We are less than a week away from the 24 Hours of Daytona, the first major road course event of the North American motorsports season but there was the Chili Bowl this weekend to kick-off the oval season and the Dakar Rally wrapped up from Argentina. Things are heating up off the track as IndyCar and Indy Lights driver line-up are getting finalized while the due date for aero kit homologation was yesterday. Here is a run down of what got me thinking.
Cup Check
What do Kyle Larson, Jamie McMurray and A.J. Allmendinger all have in common? They are all full-time NASCAR Cup Series drivers competing in the 24 Hours of Daytona. That's it. Three. No Jeff Gordon. No Jimmie Johnson. No Dale Earnhardt, Jr. No Tony Stewart, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Danica Patrick, Kasey Kahne, Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth or defending champion Kevin Harvick.
How disappointing. While the 24 Hours of Daytona is the season opener for IMSA, to me, it also serves as one of the few opportunities for the best drivers from the North American-based series to come together and the event has an All-Star feel. I want to see all-star driver line-ups. I want Will Power, Brad Keselowski and Marcos Ambrose to team up or Jimmie Johnson, Juan Pablo Montoya and Justin Wilson. The 24 Hours of Daytona make the absurd possible. Imagine a car with the names Earnhardt, Andretti and Brabham all above the door (and I am talking about Dale, Jr., Marco and Matthew). You never know what will happen when you pair up the best from different disciplines (see Dan Gurney and A.J. Foyt at Le Mans 1967).
As much as some will bash NASCAR drivers and say the lack of their participation is because their true lack of talent but that isn't the case. Plenty NASCAR drivers can go wheel-to-wheel with the best in the world. Their lack of participation is because of the bubble wrapping team owners. They are too busy focused on the negative of their driver being hurt or worse and it is understandable but you cannot let fear paralyze you and keep someone from once-in-a-lifetime opportunities.
We have to give a tip of the cap to Ganassi for bringing his IndyCar and NASCAR drivers together for Daytona and for Allmendinger being just enough under the radar to do Daytona without it being a big deal to his car owner. NASCAR should be encouraging their drivers to run the 24 Hours. You want your drivers out there, three weeks before the season begins to drum up interest. No offense but the 24 Hours of Daytona will not make SportsCenter or any other major national publication if Christian Fittipaldi, João Barbosa and Sébastien Bourdais win again. However, if Jimmie Johnson was in that team or Jeff Gordon or Brad Keselowski or Kevin Harvick, maybe it gets a quick plug with a reminder of the Cup season being only weeks away.
IndyCar Runneth Over
Speaking of the 24 Hours of Daytona, I count 12 confirmed/potential full-time driver in the upcoming IndyCar season on the entry list: Gabby Chaves, Sébastien Bourdais, Ryan Hunter-Reay, James Hinchcliffe, Charlie Kimball, Sage Karam, Scott Dixon, Tony Kanaan, Jack Hawksworth, Ryan Briscoe, Simon Pagenaud and Graham Rahal.
Let's not forget to mentions drivers at Daytona with recent IndyCar experience: Katherine Legge, Ryan Dalziel, Scott Sharp, Rubens Barrichello, A.J. Allmendinger, Bruno Junqueira, Martin Plowman, Lucas Luhr, Jan Heylen, Townsend Bell and James Davison.
And of course, those who raced in IndyCar many moons ago: Christian Fittipaldi, Max Papis, Michael Valiante, Scott Pruett, Jan Magnussen and Anthony Lazzaro.
I am going to reiterate that IndyCar should open their season at Daytona the Friday night prior to the 24 Hours of Daytona. If IndyCar is ending their season by Labor Day so they don't have to go head-to-head with football season than they better be starting as soon football season ends. The 24 Hours of Daytona weekend falls during the bye week before the Super Bowl and running Friday night would come with opposition only from the NBA and college basketball seeing as how the NHL is off for their All-Star Weekend.
If IndyCar is going to handcuff themselves by ending before summer ends, then they have to start their season at the earliest possible moment. Otherwise they are just wasting time and golden weekends when they won't have to compete with football. Because, as you know, football is IndyCars stiffest competition when it comes to viewers.
Winners From the Weekend
You know about Nasser Al-Attiyah, Marc Coma, Rafał Sonik and Airat Mardeev but did you know...
Rico Abreu won the Chili Bowl.
Ken Roczen won the AMA Supercross race from Anaheim.
Coming Up This Weekend
The Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona.
The 2015 World Rally Championship season kicks off with Rallye Monte-Carlo.
AMA Supercross will head to Oakland.
Covering All Motorsports. From Indianapolis to Le Mans, Daytona to Monaco.
