2026 Daytona 500; teamwork?

[loneryder]

After the first stage I wanted to post this question but I waited. At the end of the race I have the same question. Why can’t Toyotas work together. This goes back to last year and before. Six Toyotas pitted at the same time by themselves just for fuel. Coming back on the track, they made no effort to team up to get up to speed. It happened later in the race also. They all pitted except Hamlin. Ford’s work well together. Chevys too. Toyota's don’t seem to care.
Great race ending!!!

 

[EvoMan]

The only time they “worked together “ was when they were the lead car in all 3 rows during the final stage. It was like they were leading parade laps for about half of the final stage. It was definitely boring for all of those laps.

 

[TnT_M]

After the first stage I wanted to post this question but I waited. At the end of the race I have the same question. Why can’t Toyotas work together. This goes back to last year and before. Six Toyotas pitted at the same time by themselves just for fuel. Coming back on the track, they made no effort to team up to get up to speed. It happened later in the race also. They all pitted except Hamlin. Ford’s work well together. Chevys too. Toyota's don’t seem to care.
Great race ending!!!

Wild finish to an otherwise pretty boring race. Full disclosure I'm not a fan of the current car.

 

[Gyro Gearloose]

Nascar needs to figure out how to end the fuel economy racing. Watching the cars drafting to save gas and not having to pit for fuel or tires and not running flat out except for the last few laps before a stage ends is hardly a race.

 

[loneryder]

Wild finish to an otherwise pretty boring race. Full disclosure I'm not a fan of the current car.

I really don’t care for the super speedway tracks. The winner is not decided by driver skill or car set up, just plain luck.

 

[Arc]

I gradually stopped watching NASCAR and stopped going to their races. They got boring over the years. All the cars are identical and they don't race until the last few laps. Local tracks are better, those guys go full on from the start.

 

[shortyb]

I turned the race on with 11 laps to go. Seems that was the perfect time to tune in.

Always been a Denny Hamlin fan since Joe Gibbs Racing day, s kinda glad 23XI and Toyota pulled it off despite all the carnage.

 

[AZjeff]

Nascar needs to figure out how to end the fuel economy racing. Watching the cars drafting to save gas and not having to pit for fuel or tires and not running flat out except for the last few laps before a stage ends is hardly a race.

You don't remember the good OLD days then. There were only 4 or 5 drivers that would probably win and they'd basically cruise around for 450 miles and get racy for the last 50. The other 35 cars were just making laps. In that famous race where Allison and Yarborough wrecked each other out and Petty won look how far ahead of the next cars they were. The drivers admitted that's how it was done.

I kept thinking yesterday those are awefully expensive cars to run in a demolition derby.

 

[Dave P.]

I really don’t care for the super speedway tracks. The winner is not decided by driver skill or car set up, just plain luck.

You're right! It's guaranteed that the "Big One" is going to happen and it's just a matter of who gets lucky and doesn't get caught up in it.
I think the "plastic" bodies all around let these guys beat and bang on each other without worrying about denting up fenders and then cutting a tire. Bump drafting looks more like ramming instead of bumping. Once again, no real worry that your front end will be damaged and lose aero or cooling. That, and it seems like the cars have become so safe, the drivers are more content to wreck each other and not worry someone, or themselves, going to get hurt. I guess the owners come to Daytona knowing that they might have to use the car for parts after this race as it may no longer serve a purpose as a racecar. This is about the only race I really look forward to anymore and that may have more to do with the fact that football is over and it's been a long cold winter.