There’s a possibility for a real storybook ending for Dale Earnhardt Jr. at the Coke Zero 400, but there’s a lot more than just Junior going for a victory on Saturday night.
As sports fans, we generally like our storylines simple. For the Coke Zero 400, there’s a compelling one that’s not tough to grasp as the most popular driver in NASCAR goes for a victory that would make his farewell season one to remember.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. certainly has a chance to pull it off, as few people have won as often at Daytona International Speedway, and he qualified on the pole. The 88 team has looked increasingly competitive over the past few weeks, and it could be peaking at just the right time.
But it won’t be easy. Other cars that have been strong all season long, like the 24 of Chase Elliott and the 2 of Brad Keselowski, are starting near the front. Rain hit the track on Friday night, and the XFINITY Series race was delayed again this afternoon, so the condition of the racing surface is different than it was during practice.
Then there’s the unpredictable nature of restrictor plate racing itself, where just about anything can happen. Even if Junior runs his best race of the season, he could get caught up in something and see his dream dashed.
Racing at Daytona is always intriguing and often exciting, but there’s little question that even fans who don’t usually pull for Earnhardt are going to be watching with an extra bit of interest.
Forecast
Rain and the Coke Zero 400 unfortunately go together. Three of the last seven summer Daytona races have been run on either Sunday or Monday because of bad weather, and this weekend hasn’t exactly gotten off to a great start on that front. Fortunately, Weather Channel thinks the conditions should be okay for exactly the time the race will be run, between 7 p.m. and midnight. Let’s hope that turns out to be the case.
Three things to watch
- Will Junior have handling as well as speed? One doesn’t think of handling as an important factor at Daytona, but as the NBC Sports announcers discussed during the XFINITY Series race, Dale Jr. has been done in even at one of his favorite places by ill-handling rides before. We know the 88 has speed, but the team will need to get it to where Earnhardt can make the moves he does so well.
- How will the double duty crew hold up? Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers have to go 600 miles every year at Charlotte, but not some of them will have to go almost that long in the heat and humidity of Daytona since they’re in the XFINITY race that was postponed to Saturday. Ty Dillon, Joey Logano, Erik Jones and Daniel Suarez are all in for long days, and it will be worth watching to see if they fade in the main event because of it.
- Last chance for a real playoff dark horse? The Coke Zero 400 is the final plate race in the regular season, meaning it could be the final opportunity for drivers who haven’t threatened to win elsewhere to sneak into the playoffs. Kasey Kahne and Danica Patrick both qualified in the top 10, so they have fast cars. Could they pull off a surprise victory? Stranger things have happened at Daytona.
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Predictions
A lot of times, things happen in sports that make people say, “you couldn’t have written that.” So we won’t, even though an Earnhardt Jr. victory is certainly possible. We’ve got our eye on the No. 2 of Brad Keselowski, the highest qualifying Ford and the 2016 race winner. Don’t be surprised if he ties Jimmie Johnson with his third victory of the 2017 season.
For our dark horse pick, keep an eye on Trevor Bayne. The Roush Fenway Fords definitely have speed at Daytona (which hasn’t necessarily been the case the past few seasons), and Bayne already owns a famous victory at this track. This is likely his best shot to win this year, and it’s legit.