DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Jacques Villeneuve is just happy to be here, an odd yet understandable position decades after his Indianapolis 500 win and Formula One title.
A run during Sunday’s sold-out Daytona 500 is a bucket list item for the 50-year-old Canadian racer to cross off.
“At this point in my career, just to make the show is incredible,” said Villeneuve, who posted the fastest time of the six cars eligible in Wednesday’s time trials.
NASCAR’s showcase event and season’s kickoff is many things. It’s lifetime achievement for Villeneuve, a career-maker for some and heartbreaker for others — with the Harley J. Earl Trophy undoubtedly the sport’s ultimate piece of hardware.
“It is the Daytona 500. It is everything,” 2015 winner Joey Logano. said. “It feels special to win it for sure. Being so close the last few years and ending up in a ball of fire at the end of it hurts.”
Each driver in the 40-car field has his own emotions, experiences and expectations entering the scheduled 200-lap trek around the 2.5-mile oval at Daytona International Speedway that inevitably comes down to the final mile.
Defending champion Michael McDowell wants to prove his only Cup Series to date was no fluke and avoid joining Trevor Bayne and Derrike Cope as one-hit wonders in the Great American Race.
Two-time Cup Series champion Kyle Busch aims to join his brother and 2017 winner, Kurt, on the list of champions and leave behind a group of greats never to win it, most notably Tony Stewart — one of the few drivers this millennium with comparable talent.
“There’s a lot of guys that have been greats in our sport that did not win this race,” Busch said. “I would not like to go down as one of those guys.”
Meanwhile, pole-sitter Kyle Larson hopes to continue his redemption story and elevate his status among racing’s elite following the 2021 championship. The 29-year-old became the first driver to win 10 times in a season since Jimmie Johnson in 2007 after Larson sat out 2020 following his suspension for using a racial slur during a virtual racing event.
Expected to be in the mix late Sunday, Larson did not anticipate starting from the front row alongside Alex Bowman, who is there for a record fifth straight time. Yet, Larson’s offseason dirt track success shows he is willing and able to drive in all conditions, allowing him to adapt quickly to NASCAR’s new Next Gen car.
“Everyone has been one foot in front of the other and taking a cautious approach because there’s still so much unknown,” Kurt Busch said. “There’s still a lot of question marks floating above people’s heads.”
Fans included.
The Next Gen car enjoyed favorable reviews during a soft opening Feb. 6 at the Busch Clash during NASCAR’s first-event race in L.A. Coliseum. But Sunday’s sold-out crowd will feature an estimated 120,000 spectators, including many of the sport’s true-blood fans finely attuned to the new car’s ability to perform and produce exciting racing.
Larson’s top-end speed of 181.159 mph in his No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 was the slowest qualifying speed for the Daytona 500 since Curtis Turner posted 180.381 in 1967.
Busch, though, said the pace and intensity will escalate considerably with more cars on the track.
“The main thing you’ll see in the draft when all the cars are out there it’s going to pick up twice as much as the old car,” the 33-time Cup Series winner said. “The cars by themselves are slower, but they draft so much more aggressively and the speed will pick up almost double what last year’s car did. So ... in the draft things are moving around like the bingo ball, Powerball 5.
“Then when you lose the draft, it’s like you pulled a parachute in drag racing at Gator Nationals.”
Everyone’s head will be on a swivel Sunday while every driver will be dreaming big.
McDowell’s first career victory in 358 Cup Series starts gave underdogs hope.
McDowell’s title defense got off to a promising start. The 37-year-old posted an average lap speed (192.736 mph) in his No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford, the fastest time during the two 50-minute practice sessions.
Following a strong showing during Thursday’s duels, he will start in Row 3.
“It brings back a lot of great memories,” McDowell said of his return to the iconic track.
Someone will make some Sunday. Others, like Villeneuve, already have.
“To be able to make such a big race at such a high level is amazing,” he said. “When I’m in the race car I don’t realize that I’m 50, which is good.”
