Talladega Nights: the two-car draft

With a new racing surface down in Florida, Daytona has now become just like Talladega. What we saw in February at Daytona, we saw in April at Talladega. Gone are the 30-pack cars fighting for the win, in it’s place is the Two-car draft. It’s new. It’s different. It’s…something we fans and the drivers haven’t seen before. Sure, it’s still bump-drafting 101, but it’s different than that. Instead of bump drafting in the straight-aways, the drivers bump-draft all around the track. That could get dangerous. Bump drafting leads to wrecks, spins, flips, cars that go airborne, etc… Anything that can go wrong, could go wrong. You never quite now what to expect when you go plate-racing. When the Cup series goes to Daytona and Talladega, you’re always wondering what’s going to happen. Are we going to see wreck fests? Are we going to see a 30 car train for 50 laps? You never know what’s going to happen. In February, we saw a surprise winner in Trevor Bayne. Two weeks ago, we saw the closest finish in NASCAR history, tying the record holder from 2003 at Darlington Raceway, Ricky Craven beating out Kurt Busch by .002 of a second. This time is was Hendrick Motorsports’ Jimmie Johnson beating Richard Childress Racing’s Clint Bowyer.

Like I always do, I take a subject that has everyone talking through out the whole weekend and I take it to the internet. This time, I asked what people thought about the two-car draft and here’s what some said:

Matt_Kacar I am not a fan of the Noah's Ark racing but it does produce great finishes at plate tracks

Speedys_Sweet82 the two-car draft is a great way for drivers to interact with non-teammates, yet it also can be dangerous if the drivers who are "dancing" don’t know what their partner is doing. Gotta be perfectly smooth in order to win or get a top 10 :)

jester_3 I like it, just sick of yellow line rules.

britt4875: hmm I don't really know what I think of them.. but I do think it gives great endings and restarts

denver2u ...It's makes for some really good finishes, but if you’re stuck with a slow car or no car to partner with ur screwed. Not good Or you're buddy gets into wreck..( KK n BV)..then who do u buddy up with? Just not my style of racing, but we are stuck

Joe Fisher I like it gonna take a while to get used to

Theresa Robinson LOVE IT!!

Evan Snider I like it. It keeps you on the edge of your seat for the entire race. You never know what's going to happen and it creates some great finishes.

Tyler Gray MUCH better than watching them run in a 30 car train around the top for half the race. I hope it will catch on, I think a lot of people are just having a tough time getting use to the change because you can't argue with the stats like lead c...hanges, passes, and of course the photo finishes that have occurred in almost every race since they started the 2 car drafting. As for the radio debate, I don't have any problems with it. It's pretty much necessary when you race like that and it can create some entertaining sound bites.

Scott Youngers I did not get to watch the race today. But I did get to listen to it on Sirius NASCAR Radio. I like the 2 car draft. I also liked the ability to listen in to the radio communications and hear the talking. I agree with Tyler that it is necessary for safety reasons.

11in11Embracer I'm still confused if I like it or not. I mean, we had 8 people fighting for the win at Dega, and a first time sprint cup winner and Daytona 500 champion, Trevor Bayne. In other ways though, I kinda miss the big packs. I miss seeing someone bump their way through the middle and get the win. So I will probably be undecided for a while.

For the drivers, it’s like riding a roller coaster for how many odd laps, not knowing when it will end. For some, it ends sooner than they think. For some, it takes them for a wild ride through the grass, through the air, anywhere. And for the those lucky few that make it through without any trouble, it’s very rewarding. When you go plate racing, expect the unexpected, because you never know which track is going to show up on race day.