 
Some on-point comments, some rambling,and even a little haughtiness.......but after investing in the time to write em, I will post them anyhow...

I think the old Daytona schedule was preferable, but it was also suited for a different world or culture and yes it was a simplier easier to manage world . Back in the day there would be about 50 plus drivers or teams trying to earn a spot in the 500 and several drivers were going to go home immediately after the twin 125s. It was an incredibily wonderful drama to watch.
But there is no real value in creating some pretense of a drama that no longer exsist. This isn’t just a Nascar problem, the entire month of May isn't what it used to in Indianapolis either.

In addition to this nobody shows up with some new contraption that runs 15 miles faster down the straights anymore. Controlling the potential for unlimited speed and avoiding another Lemans1955 is an just an ugly part of it that still has to be managed while also being a thankless task.

But it doesnt have to be all negative. The engineering or at least what is allowed is better than ever, the cars or drivers and the fans are safer.

They are just not going to learn as much during practice as they did during the previos eras.
I also like the idea of not having a few select teams that can afford unlimited practice times. I think going back to that type of world would widen the gap from p1 to p36.
Nascar arguably has about 20 cars in cup that can routinely show up with a chance to win. That is probably the best there is the world when considering the major sanctioning bodies.

I dont like everything Nascar does and I will call them out when I dont agree with them. But practice is a major component of competition and Nascar with few exceptions imo is the very best in that regard.

If you want to make practice a bigger deal simply for the entertainment than make a point to watch every session and be loud enough for Nascar to know that you care. If it was profitable or could be justified they would be practicing in January.
 
Show up at Daytona and no practice, straight to qualifying. So go as fast as you can the FIRST time on the track? I thought safety was job 1?

My answer? Add an hour of practice on Wednesday morning BEFORE qualifying. What am I missing that this isn't the plan?
 
A practice or two would be nice, but Speedweeks had already been lightening up before COVID because teams were getting increasingly risk-averse at the thought of tearing up your 500 car in practice. Seemed like the final practice or two was getting pretty inactive.

But, in lieu of that the series, teams, and drivers need to be doing something else. They used to have drivers go on a national media tour the week of the race.
 
As this season gets rolling, I want to thank @StandOnIt for starting these pre-race discussions, and @Magicmiler for the detailed weekly schedules.

"Thanks."
Absolutely. I have thanked him a few times on here for some of the things he does here that makes this forum a more interesting place. Things like radio active and news updates from different teams that some of us would never know about if not for SOI. As far as I’m concerned SOI and Mr Excitement devote a lot of time doing things that makes this a better forum. And for that I thank both of them.
 
Absolutely. I have thanked him a few times on here for some of the things he does here that makes this forum a more interesting place. Things like radio active and news updates from different teams that some of us would never know about if not for SOI. As far as I’m concerned SOI and Mr Excitement devote a lot of time doing things that makes this a better forum. And for that I thank both of them.
Edit-I would also like to thank aunty dive for his tire info.
 
So excited I can't breathe. A new Camry....more Toyotas.....LFG!!!!!!!
 
Posting this for the incredibility of it... all three major weather models have had rain on Sunday, the 18th, on each model run for multiple days now. That's absurd given how far out they're forecasting. I'm starting to believe the NASCAR Rain Curse lol.
 
I was looking to see when single lap qualifying is scheduled, it used to be a week before the race. I see it is scheduled for Wednesday and I don't think it is televised.

In the past, preparation for the 500 was a multi-week long deal (Speedweeks). Teams did a lot of testing (and sandbagging) for the biggest race of the year; some of the testing was with modifications that wouldn't pass inspection (it was a cheap wind tunnel) and some of the testing was data acquisition during the early days of higher tech. I can see how that isn't practical these days, back then teams were smaller and it cost less to be there for a long time.
 
I was looking to see when single lap qualifying is scheduled, it used to be a week before the race. I see it is scheduled for Wednesday and I don't think it is televised.

In the past, preparation for the 500 was a multi-week long deal (Speedweeks). Teams did a lot of testing (and sandbagging) for the biggest race of the year; some of the testing was with modifications that wouldn't pass inspection (it was a cheap wind tunnel) and some of the testing was data acquisition during the early days of higher tech. I can see how that isn't practical these days, back then teams were smaller and it cost less to be there for a long time.

I agree. Preseason Thunder Testing and practice was a fun time to sandbag and show off your stuff.
 
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