1. Daytona-bound
Saturdays Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona represents the halfway point (Race 18) of the 2018 Cup Series only nine races remain in the regular season. The 160-lap run over Daytonas 2.5-mile tri-oval will be the last restrictor-plate race before the playoffs begin in September. The first two plate races were won by Austin Dillon (Daytona 500) and Joey Logano (Talladega).
2. Refresh button
Almost any driver who shows up can win Saturdays race at Daytona. Of the six drivers with wins, the two oddballs are Dillon and Logano, who scored their lone Victory Lane appearances at plate tracks. How about Aric Almirola? Maybe. We are going to win a race, he said at Chicagoland. I guarantee you we are going to win a race. We have to be perfect to do it though. On deck, Daytona.
3. Labonte second
Former NASCAR Cup Series champion Bobby Labonte scored a second-place, oval-track finish last weekend. The big question is where? The runner-up showing was at Tours (France) Speedway. The 54-year-old driver is running the entire NASCAR Whelen Euro Series. Second feels good, he said. I think we needed another lap or two and we might have had a chance at the win.
Godwin Kelly, godwin.kelly@news-jrnl.com
