The Great American Race: 2023 Daytona 500 Race Review and Analysis

 


The 2023 Daytona 500, in Nascar’s 75th anniversary season, was one sure for the record books.   The 35-year old Olive Branch, Mississippi native, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. took home the checkered flag in the Great American Race.  Stenhouse snapped a 199 race winless-streak. 



(2023 Daytona Victory Lane: Ricky Stenhouse Jr.)


The 65th running of the Great American race presented hardship, endurance, precision, and commercials.  While this race was fairly clean to start, Nascar ran the longest Daytona 500 ever.  But from a person viewing it on TV, it felt like the longest commercial airing ever. 











 The cautions for wrecks didn’t come until the final stage, as separation wasn’t much of a factor between this 40 car field.  Ford was strong all weekend, but were picked off a few at a time as the wrecks tallied up towards the finish. 


 In the end, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., a known heavyweight on superspeedways, drove a clean, and smart race, which is the formula for victory.



 In terms of FOX, and its broadcasting production today, I’d give it an 8 out of 10.  Clint Bowyer, Tony Stewart, and Mike Joy were sharp this week.  The production side of things with commercials is something us as fans can’t change, but at times it seemed excessive.  Overall from a personal standpoint, I've enjoyed the start to the 75th season of Nascar, scoring today’s race weekend a 9.0 out of 10.  




(The 2023 Daytona 500 Flyover)


As known by all, the final results at Daytona won’t look pretty for some, but for others, a hard fought Great American race is rewarded as the checkered flag is waved. 



 Joey Logano the 2015 Daytona 500 champion, comes home 2nd, alongside him is Christopher Bell in 3rd.  Fourth place is awarded to Chris Buescher, with Alex Bowman rounding out the top-5. 







A.J. Allmendinger, who made some bold moves throughout today’s event, wound up 6th, with Daniel Suarez in 7th.  Ryan Blaney, after his no.12 machine was put through the ringer came home 8th, followed by Suarez’s teammate, Ross Chastain in 9th.  Rounding out the top-ten is Xfinity Series driver Riley Herbst in his first Daytona 500.  


The first honorable mention of the night goes to Travis Pastrana in 11th for 23XI Racing in his first Daytona 500. 



 Kevin Harvick in his final Daytona 500 scored 12th, followed by Zane Smith in his first Great American race in 13th. Cody Ware, and Martin Truex Jr., also are honorable mentions in 14th and 15th. 


 Although he didn’t finish inside the top-15, Corey LaJoie ran a flawless race for Spire Motorsports, the result doesn’t show the great race he drove this afternoon.  LaJoie crosses the line 16th, but for a small team like Spire Motorsports, a 16th place finish is a very successful weekend.  


Momentum is key early on in the season, we’ll take a look at some drivers who are trending in the right direction, and some who could bounce back next week at Auto Club. Headed into the west coast swing, drivers looking for a bounce back weekend include Tyler Reddick, Chase Elliott, Erik Jones, and Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Ryan Preece and Chase Briscoe.  


Another notable stat for next week, Jones, Reddick, and Elliott had strong runs in last year’s race.  Many drivers and teams aim to bounce back in Fontana next week, with practice and qualifying for the Xfinity Series at 12:05pm ET, followed by the Production Alliance Group 300 at 5:00pm ET on FS1. 


 The Cup Series will have practice and qualifying at 2:05pm ET on Saturday.  The Pala Casino 400 will be underway at 3:30pm ET on FOX.  


Starting with the final race at Fontana’s two-mile configuration, the west coast swing is set to kick off this weekend.




( All images credited to https://www.foxsports.com/nascar/cup-series.)


For next week's race information please view the link down below:


Auto Club Speedway Website

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