DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Five thoughts after Saturday night’s NASCAR Cup Series regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway … Bubba Wallace and Chase Elliott are both stars, but they appeal to completely different sectors of NASCAR’s fan base — and entering Daytona, series officials knew at least one of them would miss the playoffs this season. In an ideal scenario, of course, NASCAR would love to have all of its biggest names in the 16-driver playoff field. That’s good for TV ratings, ticket sales and broader interest. But there was only one spot left...
Trash: Kurt Busch being deprived of the opportunity to end his career how he wanted.
But this one was particularly jarring. You can look through the highlight reels of flips and barrel rolls, but the way Preece’s car took off and twirled so many times in the air — with so much elevation — was sickening. And then when you slow down the replay and see the roof hatch was almost immediately gone — leaving an exposed hole over the cockpit — and the window net was flapping loose, you realize it could have been so much worse.
• Larson had an odd regular season. The 2021 champion showed incredible speed at times and leads the series in top-five finishes . But he also ranks 14th in average finish through a combination of bad luck, mistakes and being on the wrong end of some run-ins with other drivers. Regardless of why, Larson’s ability to pull the reins a bit in the playoffs should come in handy through the first two rounds.
Heading into Daytona, Chastain’s average running position was 13.5. His actual average finish is 15.3, a difference of 1.8 positions.
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