Race Day
THREE THINGS TO WATCH
Faster speeds. Fewer NASCAR rules edicts and more driver "self-policing." Plus, there are multiple opportunities for green-white-checkered finishes. The ingredients are there for a wild 500 and there appeared to be signs of that in Thursday's Duels.
Kevin Harvick won the Budweiser Shootout and finished second in his qualifying race. His last Sprint Cup win came in the 2007 Daytona 500.
There's an excellent chance he could end his winless streak with a second 500 victory.
If you're looking for Danica Patrick, you're late by one day. She raced in Saturday's Nationwide race. But don't be surprised to hear her name mentioned once or 10 times.
OBSERVATIONS
There is no doubt Danica Patrick has brought a lot of attention to NASCAR. And drivers have said she brings some much-needed new eyes on the sport. However, the big question is if all the new attention is simply on Patrick, what happens when she disappears for months to run her IndyCar Series?
If the only reason the sport gets a bump turns out to be her presence in it, that really isn't a long-term fix for what's ailing NASCAR (at least until she moves full time to the sport at some point).
Wish there was some way for NASCAR to give the Thursday qualifying races a little more meaning.
With 35 cars locked in the 500 field on owner points and four more by speeds, only four drivers' fates are really determined by performances in those races. And typically they are not among the sport's biggest names.
Auto Club Speedway of California has been hammered unmercifully in recent years for poor attendance during its early February race weekend.
Will Danica-mania help fix that, at least for next Saturday's Nationwide event?
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