2009 Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway

2009 Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway:

This Saturday night in prime time Daytona International Speedway will host the 2009 Coke Zero 400. This is the traditional halfway point of the season. When we were here in February Kyle Busch dominated until he was caught up in a wreck. At Daytona sometimes even the fastest car can get bit by the big one.

Tickets:

Speedway ticket office 1-800-PITSHOP or (386) 253-7223

Buy online from TicketsNow (direct link)

The Track:

The fast 2.5 mile tri-oval uses restrictor plates to keep the speeds manageable but those plates create fertile ground for The Big One. The plates cause aerodynamics to be more important than horsepower which results in big packs of cars running nose to tail and door to door all day long.

Race Distance:

160 laps = 400 miles

The Big Picture:

Last week's race was uneventful for the point standings. Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart both posted top five finishes so the top of the points did not change much.

The same holds at the back of the top twelve as Mark Martin and Juan Montoya held down their positions in 11th and 12th keeping Kasey Kahne and David Reutimann from cracking the top twelve.

The top twelve:

1. Tony Stewart
2. Jeff Gordon -69
3. Jimmie Johnson -169
4. Kurt Busch -270
5. Carl Edwards - 367
6. Denny Hamlin -392
7. Ryan Newman -397
8. Kyle Busch -416
9. Greg Biffle -418
10. Matt Kenseth -470
11. Mark Martin -472
12. Juan Montoya -475

Storylines:

There are lots of news stories this week to keep the media buzzing.

• We can't come to Daytona without talking about "The Big One" Dale Earnhardt Jr. triggered the big wreck in February. Who will be restrictor plate racing's next victims?
• The NASCAR Hall of Fame has announced its official grand opening date and the list of nominees for their first induction class.
• Jeremy Mayfield was reinstated by a federal judge after being suspended by NASCAR for failing a drug test in May.
• The Race to the Chase continues to gain attention as only nine races remain until the Chase begins.

Media Coverage:

TV: TNT Saturday, July 4th, 6:30PM Eastern.

Radio: MRN and SIRUS Satellite

Actual Race: 8:00PM Eastern

Recent Events:

2008 Polesitter: Paul Menard

2008 Winner: Kyle Busch

Last Year:

The 2008 Coke Zero 400 at Daytona featured a photo finish after a green-white-checkers restart.

The final green was a two lap dash for the finish. Kyle Busch lead over Jeff Gordon and Carl Edwards.

Jeff Gordon spun right when the green flew but NASCAR didn't throw the caution. The leaders raced one full lap and Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards took the white flag side-by-side. As the field rolled into turn one there was another big crash which instantly froze the finishing order.

Kyle Busch had a fender on Carl Edwards the instant that the yellow flag flew and was awarded the win.

Predictions:

This week I am going to take the easy picks.

Kyle Busch lead the most laps during both the 2008 and 2009 Daytona 500s. He backed that up with a win in this race last year. Clearly Kyle Busch makes a great pick for this Saturday's race.

For my backup this week I have to look to the Roush-Fenway Racing team. Matt Kenseth won the 2009 Daytona 500 and his teammate Carl Edwards was just a couple of seconds away from winning Talladega when he crashed. I think Jack Roush has more restrictor plate racing tricks up his sleeve so Matt Kenseth makes a great backup pick this week in Daytona.