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Nationwide goes double-file at Daytona
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The Nationwide Series returns to restrictor plate racing Friday night with the Subway Jalapeno 250 at Daytona International Speedway.
Restrictor plate racing always provides a lot of unknowns, but another unknown this time around will be how double-file restarts may or may not affect the outcome of a restrictor plate points race. Will there be more cautions? Will it in anyway give anyone an advantage that they wouldn’t have otherwise?
While the Sprint Cup Series has been utilizing double-file restarts for several weeks now, and the format has been in place for the Budweiser Shootout at Daytona, not even the Cup guys have run a restrictor plate points race with double file restarts. The Nationwide Series will be a guinea pig of sorts when it takes to the track Friday night.
"Double-file restarts in Cup have proven to be exciting for the fans as well as the drivers and I'm looking forward to this being implemented on our series,” driver Jason Keller said. “Starting double file rewards drivers that have raced hard to be in the back half of the top 10 to race for position without having to contend with lapped traffic.”
Series points leader Kyle Busch heads into this weekend’s race with a 162-point lead over second-place Carl Edwards. Things look good for Busch on the momentum side heading into Friday’s race. He comes in as the series’ most recent winner with his victory Saturday in New Hampshire. As a matter of fact, his finished either first or second in the last three Nationwide races.
His Joe Gibbs Racing team also has momentum on its side. Although neither of them were posted by Busch, JGR has won two of the last three Nationwide Series races at Daytona.
In addition to Busch and Edwards, other Sprint Cup Series drivers slated to run the Nationwide race include Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Michael Waltrip – both considered restrictor-plate specialists. Earnhardt Jr. has won this event on two previous occasions.
Television coverage for Friday’s Subway Jalapeno 250 is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
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