NASCAR: One concern that could damage the Daytona 500

As NASCAR ushers in a new era of racing, the teams are facing an unprecedented challenge that could affect the quality of racing on the sport’s biggest day.

With the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season-opening Daytona 500 less than a week away, teams are finishing their mad scramble to have as many parts on hand in preparation for possible wreckfests in the Bluegreen Vacations Duels and the “Great American Race” itself.

A car parts shortage triggered by supply chain issues has left teams with a very limited number of cars to start the new season.

Wrecking in the Duel races could potentially eliminate teams, especially those that don’t have the inventory and funding comparable to powerhouses such as Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing, from having a chance to run in the Daytona 500.

And a wreck in the Daytona 500 itself could lead to teams struggling to prepare cars for the following races on the west coast.

The need to conserve cars and keep them in good condition is greater than ever before. NASCAR is even allowing the Daytona 500-winning team to keep their car this year rather than putting the car on display for fans, breaking a long-standing tradition in order to allow the winning team to have that car in their inventory for future use.

The more immediate impact of this parts shortage will likely play out on the race track this week. Cup Series practice sessions on Tuesday may see little to no side-by-side action, because any driver who wrecks in practice and goes to a backup car that early in the week may not be able to have another car prepared for the Daytona 500 if they have another incident in their Duel race.

This strategy was a favorite of seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, under the leadership of Chad Knaus, in past years. They often made single-car runs during practices at Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway, keeping their cars out of harm’s way.

Drivers and teams will also likely not want to take risks and go three-wide in Thursday night’s Duel races in a continued attempt to save their cars for Sunday’s big race.

The 36 teams with charters, the teams that know they’ll have a secured spot in the Daytona 500 regardless, probably won’t show much aggression at all, leaving the non-chartered teams to fight for the remaining Daytona 500 spots.

Finally, in the Daytona 500 itself, teams will likely still be in conservation mode to try to keep their cars in one piece not only to make it to the end of the race with a chance to win, but also to have a car with which to compete in upcoming weeks.

This lack of on-track aggression could result in the world’s fastest game of follow-the-leader if drivers choose to find their way into a single-file line for most of the laps they turn over the next week.

The strategy behind drivers running single-file, making few or no passes, is simply to conserve and protect their cars. While teams generally benefit from this style of racing, it makes for a dreadfully boring product to watch for fans.

Many fans criticize this approach to superspeedway racing, but it is sometimes a very necessary one to take. This strategy plagued last year’s Daytona 500 after a massive pile-up severely damaged and/or eliminated almost half of the field on lap 14 of 200.

If teams truly feel like they need their Daytona 500 car to race in upcoming weeks, then there’s a good chance that this year’s event (Sunday, February 20 at 2:30 p.m. ET on Fox) won’t be much different. If you have not yet started your free trial of FuboTV, now would be an ideal time to do so!