EXCLUSIVE NASCAR is taking a straight turn at Daytona International Speedway this weekend as the Cup Series hits the track on the infield for the first time ever.
“I do not know what the first few laps will be, I worry more about the first few corners,” said champion Kyle Busch, champion of 2019, told Fox News Autos ahead of the race, which will be held without practice or qualification.
“You can do any simulation in iRacing and anything else to prepare yourself and get ready for it, but there’s nothing that translates as closely as just getting there and doing it in real life.”
The track was added to the Cup Series schedule as part of a seasonal shakeup that saw several races canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, effectively replacing the annual race track race at Watkins Glen International in New York. The Xfinity Series and Truck Series will use it this weekend as well, but Busch and other Cup Series drivers who race part-time in these series will not allow it to not get into the extra laps and an unfair advantage for the cup match.
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The Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota driver will start in fourth position and has a bit of a leg up on the field, however, as he competed on the track in this year’s Rolex 24 sports car race in a Lexus, and ninth finished in class.
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Busch has won twice at Watkins Glen, but has not fared so well on the Roval track of Charlotte Motor Speedway, which in concept is similar to what is for sale in Daytona. In the two events held so far, he finished in 32nd and 37th place.
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“It’s basically about who tipstoes versus who has the guts to just go out and give it all they have,” he said of success at Daytona.
Several lower tier NASCAR series have used the roadway, including the short-lived Compact Car series of the 1960s.
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Busch is currently ninth in the regular season standings with four races to go and is set to make the playoffs, even though he has not won a race this year. Coming out of a championship season with five wins, he is ready three times in 2020 and said the events with one day without practice hurt to make the finish on the setup of his car, but that he enjoyed the extra time back home.
“If I won today in this way of the world from no practice and all that stuff, I would say it was the greatest thing ever.”
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