It’s here. The Daytona 500. The racing world’s biggest race is coming up this weekend, and everybody’s excited. Besides the buzz about the new surface, and the three lanes, there’s news about some of the top drivers. Dale Earnhardt Jr. got in a crash Wednesday during practice and will have to use a backup car and start from the rear of the pack. Then there’s the rule changes, like the size of the restrictor plates to slow things down. Experts predict the change will slow things down by about 2 MPH and keep the engine RPM’s down, which is actually preferred by the engine builders, who believe the RPM’s were getting too high. They hope to keep speeds down to below 200 MPH, as they were up to around 206 MPH in practice rounds. Fans obviously won’t be happy about this decision, nor will the drivers.
The new surface has also helped to speed things up, as the old one was bumpy and not as slick. Combined with the new car nose design, It will allow them to draft all the way around the track.
Some of the stars and the director for the upcoming new Transformers movie will serve as the Grand Marshals for the event.
With Jr’s primary car up on the Auto Lift, he’ll start from the back of the pack. This is shaping up to be one of the best races ever. Make your predictions now. Who will win?
