Daytona the most exciting race on earth,is its label given in the history book of Nascar.
Looks like its back to follow the leader, fall out of line and proceed to the back of the line.
The three warm up races have been just that, I think of school trips where as kids we traveled in line fall out and you were in trouble.
Course we wasn't walking 197 mph.
Maybe the actual race has something in store we haven't seen yet!
We can only HOPE!

...it's a damn shame, really...I started watching in the mid-90's, when I was channel flipping and noticed 'hey, they put cameras in the cars - cool'...the drivers had rough edges and were characters...I met Benny Parsons and his wife at their home, when he was the subject of the 'Hometown Hero' wall at a restaurant in which we were providing/installing decor...he was a super nice guy - showed me all around his rec room, and his racing souvenirs...he had a tire from Petty's 200th win...his dog was named Winston

...IMO, NASCAR killed itself when they revamped the points system and took races away from the pioneer tracks to send them all over the country...I only watched sporadically after Dale hit the wall (been 18 years already!), but once his son retired, I stopped watching altogether...

They have made it WAAAAAAAY to complicated now. Just not fun watching this as much as it used to be. I guess also when the people's name you hear so often are gone, then you just do not care about the rest.

Guess I already started my NASCAR rant in the NFL post the other day, sorry about derailing that discussion by the way. The only race at Daytona this year that I watched even parts of was the truck race. I would flip back to it every so often to see how many trucks got destroyed each twenty five laps or so. You know you really have a great entertainment product when you start 32 cars in a race and the last restart for the win has five cars in it. In this five, the only one that wasn't half destroyed was the winner. Nice show NASCAR......If the fans go to see wrecks, the trucks at Daytona should be a sellout every year.

The Daytona race just finished up. I was sadly disappointed to say the least. It was a complete follow the leader race until there were only 30 laps left, then the carnage started! First wreck took out 18 cars and there were 2 more fairly bad wrecks. Other than the excitement of the wrecks, the race was hamstrung with those darn restrictor plates. They turned a very exciting race (in the past) into something that was a waste of time.
If I was a car owner, I would be awfully mad about the rules for this race and let it be known. I hope all the owners get together and stop this nonsense before it destroys NASCAR. The dollar total of the carnage had to be astronomical, and for what purpose? There is more thrill in demolition derbys!

From about 1985 through 2000 I would not miss a NASCAR race every Sunday I was on my couch watching. I've attended about 50 races live. Since about 2000 my watching has dropped off considerably. Now I do not hardly watch at all other than Daytona. They have changed the rules so often that there is no fun left in it. There are no characters left in NASCAR anymore. My $$$ are now going elsewhere and I do not see it getting any better. Nascar Used to be a huge draw now they have trouble selling tickets...

This is all so true, just boring now.

Well its done so I'll chime in one more time. A lot better racing then I figured ,some side by side which we didn't see in the build up races. But the drivers even told the story with their own statements. The race doesn't start till ten laps to go. Guess that is the thinking with the stage break up segments,which earns points. They now have 3 mini races adding up to 30 laps total and the rest is just filler laps. Sadly that often ends in cars being torn up. If that is what you enjoy then they have your attention. Glad I'm not in charge of coming up with the magic answer, but the greatest race of the year it is not.
Next race they are on the new throttle body which if I understand it is beveled which means it is a funnel .large at top and bevels to smaller size to restrict fuel input. No more plate racing so maybe they are on to something. As hard as they try Racers are creators of the task at hand they will adjust and do what it takes to get the best results.

With all my complaining I'll still be watching something I can't keep from doing. born and bread in me I guess as I've been around race tracks and circle cars all my life.
My main concern is the effect the lack of interest is having on the short tracks around the country, it has a trickle down effect.

...I'm sure the folks in North Wilkesboro, and Rockingham, NC would be happy to have their races back...they didn't lose them because of lagging sales...

Greatest & longest running motor race is the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy. No follow the leader here. Been going on over 100 years & is absolutely insane. Go to youtube & watch some Isle of Man TT videos, you'll see what I mean.

Then again I'm an avid motorcyclist!

Have seen the Isle you speak about . Them guys have balls the size of orange crates.
Insane doesn't do it justice.
I'm a motorcyclist also I.ve rode since I was 15 ,I'm 61 and currently have 2..