Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Observations from Saturday’s NASCAR Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway

OK, so now we know what a race at Bristol would look like at 200 mph. There was more beating and banging in Saturday night’s race on the storied 2.5-mile Daytona oval than at some short tracks. If that is a byproduct of the COT, I’m all for it because this was one of the most exciting Daytona races -- from start to finish -- in years. …

Once again, Kyle Busch overcomes adversity and drives from near the back of the pack to another victory. Love him or hate him, the boy can flat-out drive. …

And so can big brother Kurt, who wrecked his primary car on Thursday and drove his backup from the 36th starting position to a fourth-place finish. Despite his impressive finish, Kurt Busch remained 18th in points. …

Kyle Busch notched his sixth Sprint Cup victory of the season and the 10th of his career in 132 starts. He holds a 182-point lead over Dale Earnhardt Jr., who finished eighth Saturday. …

Jeff Burton got collected in a couple of wrecks Saturday night and limped home in 37th place -- his first finish out of the top 15 in 18 races this season. Burton slipped from second to third in points and trials front-running Kyle Busch by 202 points. …

Does TNT’s Bill Weber get paid by the word? His non-stop jabbering during the telecasts makes you appreciate how truly outstanding Mike Joy is as a play-by-play man. ...

Why can’t TNT and the other networks use the “wide-open coverage” during every race? Being able to watch the action on the track during commercials is a great feature and I’ll bet fans would be more than willing to support the sponsors who made it possible. …

A disturbing sign of the times: Have you ever seen so many empty seats for a race at Daytona? …

A disturbing sign of the times, part II: Booing is a part of sports, but throwing things on the field of play isn’t. Those ‘fans’ who throw bottles or cans onto the track when their favorite driver doesn’t win are idiots.

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