New Colorado resident Regan Smith, driver of the Denver-based Furniture Row Racing No. 78 Chevrolet, had a hometown message to deliver Friday while preparing for today’s Daytona 500.
“Tell everybody to get pumped up and stay on the 78,” Smith said in a phone interview from Daytona Beach, Fla. “We’re out here representing Colorado, man. That’s the important part.”
If small-team driver Trevor Bayne is capable of winning NASCAR’s season-opening event, which he did a year ago for Wood Brothers Racing, Smith and FRR definitely have a chance. Smith’s pole-day performance a week ago was poor (38th fastest) but he finished second in one of the two 150-mile qualifying races Thursday.
He also ended second in one of the 150s last year before finishing seventh in the big race. In 2011, his draft partner was Kurt Busch.
Smith, who doesn’t have a specific draft partner this year, will start sixth today in what is expected to be a “pack-racing” event. Because of engine and aerodynamic changes, the two-car draft is less important as large groups will run bumper to bumper in one of NASCAR’s two restrictor-plate racetracks.
“It’s going to be a different deal because we don’t have to draft together as much as we’ve had to in the past,” Smith said. “You may still need to do that at the end of the race to win the thing, but that’s going to be dictated on who is around you at the end of the race.
“When it’s 10 to go, we’ll be thinking about who to be hooking up with. But we’re not really sure you’ll have to hook up with somebody to win the race. I felt like (Thursday), had I not gotten the door slam (by Clint Bowyer) going on the back straightaway, we could have won the race based on the momentum we had. So (drafting) is an element we’re going to have to wait and see.”
Like many teams, Smith and his crew declined to practice Friday.
“I still haven’t had my car in front of the draft, so I still don’t know it’s going to be leading the pack,” Smith said. “But as a driver, you have to trust what you do. If your car is not good at leading the pack, you put yourself in third or fourth going to get the white flag, so when things start dicing it up, you’re still up front where you can get that winning run. You just want to be in position at that point.”
Indeed, leading a Daytona race before the white flag and creating draft partners before the green flag are overrated.
“If you’re the car in front or even in the back you’re vulnerable either way,” said Mark McArdle, Furniture Row’s competition director. “Once your usefulness to the other car is exhausted, the car will most likely duck down into a different lane and leave you hanging. Cooperation and trust have to be there throughout the race until it’s time to run for the checkered, and then it’s every driver for themselves.
“Unlike the two-car draft, it is less critical in pack racing to have prearranged agreements with drafting partners.
“It’s going to come down to who you are around and who you trust. Not every pairing of cars is going to be fast, so there could be occasions when another Chevrolet will be the right choice or potentially a Ford, Dodge or Toyota will be the best choice. We’ll just have to wait and see.”
Smith was recently married and the couple moved to Colorado, near Bandimere Speedway in Morrison. FRR, owned by Cherry Hills resident Barney Visser, is NASCAR’s only team not based in the Carolinas.
“From a Colorado perspective it’s refreshing that we’re the only team that’s not based in Charlotte. It speaks to Barney and his plan to keep the team out there, and his love for the area, and now my love for the area since moving out there,” Smith said. “It would be great to have a great day (today) and say, ‘Hey, we’re not based in Charlotte. We’re based in Denver, and we’re still getting it done.’ “
Smith is beginning the final year of his contract with FRR.
“My expectations are to go out there and run good. We’ll look at the other stuff when that time comes, whenever the moment is right,” he said. “I think we’ll all know when that moment is right. We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”
Mike Chambers: 303-954-1357 or mchambers@denverpost.com
Daytona glance
Tough act to follow.
With the season-opening Daytona 500 today, the rivalry from last year’s Sprint Cup is not over yet.
Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards finished in a dead heat in the points race last year, and Stewart took the Sprint Cup championship on a tiebreaker, four wins to one. It was about the only way to separate Stewart’s No. 14 Chevrolet and Edwards’ No. 99 Ford, the fastest cars in NASCAR in 2011.
After two weeks in Florida in preparation for today’s opener, they still are not separated by much.
Edwards is on the pole today; Stewart is right behind him in the third spot after winning one of the Gatorade Duels on Thursday.
Where they left off was the finish of the best duel in the eight years of the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Edwards went into the 10-race “playoffs” as the co-leader. Then Stewart busted out by winning the first two events, his first two wins of the season, and then three of the last four.
Edwards logged seven top-5s and closed with three second-place finishes.
“We tied a guy who won half the races,” Edwards said. “I venture to say if we would have been able to win half of those races, we would have just dominated the thing.”
Five things to watch
Jim Utter, who has been covering NASCAR for the Charlotte Observer for the past xx years, gives his insight on five things to watch for this season:
Biggest story of 2012: This is a given: Danica Patrick. No one — not even Dale Earnhardt Jr. — will receive more media attention this season than Patrick. In fact, she has been mentioned more than any other driver entering the Daytona 500 and she has never run a Cup race before. The bigger question is how will her first full season be judged?
Biggest name to miss the Chase: There is no question Earnhardt was much improved last season in his first year working with crew chief Steve Letarte. It is also true Earnhardt was in contention for far more race wins earlier in 2011 than later in the season. While many expect Earnhardt to continue his success, I’m not convinced.
Biggest Chase surprise: There may be no one in the Cup series with more on the line this season than Joey Logano. He is in the last year of his contract and needs a big year to maintain his position with one of the sport’s elite teams, Joe Gibbs Racing. I say he comes through with his first appearance in the Chase.
Team most likely to improve: Two years ago, Earnhardt Ganassi Racing was on the verge of becoming a major player in the Cup series. Then, last season the bottom dropped out. The team will get some of its mojo back this year.
Team most likely to regress: While I think Carl Edwards should remain a contender and Matt Kenseth should also do well, the loss of a team at Roush Fenway Racing will have a large impact to the organization.
Bud drops out
Budweiser is removing its name from NASCAR’s Shootout exhibition race at Daytona International Speedway beginning next February and instead will be the title sponsor for the 150-mile Duel qualifying races.
The beer brand will become title sponsor of Daytona Speedweeks and the Daytona 500 pre-race show. The track is shopping for a new title sponsor for the Shootout.
Next season’s Shootout field will feature mostly pole position winners from this season. The pole position is sponsored by a rival brewer, Coors Light.
Stewart busy
While most of his competitors spent the precious few weeks of the off season getting away from it all, Stewart kept climbing into race cars and taking on all comers.
Stewart won the inaugural Karting Classic at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Dec. 11. He won the USAC Midget feature at the Rumble in Fort Wayne, Ind., on New Year’s Eve. He won the All-Star Circuit of Champions 410 Winged Sprint Car feature at Screven Motor Speedway in Sylvania, Ga., on Feb. 11. He even returned to race in the Chili Bowl in Tulsa on Jan. 14 and finished 10th.
“My deal is a little different than all these other guys,” Stewart, 40, said of his off season. “Most of them are married and have families. … I have a dog and two cats, so they don’t care if I go race seven days a week. … As long as they get fed, they are happy.”
Red carpet
There should be plenty of cleb sightings at the race Sunday, but the main players this year include:
Lead singer of Train Pat Monahan will sing the national anthem; Jane Lynch and Kate Upton, cover model for the 2012 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, will open the race with: “Drivers, start your engines”; and WWE superstar John Cena will wave the green flag as the honorary starter.
