Coke Zero 400 By Coca-Cola-Daytona, FLA

[bksballer89]

Holy shit, I've missed the majority of the race because I didn't think there was anyway they'd still be racing this late.

Read that they were determined to get the race in because of some test Wednesday at Kentucky....makes it that much stupider to schedule the race for Sunday night knowing that information.

I see that HMS finished 1-4. Junior is back to dominating restrictor plates races.

Also huge comeback by Kyle to finish 17

Can't believe this race finished minutes to 3 am est. Would love to see the ratings

 

[Psych-Ward]

Not even close to done

pretty sure he is

22 Joey Logano Ford 22 led-0 laps-161 started-33 ??????

Thought for sure you said he was done......but he finished the race and on the lead lap......amazing

 

[Retroram52]

What a mess. Went to bed early to get up early to see that a lot of wreckin' went on. Junior wins it.

 

[4down20]

Fans view of the wreck.

 

[jeffro151]

@Chewbaccer, I thought you might want to read this:

Why the Coke Zero 400 was run on July 5th and not July 4th? For 29 years, the summer race at Daytona International Speedway was a part of the nation's birthday. The event was always run on Independence Day, no matter what day of the week. The race was in the morning, and the drivers and their families were celebrating on the beach by late afternoon. The tradition that began in 1959 ended in 1988 when the event was moved into prime time on whatever Saturday was part of the holiday weekend. Now it has been moved once more, to Sunday night, to accommodate the return of NASCAR to NBC.
Mark Lazarus, chairman of NBC Sports Group, said the change was simply about audience. "The Fourth of July is annually the lowest night of television watching of the year - fewer people watch TV that night because they are all out watching fireworks," Lazarus told The Associated Press on Saturday. "In order for us to start our relationship with as big a splash as we can, we wanted to give ourselves the best chance and opportunity to have a big audience. It was simply math." The switch still comes with challenges. By moving it to Sunday night, the race now goes head-to-head against the United States playing in the Women's World Cup final. NBC's pre-race show begins at the same time as the game, but the race doesn't actually go green for another 78 minutes. Lazarus anticipates, barring overtime and penalty kicks, only about 35 minutes of direct competition. He is hopeful, though, that World Cup viewers will flip to the NASCAR race when the game ends. "It's a mixed blessing - it will bring a lot of different people to the television set," he said. "We're hopeful, if we continue to market, that we'll get some people who wouldn't be home watching TV to transfer over and check us out."
Although both NASCAR and Daytona officials signed off on the switch to Sunday, it's not the most ideal situation for track President Joie Chitwood. Running the race a day later hurts attendance because campers usually return home on Sunday, and now the World Cup likely will cut into viewership. Chitwood understood NBC's desire for the Sunday night race, but is thankful the race will return to Saturday night in 2016. "In our conversation with them, it was just the one time," he said. "We all talked about what we could do special for NBC, and this was one of their components, and it made a lot of sense when we sat down and really talked about it. When you look at what they've done with 'Football Night in America,' they are just knocking it out of the part. They've really captured that. Hopefully, they can sprinkle a little bit of that magic on this event this Sunday. I don't think anybody a year ago, though, knew about World Cup soccer, so that's the way the breaks are."(see full article at the Associated Press)(7-5-2015)

 

[GenJac]

 

[GenJac]

What NASCAR will not look at is the reason for the crash! This type crash is typical at restrictor plate races. The drivers such as Petty and Earnhardt Sr. complained since they started the restrictors. Maybe it is time to take the restrictor plates off , take away the rear downforce and look at tires as well. In the 60's the cars were running 200 mph before the plates and NASCAR denies this today but true. When Petty qualified 218 MPH.. The drivers today can not drive a loose car like the 60's drivers. The radial tires are less forgiving as well.

 

[StarsFan]

The Gods of racing have blessed Austin Dillion. And in an irony that can't be explained, the crash that took Dale Earnhardt in 2001 on the last lap at Daytona looked like a "nothing unusual" wall hit, while the crash that looked like a horrible, end-of-life aftermath allowed Austin Dillon to walk away unscathed and wave to the crowd!

Both took place in the No. 3 Richard Childress Chevys and both on the last lap of a big Daytona event. Thank you NASCAR for making sure those catch fences were built to withhold what happened last night. And, with even more information to go on, I know you will strengthen them even more for the Talladega race coming up later this year.

As for this type of pack racing, yes it's exciting but when you look at it on paper, it isn't worth it when driver's lives are put MORE IN DANGER than they already are every time they strap in.

I don't know the answer, but if it had been an IndyCar that hit that catch fence last night, well...we already know the outcome of that stuff (Dan Wheldon). NASCAR race cars are the best on the planet for protection...again, thank you NASCAR and all the chassis builders and safety companies.

I love NASCAR racing more than ever, its a great marketing tool for the companies that participate (I even bought Zest soap for the first time ever last week!!!) and the fan base is still very strong (although many now watch on TV because they can't afford the cost). But I do think it's time for a serious discussion on restrictor plate racing as we move forward. It's easy to say, but I know much harder to implement.

 

[Retroram52]

Two of the reasons for Dillon walking away last evening are the Hans device and the driver's seat. The HANS device holds the head from being thrown around and suffering the most common injury that leads to a driver's death without it: The Petrous Ridge fracture.

The Petrous Ridge fracture is what killed Earnhardt Sr., Adam Petty, Neil Bonnett, John Nemecheck, and others. It is a side-to-side whiplash of the head that causes a lateral crack in the skull running along a row of bone just adjacent (anterior) to the auditory meatus or ear canal. The person who suffers this ends up with blood and serous fluid (brain fluid) flowing from the ears. It doesn't take a great deal of speed to have this happen. There are kids on skateboards that suffer this injury.

The other item is the driver's seat. The driver now sits a literal energy-dissipating cocoon that keeps the body from experiencing sheer forces that can break bones. The limbs outside the cocoon usually are sacrificed like legs and arms. Thus the injuries to Kyle Busch. So that is why Dillon walked away last evening instead of being placed in an ambulance and covered with a sheet.

 

[Chewbaccer]

In all seriousness, I was being a dick last night, but thank God that Austin Dillon is ok. The fact that he walked away is a huge testament to how far NASCAR has come with the safety of the drivers. That would have been fatal not too long ago.

 

[wildturkey]

Austin Dillon is alive by the grace of God. That's really all there is to it. They've made safety innovations sure, but that went beyond those. If his car hits the catchfence roof first or if Kesolowski hits him 6 inches further in (the scariest part of the whole deal since the chassis is already compromised), he's got serious, life threatening injuries.

 

[4down20]

Warning: If you like to hate Dale Jr, you probably don't want to watch this.