Dale Earnhardt Jr. will officially return to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series after a seven-month layoff on Sunday when he turns a qualifying lap for the Daytona 500. Arguably the most intriguing addition to 2017 NASCAR is the new race system that breaks down each race into three stages.
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With MLB and NASCAR in particular, the drawn out nature of most events is in constant conflict with decreasing attention spans.
Suarez is the surprise entry in the field after being thrust into the No. 19 when Carl Edwards abruptly retired.
Driver and Prosper native Chris Buescher says count him among those on board with the sport rewarding drivers for success in the early part and middle of races.
He also has credited his new bride, Amy Reimann, whom he Wednesday on New Year’s Eve, as someone who influenced him positively while he was sidelined. I think he just cares about me as a person. “Excited about that. I can’t really talk a whole lot about it, but I will be racing some stuff”. “I’m frustrated with myself that I took so long to grow up because I have an fantastic wife and she’s changed my life”.
NASCAR said Level 1 infractions that include failing weight, heights and missing three lug nuts will result in penalties of up to 40 points, a potential three-race suspension for a crew chief and a $75,000 fine. Get out your abacus.
NASCAR has set the stage lengths for races this season, part of a radical revamp designed in hopes of making every lap matter. Chicagoland Speedway, site of the September 17 opening playoff race, has promised a full refund to anyone who buys a single-day ticket to that event between now and the Daytona 500 if Earnhardt wins for a third time. As always, an overall race victor will be declared, but there also will be winners of the individual segments.
Facing the same problem, NASCAR has gone in the opposite direction by ignoring its our-races-take-too-damn-long epidemic. “Now, if they ran well enough during the race, they got some bonus points”.
Welcome back my NASCAR fans.
A win for Earnhardt, Johnson, and Kenseth will be historical.
Qualifying for the season’s opening race, of course, works a little differently. He was the runner-up in the event last season, and he has a 3.8 average finish in his last four starts. Saturday night will also be the first time that we get to see SHR in their new Ford’s.
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Earnhardt Jr.is Vegas Insider’s top pick to win Daytona 500 with 5/1 odds. It will come 10 years after Waltrip and his team helped bring Toyota into the NASCAR Cup family – in a very inauspicious manner.
