Updated April 7
The new car might be a boon for safety as proven by Michael McDowell's spectacular wreck during qualifying at Texas, but it's still getting low marks for raceability.
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| Johnson after the race: 'I was really shocked today in how bad the cars drove in traffic.' (US Presswire) |
"I was really shocked today in how bad the cars drove in traffic," Johnson said. "It was really unfortunate. You would catch people and the guy in front of you would run your pace. I really think we need to look at some changes to help these cars not be so aero dependent, they are safer, they are doing a lot of things the right way, but we really need to look at making some changes so these cars can have a little more down force. So we get into low downforce situations, there is more grip in the car."
For all his griping, though, Johnson did admit this isn't exactly a new issue.
"We've always had an aero problem. I don't care if you go back to the '70s and '80s in racing, it was still there and nobody knew about it," Johnson said. "Now, we do and it's a big tool that we use. I don't know if we can correct some of it.
"This car is so much bigger. It is safer and that's a great thing. But I'd love to see NASCAR talk to some team engineers and think all right, what's a logical step that's not going to cost millions and millions of dollars to get some more front downforce in the cars so you don't get so tight in traffic. It seems that we have plenty of rear grip from time to time with the aero balance and you can adjust the wing there. But the cars really need some front downforce."
Edwards, who just so happens to have three wins already this season, thinks it's nonsense.
"I've heard people say that the races are boring, and people always want something to complain about -- if it's too hard to drive, you don't get enough side-by-side racing," Edwards said.
"The fact is that these are the 43 best drivers in the world. The cars have 900 horsepower and go 200 miles an hour, and the track is slippery and the tires are slippery, and that's a spectacle -- and that's what it's supposed to be. It's not supposed to be easy everyone. It's not supposed to be driving down the interstate. I'm tired of hearing people complain, the media make up stories about how terrible it is and stuff –- this is auto racing. There are going to be people that are faster.
"We're going to have days when we can't keep up because the car is too hard to drive. Somebody's going to win. That's racing. It's the same for everyone and it just makes it more exciting to win, and it means more."
Power Rankings after Texas:
| POWER RANKINGS | ||
| Current | Driver | Previous |
| 1 | Tony Stewart | 1 |
| It's only fitting that he won the race after hogging the lead most of the night. | ||
| 2 | Jeff Gordon | 2 |
| He was having issues with blistering tires before getting tangled up in the big mid-race wreck. | ||
| 3 | Jimmie Johnson | 3 |
| Earns his first top five and just his second top 10 in seven races at Daytona since winning the Daytona 500 in 2006. | ||
| 4 | Kurt Busch | 4 |
| Continues to knock on the door for a win at a restrictor-plate track. He has finished fourth or better in four of his past five trips to Daytona. | ||
| 5 | Carl Edwards | 6 |
| No doubt he was having flashbacks to Talladega. "It was a crazy, crazy finish," Edwards said. "I thought I wanted to be up there racing with those guys, then I saw that [Kyle Busch wrecking] and I was just fine with where I was at." | ||
| 6 | Juan Pablo Montoya | 7 |
| He now has eight top 10s on the season with five coming in the past seven races. | ||
| 7 | Denny Hamlin | 11 |
| He and Stewart were the class of the field. But with Stewart snagging the win, Hamlin had to settle for his third top-five finish in the past four races. | ||
| 8 | Mark Martin | 5 |
| Since picking up his third win of the year back at Michigan, Martin has followed with finishes of 35th, 14th and 38th. | ||
| 9 | Ryan Newman | 8 |
| He has hit a little bump in the road with four consecutive finishes of 17th or worse. | ||
| 10 | Kyle Busch | 10 |
| Wreck in the last lap left him with his fifth finish outside the top 10 in the past six races. | ||
| 11 | Greg Biffle | 9 |
| Never a factor at any point, spending just 14 laps in the top 15 all night. | ||
| 12 | Kasey Kahne | 12 |
| The sensational image of his collision with Kyle Busch notwithstanding, Kahne was able to leave Daytona with a 15th-place finish and move up one spot to 12th in the standings. | ||
| 13 | David Reutimann | 13 |
| After starting at the rear of the field because of an engine change, he had managed to work his way into the top 15 before being collected in the mid-race big one. | ||
| 14 | Matt Kenseth | 14 |
| Gets a much-needed top 10 after four consecutive finishes of 16th or worse had him tumbling down the standings. | ||
| 15 | Clint Bowyer | 15 |
| He had just joined the top 10 when he became a victim of the mid-race carnage. | ||
