By Adam Carabine & Logan Morris
Logan Morris: We just had another thrilling Daytona 500.
Adam Carabine: We sure did, Logan. William Byron eked his way to victory lane after a wild last lap. I actually got to witness the race in-person - my first time at Daytona.
LM: What was your experience like? How about that rain delay? Did they make the right call starting the race at that point?
AC: Yeah, before we get too heavy into the race analysis, I’ve got to say - if you’ve never been to the Daytona 500, put it on your bucket list. The atmosphere is insane, the track is beautiful, and though the weather wasn’t as cooperative as we’d have liked, we had a great time.
The thing about the Florida weather is that it’s hard to predict. When I got to my seat, it was sweltering hot. It was windy, and there were some clouds floating in, but it was hard to know whether it was going to start raining or not until it was on top of you.
LM: I’ve never had the pleasure. I look forward to doing it one day. You saw an absolute thriller. William Byron came out of nowhere and went back to back. What are some of the things that stuck out to you?
AC: So firstly, I was just so concerned that the majority of the race ran three-wide. It didn’t look sustainable to me (and I suppose it turned out not to be), and I was bracing for a lot more cautions than we got.
I was also glad to see that we didn’t have a situation similar to last year’s 500, where you had teams really going noticeably slower in the name of fuel saving. I think that makes for a more boring race. This year, there was certainly fuel management, but they seemed to be going all-out for most of the race. Did they talk about fuel much on the TV side of things?
LM: Fuel saving was a major topic of conversation early on in the broadcast. After the several stops and starts, it became less important. Most cars were able to come down pit road multiple times and you could tell it made a difference in the aggression level right out of the gate.
AC: Yeah, there was one point in the last stage where I thought we were just on the brink of some green-flag pit stops, which I personally always find very exciting (especially at Super Speedways), but a debris-related caution came out just in the nick of time. That precipitated the final green flag run where no one really had to worry too much about fuel.
LM: I have to agree. It is exciting but that wasn’t the way this particular cookie crumbled. Well, we know about the chaos that allowed Byron to win. What else stuck out to you? Any surprises? Disappointments? There are a lot of storylines coming out of Daytona.
AC: Well I’m dying to hear what you have to say about Jimmie Johnson getting a P3 for Legacy Motor Club.
LM: It was a great day for Legacy MC after a flat-out lousy 2024. John Hunter Nemechek also got a top five. It was a great run for Jimmie Johnson, no question. He’s had a rough return to NASCAR, and for once, he had a little luck go his way.
AC: I was happy for you, knowing your feelings for the club! I was pleasantly surprised to see my new driver Tyler Reddick suddenly up there in P2 after starting the final lap outside of the Top 10. That last lap was crazy. I haven’t had a great chance to look back at replays, etc. but it looked like Cole Custer might have been the menace of the race - it seemed like he caused the two back-to-back cautions, is that correct?
LM: Reddick continues to prove there’s not a track that he can’t compete on and contend for the win. There’s always a little luck in these types of tracks. However, it’s not luck that he constantly puts himself in advantageous positions.
As far as who was the menace, everyone seems to have their eyes on Joey Logano and Stenhouse Jr. That’s the debate in NASCAR circles, right now. Check out those replays.
AC: It definitely looked like Logano got sick of Stenhouse in that particular fracas, and tried to turn him. It unfortunately cost Logano his day, as his own car got more damage, and he finished 35th, while Stenhouse made it to P18 and finished on the lead lap.
So let’s get into our awards from the past weekend!
Best Performer
LM: I have to go with Legacy Motor Club. I don’t mean to be too biased but it was a wonderful day for that organization.
AC: For me the answer would have been Logano if he’d kept his temper in check. Leading up to that point, he’d been having engine issues of some sort, he’d been a lap down, and still managed to find his way back in contention. However, because of the tantrum I’m going to go with Austin Cindric. Honestly, I think he deserved to win the race, but Daytona doesn’t always care who deserves it! Cindric led the most laps on the day (59), and had the best average running position. He’s certainly a driver that needs to have a good year to secure his future in this series, and that was a great way to start 2025.
Biggest Move of the Race
LM: As far as the biggest move goes, I’m going to go a little unorthodox. Joey Logano’s pit crew pulling out what is rumored to be a Kroger bag from the inside of Joey Logano’s car changed the whole complexion of the race.
AC: Ah, see this is something I missed while live at the track. There was a plastic bag stuck inside the inner workings of that car? That would explain some of its performance issues earlier on.
LM: Yes, they tried a few different things, including changing the air box! Turns out it was caused by a plastic bag. After they removed it, the car came back to life.
AC: Did anyone check if Brad Keselowski was behind this? Maybe some interesting brand activation gone wrong? (Kidding, of course!)
Anyway, my pick for the biggest move of the race would probably be more of a gradual move, and that would be for Chase Briscoe in his first race in the 19 car. I had high hopes for him after he scored Toyota’s first pole at the Daytona 500, but he seemed to fade away pretty quickly.
I feel like I blinked and he’d earned himself a Top 5 at the conclusion of the race - kudos for sticking with it and working on making the car better throughout the race.
Biggest Disappointment
LM: I have to go with Trackhouse Racing as a whole. It just was not a good day for them overall. Or weekend for that matter. The much-anticipated debut of Helio Catstroneves ended up being a bit of a bust. Chastain got caught up in chaos, and Pitbull abruptly announced his departure. This was a rough stretch for Justin Marks and company.
AC: That certainly was a bit of a bombshell announcement this past weekend. There’s something fishy going on there - I know they’re both pretending it’s an amicable split, or a business decision, but there was something strange about the way that Pitbull’s statement said “Effective Immediately,” that leads me to think there’s more to this story. We may never know.
My biggest disappointment of the weekend was probably just with Mother Nature. Since I was there live, I got stuck in some major downpours. For a while there the radar looked really bad so we actually all got back in the car and went back to our condo we had rented, expecting they’d call the race for the night. Fast forward a few hours and we’re scrambling to race back to the track and get back in to see the finish. I’m glad we got it all in on Sunday, but that was an unfortunate hiccup along the way. It’s hard to feel much disappointment when you’re there live at the track, though.
What to Watch for Next Weekend
LM: Heading into Atlanta, I have my eyes on Stenhouse and Joey Logano, frankly the whole field and those two. Both were being hung out to dry in post-race interviews after the race, especially Logano. Vice-Chairman of HMS, Jeff Gordon even knocked Logano in the post-race presser. Do cooler heads prevail or is something already brewing?
Elsewhere I have my eyes on everyone who struggled this week. You don’t want to be in a two-race hole as far as points go. They can make all the difference down the line.
AC: Yeah, we’re only one official race into the 2025 season and there are already some potential rivalries starting up. That’s why we love it! Logano and Stenhouse will be interesting to keep an eye on.
You’re also not wrong about the people who struggled - or even who just had bad luck at Daytona. It’s only one race so far, but let’s not forget that next week’s Atlanta race will behave in a similar fashion. Drafting, teamwork, big wrecks, etc. It would be easy to get behind the eight-ball here early.
I look forward to it, though - and I also look forward to our conversation next week, Logan!
LM:I do as well! Let’s do it again, next week!