ROCKINGHAM – Football season is over and NASCAR season begins. The Super Bowl of stock car racing is just around the corner, but first, drivers in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) will hit the asphalt in a non-points race at Daytona International Speedway.
Rockingham Speedway Trivia Question: What year did Mark Martin win his first ever NASCAR Winston Cup Series race at The Rock? (hint: 1980s)
The Clash at Daytona is the kick-off to the new NASCAR season. Formerly known as the Budweiser Shootout, and the Sprint Unlimited in past years, The Clash will consist of two segments of the 75-lap race with the first segment being 25 laps and the last being 50.
The race takes place Sunday, February 11, at 3 p.m. on Fox Sports 1.
This exhibition race is unique as only a select number of drivers are eligible to enter the race. The criteria is set by either winning a pole award in the 2017 season, winning a previous Clash, winning the Daytona 500 pole in 2017, or by making the 2017 MENCS Playoffs.
This year, only 17 drivers will be entered into the race. Below is the list of drivers with their car number, manufacturer, and team.
With less than half of a typical field, this should be a much more compact race, or it can become a train of cars running around the track. When entering a race such as Daytona, it requires drafting – a lot of drafting. In fact, drafting is key to winning. It can become a driver’s best friend, or his worst enemy.
Now it’s time to get into the opinion part of this article. If you were to ask me who I would pick to win the Clash, I think I would have to go with Denny Hamlin. He’s a former winner of the Clash, the Can-Am Duels, and just last year, he won his first Daytona 500 edging out 2017 Champion Martin Truex Jr.
Hamlin has won the two of the last four Clashes and finished 13th in last year’s. Hamlin has certainly proven himself in exhibition races.
My second guess would have to be “Happy” Kevin Harvick. Harvick is a master at hanging around and coming up from behind to steal a win. He’s won three Clashes, with the last being in 2013, however also having finished 5th in last year’s.
My third guess to win is Truex, Jr. This being because of his dominance from last year and his continued determination to win every week. It’s hard to put him out of your mind coming off of a spectacular (and well deserved) season.
Rockingham Speedway Trivia Answer: 1989
